The Bower Blog

Service=Everything!

What is the biggest complaint at The Toronto Real Estate Board?

The number one call to the Toronto Real Estate Board is "How do I get out of my contract with my existing agent?"  That is a sad commentary on our profession, don't you think?  It may be like that in other businesses with poor service, but nowhere is it as blatant as ours.  Let me explain.

As realtors, we are hired for a service for a comission; this comission is payable only upon the "delivery of the service".  In other words, when we complete the job we were hired to do, we get paid. If we spend money on marketing or packaging the property and the property does not sell, we don't get paid. Consequently  a number of factors contribute to our receiving a paycheque.

1.  Doing the research necessary to ascertain the price of a seller's home.  This means an analysis of comparable homes and descriptions.  It means determining fair market value for that home and doing the necessary due dillegence in determining that. Overpriced homes often languish on the market; it is not a service to our clients nor is it a way to get paid. 

2.  We prepare a contract with all the necessary details about the home; lot size, room sizes, lot and plan number, disclosures, mortgages, physical descriptions, extras.....etc. etc.

3.  We market the home: in my estimation next to pricing, this is the most important thing we do.  We owe it to our clients to offer suggestions on how to present their home,(clean, smelling fresh and if possible, staged), have professional photographs taken, prepare 'take-away' feature sheets highlighting their home and making sure there is lots of internet presence.

I often wonder what the counsel is of the Toronto Real Estate Board when these calls come in.  I believe a solution could be something I've offered for years; a cancellation contract.  This contract states that in the event the seller was unhappy in any way, that I would cancel the listing. The "catch" of this is I always want to know what the issue is so I can better my service next time.  Clients have asked me before why I offer this and I state simply that I stand behind every promise I make when taking a listing, I believe customer service to be of paramount importance and I am proud of the marketing I do.  As a result, I take pride in my service. To date, I have never had anyone cancel a listing.  

Maybe that is the key; do what we say we are going to do.  Deliver exceptional service.  Wouldn't it be great if the calls coming to TREB were:  "that agent was terrific, we'd like you all to know about her!"

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

The number one call to the Toronto Real Estate Board is "How do I get out of my contract with my existing agent?"  That is a sad commentary on our profession, don't you think?  It may be like that in other businesses with poor service, but nowhere is it as blatant as ours.  Let me explain.

As realtors, we are hired for a service for a comission; this comission is payable only upon the "delivery of the service".  In other words, when we complete the job we were hired to do, we get paid. If we spend money on marketing or packaging the property and the property does not sell, we don't get paid. Consequently  a number of factors contribute to our receiving a paycheque.

1.  Doing the research necessary to ascertain the price of a seller's home.  This means an analysis of comparable homes and descriptions.  It means determining fair market value for that home and doing the necessary due dillegence in determining that. Overpriced homes often languish on the market; it is not a service to our clients nor is it a way to get paid. 

2.  We prepare a contract with all the necessary details about the home; lot size, room sizes, lot and plan number, disclosures, mortgages, physical descriptions, extras.....etc. etc.

3.  We market the home: in my estimation next to pricing, this is the most important thing we do.  We owe it to our clients to offer suggestions on how to present their home,(clean, smelling fresh and if possible, staged), have professional photographs taken, prepare 'take-away' feature sheets highlighting their home and making sure there is lots of internet presence.

I often wonder what the counsel is of the Toronto Real Estate Board when these calls come in.  I believe a solution could be something I've offered for years; a cancellation contract.  This contract states that in the event the seller was unhappy in any way, that I would cancel the listing. The "catch" of this is I always want to know what the issue is so I can better my service next time.  Clients have asked me before why I offer this and I state simply that I stand behind every promise I make when taking a listing, I believe customer service to be of paramount importance and I am proud of the marketing I do.  As a result, I take pride in my service. To date, I have never had anyone cancel a listing.  

Maybe that is the key; do what we say we are going to do.  Deliver exceptional service.  Wouldn't it be great if the calls coming to TREB were:  "that agent was terrific, we'd like you all to know about her!"

