My Client on Selling a Condo and Buying Another One

Listen to “My Client on Selling a Condo and Buying Another One” on Spreaker.

Guest Speaker: Katherine Gross

My Client

I recently helped Katherine sell her condo and buy another one.

Her Insights

After she decided to sell you condo, how did she decide to select an agent?
Why Katherine selected me over all the other agents that she could have listed with
Her condo sold very quickly, then deal fell through. It that happened a second time until it finally sold. How did she feel when that happened? How did she remain calm?
Her biggest surprise while selling her condo
What she thinks I did as an agent that was most helpful in the sales process
The biggest challenge or surprise in the sales process
What she was looking for when it came to buying your new condo
How did she find it was when we were looking for a new place?
How did she feel during the offer process?
When we lost out on our first offer, how did she feel then?
When we continued to look for a place, was she still thinking about the condo that we didn’t get?
We almost put in an offer on another place too, what stopped her?
How she felt when she got the condo you wanted
How she feels now that she have been living in your new place for a few months
Advice she has for those who are thinking of buying or selling

Transcript

Davelle Morrison: Welcome to the Morrisonn Report. I wanted to create a podcast that would give people insights into the Toronto real estate market. You can follow me on Twitter at Davelle Morrisonn and on Instagram as Davelle Morrisonn. You can like my business page on Facebook.

Joining us today is Katherine Gross, one of my clients. I recently helped her sell her condo and buy another one. Thank you so much for joining today, Kathy. Welcome.

Katherine Gross: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Davelle Morrison: Awesome. Katherine, would you mind just sharing a little bit of information about yourself, where you’re from, what you do, your hobbies, etc., so that my listeners know a little bit more about you?

Katherine Gross: Sure. I’m actually originally from Montreal. I’ve lived in Toronto. I’ve lived in the US. Then I returned to Ontario about 11 years ago, then 10 years ago moved back to Toronto. I’m an audiologist. I work for a hearing aid manufacturer, so a little bit different than a clinical audiologist. I don’t work with patients. I travel around the world for my job and I get to work out of my home when I’m not on an airplane. My home is very important. I’m very active. During the winter months I’m on the ski trails and in the summer I’m on the lake standup paddling, kayaking, trail running, and then in the gym, of course, in between.

Davelle Morrison: Awesome. That sounds great. Today I really wanted to talk to you about your experience of selling your condo recently. Katherine, can you tell us a little bit about why you decided to sell your condo?

Katherine Gross: I wanted a more urban neighborhood, something that was closer to the downtown core, and something that was closer to the lake. I also, because I work from home, I was in a very small condo, one bedroom plus den, and I was really looking for that second full room to convert into my home office.

Davelle Morrison: Right, right, right. How do you like the neighborhood that you’re living in right now?

Katherine Gross: I adore it. I’m still investigating and still learning about all the new places and services that this wonderful neighborhood has to offer.

Davelle Morrison: Awesome. Can you tell us what neighborhood did you leave? Where was your condo originally?

Katherine Gross: I was at the Avenue Road and Lawrence area, beautiful, beautiful neighborhood, and lots of great restaurants and places to go and services. I moved down to Wesleyville.

Davelle Morrison: Perfect.

Katherine Gross: Something that is more up and coming, definitely changing currently. I’m really enjoying it.

Davelle Morrison: Awesome. That sounds great. Can you tell us a little bit about after you decided to sell your condo? How did you select a real estate agent to work with?

Katherine Gross: I wanted to go with somebody that I knew or that a friend of mine knew. The reason is I had been burned in the past by doing the yellow pages kind of selection for an agent. Then going word of mouth, I was very successful. You and I had met in the past, at trail races actually, so I knew you, first thing. Secondly, we have a mutual friend who highly recommended you.

Davelle Morrison: Awesome.

Katherine Gross: Between the two, it was just a no-brainer.

Davelle Morrison: Awesome, that’s great. Thanks very much. Your condo sold very quickly and then the deal fell through. In fact, that happened a second time until it finally sold. How did you feel when that happened and how did you remain calm throughout that process.

Katherine Gross: It was so interesting. I never got upset or worried because we got an offer on the very first day. I knew that I was in a good neighborhood. I knew I was in a great building. I knew it was highly desirable. Putting that together with the fact that I knew that you were networking, so you had already had open houses. As soon as the offer fell through, you were already contacting other agents that you knew had interested clients. The combination of the networking, the marketing plan, the continued open houses, all of that, just I guess you put all of that together and there’s really no reason to worry or panic.

