THE “NEW NORMAL” – How Our Team Is Adapting To The Pandemic
As restrictions are being lifted and the city of Toronto continues to reopen, we wanted to share some details about how our team is operating during the pandemic.
We recognize that it’s not “back to normal” but rather the beginning of the “new normal”. Since the pandemic began, we’ve been making changes to the way that we sell real estate. One of those changes involves a commitment to providing Personal Protective Equipment to all of our clients as well as other Realtors and their clients who are viewing our listings.
LISTING YOUR HOME WITH US
All of our listings are stocked with individually packaged masks and disposable gloves and there is always hand sanitizer available at the property.
Our convenient online booking system also includes a mandatory disclaimer to ensure that no one viewing your home:
1) Has recently travelled outside of Canada.
2) Is displaying symptoms including: fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing.
3) Has come in contact with anyone with a confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 test in the last 14 days.
BUYING A HOME WITH US
Over the past few weeks, we’ve noticed that the majority of our buyer clients are wearing their own masks and gloves during showings which is great! In the event that a buyer client doesn’t have their own PPE or has forgotten to bring it, we have individually packaged gloves and masks as well as hand sanitizer in our vehicles at all times.
Whether you’re buying or selling, we are here to help and we’re committed to doing our part to make sure that we operate in a safe manner.
SOLD IN 1 DAY! 51 Trolley Crescent #805
Congrats to our sellers on the quick sale of this awesome Corktown loft!
For more information on this recent sale, please visit www.51Trolley.com
Looking To Build A New Deck To Host A Summer BBQ? Read This Article First!
With summer in full swing many homeowners turn their eye to a backyard deck. What better place to relax or have a barbecue and entertain their friends? But if you’re planning to build one yourself, be careful.
If it isn’t done right, you may run into problems later when you try and sell your home.
REAL ESTATE 101 – WHAT IS A BULLY OFFER?
You’ve probably heard the term “bully offer” (aka pre-emptive Offer) before but may not know what it means. Basically, the listing agent will list a property on MLS and then have a set offers date. There are usually two reasons for having a set offers date. 1) The property has been intentionally listed below market value in an attempt to generate competition on offers night. 2) The seller and/or listing agent want to make sure that the property gains sufficient exposure to the market before considering offers. Your buyer’s agent should be able to establish the intention of holding off on offers by speaking with the listing agent and researching comparable sales.
SCENARIO
So… now the property is on the market with a set date for offers. Let’s make the assumption here that the property is significantly under priced. Let’s say that today is Friday and offers are being reviewed on Monday. Let’s also assume there are public open houses on both Saturday and Sunday where a lot of potential buyers will view the property. While the majority of buyers will wait until Monday to make an offer as specified by the listing agent, there is always a possibility of a buyer submitting a “bully offer” before Monday. It will likely be substantially higher than the list price and will not likely contain any conditions. The goal here is to scoop up the property before too many people see it and to make an offer that is tempting enough that the seller will not want to risk letting it go and waiting until Monday with hopes of a better offer. Note that even with the set offers date, a seller is still able to consider a “bully offer” although they are not obligated to.
TIPS FOR A SELLER IN THIS SCENARIO
If you are going to consider a “bully offer”, make sure that your agent advises all parties who have viewed the property of this “bully offer” in order to try to generate competition with the bully offer. A good realtor will know to do this as it’s in the seller’s best interest. Unfortunately a “not so good” realtor will fail to do this and often the seller will be the victim because a buyer who was waiting until Monday may have had a better offer but didn’t even know the bully offer existed.
TIPS FOR THE BUYER IN THIS SCENARIO
First and foremost, if you view a property that you plan to make an offer on but you are waiting until offers night, make sure your agent asks the listing agent specifically to let them know if any bully offers come in. As well, if it’s a Friday and offers date is Monday, make sure you get a bank draft on the Friday as a back up in case a bully offer comes in over the weekend.
When making the “bully offer”, make sure that your offer is strong (5,000 over asking usually won’t do the trick) and if possible don’t include any conditions in the offer. A short irrevocable date is also a good strategy to allow the listing agent less time to drum up competition.
So there you go! That’s a “bully offer” in a nutshell. Remember that every scenario is different and as such, the strategy and process will change accordingly. If you have any other questions on this topic, feel free to give us a call at 416.465.7850.
Do you have a real estate question that you would like us to write about? Email it to us at info@rosswebpro.com.
Ford Thurston
Sales Representative