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)

Last night I visited with dear friends from years gone by.  Cathy, I've known since we were in kindergarten; I have a school picture of us sitting side by side in the front row, hands folded neatly in front of ourselves.  We've been in touch on and off for years, comfortably getting back into each other's lives each time.  I was honoured when she asked me to represent her family on the sale of her dad's condo when he passed away.

Jackie and I met in junior school; she was our "adventure" girl, first turning me on the David Bowie (people still talk about the time she came to school with green hair), travelling down to Florida on those fly down, bring back a car deal, getting into interesting situations in Florida-we recapped that last night and laughed and laughed.  Jackie lives in Santa Barbara, California.  The real estate market is dismal there still; she is a video librarian, quite a prestigious job-her hours have been cut back in lieu of loosing her position.  California is broke apparently, and the prospects are grim for recovery any time soon. 

There is nothing like meeting with family members and old friends.  They fit like an old shoe.  It's important we make the time to seize these moments.  Time escapes us often.  We've seen each other through break-ups, children being born, love lost and found, illness and parent's passing. 

Currently we are all living with aging parents and their sometime comical antectdotes.  I have much illness in my family; somedays, meeting with friends is just what this girl needs.

My brother-in-law, Larry has something called multiple system atrophy (very similar to Lou Gehrig disease with the same prognosis).  He promised for years that that he would go back to Italy, his birthplace and visit with family.  He is confined to a wheelchair and will never see it.  My youngest sister is undergoing cancer treatment for the same cancer I've struggled with on and off for years.  Every day is a blessing; seize it; love and cherish those around you.

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

Preparation is the Key

With all the gloom and doom last November and December pertaining to the global economic crisis, our Real Estate business suffered tremendously.  Case in point, the headlines at that time:  "Real Estate Market crashes" and then in fine print....in Florida, Las Vegas, parts of California.  The headlines are often all people have time to read.   Inevitably, people saw these headlines as affecting their market.  The phones stopped ringing last year.  It was time for a re-think on our market.

I got together with some other experienced realtors and we thought about what to do.  Most of us agreed, get back to the basics of our business.  Phone or drop in to people we had sold.  Advertise for buyers. DON'T read the papers; they were filled with horror stories.  It is true our manufacturing sector in Toronto and outlying areas were gravely affected by global conditions, but we have such a strong banking system (often criticized for being overly conservative) that we were able to persevere.

I count my blessings every day; I am in the unique position of being experienced and have a quality of the "teacher" about me.  Consequently, I truly enjoy the process of walking clients through the buying and selling process and I hope I make it easy and enjoyable for them.  The deals this year have not been without their challenges; the dreaded multiple bid (when you are buying), the weeks and months of preparing a home for sale, the weather.  Preparation and communication is always the key for our clients.  It is our job.

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

BANK DECLARES, "RECESSION OVER!"

AN EXCERT FROM TODAY'S TORONTO STAR.

 

The end of the recession is nigh, according to the Bank of Canada.

Canada's economy could mark the end of the recession this quarter amid improved financial conditions, firmer commodity prices and recovering consumer confidence, says the central bank's latest monetary policy report released today.

Still, Governor Mark Carney cautioned the economic recovery remains "nascent" and the high-flying Canadian dollar is "significantly moderating" the pace of the rebound. Worse still for consumers, a return to economic growth during the July-to-September quarter will not halt painful layoffs in the job market.

"Unfortunately, the labour market is the slowest to adjust," Carney told journalists in Ottawa following the release of the report. "And so we can expect continued adjustments and probable further rises in unemployment for a period, even though the economy has started to grow."

The central bank is forecasting economic growth of 1.3 per cent on an annualized basis in the third quarter, which is an upward revision of its earlier projection of a 1 per cent contraction for the three-month period.

During its last monetary policy report in April, the central bank had only projected the recovery to begin in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Its renewed optimism was partly fuelled by signs the pace of the contraction began moderating during the second quarter as commodity prices found new traction. Meanwhile, consumer spending perked up, likely buoyed by the rebound in stock prices at that time.

Overall, the central bank projects the Canadian economy will contract by 2.3 per cent this year. That will be followed by growth of 3 per cent in 2010 and 3.5 per cent in 2011.

