Have you ever wondered why it’s important that signatures to an agreement be witnessed? If you have, you’re not alone. Recently, we’ve done deals with other agents who have tried to tell us that signatures don’t need to be witnessed if an offer is negotiated by fax or email and that it’s okay to witness […]
Buyers who don’t have their own agents either go to open houses or ask the listing agent to show them the home. Recently, many buyers like these have been asking me if they can put their offer in through me. This has been happening with increasing frequency not just to me, but to many other agents, as […]
It’s time to talk about Bully Offers because they seem to be rearing their ugly heads more frequently lately. (Two agents have called me in the past three days saying their buyers want to make Bully Offers.) That’s to be expected in this type of real estate market because when buyers get frustrated by not […]
Lots of people don’t enjoy buying or selling a home, partly because of how the system works. When you want to buy something in a store, one look at the price tag tells you how much you’ll have to pay. When you want to buy a home, you can look at the list price, but […]
How many times have you heard someone try to justify unethical behaviour by saying “but it was okay to do that because it was business”? I don’t know about you, but I don’t buy that. Not at all. There isn’t one set of rules for our personal personas and another for our business personas. Ethics […]
If you’re buying a home in a hot real estate market like the one we have in central Toronto right now, you should be prepared for multiple offers. Because there are more buyers than sellers, it’s not uncommon to find yourself up against other buyers when you find a home that you like, especially if […]
This isn’t the type of question to which there’s a “one size fits all” answer. (Just like most real estate questions, don’t you find?) Every situation is different so the best way to figure out which way to go is to analyze your own situation by asking yourself the following questions: 1. Why do you want to move? […]
When should you list your home? I hear this question almost as often as I’m asked How’s the Market? The best time to list your home depends on your circumstances. Do you live in Toronto? In what area? What kind of home do you have? Do you need to move by a certain date? There’s […]
So you’ve read Part 1 about bulls and Part 2 about bears and don’t think you fit neatly into either category? That’s perfectly okay. Maybe you’re a regular person, which is probably the best thing to be when it comes to residential real estate. It’s time to find out! You know you’re a regular person if you […]
If you read Part 1 and don’t think you’re a real estate bull, then maybe you’re bearish on the Toronto real estate market. How can you tell? Here are a few signs to look for to determine if you’re a bear: You know you’re a bear if thoughts like these cross your mind…… 1.You’re of the […]
There are as many opinions about the real estate market as there are people who have opinions. Some people are bullish (prices will keep going up), some are bearish (prices and the sky will soon fall) and some are in between. Which way to turn and who to believe? Or should you form your own […]
Everywhere you look someone’s talking about the real estate market. What do you make of this quote from a recent article in the Globe & Mail (Feb. 25, 2013): “Manhattan is in the throes of a boom in ultra high-end condos that has drawn wealthy people from around the globe and shattered previous sales records. The […]
I was watching an episode of The Newsroom the other day when I realized that some of the shows I’ve enjoyed most over the years have been about people doing what’s right and standing up for what they believe in. I’m all about being honest and doing the right thing, but I’m in a business […]
