Fair Realtor

03/07/2022

A true blend of majestic old and elite modern, this property will give you a feel of luxury daily resort like living with inhouse sauna and a hot tub. It is on a 80 by 114 lot with tall trees for privacy. Close to all amenities, listed just for $819,900/. Easy access. See with confidence and call me for any questions or additional information.

Elegantly Designed And Skillfully Crafted Home For A Family With Taste, This Home Has Character With

04/05/2020

Five Ways Corona Shall Impact Real Estate in Canada

Corona has affected everyone in the present-day world.
It has impacted lives and social behaviours and some of that impact will be felt for all times to come.
How would it affect the real estate market? Is it possible to make an assessment now?
The full impact of Corona virus is difficult to assess. It is too early for that. We do not know how long it will last. We do not know if the peak has been reached. We do not know how much time it will take for the curve to flatten.
We do not even know if the curve will ever flatten completely. It may not. Humanity needs to brace for all possibilities.
However, there are five conclusions that one can draw from this pandemic:
Market Will Slow Down
The effect of Corona is very different from what happened during Great Depression Years and even during WW2. The impact that time was more or less known, the reasons could be understood; policies and strategies thought out and implemented. It took years for the slow down to set in. We also understood that some of the industries like the ones related to defence and its equipment actually flourished.
Today millions of jobs are lost in days. Production in many vital sectors has halted. Markets fell in double digits on single days. Organized sector, travel, food outlets are all closed.
As it is, Canadian households are the most indebted among G7 countries. Incomes are falling and despite low interest rates, the household debt servicing ratio sits at a record high; household savings are touching the bottom; household emergency funds are non-existent. We do not have enough saved for this day, when it is not raining but flooding!
Real Estate Activity Will Decline
A direct impact of this pandemic, therefore, will be a slowdown in real estate activity. Right now, there is a halt in activity. A perceivable and palpable one! Things will move, but slowly. Not only will the sales slide, the listings will be fewer. The impact will be seen in the short term as well as in long term.
A new form of greed will emerge in some months.
Mortgages will Become Cheaper
Canadian mortgage debt is close to $1.57 trillion today. How would Canadians service this debt? Reducing interest rates further is not the best answer or strategy. Canadian successive governments and their economic policy makers have not left themselves much room to manoeuvre or options to follow. A direct result of irresponsible spending, often in politically expedient but economically disastrous sectors. The viscous circle of low interest rates with less hope of coming out of the hangman’s noose of debt around our necks, is likely to continue.
People Will Think Differently About Real Estate
A direct impact of Corona on the housing will be psychological. What would it cost Canadians to have financial peace of mind will assume a lot more weightage than having a bigger home, some luxury hut or a cottage in the Cottage Country! This, over a period of time will result in real estate pruning. People will be more practical buying real estate. I know a number of people, who despite advice from professionals to the contrary, will invest in real estate to the last dime. That is not a good strategy. That will also change. People will diversify more and invest in other areas. Having guaranteed incomes, and for life, will assume more importance.
Real Estate as an Investment Will Lose its Sheen.
There is a joke in real estate which says: if you want to make a million, you start with two million. That is going to be something of a reality now. Since real estate is going to lose its value, there will be two kinds of new investors emerging along the way: the skeptics and the sharks. Many of the smaller investors will be forced to sell and the new ones will come up, although not on the same scale. The bigger ones will likely buy in bulk and look for low hanging fruit.
Opportunity: I have been writing extensively on the imbalance in the Canadian real estate market. We do not have enough number of smaller houses that could match the affordability levels of the population. The government is aware of this and have come up with knee-jerk initiatives like fair housing market and incentive for first time home buyers. That is not enough. The needs of Canadians will have to be more deeply understood. Appropriate policies formulated and implemented in a time-bound manner.
To conclude, we shall be able to handle real estate better if we stay alive and healthy. Let us resolve to follow the guidelines of physical distancing and using masks in public meticulously and beat this virus together!
Stay safe and healthy.
Au Revoir
Bushan Bhat

02/18/2020

One of the noblest feelings that one can have is owning a home. A place where you make memories and mind your business! But a time comes when you have to sell it. There could be many reasons for this. Whether the reason for selling is good or not so good, the most important thing to remember is that you should sell your home on your own terms (unless a financial institution took it over due to unavoidable circumstances or non-payment of mortgage and taxes!).

