Things Sellers Say

There are those out there who believe that selling your home is easy. All you have to do is dump your property on the MLS, and it will sell itself at the best price.  I think these people are nuts or lucky like a lottery, but I am a real estate salesperson who would be very biased on the value of my services. So, let me put my experience aside and offer some insights from actual sellers who have sold their homes.  Below are tips and advice from real people who were my clients and who have sold a property. I thought it would be interesting to check in with recent clients from a few months ago as well as clients from years ago to get an idea of what they think of their selling process, what worked best for them, what needed more attention, and, most importantly, what advice they could offer to sellers who are planning to sell in the future.

I have asked five basic questions. Sometimes I have had similar responses. Other times the responses varied widely.  I believe I have targeted a good cross-section of sellers. They consist of house owners, condo owners, first-time sellers, last-time sellers, empty nesters, singles, new parents, workaholics, nine-to-fivers, entrepreneurs, hipsters, and button down folks.

I did not included every response I received, but I thought I would feature some of the more interesting and/or recurrent ones for each of my five questions. Please note that many respondents wrote some nice compliments of me in their responses. I did not include them all, but I did include a few. I like to think I receive these endorsements because I did a good job, but I will also acknowledge that clients who are willing to respond to a small survey are usually ones the happiest of your clients.

So, without further ado, here are the responses from a collection of some of my sellers from not-too-long ago. Thanks sellers for your participation!

1. WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING EXPERIENCE YOU HAD DURING THE TIME YOU WERE PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR SALE AND SELLING YOUR HOME?

"Our second child.  Lukas decided to arrive 2 weeks early, right in the middle of trying to get the house into sellable shape was the biggest challenge for sure!"

"Time it took to sort through everything and purge in order to make the house presentable. Moving all the excess stuff out. Finding somewhere to stay during the week it was on the market. Conversations about what amount to list it at."

"The most challenging part was making sure our condo was clean, uncluttered and looking amazing every time we left. This includes when you are heading to work in a rush in the morning! You just never know when someone will book a viewing. So, you have to be ready."

"As it was a shared office space, one of the biggest challenges was in confirming when all of us were prepared to move, and sorting out the furniture and other items between us."

"We had a tight timeline - we wanted to get our place ready and put on the market in 5 weeks.  David prepared a schedule down to every fine detail - home tidying and decluttering, professional cleaning, home staging, photography and marketing- and somehow he  managed to keep us on track.  Also, there were quite a bit of legal and financial preparations involved which we knew very little about.  David taught us everything, and when an offer came in, we were ready to accept."

2. WHAT WAS THE BEST EXPERIENCE YOU HAD SELLING YOUR HOME?

"It was having an agent we both liked and could trust.  We didn't realize how important this was until things got really busy.  You spend a lot of time with your realtor (planning, organizing, coordinating, managing schedules) and it is so important that you all get along and can communicate openly.  We juggled everything and learned a lot."

"The best part was getting $40,000 over asking!"

"It sold quickly!"

 "It was fairly easy, I thought. And thus, a good experience."

"The service from David - he gave us great confidence and managed everything that came up calmly and efficiently. The stager of our house made everything work very efficiently."

3. WHAT PART OF THE MARKETING OF YOUR HOME DO YOU FEEL HAD THE MOST IMPACT ON GENERATING INTEREST IN YOUR PROPERTY?

"The staging and then the resulting professional photos allowed our MLS listing to shine."

"It was an advantage to work with a real estate agent who was familiar with the building and its sales, and who had existing contacts whom he knew were looking for a unit in that building."

"Given the cookie-cutter nature of condos in the building, I think that it was more the marketing of the building rather than the marketing of the unit that was important."

"Definitely the staging.  Our home showed beautifully after the make-over and it attracted a lot of walk-ins to our open house."

"The video! And the neighbourhood flyers."

4. WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY ABOUT SELLING A HOUSE IF YOU HAD TO DO IT AGAIN?

"Get in touch with a realtor early.  When putting a house on the market, timing is one of the most important things.  Creating a strategy and a realistic timeline with your realtor will relieve a lot of the anxiety and stress."

"I would tell myself not to be so nervous!"

"Nothing."

"I'd start preparing the house a lot earlier, at least 6 months before selling if possible."

5. ANY ADVICE FOR SELLERS SELLING THEIR HOME NOW?

"Trust your realtor. If he or she says to declutter, to take down personal photos, get a new bedspread, do it! As much as buyers say they can see past how an owner has designed or decorated their place, it is tough to do. Making your property appeal to a wide base and look great is very important."

"Find the right person to help you. We did our homework and researched a number of top realtors in Toronto. it was hard to decide based on reviews along. So, we decided to meet with our top picks. David's approach to his work, his ideas and insights, and his years of experience and knowledge put his immediately at ease and we knew he was the right one for the job."