Its base-case projection is built on various assumptions, including the Canadian dollar averaging 87 cents (U.S.) "Importantly, a stronger and more volatile Canadian dollar could act as a significant drag on growth and put additional downward pressure on inflation," its report said.

The total consumer price index is expected to decline 0.7 per cent on a year-over- year basis this quarter, but increase by 1.2 per cent during the final quarter of this year.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile items, will fall to a trough of 1.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, "reflecting the significant excess supply in the Canadian economy and a continued deceleration in food prices," the report added. Core inflation will eventually return to 2 per cent during the second quarter of 2011.

Earlier this week, the Bank of Canada held its trendsetting overnight rate steady at 0.25 per cent and reiterated its pledge to leave it there until June 2010 provided that inflation remains tame. For his part, Carney reiterated that conditional pledge today but warned that nothing is written in stone.

"Indeed, given the Bank's relatively robust growth outlook over the next four quarters, questions will increasingly build on that commitment if their call is accurate," said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets in a note to clients. "If growth comes in even stronger, something's gotta give – rates would then be on the rise before mid-2010."

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

 

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Love and Family

After a frantic few months, my business is finally slowing down a little.  This is usual for this time of year; the children are out of school and many clients, friends, neighbours and agents take some much needed down-time to enjoy our beautiful but short summer.  In conversation with neighbours, I'm astonished how many are travelling to Europe this year.  I too, am planning what I hope is the trip of a lifetime for my son and nephew.  We are heading to Italy in the middle of August.  I think the boys are frightened that I'm going to make them go into church after church to look at the scenery, but I am not.  They are men, 20 and 25 and the only thing I keep laughing about is I intend to pin the address of the place we are staying to the inside of their shirts so they know how to get home from wherever they go. 

My family is everything to me; it's been an extraodinarily busy and stress-filled year so far.  In conversation with a girlfriend I had not seen in awhile, we relayed things going on in each of our lives. I have volunteered on a number of fronts and one of the things that I was having a pity-party about was the lack of appreciation for jobs that are unpaid.  It has bothered me to my core and consequently affected my health.  I have decided to pull back on a lot of it and travel some more.  Life is way to short to experience anxiety about things that I volunteer for; why not be anxious and more attentive to my job and the people I represent?  That appears more appropriate.  She agreed and I felt better in sharing my concerns-they had been bottled up for quite some time.  We spent a lovely afternoon drinking sodas on her front porch, something we don't do anymore in our society.  Life is far too precious to sweat the small stuff; tonight, I'm kicking back with a burger on the bbque and "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built" (Alexander McCall Smith-No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel)

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

Harbourfront-What a Beautiful Place we live in!

This past weekend, we decided on a whim to toddle down to Harbourfront (www.HarbourfrontCentre.com) and have a bite to eat.  You see, there is a place called "World Food" and it's like an open air food court.  Latin America, Carribbean, Eastern European, South-East Asia, to name a few.  There are so many choices, you could eat in a different land about 10 times!  And then of course, there is ONE LOVE CORN...a place where you can buy a cob fresh off the grill or for the more elite, corn soup.  Lovely...corn's not quite there yet, of course, but they were lined up for it.

There is nothing more beautiful than this area in the summer; a marketplace of vendors selling their wares.  I bought knitted finger puppets as a homewarming for my small person friend, Scotty.  I picture him "talking to the hand" for hours on end.  Love Scotty.  The day was perfect; we decided to take a boat cruise around the Toronto Islands.  Touristy yes; breathtaking...also yes, even for this native Torontonian.  And you learn stuff about our city.  Did you know the Redpath Sugar Factory is green?  They pride themselves on being totally non-polluting and they are right on the water.  There are 14 grams of pure gold in each window of the Royal Bank of Canada.  That's probably why it's the smallest tower downtown; they ran out of gold.

When we got off the boat, we went over to the open air area where they had a DJ mixing tunes.  www.MakeItFunky.ca was rocking the afternoon away.  People were just lounging about in the fake grass, kids were breakdancing, young and older.  It reminded me of the beach in Italy; every Sunday, families would go to the beach and make it a day with food and family.  This had the same feeling and it was right here, right now in our great city.  Check it out!