Davelle Morrison: Right, that makes sense. What was the biggest surprise for you, then, in selling your condo or was there a big surprise for you?

Katherine Gross: There was, first thing that I got an offer on the first day. The second was it sold over asking. In my mind, I thought that while my condo was a really good buy and desirable, I thought that there were many, many, many on the market. I didn’t think that there would be … I was surprised that I got over asking and I would have been surprised even if I had just gotten asking price. I didn’t realize the demand and that people were willing to throw money at you to get it.

Davelle Morrison: I love that. People are willing to throw money at you.

Katherine Gross: Yeah, that’s what happened, if you recall.

Davelle Morrison: Yeah, totally. What do you think I did as an agent that was helpful during the sales process.

Katherine Gross: Oh, you did so much. Let’s see. The first thing is my condo had a marketing plan. It is a product and you put together a marketing plan. That meant that I knew that there was a list of things that were going to happen so that people would see my condo. That’s critical. The second is you set me up with a daily email with new listings. That got me involved in the search process. You also recognized that at the beginning I’m looking for one thing and by the end I’m looking for something else, because there’s a process that you go through. I’m sure I’m not the only one that changes their mind and says “Well, now I want to look in this price range,” or, “Now I’ve changed my mind on the neighborhood,” or, “Now I don’t want two bathrooms. I only want one bathroom.” You arming me with this data every single day helped me through that process and probably helped me through it a lot more quickly. Those are the things …

Davelle Morrison: Awesome.

Katherine Gross: … that really helped.

Davelle Morrison: Was there a challenge at all for you that you faced during the sales process? Was there anything you found challenging?

Katherine Gross: On the buying side for sure, finding that right condo. I was out every weekend with you, or in the evenings. It was disappointing to see some of the layouts that existed that were just silly and didn’t make any sense. It was hard to find a good one, I think. That was the most challenging and almost worrisome because my place sold so quickly and I didn’t find anything that quickly. I was thinking I might end up homeless or moving in.

Davelle Morrison: Of course. That’s always a big concern for people for sure. What were you looking for, then, when it came to buying your new place, your new condo?

Katherine Gross: Well, I was looking for that new, more urban neighborhood, that space, and a larger unit, not necessarily that much bigger in terms of square footage but just laid out differently, so more bathrooms and another room in addition to my bedroom. I was also looking for something relatively new. I didn’t want to have to do anything. I wanted a turnkey type of solution.

Davelle Morrison: How did you find it when you were looking for a new place for you? How did you find going through that process of looking for a place?

Katherine Gross: It was a blast.

Davelle Morrison: Okay, that’s good.

Katherine Gross: It was actually a lot of fun. It really is. It’s exciting to be looking, to be … This is a big decision, a big purchase, and it’s a big change in your life. Searching for that new home is a very exciting process and a lot of fun. You get to see different types of architecture and layouts and how people decorate their homes or get them staged, for that matter. Yes, it’s stressful and all that stuff and tiring, but it’s also a blast.

Davelle Morrison: Awesome. Then, as you talk about it being stressful, how did you feel during the offer process, because I’m sure that sometimes that can be a little bit stressful when we’re actually going out and making an offer on a place that you do like.

Katherine Gross: You know, the idea of spending so much money, of course, is very stressful, but the rest of it was not, the actual sitting down and doing it. You guided me through everything and you have a team of people behind the scenes that are helping me get my ducks in a row. Once we decided to make an offer, then the money was in the bank and the mortgage broker was lined up and the lawyer was lined up. Everything was ready to go. That keeps away all the stress.

Davelle Morrison: Awesome, that’s great. Now, in our first offer, we lost out on our first offer. How did you feel then?

Katherine Gross: I was disappointed for a few minutes. Then I knew that this couldn’t possibly be the only unit out there for me. Then you just had to really put it behind you and look forward. You also got together, I remember distinctly, you putting together a list of places and setting a date. You and I were going out searching. It was during the week that we did this. Also, having a plan to move forward helps you get over the loss of a potential unit.

Davelle Morrison: Of course.

Katherine Gross: I also thought it wasn’t meant to be, then.

Davelle Morrison: Of course. When we continued to look for a place, were you still thinking about the condo that we didn’t get? Was that still in the back of your mind a little bit?

Katherine Gross: Maybe a little bit, but not too much. I learned what I liked. I learned that it was a learning process, I think, more than anything because I thought, “Oh, this is a very different layout. This is smart.” Then when we went to see … There was one other place that I was going to put an offer in on and I had learned from the previous experience that oh, this is a very good layout. This really has what I want, so yeah, it all worked out that way.

