I wanna do right, but not right now

Sometimes things just work out well and with the right outcome
… despite a tendency among real estate agents to focus on the frustrations, the bad turn of events, the “black cloud” following you, and believe me, I was included in way too many such stories, even at The Lions Towers.
Christine was nearing 75 and was semi-retired. She had spent her career in dental hygiene and age had caught up to her – including her lower income and not quite the savings she had hoped for, at this time.
Christine’s Financial Planner suggested for her to call me direct, and we met at The Lions Towers. This was time well spent, as she is a delight to talk to. She had a good-sized lower floor unit in the Eastern Tower, at 1331 Alberni St.
We analyzed together her options, as Christine was – typical of so many of us – “house rich, money poor”. All of her money was on Alberni Street, invested in her condo.
Of all options available, Christine decided to sell at The Lions and invest with her Financial Planner, someone who could get her yields from 5.5 to 6% annually, or better. Then, Christine would find a modest rental apartment and her pension would cover most of the rent.
This was developing in the early days of COVID-19. Her unit, in an “as is” condition at the time, had a fair market value of $600,000-. There were obvious issues, all common to a 21 years old condo property, with dark wallpaper, way too much furniture, clutter and original “1999” carpets.
First, we cleaned-up together the unit, some furniture was given to charities and some went into a short-term storage pending this sale. We painted the walls a neutral, “hotel room style” tone and the carpet was replaced with a great dark(er) laminate floor throughout. The entire cost was under $10,000-. In the end, we achieved a sale price of $660,000- or $60,000- more than the “as is condition”, by investing $10,000-.
I cannot NOT be amazed that almost every time I suggest upgrades, the sellers will just stay away from spending any money – when it is all proven that updating will, no doubt, increase the market value of their property.
Christine is more than happy today, as we keep in touch. No more condo fees, no more homeowner insurance, no more property taxes twice a year, no more money tied up. Just straight cash funds invested, with returns every six months. She says that she has not been more as ease in many years. Although the rental unit is not “Lions Towers Level”, as her former unit, and there’s no Concierge, her new place is easily within her reach, and that gives her peace of mind.
What we learned, together with Christine:
→ Check out LionsTowers.ca for MLS Listings with videos and professional photography
→ Make the effort and see a few Open Houses in the neighbourhood, in order to understand your future “competition”
→ All that clutter has to go, no two ways about this
→ Favoured colours today are soft whites and greys
→ No matter how expensive the carpet, hardwood floors will be favoured. Darker wins over natural oak
→ As we learned together with Christine, increasing the market value in the buyer’s eyes does not always require large amounts of cash
As everything else in life, in times of uncertainty, we focus on the fundamentals
And these come down to location and the fewest possible objections from the Buyer and their Agent.
Always here to help.

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