This week Downtown Toronto Realtor Karyn Filiatrault addresses the issue: “what buyers need to STOP doing in their pursuit to buy Toronto Real Estate for the best price possible.”
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(1) Stop trying to educate your Toronto real estate agent on how to do their job
For most of my clients, this isn’t a section they will ever need to even read — for most get it. I mean, if you’re going to hire a professional to help you buy Toronto real estate, why would you even consider schooling them on their trade? I don’t tell my contractor how to build a wall or my cleaner how to clean! I don’t hire an investment advisor so I can advise them on what to do with my money, or an interior designer so I can turn around and do the designing! But there’s always the select few that we meet who feel the need to tell us how we should write, present, negotiate and in other words, do our jobs. Let me tell you something: a good Toronto real estate agent is a master at their trade. Yes, I just called myself a master, lol. They’ve likely closed many millions in sales, taken countless hours of master negotiation training, and dealt with a very prestigious battery of clients. And they likely do have a clue what they’re doing. We actually do appreciate your advice—-but if you trust us the process will all go a lot further in terms of finding you buy Toronto real estate. Fast facts: we are not trying to make you pay more than you need to. We are not trying to max out your budget. We are not withholding information from you. We are not conspiring against you with another agent. What we will do is engage you, provide you with plentiful information on the property, the neighbourhood, the market, the comparable sales, and the sales strategy. And I promise – our love for you for trusting us will actually make us want to work harder for you.
INSTEAD: Start trusting your real estate agent
(2) Stop ignoring your real estate agent’s advice
LOL. Are you seeing a theme here so far? This one’s for the buyer types who take a thoroughly researched comparative market evaluation on what the value of the property they’ve just fallen in love with is, and then decide that they’d like to offer $200,000 less. This one’s for the folks who keep insisting on looking at properties that are blatantly out of their budget and not believing us when we tell them that the number is artificially priced to bate an over-asking bidding war. This one’s for the folks who ignore the agents who are trying to talk you OUT of buying a property because it’s got a faulty foundation. Except for a token few – and you should have enough smarts about you when hiring a real estate agent to get this – we are here to sell you a property you are going to love. Our moral integrity depends on it. Market value is not what YOU would like to pay. DEALS are rarely had in Toronto’s 30+ year appreciating market. And as long as you keep insisting on sitting in the real estate driving seat with some speculation that we are working against you, not for you, you’re losing money on that appreciating market. Every single client who has decided they are smarter than me have been one of the ones who took so long to buy that they (or almost) got priced out of the market.
INSTEAD: Start absorbing and weighing the advice you’re given
(3) Stop being so negative
If you don’t think you’re ever going to find a house, you probably won’t. If you don’t think your offer is ever going to be accepted, it probably won’t. Your negative energy is impacting any future sale.
INSTEAD: Start making positive affirmations about your future home. Ask the universe to put that perfect home for you on the market. Oh I know — it sounds wonky. But I can 100 percent tell you that a buyer’s attitude affects the outcome. Furthermore your agent’s optimism affects it. Walk in the door with optimism and care for the person who put that property on the market. When you adjust your attitude and trust that good things are going to come to you, they will. I am a vigilant believer in mind-over-matter and it’s relationship to abundance.
(4) Stop looking for perfection
Do you really think there is a perfect house or condo out there for you? I’ll tell you a secret. There isn’t. There isn’t a perfect relationship, there isn’t a perfect job, and there sure as hell isn’t the perfect home. And yes – I even said that once on national television and got a standing ovation from one of the hosts.
INSTEAD: Make a list of your needs in a home…and the wants. The priority is checking off all the needs, and as many wants as possible. And here’s something to think about when making that list —- the needs list should be shorter than the wants. When I was shopping for my own property for myself and my son, I needed a 2 bedroom. I needed a parking spot. I wanted a CN Tower view. I wanted a terrace. 3/4 made it in my end purchase and I’m cool with that.
(5) Stop falling in love with staging
It never fails. Despite the pre-showing pep talk (“please, please, please look beyond the furry throws and lush bedding”) most buyers do exactly the opposite of the advice. They fall in love with the staging. If they’re thinking about having a baby or are expecting and they walk into the upstairs bedroom staged with a crib, they’re mush. As a listing agent, I have all of my properties staged —- because I sell them for more. But the truth is it’s the same home it was before, only I’ve dressed it up to create a fantasy of what it could be for you.
INSTEAD: Focus on the four walls, the foundation, the practicality of the floor plan, and the bones of the house.
(6) Stop thinking negotiation begins with a lowball
I get it. You want a deal. We all want a deal quite frankly. Only negotiation doesn’t start by being an ass. And being an ass buyer in a seller’s market is just eye-rolling irritating.
INSTEAD: If a property is priced at what looks to be a fair market value based on the comparable sales, talk about what range you’d feel comfortable purchasing it for. Negotiation is not about winning. Negotiation is all about relationships. By cultivating and maintaining a good rapport with everyone at the table, every player can win.
(7) Stop waiting until the most convenient time on a Sunday to see a property.
New buyers are the worst for this. Unless you are serious, don’t waste your agents time by being a window shopper who hits the real estate shopping scene only when convenient for them. The perfect property gets listed but because they have a dinner one night, a full work day and the expectance of being exhausted in the evening, and then a baby shower the next, that a showing will just have to wait until the weekend. Fast forward to the weekend —- and it now has 4 offers on it.
INSTEAD: Treat purchasing real estate like a second job. When something amazing’s hit the market and your realtor notifies you, grab your calendar, confer with your agent, and get your butts over to see it. The early bird always gets the worm in a seller’s market my friends.
(8) Stop stressing
Buying and selling real estate is stressful. We know – because we do it for a living. Not only does purchasing a new home present the fear of change but also the fear of the unknown and the fear of trading hard-earned money. In many instances in order to get the home you love, you have to make an incredibly fast decision on it to boot. For many of our clients, the prospect of moving – with a truck and the moving elevator and the utilities change – alone is a tremendously anxious-enducing experience.
INSTEAD: Be open about your fears with your real estate agent. If you’re worried about the onset of a closing date, or how to move effortlessly, or how much money to put down and still have enough left over, regardless, we can help alleviate some of the stressors. I for one can say the longer I work in what many call one of the most stressful and anxiety-ridden careers, the calmer I get. And I feel it my job to hand that over to you.