Marg Scheben-Edey - Collingwood, Ontario

I'm off for another pre-purchase inspection Monday morning for a deal set to close that day. Most people wonder what this is and if it is necessary.

Most offers today include a clause in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale giving the buyer the right to one or two further inspections of the property following acceptance of the deal and prior to the closing. One of those usually takes place on the day of closing. The purpose is to ensure that the property is in essentially the same condition that it was when the buyer made the offer.

If you read the fine print in the pre-printed forms we use for an Agreement of Purchase and Sale, there is a clause that says the property remains at the risk of the seller until the deal closes. It goes on to say that the Seller will maintain insurance on the building until that time as well. It's an important clause and I could write a book on the number of times it has become an issue.

One time, there was a house fire two weeks before the closing date that destroyed the kitchen. In that case, the buyers agreed to accept the insurance proceeds and close the deal after which they'd put in a new kitchen. In another case, the sellers had moved out two weeks prior to closing. In the following two weeks, a flood occurred that extensively damaged the basement of the house and, it was not discovered by anyone until the pre-purchase inspection took place. In another case, vandals had entered the house the night before the planned closing and again, there was extension damage. In all cases, the insurance saved the deal and everyone closed the transactions with full knowledge leaving nobody fuming.

One of the most common issues we've encountered is when a large amount of garbage or debris has been left behind by the seller resulting in hundreds of dollars of dumping fees and transport. In such situations, the lawyers will usually call for a hold-back on some of the funds until the refuse is disposed of by either party. I recall one such situation which caused an irate seller to throw a few punches at us!

There is story after story but. suffice to say, a pre-purchase inspection is ALWAYS a good idea. Missing or replaced chattels, damage caused by a move or a sudden leak can all ruin a closing. Better to know before handing over thousands of dollars and taking possession.

I have a very talented and smart client. She recently made a significant life change upon her retirement by leaving Toronto to move to Collingwood to live a quality lifestyle.

This gal purchased a run-down condo that had the right bones, a fabulous location and a good price. Then she set her mind to making it hers and here are the results:

Isn't that amazing? No, she is not a stager or designer but rather, a person with great taste and a good eye. It looks like an entirely different place and rest assured, she has improved the resale value well beyond her investment. Hat's off to her and congratulations on this transformation!

After looking at the basics of selling in the first two posts on marketing luxury homes, it's time to consider some specific actions.

We know that the single most important tool today is the internet. When a property is listed in the Multiple Listing Service, it automatically appears on the public REALTOR.ca site which is one of the most heavily visited websites in Canada. Listings will also usually appear on the Brokerage website and agents personal website if they have one. In most cases, all of these three places will have the same information but, it's just not enough for a luxury home.

One of the very best tools I have used this year is to build a website specifically for the home. It allows me to really tell the story and all of the wonderful things a potential buyer should know. In this example, I've been able to add hundreds of pictures, music, floor plans, a survey, neighbourhood information, the history of the development, details about the builder, a virtual tour and of course, property details such as room sizes, taxes, land size and more. The sky is the limit on what can be included.

Does it work? Well, in the first 60 days, we had over 17,000 hits on the site and 3,500 views. Hundreds of people have forwarded the information, have printed off details and have watched the entire slide show. That data is available through back-end statistics that are useful for both the sellers and myself to know. We can also tell how people came to the site.

Having a single property website allows me to advertise the property in unique ways. For example, I syndicate all of my online listings to popular sites such as Craigslist, Livedeal, Kiijiji and so on. They all link back to the website as do any ads I run in newsprint. The unique website links to the listing data on my own site.

For this same property, I had a professional sign designed and built that sets the home apart with a distinguished visual and on the sign, there is a large rider with the website address. Over 500 of our views in the first two months were direct requests to the website suggesting that most came from the For Sale Sign.

I also had a graphic artist and advertising person design and print a glossy full colour brochure which has great visuals, a bit of information and, you guessed it, the website address for the property. It helps to LOVE the house because this is the time to be poetic, heartfelt and sincere about how a home lives and how it feels. People reading the copy tend to "get it."

