Whether you are upsizing, downsizing or entering the market for the first time diving into the Canadian real estate market is big task but it doesn’t have to be a stressful one.

It’s critical to understand the process and set our expectations accordingly.

Your Realtor is there to answer your questions and guide you along this journey.

However not all realtors are the same and not all are trained/experienced like those working with Propertor.

Realtors who work with Propertor are hand-picked by our broker to follow these guidelines ensuring an organised and productive buying experience.

The 2022 real estate market is very active and remains a sellers market.

Record shattering price movements have fueled a fast paced market that could be difficult to tread in, if proper care isn’t taken.

As a buyer not only do you have to shuffle through the various properties you seek interest in but also understand how fast paced this market can be… patience is a key virtue to possess.

But your Realtor is there…

The difference between a perfect Realtor and one who just follows along is very apparent.

The perfect Realtor isn’t just there to fill out contracts or open doors, they are a vital asset of information.

This guide will help you understand our process, and could help fill in some gaps if you aren’t working with us.

Widely considered to be one of the final steps when purchasing a home, we recommend our clients seek approval before the search even begins.

It’s not as exciting as searching up listings or seeing the what kind of a kitchen you like best, but it must be done.

An early mortgage approval can help tune in expectations.

It also tells us our limits when it comes to putting offers in on properties.

Time and time again we a have seen deals fall through because the seller can’t secure financing.

Even though an early financing doesn’t guarantee we will get the desired property, what it does do is show our boundaries.

Propertor has a team of experts that can aid our clients depending on their needs.

We do work with mortgage brokers, contractors and other professionals we believe provide a great service.

Neither propertor nor our brokers will receive any referral fees when recommending other professionals, we recommend them because they are the best.

Pricing is very important when is comes to house hunting.

it’s a key parameter for how we search homes and varies based on the property and it’s location.

Your Realtor has access to the MLS, where they can filter homes by your preferences.

Creating a list of properties that you may like isn’t difficult.

Your Realtor doesn’t get paid to search up homes.

It is their suggestions and recommendations that set them apart.

The perfect Realtor shows their quality in the showing process.

They don’t just accompany you to the showing but already know the property inside and out.

Propertor agents tend view the property once before their clients, giving them time to understand the property before returning with you.

There are many aspects of a home that need to be considered that may affect price too.

It’s important to take notes as we are viewing the property.

Many aspects of a home may not show in the listing pictures or description.

Consider the disorganization you’d be in if you viewed 5 properties a day for 3 days without having notes to refer back to.

Key notes to consider are:

1. Features of a property; we have a great understanding of the cost associated with certain features.

   It is vital for your Realtor to price out all significant elements of the home, this will aid us later when we are trying to determine an offer price.

Imagine a situation where you have two identical properties A and B.

The only distinction is that property B has a walk-out basement. How much more should you pay for house B compared to house A?

1. The staging trap; As a buyer you will see homes that have been professionally staged to attract top dollar prices.

   After all, the seller will design the home in a way to show off its potential and curb appeal all while subtly drawing you away for it’s short comings.

   Your Realtor will help even out the playing field and bring you back to reality

Imagine the common scenario of seeing a fully staged home vs a vacant home.

Although the staged units helps us imagine the living environment better it can also make the area seem bigger or smaller based on the furniture selected.

So it’s important to take square footage of the property and the area of each individual room into consideration so we don’t fall victim to liking the setup over the actual property.

3. Included fixtures and chattels; Should impact purchasing decisions. Although not commonly considered, Realtors should calculate the overall cost of included fixtures and chattels.

Picture a fully staged home vs a vacant home.

Both property A and B are very similar with property B having all built in blinds and shutters included, along with the light fixtures.

After avoiding the staging trap it's important to see which how much more the additional inclusions cost.

How much would it be to add the custom blinds after?

How much do light fixtures cost?

You may feel as though it isn’t much compared to the price of the property but this is irrelevant since this would be a post moving expense.

4. Some Renovations are tough; if a property is missing a key feature you need, be sure to see not only the cost associated with adding the feature but also it’s viability.

For example if you are looking to complete the basement in order to create an addition suite.

You must first consider all the necessary requirements.

Installing a washroom for example at basement level requires pre installed rough-in.

Without this rough-in a contractor may need to first excavate a portion of the concrete floor to install the rough-in.

Will your family be ok with this procedure after moving in?

Over the last couple years we have seen a drastic shift in the industry.

A key detail that was previously considered a starting point no longer has any meaning… The listing price

It is more important than ever to be able to correctly appraise a property.

If proper care isn’t taken, we may end up overpaying for a property for no reason whatsoever.

There are a few ways we can determine the market value of a property.

They all require finding comparables, or in other words homes that have sold in the area with similar features to that which we are comparing.

Finding comparables is easy, pricing the different features is not.

Propertor.ca will publish a separate section on how to do comparables at later date.

Negotiating is probably the biggest part of your Realtors job that you generally don’t get to see.

Any business negotiation needs needs planning.

The Propertor way is to have all your information complete before entering talks with the other party.

1. Your offering price should directly acknowledge other sold properties in the area.

   We need to convince the Realtor and seller that we are paying a fair amount for their home.

   Remember Sellers aren’t Realtors, they need evidence that they are letting the property go for a fair price.

   This step also helps us determine how committed a seller is to actually selling the home.

   Too many times do we see seller list their homes with no intention of selling it for what it’s actually worth.

2. Bidding wars can be challenging without research.

   Bidding war situations are tough, we generally don’t get much time since negotiations are fast paced.

   It is vital to understand the property and determine how much our cap spending is.

   A home listed for $800,000 may in fact have a market value of $1,300,000.

   Since we have done our research beforehand we know we can pay up to $1,300,000 and its still fair.

   Having all your information also means we can simply bid $1,250,000 at the beginning, letting the seller know we are serious and putting us in a great position.

   If the seller comes back asking for $1,400,000, which we know is $100,000 over market value, we can make an easy decision depending on the circumstances of the purchase.

Propertor.ca will update this section with more information in the future.

Propertor.ca will update this section with more information in the future.