Stories
The Fireplace Fiasco
Chaotic buyer visits are always memorable… In this case, the agent told the sellers they could keep their electric fireplace because its “not attached to the wall” despite it being listed as included on the listing and in our accepted offer.
A Fixture is A Fixture
Realtors have a pretty bad reputation in Toronto, and there are some that really live up to the expectation. This agent asked if the buyers wanted to keep the wallpaper and built-in shelving unit. Both clearly fixtures and neither of which were specified as an exclusion of the sale.
Funky Pricing Strategies
Welcome to Toronto real estate, where nothing makes any sense. As agents struggle to sell their listings in a slowing market, they’re testing out some questionable pricing strategies, including listing properties for far below what they want, yet using verbiage indicating the seller is desperate.
What Water Damage?
The listing agent for this house seemingly had no idea that there was severe and very evident water damage throughout the ground floor. Are they lying or is it possible they have no clue of what's going on inside their listing?
Good Working Order Means it Actually Has To Work
Imagine dealing with a lawyer who ignored contracual liability and enabled a non-compliant seller… A few days before closing we discovered the stove in the basement apartment of this house was not working. Despite the seller providing a warranty that all appliances would be in good working order on closing, they tried to fight this and claim that it was never working. Thankfully, they were unsuccessful.
Realtors Love to Follow The Rules…
Many realtors seem to have little to no regard for the rules and general best practices. For example, this agent attempted to book a showing on a listing AFTER showing up to the door, without a confirmed appointment, and asked the sellers if they could see the property. All while knowing that the property was occupied and required several hours notice to show.
Ghosting Your Agent
Ghosting happens all the time in the real estate industry. More often than not, when clients/leads ghost you, its because they either don’t want to proceed with buying/selling or have decided that they want to work with someone else and its easier to vanish than face the confrontation. If someone doesnt want to proceed or work with me, thats totally fine. Nobody should feel pressured to work with their agent or go down a certain road, but it would be fair to at least have the conversation and let your know whats happening, especially if you've been in communication for a long period of time.
Respect Your Appointment Time
So many realtors seem to have zero regard for anyone else's time and will show up an hour early or late to showings and act as though they’re entitled to first access to the property just because they have the code to the lockbox. This often leads to interruptions to the owner/tenant or those who actually have a showing at that time.
Understanding What Is And Isn’t Included In The Sale
Agents always have to walk their clients through what is/isnt included in a sale. In this case, the seller clearly was not aware that they had to leave all keys/fobs in their possession for the buyer. Rather, they tried to get the buyer's to pay for an extra fob that they already have - because they had to pay for it when they bought it...
Memorable Showing Experience
When your job includes going into other peoples homes, you’re bound to run into some interesting things… Sometimes owners and tenants forget that there is a showing (or don't care) and may be walking around naked, sleeping, or in the shower when you arrive.
The $90,000 Mistake
Very rarely do things not go smoothly on closing. But, in the case that they do, you always need to be prepared. For instance, not booking movers on closing day or closing on your purchase and sale on the same day. The buyer's lawyer was MIA until about 4pm when they transerred $90,000 to the seller's lawyer instead of $940,000. The response? "Whoops, I missed a number." By the time this was sorted, the land registry office was closed and the sale couldn't close until the following day.
The Diamond Thieves
I once left a convicted diamond theif alone in my car… when I was a brand new agent, I didn't understand the importance of vetting clients before meeting them (or letting them into your car!) but this couple really taught me my lesson. Turns out the reluctancy to send me their documents was because they had just gotten out of prison for running diamond heists across the country.
Listing Sold By Another Agent?
Imagine listing a house then finding out the sellers sold with a different agent… The listing agent sent out a notification that the property was no longer available to show as it was sold by a different agent. How does this even happen?
The Most Unprofessional Agent
There are over 70,000 real estate agents in the Greater Toronto Area and not all of them conduct their business in a professional manner. This agent represented the buyer's in the purchase of an estate sale, which was sold in "as-is" condition. They conducted a home inspection and then overexaggerated the findings to try and make the house appear to be in worse condition that it was in. They went from "potential presence of mould" to making a joke about how if there were no mould perhaps the seller would not have passed away.
Why a 24 Hour Concierge is Important
When I used to live in a condo, I once got locked out in the middle of the night and there was no concierge to let me in. My dog woke me up needing to go to the bathroom at 3am and I rushed to get my coat and boots on (this was in March 2020). When I came back to the building I realized my keys were not in my pocket. It was right at the start of the pandemic so nowhere was open to the public and I didn't have my phone. I was stuck outside the building in the winter for 3 hours...
Confusing Listing Strategy
In slower markets sometimes you have to experiment with pricing strategies. However, not all strategies are actually effective. This listing has had the price changed both up and down by $1,000 increments 10 times in 10 days…
Tenant Turned Squatter Almost Cost The Sale
My first listing went awry. It was a triplex that was fully tenanted, but all tenants gave notice to vacate. The house was sold under the guise of vacant possession, which shouldn't be an issue given the tenants all plan to leave. Until... one set of tenants broke up and one decided to stay despite having given notice. They stopped paying rent an refused to leave. Thankfully we had a long closing which gave us time to sort everything out, but if we were unsuccessful the buyer could have backed out of the deal.
The Worst Listing Presentation
If you are looking at a $1.5 million condo you would expect it to be well presented, right? Upon entering the unit there was a strong stench and it was a mess. The smell was a result of cat vomit all over the apartment. There was garbage everywhere and the "kids" room was in the den while the second bedroom was being used as a cat hotel...
Do Negotiations Stop Once Your Offer is Accepted
Just because your offer has been accepted doesnt always mean the negotiations stop. If you have conditions and something comes up during the conditional period, you can always try to negotiate as required. With this purchase, the buyer's mortgage broker made an error with their inital approval and they could no longer get a mortgage for the price their offer was accepted at. Rather than walking away immediately, we negotiated with the seller to decrease the price to fit with their budget - and it worked.
Who Needs Rest?
I once did a listing presentation less than 48 hours after having major him surgery. In some cases a listing is very time sensitive and timing really does matter. We had to get this house prepared and listed in less than 10 days and I couldn't let an injury hold the clients back from reaching their goal.
Squirrels, Mice and Rats, Oh My!
One of the most exciting parts of owning a home in Toronto are all of the animals you run into... Mice can be a real problem in older houses where holes are poorly sealed and they have an easy way in. Raccoons love to try and break into your garbage bin. Never a dull moment!