Corinne and I just started working with new clients who are looking for their first home. Young professionals. Smart. They ask a lot of questions and they catch on quickly. They sent us this email yesterday: “We saw this home on realtor.ca. It looks like a very nice home in a good location. Do you […]
When we last left them, Bobby and Sue had just bought their home. You remember following them on their home buying journey in Price, Location or House – You Pick don’t you? One of the things we did when I first met with Bobby and Sue was develop a strategy for them. Bobby and Sue […]
I tell people that I’m a Realtor, but I could just as easily tell them that I’m a researcher of human nature because the real estate process often reveals a person’s true character. Just like Santa, I get to find out who’s good and who’s not as good. Last week I heard two stories that […]
This is the story of Bobby and Sue, but it could just as easily be the story of me or you. In fact, it was MY story when Katherine and I were in the market a little over 10 years ago. Why do so many of us have such similar buying experiences? Because it doesn’t […]
I’ve been told that I’m a highly disciplined and extremely organized individual. This isn’t all that surprising given that my mother says I was a little soldier when I was a young boy. She used to put a watch on my wrist and tell me to be home when the big hand was here and […]
I’ve talked about Bully Offers before (Be True to Your Word. Say No to Bully Offers.), but apparently they really rankle me because I keep wanting to talk about them. Quick refresher: Bully offers are also sometimes referred to as pre-emptive offers or early offers. They work like this: A new home comes on the […]
We’re now ready for part three of our negotiating trilogy. We started by looking at different negotiating styles. We then examined some responses you can use when faced with each negotiating style. In this final segment, we’ll look at what happened in some real life negotiations to hopefully pick up even more useful tips. Number […]
In our last segment we talked about the different kinds of negotiating styles that you’re likely to be up against when you buy or sell your home. Today we’ll talk about some of the ways you might respond when faced with certain negotiating styles so you can negotiate the best deal possible. If you want […]
Negotiating is a part of every real estate transaction. It’s also a very popular topic of conversation. I can guarantee you that right now, someone, somewhere is talking about their “real estate negotiation”. But what role does negotiating actually play in real estate? I’d say negotiating plays a fairly big role in real estate given […]
We’re about to reach a pivotal point in Kate and Don’s downsizing journey. They’ve been thinking about selling their home and moving to either a condo or an apartment for a while and are getting closer to making the actual decision to move, but they haven’t been ready to pull the trigger yet. If you’d […]
When we last left them in part 1, Kate and Don weren’t ready to move yet, but they were ready to start exploring their options. Should they buy a condo or rent an apartment or a condo? Right off the bat, we told them that they shouldn’t rent a condo. Why? Because the owners of […]
I don’t know about you, but I always like real life examples. They help me picture exactly what’s happened or what to expect. This story is about how we helped a couple, let’s call them Kate and Don, downsize from their family home. In this case, the “we” consisted of my colleague Corinne Waxberg and […]
It’s no secret that housing prices in central Toronto have been on the rise for almost 20 years now, but how does this happen? One answer could be that it’s magic. A more accurate answer would be that it’s the result of supply and demand. But what about the nuts and bolts of how it […]
Now that you’ve read How Long Will It Take? you may be thinking “Gosh! It’s going to take a lot longer than I expected to find my new home.” So let’s talk about how to shorten your search. If you don’t care how long it takes to find your new home, you’re probably either: 1. […]
There are days when real estate shocks me with something I’ve never seen before or could’ve even imagined and then there are days like today when I feel like I’m watching the same movie for the umpteenth time. Most markets tend to go through cycles. The real estate market is no different. We’re now in […]
If you’ve already attained enlightenment, you probably won’t give a second thought to how long it’ll take you to find your new home because you know that it will appear when the universe decides the time is right. What will be, will be. Or, as my brother James Meltzer says, “It is what it is”. […]
Remember when I mentioned that sometimes it seems like everyone wants to talk about real estate (see What Acupuncture Taught Me About Real Estate)? Just the other day one of the guys painting our home called me over for a chat. He was listening to a talk show on the radio while he worked and […]
That’s the big question, isn’t it? Why aren’t there more homes on the market in central Toronto? At least that’s the question buyers have been asking for the past 15 years or so. Because if there were more homes on the market, there wouldn’t be so many more buyers than sellers, there wouldn’t be so […]
It seems that I get asked this question quite frequently at this time of year. Probably because people are starting to map out the things they’d like to do in the new year and they’d like to list at a time when they’ll have the best chance of getting the highest price. As I always […]
It’s no secret that many properties in North Toronto are being bought by builders or regular people like you and I who plan on tearing down the existing homes and building new ones. In fact, it’s happening so frequently that the first question I’m often asked by people who are thinking of selling is “Michael, […]
