I
work with Buyers in all price ranges and am always faced with unique
challenges. Every range has its
own. The Ad Game is designed to make me
look bad to my Buyers and make it seem like I am hiding something, which, trust
me, I am not. I really and truly want to
find you that property in that lower budget as much as you do and with your
specifications it can be a challenge but one I willingly accept, so trust me
when I tell you to ignore the Ads. It’s a game.
Scenario:
Buyer,
lower budget, needs may include 2 washrooms, parking, not a Condo or Townhouse
and no maintenance (condo/HOA) fee’s.
Preference is a Detached but Semi – Detached better. In a housing market like the Greater Toronto
Area where the average is about $400 000.00 on the really lower end, this is
truly difficult but not unattainable.
Again, challenge accepted.
The
Ad Game
“Hot
New Listing $320 000.00 Amazing 3 Bedroom home, renovated call: 416-555-1212”
“Great
Townhome $279 000.00, 3 Bedrooms with walkout to yard, call: 416-555-1212”
My
client’s see these ad’s, immediately call me and demand why I haven’t showed
them the property – it’s exactly what they are looking for and in their price
range!
The
Truth
Ad
# 1 Truth… while it appears to be local (the agent has a local area code consistent
with the GTA) it’s not. I call the Agent
who’s not excited by my call because I am not a potential client but just
another ‘agent’ and find that the property is actually located an hour outside
of the GTA. An hour. That’s a huge
commute. Huge. I provide the info back
to my client and they are disappointed.
I go so far as to send them the actual MLS listing so they see I am not
trying to keep them from this great property and they realize that I am telling
the truth and no, they are not willing to commute an hour, in low traffic.
Ad
# 2 Truth... again, it seems right up their alley.
A townhome, okay, we can settle for a townhome, it’s under budget, why
haven’t you showed it to me? So again, I
call. Get the MLS number and send it
over so my clients can read the fine print – specifically where it states that
there are maintenance fee’s over 300-400 dollars a month – something they
specifically do not or will not pay for.
I
am not suggesting that real estate advertising is wrong or that the agents are
doing anything unseemly. In fact as real
estate agents, we are held to Federal Laws on all advertising and could face
both criminal and punitive penalties should we mislead the public. What I am stating is this. If you see an ad that doesn’t provide all the
information and the price does seem too good to be true, it probably is.
A
good advertisement wanting to sell the actual property instead of wanting to
provide potential clients for the agent will tell you where the property is: what
area and probably what street. It will
let you know that if it’s a Townhome, there’s maintenance fees. If it’s intercity, there’s a mutual
drive. It will in a few short words
provide the pertinent information and provide an MLS number or website info so
that you can get more information instead of the agent trying to get
information out of you, when you call.
When
I sit down with a potential Buyer I have a check list of info that I use to
begin my search on the MLS system. It includes
price, area, bedrooms, driveways, maintenance fee’s, washrooms, square footage
and any other relevant information that can help me search accurately. Sure I will search outside the ‘box’. If your price range is so low that there are
no listings, I may increase the range search by 10-20 thousand because maybe
there is a listing in there that has been so long on the market that it may be
negotiable. I may see a listing that
only has 2 bedrooms, when you need 3 but there is a potential 3rd
bedroom in the basement. I may decrease
the number of washrooms you require because sometimes the search is about
compromise but if you tell me you’d like to live in say, Mississauga – I am not
looking in Whitby. If you tell me that
you require a home with its own driveway because you own a large Ford F150, I
know that a mutual drive won’t work so I don’t include those in those I show
you.
A
responsible agent who cares about what their clients’ needs are will show them
the properties as close to a match to their wish list as possible.
Obviously
there will always be compromises but our goal is to make you the most satisfied
Buyer we possibly can. I have access to
all the MLS listings in the GTA long before you do and believe me, if a home
comes up with your needs – you will know about it, that’s how the MLS is
designed when used properly.
Don’t
let the ads fool you, many are a game designed to bring the advertising agents
new clients – and there’s nothing wrong with that, but trust in your own agent,
they really are working diligently to find you the one that you want.
If
you have any questions regarding real estate, are interested in interviewing me
as your potential agent or would like some neighborhood info on prices, please
contact me at your convenience. Always
here to help and always happy to meet new clients!
Nicole
Kreutzberg
Realtor
Sutton
West Realty Inc., Brokerage
(416)
388-7384