Here are some tips for ALL SELLERS; especially for the first-time sellers:
Multi-Pronged Process: Home selling is not just about calling a realtor and listing, unless you are in distress. It is team effort. You need to get your home ready. You need the help of painters, gardeners, handymen, and professional cleaners. If your home has any major issues, you need to consider whether you want to redo that kitchen top or bathroom sink and faucet before initiating the selling process. You need a team. Many realtors build a pool of resources that help in getting a home ready for sale. If you trust someone, use their expertise but also do your own research if you are the analytical kind and have time to research and shop around. A word of caution in choosing such service providers. While price matters, it is not everything. We know the old adage; you get what you pay for. That aside, RELIABILITY to deliver in time and quality of service or job are more important that PRICE. So, choose wisely.
Staging or Not Staging: Have no confusion on this. It is always a good idea to have a staging consultant visit your home and give you a report BEFORE you start preparing your house for sale. Ask your realtor to provide one, if he is also paying for your staging, like I do. Otherwise, you may engage one on your own. The staging consultant will tell you how to strategically place your furniture and décor and what colours to use for paintings, or where to have that chandelier in the drawing room and how to declutter etc. That adds value and makes the home more easily marketable. Depending on the size of the home, the cost can be between $150 and $450. A good staging consultant will also give you a plan to make your outdoors like kerb and backyard appealing for prospective buyers. I pay for these services for my CLIENTS.
Research Market: It is always a good idea to do some research beyond how much should your home sell for. Most of us have some idea and a seller always wants to sell his house for more. But look beyond. If you know and trust a realtor, ask him to send you the latest Home Market Report which also provides trends and behaviours of prices in your area that gives you an overview of the market.
Research Realtors: You need to exercise not only your preference but also caution here. Obviously, you ask your friends and colleagues. You need a realtor who is experienced, hard-working and conscientious. Sometimes, very busy realtors will intimidate you and may not give you enough time and advice at every step. Remember, a realtor is your eyes and ears for the purpose of selling your home. Choose someone who is dynamic and innovative, who listens to what you need and who is a collaborator and consultant and does not hesitate to go an extra mile to market your property and above all who is above board. Someone who under-promises and over-delivers.
Other Criteria for Choosing a Realtor: Check the registration status of the realtor on www.reco.on.ca. RECO also publishes the names of realtors who have been disciplined or fined for various offences while discharging their duties. Check whether the realtor has been involved in any such misconduct before hiring him. Once satisfied, have the agreement about all services in writing. Remember when you are a client, a professional realtor has a fiduciary responsibility towards you, and he must provide honest and conscientious service to you. He should be loyal and must keep your information confidential. Set the terms in black and white.
Staging and Commission: A time was when staging was thought optional. It is no longer so, unless you are selling an old and not well-maintained building in ‘As Is” condition. Your realtor should enlist all the services he provides including ‘Open Houses’, additional online marketing, website creation and social media marketing, TV and print media marketing. Ask the realtor if staging is included in the commission or is an additional cost. Staging costs money and it is important to understand the duration of staging in case the home does not sell within a certain period. I include staging in the commission.
Mortgage Blues: If you are also buying a property, you have to know whether you want to buy or sell first. An ideal solution is to have the same closing date for both transactions, but that can be stressful. If you sell first, where will you live in the interim and store your stuff? On the other hand, if you buy first, will your bank lend you the money if you haven’t sold your home yet? Meet your mortgage lender. Check if your mortgage is portable and would there be penalties if you had to cancel the mortgage early? Even when your mortgage is portable, at what rate would you get the additional mortgage and is ‘blending’ of mortgages to your advantage possible? In the event of a gap between buying and selling, is bridge finance available?
Important: If you use the services of a mortgage broker referred by your realtor, he must promptly and fully disclose to you whether he would be getting a referral fees from the mortgage broker. This is a legitimate part of the business. I have arrangements with three mortgage brokers who pay me referral fees. Not only do I promptly disclose this to my clients, but we also come to an immediate agreement how this fee will be shared.
Review Your Costs: It is important to review all costs from time to time. This includes cost of repairs, improvements and renovations, off-site storage, if needed; mortgage penalties, pre-listing home inspection in some cases, staging and commission costs, lawyer fees and moving costs and above all the land transfer fees for your new purchase, A study published in Home Market Report suggests that many people living in Toronto do not sell their existing homes and buy new ones because of the high Land Transfer Tax in the municipality. Unfortunately, this cost cannot be added to the mortgage and has to be paid when buying, before the transaction is effected. So, reviewing all your costs is an important factor in the decision-making process.
Price: This is the fulcrum in the process. Once your home is ready for sale, or even before that, your realtor should provide you with a Market Valuation Report about the property. I provide it free to any seller who wants to consider using my services. You need to review this and ask the realtor to adjust price if renovations and staging have made any difference. He should also look up if any comparable properties have been listed or sold during the last few days that can have an impact on the price. Pricing right is always the best strategy. Brace for a possible multiple-offer situation.
Understand Paperwork: There are two types of paperwork you need to understand and be educated about. First the easier part. You need to put together your utility and tax bills. Details of renovation and rental contracts, survey plan, if available; any warranties and liens on home before listing. It is always good to disclose them in advance. Second is the Selling Contract Documents. You would already have signed a Listing Agreement, Working with a Realtor and provided your ID for FINTRAC forms when finalizing your realtor. Now is the time to sign other forms like MLS Data Form, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Confirmation of Co-operation Always ask your realtor to send them to you in advance, read them and ask questions before signing.
Understand the Process: It is important to understand that your realtor must take measurements of the home himself for proper verification; get the floor plan, professional pictures, virtual tours and brochures completed a day before listing. He must explain to you how showings and ‘Open Houses’ work. You must understand a review process and handling offers before the home is listed for sale.
I am confident you will find these tips useful. To keep this post short and readable, I have compressed many points but shall elaborate in future posts. I got an overwhelming response to my Last Post on Buyer Tips. Thank you all.

