When you are a first-time home buyer, making the decision to put in an offer can be an intimidating hurdle to overcome. And if that decision has to be made on the very first home you’ve seen, that hurdle can be monumental.

Such was the issue for first-time buyers Richard and Jason, who were ready to trade their tiny condo rental for a roomier home.

The challenge

It took Richard and Jason some time to feel they were ready to buy, something Richard kicks himself for in hindsight. Ideally, he would have bought five years ago, before the GTA market exploded, but at the time he was not ready for that kind of financial commitment. Now that he was, would they be able to find a big enough place within their budget?

Space was a key consideration. They needed enough living space to be comfortable and a second bedroom that could double as a room for overnight guests and storage for the many costumes and accessories that are a part of Jason’s side business as a drag queen.

They also needed parking, not wanting the headache of having to find street parking every day when they came home from work. And Richard wanted a home that had architectural interest, not just another “cookie cutter” place.

They were ready to become homeowners, but they were new to the buying process and Richard, at least, was tentative — something that would come back to haunt them.

The plan

The decision to go with Matt and Madalin was a natural one for Richard, a graphic designer who had gotten an insider’s perspective of their business a couple of years earlier when he created their branding. “I learned what makes them so unique,” he says.

Although Jason had a few Realtor friends, he trusted Richard’s judgment and immediately felt comfortable with the couple.

They initially met last spring, but Richard wasn’t ready to really start looking until the fall, and Madalin did a great job of checking in with them from time to time to take the temperature of where they were at. “She was very good at gently nudging us to get us back on track,” Richard says.

One of Richard’s concerns was falling for the first property they saw. “I didn’t want to have to make a decision without having seen many properties first,” he explains. “Ultimately, that’s exactly what happened.”

Richard first spotted the townhome in an online listing and appreciated its size and architectural features. But he didn’t act.

“I didn’t have a full grasp on how quickly buyers were expected to move on a property… There was a bit of naivety there on my part,” he says.

About five days later Jason noticed the listing as well and they finally went to see it. Jason loved it immediately but Richard didn’t. He couldn’t see past the outdated finishes, “weird” bathrooms and atypical entrances.

“I was not ready to commit on it yet,” Richard says. “I was a little too focused on the esthetic, superficial things and wasn’t looking at the quality of the bones, the structure,” although he did appreciate the size and the two parking spaces.

Before they could make a decision, Matt discovered that the home had just been sold. Jason was devastated, recognizing the potential of a home with so much square footage, but Richard was relieved. “It took the onus off of me to have to make a decision.” 

By the following day, Richard began to regret having lost the property. “I started turning things over in my head and thinking about the fact that there’s two parking spots, it was so big, and we could have renovated it and really made it something our own.”

Matt and Madalin encouraged them to see other properties to gain perspective on the alternatives. While this was helpful, it also reinforced for Richard how much he did indeed want that first place they saw.

The success

Just a few days after the disappointment of losing their ideal property, it came back on the market. It turned out that the initial deal fell through because of financing.

In the meantime, Matt and Madalin had shrewdly surmised that the home was likely being sold because of a break-up and there would be value in submitting an offer with the shortest possible closing date.

“Matt had such a good sense for what the seller wanted. I don’t know how he does it,” says Jason. 

This time, Richard and Jason were ready to move quickly. Matt and Madalin recommended they go in at or just below the asking price, that they waive financing (figuring the seller might be sensitive to that condition) and that they offer a closing date of less than 30 days, after first making sure that Richard and Jason could handle the overlap in rent commitment and a new mortgage.

“I had no idea there was a way to give a good bid,” says Richard. “That was an interesting way that he made a deal attractive to them without actually increasing the price point that we were pegging.”

For rookies Richard and Jason, it was a tense 24 hours waiting for the sellers to respond. Matt assured them that it was normal for a seller to wait until the last minute to accept, in case another offer came in.

“He was really good at navigating us through that process and mitigating our anxiety,” says Richard. A few minutes before the deadline they got the good news.

Two months after moving in, they still find themselves wondering if it’s real.

“We went from second-guessing whether or not we can buy a toaster oven for the kitchen (because there was no room in the condo) to having to decide which room to put the living room in; that’s literally how much space we have now,” says Richard.

Adds Jason: “We ask ourselves, ‘How did we get so lucky?’”

The advice

There are a few things they learned along the way.

“I’ve learned that there’s multiple ways to get to where you want to go even if your first path is not the easiest and didn’t pan out for you,” says Richard. In other words, persevere.

