BUYERS: LISTINGS ARE SCARCE, OTHER BUYERS AREN'T
With a second wave firmly set in, and listings even scarcer, how do you buy a property when there are so many other buyers out there?
1) FINANCING: Make sure your financing is ironclad - in a multiple offer sellers often ask for financing details. Get a pre-approval letter from your lender if possible.
2) VIRTUAL WALK THROUGHS: To safeguard their health some sellers may insist on one of the last things being a physical viewing of their property by a buyer. In that case we'll walk you through the listing on a Facetime/Duo call. Get you title and strata documents. Then make your offer subject to viewing and inspection.
3) PROTOCOLS: Be prepared to follow pandemic protocols - masks, hand sanitizer before entering a property, minimal contact with fixtures and furnishings.
In normal times our philosophy is to encourage a buyer to view enough homes to reach a level of confidence about what's in the market for the price they're prepared to pay. The coronavirus adds a big obstacle to that - but it doesn't mean that goal can't be achieved.
Our commitment to you during this crisis is to minimize personal contact through video and tele-video tours when possible so you can short list the properties you actually want to view. Then get you into those properties at minimal risk to you and the seller. Prior to physically viewing any properties we will enter into a Buyer Agency Exclusive Contract with you first (similar to a listing agreement with Sellers).
Pandemic or not - Our philosophy
Stress free. While it is our ultimate goal to find you the right property and negotiate the best price, it's doing it in a seamless, logical manner that's as free of stress as possible. We figure that making a decision is way easier if you don't have to make it because you HAVE to.
It has taken a few years but we've managed to nail down an approach that reduces the stress and uncertainty to a minimum while accomplishing the end goal of finding that right property.
It's actually quite simple - no deadline. If it takes two tours or two years, we're here for the long haul. It's up to you how quickly you make your purchase. No pressure from us.
It starts with a fact-finding tour of a few listings - with no intent to purchase - before heading back out to start the search. That means we get to see, through your eyes, what you like and dislike. The properties you see after the first outing are those that only fit your parameters.
It's amazing how that first step makes the rest of the process straight forward. In short order you're up to speed on what's available and what market values are. And along the way we arm you with the positives and negatives about neighbourhoods, subdivisions and complexes.
We also get you up to speed about the ins and outs of mortgages (Jaclyn was a mortgage broker for two years), home inspections, insurance, strata documents - everything you need to know that will have an impact on your decision-making process. So, when it comes time to make an offer, the uncertainty has been reduced or eliminated - an offer becomes the logical next step in the process, something you're comfortable about doing.
The many years of selling real estate also mean we've seen just about every scenario there is when it comes to writing and dealing with offers. We'll lay out strategies for you. We'll negotiate with confidence and knowledge. We'll make sure there are no hidden surprises with what you're buying. And we'll connect you with the best professionals to finish the job right up to possession day.
The more information you have the less stressful making a decision becomes. And the more enjoyable the whole process is. That's our goal.
Let us know if we can help find the right property for you.