Davelle Morrison: Perfect. Yeah, because you mentioned. We were almost about to put an offer, I think it was on the same night, of another place. What stopped you? I remember there was a place. You kind of really liked it. You spoke to a friend.

Katherine Gross: I loved that unit and I still think about it today. I did not, I didn’t …

Davelle Morrison: Really?

Katherine Gross: Yeah. It’s a very smart unit. It had everything I needed. It also had that separate dining area which was different. I don’t have that here, actually, but it was the neighborhood. You were fine with the neighborhood. I was fine with the neighborhood, but our mutual friend was not fine with the neighborhood. That made me think, “Okay, what should I do?” You had the most genius idea which was to sleep on it and go back to the neighborhood really early in the morning and spend several hours walking around and seeing how I felt about that neighborhood. I never ended up having to do that because, well, I bought this one in the process before I had a chance.

Davelle Morrison: Yeah, because of course that night, then, I was going back to the office and I thought, “You know, let me just touch base with that agent of that place that we lost out on,” because I remembered you did like it, just to see what was happening with that. Then, of course, I find out that the deal had fallen through.

Katherine Gross: Yeah she was going to call you or something.

Davelle Morrison: Yeah, exactly. Then all of a sudden …

Katherine Gross: I remember. You noticed it wasn’t sold yet. I think that was it.

Davelle Morrison: Yeah, exactly. Then we decided, okay, we were going to put an offer in on the place you had wanted originally. How did you feel then, that all of a sudden you were getting this second chance at the place that you’d lost out on before?

Katherine Gross: I felt like I was in a dream. I did think that. “Oh, really, is this happening?” But it did. I remember sitting up waiting for everything, for the sellers to sign off on it. Then you texting me or calling me. I can’t remember. I was half asleep when I finally got the place, but yeah. I don’t think I was able to sleep.

Davelle Morrison: Oh, really?

Katherine Gross: Yeah, that was a real big surprise and shocker.

Davelle Morrison: That was my next question. How did you feel when you actually got the condo that you wanted? So, you couldn’t sleep.

Katherine Gross: No, of course I couldn’t sleep. Suddenly the next chapter of your life is starting [crosstalk 00:13:09]

Davelle Morrison: Did you call your parents that late? Did you call your parents that late at night or no?

Katherine Gross: Oh, no. I wouldn’t, no. No, I would have emailed them, I think, and I’m sure she was waiting up with her iPad, my mum with the iPad, which she refers to as the machine, sitting up in bed waiting for my email.

Davelle Morrison: Oh, my God.

Katherine Gross: It was late at night. It was just before midnight or something.

Davelle Morrison: That’s funny. How do you feel now that you’ve been living in your place for a few months? You were mentioning earlier how you’re loving the neighborhood. How are you liking your place? What do you feel about it now?

Katherine Gross: I love it. I am still definitely getting used to it. I almost feel like I’m a guest in this very beautiful home, but because it just hasn’t been long enough, I think, to adjust to the fact that this is really mine. I’m really having a lot of fun decorating. I bought a new couch, a new entertainment center, a new dining room table. I’m buying all sorts of things, artwork, mirrors, and enjoying doing that as well. So far, so good, and lots of fun. I love the neighbors as well.

Davelle Morrison: Awesome. That’s great.

Katherine Gross: Yes, wonderful people in this building.

Davelle Morrison: That always makes it very, very helpful and good, that you actually like your neighbors and people are great.

Katherine Gross: Yeah, the property manager is good and the super is super, I call him, super super.

Davelle Morrison: Nice. What advice would you give to our listeners who are looking at either thinking or buying. What advice would you have for them?

Katherine Gross: If somebody decides to buy or sell or do both, I would first hire you.

Davelle Morrison: Thanks.

Katherine Gross: Or someone like you.

Davelle Morrison: Thank you.

Katherine Gross: Really, having the right agent is the key to doing this successfully. That agent should be somebody that you know or that you’ve gotten through word of mouth, I think.

Davelle Morrison: Got it. That’s awesome. Thank you so much for joining us today, Kathy. I really appreciate it. Thanks a lot and have a good day.

Katherine Gross: Thank you and thank you very much for having me. You, too, have a good day.

Davelle Morrison: Thanks.

Thanks again for joining us for some Toronto real estate market insights. You can visit my website at MorrisonnSellsRealEstate.com or visit MorrisonnTalksRealEstate.com for more episodes of the podcast. Thanks for listening.