So, will I advertise your home in the Globe and Mail? No. But I'll spend a great deal more directing the marketing to agents and to the public with marketing that actually draws attention to your home. In such a narrow market, this is what counts.

Related Posts:

Selling a Luxury Home In Collingwood ~ Blue Mountain

Marketing A Luxury Home In Collingwood ~ Blue Mountain; Part 1
Marketing A Luxury Home In Collingwood ~ Blue Mountain; Part 2

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

After you have established the right asking price, have prepared and staged your luxury home, it's time to begin marketing the home for sale.

Remember the question most sellers ask is "Will you advertise my home in the Globe & Mail?"  Let's think about that.  What we want to find is a suitable buyer.  Less than 5% of buyers can afford an upper-tier home and even fewer (less than 1%) of buyers in South Georgian Bay buy a property valued at over 1 million dollars.  Where are those buyers and how do we find them?

I can hardly imagine someone sitting down to read ads of out-of-town properties for sale unless they have some interest in the topic.  Secondly, if they do, I doubt they suddenly discover South Georgian Bay for the first time and I doubt even more that any ad, usually 30 words or less, will cause them to make a new life plan.  No, in reality, the buyer likely already has an attachment to the area be it in past vacations, friends who have invested or moved here or maybe they already own property in the area.

This buyer is affluent and educated.  If they are in the market for a luxury home, the probability is extremely high that they will search on the internet for available listings to see what's out there.  They will visit the area and will likely solicit the recommendations of family or friends to find a good area.  They'll drive around, right down some addresses and head back online for details.  They'll eventually hire a local REALTOR® if they are serious.  In other words, they are not looking for a two line ad in a paper that cost some agent hundreds of dollars to run with no results.  Trust me on this, I know.  I know, oh how I know!  They are using the internet, signage and salespeople as well as family and friends.

So, a good start for a new listing in this category is for the listing agent to host an Agent Open House inviting other REALTORS® to view and learn about the home.  If you can't sell the agents, chances are you'll have a tough time selling anyone else.

Secondly, make sure the house is easy to show and that the owners are absent during the showing.  Most clients ask that the listing agent be present in the background and therefore available to answer specific questions that might arise.  Make sure the keys work, the alarm system is addressed with the agent, that the house is in top notch showing condition and that pets are removed from the home.

Now that the house has been priced, prepared, staged, shown to other agents and is easy and ready to show, the real marketing begins. Naturally, that involves signage, placing the listing on the MLS® Multiple Listing Service and preparing feature sheets. But there's more.  Much more.

Coming Soon:  Marketing A Luxury Home in Collingwood ~ Blue Mountain;  Part 3

Related Posts:

Selling a Luxury Home in Collingwood - Blue Mountain

Marketing a Luxury Home In Collingwood ~ Blue Mountain; Part 1

Many of the rural properties in South Georgian Bay get their water supply from wells, be they dug, drilled, bored or sand point wells.

Whenever I list such a home for sale, I always take a water sample at the outset. Quite probably, any offer that comes in will include a buyers requirement for one or more water test results showing that the water is potable; that is, fit for human consumption.

19 years ago when I started in the business, it was rare to get bad results back. These days, it's very common and I often wonder if this is due to environmental degradation, tighter testing standards or perhaps a combination of the two.

It's a good idea to test the water when the property is listed in order to head off any potential problems down the line. Often, it's a simple case of cleaning and disinfecting the well or of having minor repairs done such as tightening a cap or lid. If a test reveals that e-coli is present, then a deeper investigation is necessary and the corrective measures may be more complex. Either way, for a property seller, the issue will need to be addressed sooner or later so why not do it before complications arise with a buyer down the line.

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is most helpful and has some great information about water on their website.

For buyers, I always recommend that, even if the water tests came back perfect today, things change over time and therefore, it's always prudent to put safety precautions in place. Regular water sampling is important but more importantly, consider installing a device such as an UltraViolet (UV) light and pre-filter. Make sure it is NSF certified, that it is installed by a professional plumber and that you remember to perform annual maintenance as required. In the long run, it's a small price to pay for your health.