Au Revoir
Bushan Bhat

02/17/2020

Happy Family Day, either because you have one or because you were born in one!
Here is my latest post.
One of the noblest feelings that one can have is owning a home. A place where you make memories and mind your business! But a time comes when you have to sell it. There could be many reasons for this. Whether the reason for selling is good or not so good, the most important thing to remember is that you should sell your home on your own terms (unless a financial institution took it over due to unavoidable circumstances or non-payment of mortgage and taxes!).

Here are some tips for ALL SELLERS; especially for the first-time sellers:
Multi-Pronged Process: Home selling is not just about calling a realtor and listing, unless you are in distress. It is team effort. You need to get your home ready. You need the help of painters, gardeners, handymen, and professional cleaners. If your home has any major issues, you need to consider whether you want to redo that kitchen top or bathroom sink and faucet before initiating the selling process. You need a team. Many realtors build a pool of resources that help in getting a home ready for sale. If you trust someone, use their expertise but also do your own research if you are the analytical kind and have time to research and shop around. A word of caution in choosing such service providers. While price matters, it is not everything. We know the old adage; you get what you pay for. That aside, RELIABILITY to deliver in time and quality of service or job are more important that PRICE. So, choose wisely.
Staging or Not Staging: Have no confusion on this. It is always a good idea to have a staging consultant visit your home and give you a report BEFORE you start preparing your house for sale. Ask your realtor to provide one, if he is also paying for your staging, like I do. Otherwise, you may engage one on your own. The staging consultant will tell you how to strategically place your furniture and décor and what colours to use for paintings, or where to have that chandelier in the drawing room and how to declutter etc. That adds value and makes the home more easily marketable. Depending on the size of the home, the cost can be between $150 and $450. A good staging consultant will also give you a plan to make your outdoors like kerb and backyard appealing for prospective buyers. I pay for these services for my CLIENTS.
Research Market: It is always a good idea to do some research beyond how much should your home sell for. Most of us have some idea and a seller always wants to sell his house for more. But look beyond. If you know and trust a realtor, ask him to send you the latest Home Market Report which also provides trends and behaviours of prices in your area that gives you an overview of the market.
Research Realtors: You need to exercise not only your preference but also caution here. Obviously, you ask your friends and colleagues. You need a realtor who is experienced, hard-working and conscientious. Sometimes, very busy realtors will intimidate you and may not give you enough time and advice at every step. Remember, a realtor is your eyes and ears for the purpose of selling your home. Choose someone who is dynamic and innovative, who listens to what you need and who is a collaborator and consultant and does not hesitate to go an extra mile to market your property and above all who is above board. Someone who under-promises and over-delivers.
Other Criteria for Choosing a Realtor: Check the registration status of the realtor on www.reco.on.ca. RECO also publishes the names of realtors who have been disciplined or fined for various offences while discharging their duties. Check whether the realtor has been involved in any such misconduct before hiring him. Once satisfied, have the agreement about all services in writing. Remember when you are a client, a professional realtor has a fiduciary responsibility towards you, and he must provide honest and conscientious service to you. He should be loyal and must keep your information confidential. Set the terms in black and white.
Staging and Commission: A time was when staging was thought optional. It is no longer so, unless you are selling an old and not well-maintained building in ‘As Is” condition. Your realtor should enlist all the services he provides including ‘Open Houses’, additional online marketing, website creation and social media marketing, TV and print media marketing. Ask the realtor if staging is included in the commission or is an additional cost. Staging costs money and it is important to understand the duration of staging in case the home does not sell within a certain period. I include staging in the commission.