"Check to ensure that the agent you engage has experience with sales in the area that you are selling in.  I went online and looked at which real estate agents had recently sold the properties in the building I was in. I believe that I benefitted from the experience and knowledge of the agent that I used (It was someone David had known that was looking in the building who bought my condo)."

"Start preparing the house as early as possible. Stage it and use an agent you trust."

Where the First Time Buyer Are Migrating Now

 I had a listing this past week that has just sold in the Caledonia-Fairbanks area. It's between St. Clair and Eglinton, west of Dufferin. For those who are familiar with Toronto real estate, it feels like a throw-back to three to five years ago when first time buyer could still afford a house in the city of Toronto for under $600K, and even $500K, in some cases. My client bought the property in 2012. At the time, first time buyers were heating up neighbourhoods like Mimico and the Junction Triangle that were still affordable for those with a house budget under $600K. 

My client did not have that kind of money at the time, and I needed to convince her that she may need to try out a neighbourhood that is a little off the radar, but whose population largely take care of their homes, and still has easy access to public transit and highways like Caledonia-Fairbanks. Now, the winds have changed some, and those emerging neighbourhoods that were once off the radar are heating up. 

When the property was purchased in 2012, I told my client it was the early years of this West End neighbourhood. It was mostly working class Portuguese families. You may feel like a bit of an outsider, if you were not one of them. At the time, this home had been somewhat renovated with new stainless steel appliances and granite counters. New wood floor and an amazing garage. The house was on the market for months with several reductions. In my opinion, the house was poorly marketed and may have suffered from attracting serious buyers because it did not show well and did not reach the intended buyer. Not a lot of effort was put in to the sale of the house back then. That's why we were able to buy for under $400K in 2012 dollars. 

Of course, when my buyer moved in, there were some further improvements made, and the house was generally cared for. So, it looked lived in and like someone took pride in their home. I think it makes a difference to buyers to come in and see that real human beings live in this place, though I do stress the importance of staging. Real human beings and staging is a good combo. This week, in 2015, we sold it for over asking the asking price of $489,000 in a week. 

I could brag here about my excellent marketing strategy and staging prowess, but I do have to give some credit to the neighbourhood itself. It is slowly being discovered, and the first-time buyers have given up on many of the previous emerging neighbourhoods of the past, that are rising too high in price, and are coming here. It has all the qualities of a successful emerging neighbourhood. The adjacent neighbourhoods, the Junction Triangle to the south and Oakwood to the east are becoming too expensive for many first time buyers. It's also becoming a more desirable neighbourhood because of the Eglinton Crossway currently under construction. The Eglinton Crossway will make this neighbourhood much more accessible to downtown and the Yonge Line. 

Some of the buyers can see the future potential and are making their move now. The other factor that is attracting buyers has to do with the neighbourhood diversifying. There is still a strong Portuguese presence here, which comes with the benefits of some delicious Portuguese desserts along St. Clair and Rogers Road, but the people coming through the open house were from all walks of life. They are, however, comprised mostly of couples and individuals who have been renting closer to Bloor and downtown but are buying up here where it is somewhat affordable to buy a house. Yes, it's not Little Italy or even Little Portugal, but Caledonia-Fairbanks is a more affordable area to buy a house than most Toronto neighbourhoods. First-time buyers, take note. The timing here is good.

IS STAGING WORTH THE COST?

It's a very common experience. One that I have experienced myself! When sellers decide they are ready to sell their homes, they may become overwhelmed by all that could be done to prepare their home for sale. And then there are the costs: the lawyer fees, moving fees, commissions for real estate salespersons. If they are buying, there are the cost of land transfer taxes as well. It's an exercise in anxiety inducement, and a crash course in time management.

So, the idea of spending time and resources on staging a house for sale can feel like something some seller would prefer not to do. Staging takes time and some finesse. This kind of fluffing cannot be just fluffed off. It needs to be done right. Still, I think it is well worth it.

I like to think of staging as a kind of an investment in a stock. There is no guarantee that this stock is going to make you money. You may spend money on this stock, and you may not see a return you like. As a gambling man, who has seen this kind of investment over and over again, I can say that I have seen a well-done staging make sellers more money than if they didn't stage. So, for example, if a seller has a house for $700,000 and spends $4000 on staging, I believe the staging will affect the price so that that staging investment will return the seller that $4000 they spent, and make the seller more.

But staging is not just about money, it's about time and effort. Staging is best when you completely edit out and declutter most of your home. Some or all new furniture is brought in to possibly mix with your own. In a way, a staged home is not a personal home. It's warm and stylish enough to draw people in, but not too personalized so they cannot imagine themselves living in your home. It's a fine line.

Even if you have an empty place, I think staging will help buyers to see what they can put in the space. Nothing says "This place is small" like an empty space.

