News & Resources

Why You Might Want To Use A Real Estate Agent

Expert’s advice spurs lofty profit dreams

Real estate agents wheel and deal but also help raise the bar on return

Nov 03, 2007 04:30 AM
Melinda Mattos
Special to The Star

When I put my condo on the market this fall, a friend asked why I was bothering to use a real estate agent.

“It’s a hot building in a hot market,” she argued. “You could save yourself some money by selling it privately.”

The suggestion was tempting. After all, when you factor in lawyer’s fees and penalties for discharging the mortgage, selling a home can be expensive. I wasn’t thrilled about losing another 5 per cent of the purchase price to commission.

But while my penny-pinching instincts are powerful, one thing stopped me from going it alone: I don’t know anything about selling real estate. Even Monopoly stresses me out.

Just like I wouldn’t drill my own cavities to avoid paying dentist’s bills, I was unwilling to fake my way through selling a home.

Instead, my selling partner and I rehired the agent who’d helped us buy the place. She knocked 1 per cent off her commission because we were return customers and set to work taking photos, having a virtual tour recorded and promoting the sale on MLS and in the classifieds. I was glad to have a pro on board.

Of course, that didn’t mean I could avoid all the wheeling and dealing. Though an agent facilitates the selling process and makes sure everything gets done properly, the seller still has to make some big decisions – like setting a price.

When we bought the condo about two years ago, we paid just under $215,000. We knew that property values had gone up since then, but we didn’t know exactly how high.

When our agent showed us MLS listings for similar units that had been sold in the building over the past year, we were surprised to see prices in the $235,000 to $240,000 range.

Still, I was skeptical about what our unit was worth.

Ever the pessimist, I went through the listings with a red pen, circling all the ways these units might have been worth more than ours – noting their polished concrete floors, unobstructed views and fancier appliances.

Luckily, our agent was not as wimpy as I am.

“Your place shows really well,” she reassured me, suggesting we price the suite at either $239,900 or $244,900.

As I considered these figures, I could feel cartoon dollar signs appear in my eyes. When we first decided to sell, I had hoped that we would break even. Now it seemed like we might make a profit, too.

Though it’s common wisdom that buying property is the best investment you can make, the truth of that statement didn’t click for me until that moment. Suddenly, I wanted to do everything in my power to maximize my return on investment.

We chose the higher figure.

Next, we had to settle on a timeline for accepting offers.

When we bought the condo, the seller had been considering offers as they came in, which gave us a strategic advantage as buyers: when we slipped him a lowball offer, it was the only one on the table. Though he signed it back, asking for a few thousand dollars more, we still nabbed the place for less than the list price and even got him to throw in his dinette set.

I didn’t want that happening to me as a seller.

So, in the hopes of inspiring a bidding war, we decided not to consider offers until a week and a half after the suite went on the market.

For that week and a half, we found other places to spend our time, making the unit available for viewings all day, every day, including an open house on the weekend (which, our agent informed us, was well attended by potential buyers and nosy neighbours alike). Dozens of people came and went.

On the day we were scheduled to take offers our agent called to say that at least two or three would be coming in. We nervously awaited the 7 p.m. deadline.

Return to this space in two weeks and I’ll tell you what happened.

Queen West Village Renovated Home

Sage staging advice Elements that create 72% of the first impression inside the home are within control of the seller – What

Sage staging advice

Elements that create 72% of the first impression inside the home are within control of the seller – What’s not is location and size.

63% of buyers are willing to pay more money for a house that is move – in ready.

79%of buyers indicated they are willing to pay a premium for a home with an updated kitchen.

If You Lose Your Wallet

Good advice, just in case:

Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday.  Maybe we should all take some of his advice.
 
    A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.
 
     1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name  put on them.  If someone takes your  checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your
checks.
 
     2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards.  Instead, put “PHOTO ID REQUIRED”.
 
     3 When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete  account number on the “For” line. Instead, just put the last four numbers.  The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won’t have access to it.
 
     4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone.  If you have a PO Box  use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address.   Never have your SIN# printed on your checks.  (DUH!)  You can add it if it is necessary.  But if  you have it printed, anyone can get it.
 
     5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine.  Do both sides of each license,  credit card, etc.  You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and  phone numbers to call and cancel.  Keep the photocopy in a safe place.  I also carry a photocopy  of my passport when travel either here or abroad.  We’ve all heard horror stories about fraud  that’s committed on us in stealing a name, address, SIN, credit cards.
 
     Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last  month.  Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied  for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN  number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more. But here’s some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:
 
     1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the  toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call.  Keep those where  you can find them.
 
     2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc. were stolen.    This proves to credit providers you were
diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation  (if there ever is one).
 
    But here’s what is perhaps most important of all:  (I never even thought to do this.)
 
    3. Call the two national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your  name and Social Insurance number.  I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank  that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have  to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.
 