Mortgage Blues: If you are also buying a property, you have to know whether you want to buy or sell first. An ideal solution is to have the same closing date for both transactions, but that can be stressful. If you sell first, where will you live in the interim and store your stuff? On the other hand, if you buy first, will your bank lend you the money if you haven’t sold your home yet? Meet your mortgage lender. Check if your mortgage is portable and would there be penalties if you had to cancel the mortgage early? Even when your mortgage is portable, at what rate would you get the additional mortgage and is ‘blending’ of mortgages to your advantage possible? In the event of a gap between buying and selling, is bridge finance available?
Important: If you use the services of a mortgage broker referred by your realtor, he must promptly and fully disclose to you whether he would be getting a referral fees from the mortgage broker. This is a legitimate part of the business. I have arrangements with three mortgage brokers who pay me referral fees. Not only do I promptly disclose this to my clients, but we also come to an immediate agreement how this fee will be shared.
Review Your Costs: It is important to review all costs from time to time. This includes cost of repairs, improvements and renovations, off-site storage, if needed; mortgage penalties, pre-listing home inspection in some cases, staging and commission costs, lawyer fees and moving costs and above all the land transfer fees for your new purchase, A study published in Home Market Report suggests that many people living in Toronto do not sell their existing homes and buy new ones because of the high Land Transfer Tax in the municipality. Unfortunately, this cost cannot be added to the mortgage and has to be paid when buying, before the transaction is effected. So, reviewing all your costs is an important factor in the decision-making process.
Price: This is the fulcrum in the process. Once your home is ready for sale, or even before that, your realtor should provide you with a Market Valuation Report about the property. I provide it free to any seller who wants to consider using my services. You need to review this and ask the realtor to adjust price if renovations and staging have made any difference. He should also look up if any comparable properties have been listed or sold during the last few days that can have an impact on the price. Pricing right is always the best strategy. Brace for a possible multiple-offer situation.
Understand Paperwork: There are two types of paperwork you need to understand and be educated about. First the easier part. You need to put together your utility and tax bills. Details of renovation and rental contracts, survey plan, if available; any warranties and liens on home before listing. It is always good to disclose them in advance. Second is the Selling Contract Documents. You would already have signed a Listing Agreement, Working with a Realtor and provided your ID for FINTRAC forms when finalizing your realtor. Now is the time to sign other forms like MLS Data Form, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Confirmation of Co-operation Always ask your realtor to send them to you in advance, read them and ask questions before signing.
Understand the Process: It is important to understand that your realtor must take measurements of the home himself for proper verification; get the floor plan, professional pictures, virtual tours and brochures completed a day before listing. He must explain to you how showings and ‘Open Houses’ work. You must understand a review process and handling offers before the home is listed for sale.
I am confident you will find these tips useful. To keep this post short and readable, I have compressed many points but shall elaborate in future posts. I got an overwhelming response to my Last Post on Buyer Tips. Thank you all.

Au Revoir
Bushan Bhat

10/07/2019

Negotiating is Like a War....Of Minds

Negotiating is like a war. Not of weapons. But of minds. What your mind thinks is reflected in your body language, the language uttered by the negotiator and its tone and tenor. But the circumstances under which you negotiate matter more than anything else when negotiating in real estate. Let me explain.
But before doing that, let me set the premise that every person negotiating would do well to follow Sun Tzu’s advice applied to fields other than war, including real estate. While talking about war strategy, he famously said,” If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” If you or your realtor know well, what kind of property you are looking for, what price point is acceptable to you, and then also know about the motivation of the seller, the battle of buying a property will become a cakewalk. The same would apply when you are selling a property.
People often think that in a buyer’s market or a seller’s, negotiating is a one-sided affair which cannot be won by the other side. That is not true. You can get beaten without knowing that you have been. Let me give you a real example.