There are a few times that staging may not work. In places that really would be a tear-down or in need a of massive renovation after a long period of neglect, there is no use putting lipstick on a pig. Staging in this case would look silly or like the sellers are delusional trying to sell the high life in a place that is a dump.

Staging is not the only part of selling your house that needs to be done right. As I have blogged about before, you need an expert marketing plan that will allow for you to compete with the other homes for sale in your neighbourhood. You need to come out as the best. So, for example if there are three similar houses on a street that are for sale on the same day, and you have nine buyers, each house will not pull in three buyers each. Life is not that fair. The top one will pull in seven, another may pull in two buyers, and the last one will not have any buyers. You want to be the top house. You want to be in a position to tap into the emotional side of buyers. Most buyers say the are going to make rational decisions, but I have seen time and time again how buyers can be drawn into a house that offers them a feeling. Staging does not offer them a delusional feeling, but I believe it's more like presenting a house at its very best.

With all that said, there are still this who poo poo the power of staging. I agree that all staging is not the same, and not always worth the time and effort. It's not just simply putting some pretty flowers on a table. You need to have a salesperson who has a track record in staging and who can stage themselves or pull in a stager who knows their stuff, and how to stage for the style of the home. An oversized Leons faux leather sofa is not going to stage well in a tiny condo.

So my advice is simple. Almost always stage. It's a good investment that usually returns more than you spend. And do it right. Declutter and bring in those who know a thing or two about staging.

Bidding War Tactic #547: The Last Minute Surprise Attack Offer

Participating in a bidding war is a strange practice.  If you're working for the seller, it can make your life a whole lot easier. Sellers sit back and have buyers and their agents present offers and gush all over them. They simply have to pick their favourite one, which is usually the one with the best price. Buyers and their agents wait in cars parked outside the seller's house or the listing brokerage hoping they are the one. It sometimes feels like a sad version of The Bachelor.

From the buyers' side, it's tough. You can spend a lot of time preparing for a bidding war and then get your ass kicked. Not a good feeling. It takes time to line up your financing and possibly conduct a home inspection. You may be emotionally invested. It may be the house you have been dreaming of since you were seven years old. And sadly this may be the case for several other buyers too.

I think it is quite human to have an aversion to bidding wars. A lot of people feel uncomfortable being a part of something so mysterious. Even if you are the one whose offer is accepted, you may wonder if you've gone too high on price since the selling agent cannot divulge the contents of the other offers. They are, however, a fact of life in many parts of Toronto with many kinds of properties. Just last month alone 62.3% of all transactions on houses at Bosley Real Estate received multiple offers. So, if you must go into battle, it's best to be prepared.

There are no guarantees with bidding wars, but from a buyer's perspective I think it is a good idea to have a plan. Usually, it is wise to do your due diligence in advance of offer night - line up your financing and do your own home and termite inspection. But that's not the plan I'm taking about. I think you have to be prepared for any surprises that may come along.

So, with most sale representatives who are holding back offers, they will ask buyers and their representative to register any offers by a certain time, like 5pm and they will start reviewing offers by 7pm. Now, if most buyers are told this, they believe that they must register an offer by 5pm and be ready to present their offer to the sellers by 7pm. And that would be understandable.

Of course, life does not always happen on schedule. So, if an offer comes in at 6pm or even 7pm, will a seller say "No, I will not see it!"?  Of course not. They will want to see it. Now, according to the rules of real estate in this province, the selling agent needs to inform all interested parties who have registered an offer with an update of how many offers are on the table. Some times, this does not always happen, and sometimes offers come in at the last minute.

There are some real estate representatives on the buyer side who use this last minute surprise offer as a kind of tactic. They will call at the very last minute to register an offer. Many feel this will throw off their competition this way.  Sometimes this tactic works, but I always tell my buyers that an offer can come in at any time up until you have a signed contract. Be prepared!

Let me illustrate this by an experience I had this year. I was representing a very nice couple who had found a home that they loved. Offers were to be presented at the owners house. Buyers and their agents walked up to the door, one by one, to present their offers. I was the third person to offer on what I thought was the last offer presentation of the night. When it was my turn, as soon as I walked in, I greeted the listing agent and the seller, and asked: "How many offers are you reviewing tonight?" Now let me remind you that my clients and I were told three offers, but when I asked this question again, I was told five. So, I excused myself and told the sellers and their agent that I needed to review this information with my clients before I could present my offer. I walked back to my car, spoke to my clients who felt they would like to raise the offer a certain amount now that we had five purchasers in the running to buy this house instead of three. Then I walked back into the house and presented my offer fully aware of ALL the offers that had come in.