    By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been  done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves’ purchases, none of  which I knew about before placing the alert.  Since then, no additional damage has been done,  and the thieves threw my wallet away. This weekend (someone turned it in).  It seems
to have  stopped them dead in their tracks.
 
     Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet,
etc. has been stolen:
         1.) Equifax Canada: 1-877-249-2705
         2.) TransUnion: 1-877-525-3823

Staging Your Home To Sell

Staging a home or apartment has become an extremely important factor in obtaining top dollar for your home. Take a look at these videos from MSNBC demonstrating what can be done with $100.00, $500.00 and $1000.00 to stage your home to obtain top dollar.

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=df1a7663-2c56-4b44-9065-f54eb8f065a5&f=00&fg” mce_href=”http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=df1a7663-2c56-4b44-9065-f54eb8f065a5&f=00&fg”= Staging on $100.00

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=c0576066-3250-4b67-80b2-57569e08da7a&f=00&fg= Staging on $500.00

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=ba5c859b-1a76-4ae6-8950-b8af72465209&f=00&fg= Staging on $5000.00

Renovations Woes, Here are some Must Do’s

Protect your interests when renovating by following these 7 points

1/Sign a contract that is specifice about the work to be done, including price, financing terms and hourly rates for extra work.

2/Confirm the contractors permanent address and whether he is licenced to work in Ontario.
3/ Ask for references before procedding with work and visit your site while work is in process.

4/ Don’t sign a contract that differs from oral promises. Don’t assume it will somehow just be okay.

5/ Don’t make final payment until the project is finished

6/ Don’t start work until the financial arrangements to pay for work are complete.

7/ Don’t sign for delivers. The contractor must assume the risk.

Have Wasps Been Interrupting Your Outdoor Dining This Summer Here Are Some Good Ideas For Control

Wasps are beneficial insects because they prey on many other insects, including crickets caterpillars, flies, and other pests. But during late summer and fall they are more interested in collecting sweets and other carbohydrates. That’s why it’s not uncommon at this time of year for our outdoor activity to be disrupted by their annoying presence!

Wasps come in many types and sizes. The ones that are of most concern to people because of their stinging habits are yellowjackets and hornets. Control of scavenging wasps is difficult, as there are no insecticides that effectively repel or discourage them. The best strategy is to minimize attracting them.

Wait to serve food and drink until people are ready to eat. Promptly put away food when done and throw garbage into a container with a tightly fitting lid. Examine glasses, cans, and other containers before drinking from them to check for wasps that may have flown inside. If a wasp flies to your food, wait for it to fly away or gently brush it away. If you crush them they will give off an alarm scent that will attract others wasps.

Many people make the mistake of placing wasp traps in areas of human activity. This of course attracts more wasps. Place the traps in a wide circle 40 or 50 feet away from the area you want to be wasp free. Sweet smelling liquids like carbonated pop are the best attractant. And for an easy, effective, home-made trap, check out EarthEasy.com

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Amazing WD-40

Most of us are familiar with this amazingly agile little household mainstay and have used it to solve a number of different problems. I thought that you might like to know more about this well-known WD-40 product.

Though it originally was created in 1953 as a rust preventative solvent and de-greaser to protect missile parts, its versatility was quickly realized and people started trying it as a fix for just about everything. It may not be a cure-all, but just look at what it can do:

Gets oil spots off concrete driveways.
Loosens stubborn zippers.
Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and in homes.
Excellent at removing troublesome build-up on stove tops.
Keeps rust from forming on saws and other tools.
Keeps pigeons off the balcony. (they hate the smell)
Removes nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring.
Great for removing that summer film of bug guts on the front of the car.
… plus thousands of others.

BTW – know where the name WD 40 came from? It comes from the original project in ‘53 to find a “Water Displacement” compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40.

Top 100 Items Consumed First During a National Emergency

Tips

If you live in disaster-prone area such as Tornado Alley or the Gulf Coast you probably already have a disaster kit. The July 27th issue of the Bacon Report has a list of the top 100 items that would likely disappear in a National Emergency or prolonged recovery period that can remind you of a few things you might have missed

City Plans New Tax For Toronto Home Buyers! Time to Protest

Public meetings, which start today, are an opportunity for Toronto residents and businesses to tell the City what they think of various new taxes that are being considered. These proposals were only announced less than two months ago, and the City’s Executive Committee could make decisions on them next month.

Possibly the biggest tax that could be levied by the City would be a second land transfer tax, paid by homebuyers on top of the existing provincial land transfer tax. A second land transfer tax of as little as 0.5 per cent would mean that average Toronto homebuyers would have to come up with close to $2,000 extra when buying a home, a 45 per cent increase in the land transfer taxes that they already pay.

The unfortunate thing is that, at the end of the day, a Toronto home-buying tax could mean less, not more, revenue for the City because less demand for Toronto housing will mean less property assessment growth, which would mean less property tax revenue for the City.

So get in touch with City Hall and direct your complaints to Mayor David Miller.

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