Edmonton market has been very slow. Since I was authorized to operate in Alberta as a Real Estate Associate, I decided to accede to the request of a friend in helping him buy a property there last year. He saw a property which was listed for close to a million and one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the market. A beautiful bungalow on an acre of land, where the back opened on protected area where you could see wildlife, including herds of deer in daytime. After seeing the property, he waited for three to four months looking at other options. Finally, he wanted to make an offer on this one, which was still unsold. Since the market was slow, he thought if he got the property for one hundred fifty to two hundred thousand less, it would be a good steal. Rightly so. To any non-professional, a price between $940k to $960k would be acceptable. If we had followed that strategy, it would have worked, and all parties would have been happy. But on studying the market and its conditions, and the motivation of the seller, I thought we could do even better.
There is a fine and subtle difference between an offensive and a competitive offer. Based on my recommendations, we started at and finalized the deal at $900k. My friend and his family felt ecstatic. They live there very happily today.
What helps in negotiations is how well you understand the market, and whether you have a clue about the motivation of the other side. The idea is not to get overwhelmed or let your emotions drive you when buying or selling a property. And that is where the role of a good realtor helps.
GTA had seen a seller’s market for years. It slowly tapered off to the semblance of stability during the last two years. Those who bought with their emotions running high and trying to outbid others in multi-bid wars, were all poor negotiators. They failed and are bearing the consequences today. The values of many such properties today are lower than the amount they were bought for.
One of the major reasons why every buyer and seller should engage the services of a realtor is that a professional helps you look at a proposal or an offer without emotions. A good negotiator works as an artist. Neither as a hustler, nor as a meek yielder. He negotiates from a position of dignified strength.

Au Revoir
Bushan Bhat

06/10/2019

Housing Supply Sans Speed

P. B Shelley was only twenty-nine springs old when he died. If he had lived a few of those springs in Canada, he may as well not have written those famous lines, “O wind! If winter comes, can spring be far behind?” Although we are in the last month of spring, living it as semi-winter is a little disconcerting. But my subject today is neither winter nor spring but whether we have hope that the housing supply in GTA is coming out of a winter of discontent.
Housing supply has been a concern in GTA. This has many reasons. Bad planning is the obvious first that comes to mind. There has to be an evolving and dynamic plan for any geographical urban conglomerate like GTA because it attracts new immigrants from all over the world. They come from varied cultures. They love to live and die here. Even when recent and older immigrants do not have many of their family and friends of yesteryears living around them to remember them when they are gone. This is rather strange. But true. GTA is also one of the fastest growing regions in North America with about 120,000 new residents arriving every year. The government forecasts, which need revision every so often, fell short by about 10,000 units per year and the shortage of the last many years has accumulated to cause agony for new home buyers. The estimated shortfall now is a cold and not cool 100,000 units. It has created an uncomfortable imbalance between demand and supply.
The Ontario provincial government announced its first major plan on May 2 to address the twin challenges of housing supply and affordability.
There are a few good things about this plan. First, it recognizes that all previous initiatives had taxation and government revenue in mind. Further, any planning process needs to have a pace that matches the economic growth, demographic changes, and a legal and quasi-legal framework with efficient timelines governing it. At present, a typical high-rise project takes about ten years to complete and a low-rise about eleven in GTA. There are layers of bureaucracy. Policies and procedures are complex, and Zoning is often outdated. These avoidable barriers add to the costs, cause delays and the outcome is almost a generational shortfall in the housing supply in GTA.
The new Housing Action Plan recognizes that enough attention was not paid to the adjudication process in the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. There are more than 1000 cases pending adjudication. 100,000 units. With these cases stuck there, the housing supply is affected. The appeals process needs quick disposal. That will help.
Second, the plan envisages to tweak policy to enable more housing near transit. This is rather innovative and would encourage more middle type housing of townhomes and stacked housing as also reduce the burden on our roads in the long term.
Next, the development approval process is archaic and tardy. There may not be any secret tapes there but a lot of red tape is. Many procedures seem redundant. The new plan acknowledges this. Expediting this approval process would unlock housing supply and bring new and affordable products in the marketplace that are in line with affordability index of the new generation. This cannot be done at the expense of Greenbelts or Heritage and key agricultural lands though. They need to be preserved too.
It is not a good idea to lock in development charges in new constructions. They should be deferred until occupancy. This will encourage building of more rental units. Besides, the new initiative plans to address the cumulative effect of taxes, levies and other fees have on housing affordability. Thumbs up!
To conclude, it is heartening that the Ontario government recognizes the need to address the imbalance that exists between housing demand and supply in GTA and is taking some meaningful steps to provide the needed supply with speed.
Au Revoir
Bushan Bhat