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

Flying Off the Shelf

This posting was from my broker, Ken McLachlan the other day.  Thought it appropriate to what is happening in our marketplace in July.

Another beautiful morning here in our City and our real estate market is still humming along well into July. Many would of predicted for our market to have adjusted to a slower summer market by now, but by all accounts, nothing could be further from the truth.

As they say in retail, product is just flying off the shelf.

Here is a list of possible reasons for the strong activity, in no particular order of relevance:

• low low interest rates
• abundance of mortgage money available
• not many quality homes on the market at one time
• still a pent up demand from the late fall and early winter slowdown
• renewed confidence in our national and global financial systems
• realtors are working long hours with a sense of confidence in our economy
• Toronto is a fantastic city to live in and raise a family in, people are moving here
• in spite of what many predictors have said, the sky didn't fall and won't fall
• real estate is the investment of choice over everything else

Summer in the city, no better place.

 

Ken McLachlan

Broker/Owner

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

 

 

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

Another beautiful morning here in our City and our real estate market is still humming along well into July. Many would of predicted for our market to have adjusted to a slower summer market by now, but by all accounts, nothing could be further from the truth.

As they say in retail, product is just flying off the shelf.

Here is a list of possible reasons for the strong activity, in no particular order of relevance:

• low low interest rates
• abundance of mortgage money available
• not many quality homes on the market at one time
• still a pent up demand from the late fall and early winter slowdown
• renewed confidence in our national and global financial systems
• realtors are working long hours with a sense of confidence in our economy
• Toronto is a fantastic city to live in and raise a family in, people are moving here
• in spite of what many predictors have said, the sky didn't fall and won't fall
• real estate is the investment of choice over everything else

Summer in the city, no better place.

 

Ken McLachlan

Broker/Owner

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

 

 

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

Happy People...What makes them Tick?

 

I've been looking around me lately and realize there are truly not too many really happy people.  I guess to understand Happy Folks, you have to understand Unhappy Ones.  Years ago, I remember hearing a woman describe a study of happy people.  The study determined that the happiest people in the world are those with a cause outside of themselves.  What does that mean, a cause outside of themselves?

Well, simply put, it means that you are dedicated to something, anything outside of your own self thinking.  To fully understand this, take a look at some unhappy people you know.  What is their focus?  In my estimation, their focus is almost always themselves, their health, their love life, their weight, their hair or lack thereof....etc.  Unhappy people are self absorbed with anything to do about....you guessed it....themselves.  We all know these people; sometimes, we are even these people.  Whining, complaining, blaming, being persecuted by, you name it, they have it.

Happy people on the other hand are usually too busy to consider whining or complaining because they are dedicated to something or someone else.  Say for example, working with various charities, or feeding kids breakfast, or reading to the blind or even emersing yourself in a great book.  For a moment, for a lifetime, you are happy because the focus of your existance is not selfish...it is self-less, a very noble and HAPPY way to be.

I've been looking around me lately and realize there are truly not too many really happy people.  I guess to understand Happy Folks, you have to understand Unhappy Ones.  Years ago, I remember hearing a woman describe a study of happy people.  The study determined that the happiest people in the world are those with a cause outside of themselves.  What does that mean, a cause outside of themselves?

Well, simply put, it means that you are dedicated to something, anything outside of your own self thinking.  To fully understand this, take a look at some unhappy people you know.  What is their focus?  In my estimation, their focus is almost always themselves, their health, their love life, their weight, their hair or lack thereof....etc.  Unhappy people are self absorbed with anything to do about....you guessed it....themselves.  We all know these people; sometimes, we are even these people.  Whining, complaining, blaming, being persecuted by, you name it, they have it.

Happy people on the other hand are usually too busy to consider whining or complaining because they are dedicated to something or someone else.  Say for example, working with various charities, or feeding kids breakfast, or reading to the blind or even emersing yourself in a great book.  For a moment, for a lifetime, you are happy because the focus of your existance is not selfish...it is self-less, a very noble and HAPPY way to be.