What is the point to all of this? Well, I think buyers should be prepared for several scenarios. I always suggest to my buyers that they have a price they are willing to pay, within a reasonable range of market value, when there are no other offers on the property, one or two other buyers, or five or more offers on the property. That way, no one is caught off guard if the last minute offer tactic is pulled out and buyers feel unprepared.

Luckily, two last minute surprise attack offers did not prevent our offer from being the chosen one!  And on behalf of my clients, I can safely say that it was even better than landing the Bachelor!

The Spillover Effect: How To House Hunt Better

People trust their guts. And for the most part, guts tell people the right things to keep them out of trouble or intuitively lead them to the right decision.

When it comes to buying real estate, it's not always wise to trust your guts - at least not all the time. For example, guts can fall hard for a house that is staged well. They love a dream kitchen, beautiful lighting, edgy, yet tasteful art, and a backyard spilling over with colourful flowers, carefully placed shrubs and and a puppy sleeping by some garden gnomes. 

Guts can also really fall for a neighbourhood. With certain clients, if I drive through an established or some emerging areas with the right buzz on the nearby commercial strip, their guts start responding to the right mix of indie coffee shops, yoga studios and hip restaurants.  An appealing neighbourhood could set off the dream to want to live here. Clients imagine walking down the streets. They time how long it would take to drive to work or walk to the transit stop. They get hooked. 

Some neighbourhoods just sell themselves.  In Toronto, people's guts love Roncesvalles, Little Italy, Cabbagetown, and more recently the Junction, Leslieville and Wychwood. 

If  you can afford to buy in these neighbourhoods, then go to town. They're great! In fact I live in one of them and am quite happy here.  Competition is currently stiff for a great house in a great neighbourhood. If those are the kind of homes you like, then there's a good chance a lot of others will as well. So, there will be a lot of offers and you'll have to have the best one.   If you're the kind of buyer who is on your second home after building a lot of equity in your first house, then you will likely have the deeper pockets to live in some of the great hoods listed above. If you have the sizeable down payment and you can do it! Get in there.

If you are on your first place or are moving to Toronto from a place that is less expensive, you are going to have to look at things differently. If the numbers just don't add up for you to live in a great house in a great neighbourhood, you'll need to dial down the guts and  put on some potential goggles instead. 

Don't give up on your guts all together. At the start of your search, they can be quite helpful.  So, let your guts lead you to the neighbourhood you want to live in. Maybe it's the Annex or maybe it's High Park. Then ask your brain if you can afford it. If not, look at the neighbourhood right next to it. Because, chances are, the people who cannot get into the richer neighbourhood will live next to it, and these emerging neighbourhood transform fairly fast. 

Let me give you a few examples. Let's say you like the Annex. You want to live there. But it's your first house and you can't quite cover it. So, you go a little north to Wychwood. Ten years ago, Wychwood was actually quite a reasonable neighbourhood to look for some first-time buyers, but these days, this neighbourhood has developed a remarkable community with the Wychwood Barns as a centre piece plus better businesses have popped up along St. Clair. So, if you can't afford Wychwood, go north of St. Clair to Oakwood, and you have the same beautiful homes without the same level of reno. Already, I am seeing the desire to live here going up. Next it will be north of Rogers Road. Any way you slice it, it would be a good investment to be in the next spillover neighbourhood.

Now let's do one in the east. Homeowners love Riverdale. And if you can afford to live there, I suspect you will be very happy. Great location. Transit is a dream, and the Danforth has everything you need. If you can't quite deal with the typical million plus price tag, then you move over to the Danforth Village just west of it. The homes are much more humble here, for the most part, but the prices are better. The thing is, this neighbourhood is now becoming the terrain of bidding wars for many first-time buyers. So, then skip to the next one if you cannot afford it. I would suggest going over the Victoria Park border and into Scarborough. Yes, I said it. Scarborough. It's undervalued and you can get a lot more home there than even the Danforth Village, and with less money.  As each neighbourhood grows in value, it helps out the one next to it. 

To be clear, I'm not suggesting you move to a horrible neighbourhood and wait for it to turn around. That's a bad strategy. I'm also not saying that all neighbourhoods next door to great ones will be good investments.  You do need a real estate salesperson who understands the city to help out here. 

For those first time buyers or those looking for more house for less money, you have to cross the metaphoric tracks. You need to look at the neighbourhood beside the crazy bidding wars. Because once those bidders in those crazy bidding wars become exhausted or tired of competing, they are going to look nearby. And over enough time, that will be the new place for bidding wars and rapidly rising prices. Hopefully, after you have purchased there.

Of course, if you have to live in a walkable neighbourhood near good transit, your gym, your favourite eatery and cafe, then you have plenty of condo options.  In many great neighbourhoods, some condos are more affordable. With condos, you really need to do your homework on a given building too. If it's a house you really want, just make sure your guts are not the only thing calling the shots.