Real Estate Madness

I don't know what has promted the insanity that is going on in our marketplace, but it is difficult to explain to buyers that the principal of supply and demand in our city is alive and flourishing.  I showed a very mediocre home 4 days ago; the seller's agent was reviewing offers July 7 at 4 p.m.  We had registered our offer on July 6 and at that time, there were two others.  The property is in a desireable location, however needed approximately $50,000.00 worth of work, plus there were two (count 'em) separate apartments in the basement.  Doesn't sound like dream home, does it?  Anway, what ensued afterwards was pandemonium.  There ended up being 7 offers, including ours and I had suggested to my purchaser he be with me in the event our offer was accepted and changes were necessary.  My client got to see first hand the "game" of real estate.  People going in and out of the home (in this case, in no particular order or organization), home inspection(s) going on....madness.  Anyway, we decided to retract our offer and keep looking.  It will be interesting to see the end result of this deal today.

I can only explain what is happening as follows:

1.  We have and continue to have, record low interest rates.  Call up your bank today and you can still secure a 5 year rate below 4%.  Unbelievable.  The variable rate continues to hold and we in the industry anticipate this will remain very low (right now 2.65%) until well into 2010.

2.  There is a severe shortage of homes on the market.  Go down any street...no signs!!!  Come on people, help us out here.  Isn't it time for a move?  ;-D

3.  There are tons, I mean tons, of first time buyers on the market.  They all qualify for government incentives that give rebates on land transfer costs and closing costs.  Very affordable!

Finally, we just live in a great city!  Beautiful, clean (except for right now with the garbage thing going on) and for a big city, quite safe.  On a whim this past weekend, we were at Ontario Place and decided to take a helipcopter ride which they offer there.  It cost about 60$ a person and flies over the city centre and harbour.  I can tell you, we live in a first class city-it was breathtaking.  Try it one day.  I'm not a good flyer, but I loved this experience.

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

Toronto: A Wonderful Mosaic of People

I like to use the word "mosaic" in my conversations.  Reason?

1.  My sister Michele and I are mosaic artists; we have sold hundred of our pieces at various art shows like the Distillery District and Queen West Art Crawl, to name a few.  We have taught (been paid and or for free, because we love it) at various schools in and around Toronto.  Glass and tile mosaic projects are so simple, we've had children as young as 4 and hosted  older adult gatherings, over lychee martinis, in a backyard.

2.  Mosaics are why I'm travelling with my son and nephew to Italy this summer; they don't know it yet, but I'm making side trips to ancient sites to view the mosaics.  Tee hee....they'll love it...not!

3.  We live in a town with a plethora, or mosaic of people.  This week a number of people that were sworn in as citizens stated why they loved Toronto (www.thestar.com).

Several hundred people take their citizenship oaths today at nine spots around the GTA. We asked eight to tell us their favourite things about Toronto.

1.
"The signs that say 'squeeze over' when the lanes are narrowing – I think that's so cute. We have strawberries in California but I like the Ontario ones grown here better."
– Suzan Gibbs, over 60, Sacramento, Calif.

2.
"I love to go to the Rogers Centre to watch baseball when I have the chance and the money."
– Gregory Wickramasinghe, 44, Kegalle, Sri Lanka

3.
"I live 500 metres to the beach from Woodbine Ave. and it is beautiful. On my days off, I can play soccer with my friends."
– Ivaylo Miladenov, 37, Sofia, Bulgaria

4.
"The multiculturalism. I have a Japanese friend married to a Bangladeshi guy. When I want to talk to Filipinos, I can have my own language and food to ease up the loneliness."
– Alma Balcena, 36, Negros Occidental, Philippines.

5.
"The festivals, I love all of the different festivals: the Greek festival coming up, the Beaches jazz festival."
– Taimour Ashfaq Malik, 38, Pakistan

6.
"I'm originally from the south of Russia, by the Caspian Sea, and I used to live close to the sea, so we try to go to Harbourfront and be there frequently."
– Alexander Shteiman, 38, Russia

 

Cheryl Bower

www.CherylBower.com

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.