Jason says he’s learned a lot about their relationship. “It was really important for us to be patient with one another in terms of what we wanted,” he says. “It’s really easy to get disillusioned by what’s available or what’s not. But we really stuck to what we wanted and we did get really lucky with space.”

The one tip they’d pass along to others:

“Use Matt and Madalin,” Richard says. “I would definitely recommend them for any first-time buyer.”

There are many different life stages we travel through over the years and they can have a huge impact on our lifestyle and happiness.

Brian and Maria went through a big one not long ago when they made the decision to leave Toronto for a slower pace of life near Cobourg. It was not a decision made lightly, and they were grateful for the guidance Matt and Madalin provided along the way.

First Steps

Brian is a retired teacher. Maria is still working in the city, but as a musician for the National Ballet Orchestra, her schedule means she doesn’t have to commute every day. Still, it’s a 1.5-hour drive in good conditions.

That drive meant the couple had to choose where to relocate very carefully. It was a process that did not happen quickly.

“We spent a lot of years looking at properties and trying to decide what exactly it was that we wanted, and we went through a lot of iterations,” Brian explains. “We looked at waterfront property because we own a boat, we like water.” But they found they’d have to settle for a small piece of land and the waterfront is busy on weekends.

Then they looked at farms but realized it wasn’t quite what they wanted. “After all these years we finally decided what we were really after was some space and privacy. Once that was established, it made things a lot easier to look for.”

At first, they thought they might relocate back out east, where Brian is from. But because Maria wanted to keep working, “that was something of a commute,” Brian jokes. They checked out Perth, a town about an hour west of Ottawa and where Maria’s parents live, but that was still too far. And they explored Uxbridge and Peterborough for their proximity to Toronto, but neither felt like a good fit.

Paradise Found

Then a friend gave them a heads up about a property that was going up for sale near Warkworth, which is northeast of Cobourg. It was a roomy bungalow on 25 acres of mostly woodlot, and they fell in love with it.

“The place has been well taken care of,” says Brian. “It was perfect.”

Matt referred them to an agent in the area who handled the purchase for them. Referrals are a key aspect of Matt and Madalin’s business and they make an effort to partner with agents who have the same qualities and work ethic they do.

Selling the Family Home

And when it came time to sell their Riverdale home, Brian says Matt was great. “He explained everything right away about how the market works and what we’re looking at, what we’re dealing with and told us right up front what he was thinking was the best plan of action, which was to spend about $40,000 dolling it up.” Brian and Maria agreed. “With Matt’s plan, we got back the $40,000 in triplicate.”

Brian and Maria also appreciated Matt’s expertise in organizing the renovation work. “He had all those people just ready to go,” Brian says, taking a lot of the responsibility off their shoulders.

Before

After

Living The Good Life

Having been in their new home for two years now, Brian and Maria are loving it.

“There’s a sense we have more control over our lives now, mostly,” says Maria. “It’s definitely about time and about space, no debt. For me, I was always an urban person. Brian had spent time on a farm in his teenage years, but I’ve always been an urban person. So, I wondered how I’d adapt, but I really like the balance of going into town for things that I care about.”

They do have a note of caution though for others considering the same path. It’s a big step and one that needs to be thought through, Brian says. He’s seen too many people migrate from the city, build a home that’s too big, and sell a couple of years later without being able to recoup their investment.

“I see a lot of people who are moving out here without putting the thought into what it is they’re really after,” says Brian. “They doll it up like it’s suburbia and I wonder, ‘Why did you want to come out here in the first place?’

“You’ve got to spend a lot of time to figure out what it is exactly that you want and look for that.”

Adds Maria: “It took us awhile to really pinpoint.” She also insisted Brian wait a year after retiring before making a move. But now that they have, she says, “Coming home from Toronto for me is a huge sense of release. It’s coming home to a little bit of a paradise. It’s beautiful.”

“Matt’s been with me from the very beginning of my entire real estate experience,” says Joanne, who is in medical device sales, met Matt Emerson almost eight years ago at an open house when she was looking for her first condo. “We just kind of clicked off the bat,” she says.

First Steps

As a first-time buyer, Joanne was thankful for Matt's advice. “He loves to kind of teach so he’s very patient and explains everything in great detail, to make sure that you’re getting the right fit. He walked me through the entire process, baby step by baby step, until I finally found the place I ended up in.”

That place was an 800-square-foot condo in Corktown, a new build with one bedroom and a den that she bought in 2010.

The Move-Up

The trust that was created through Joanne’s first real estate experience is what prompted her to turn to the Emersons again when it was time to find a home with her new husband, Warren, who runs a family-owned manufacturing business. Entering the crazy real estate market that Toronto saw in 2017 was not for the faint of heart and having Matt and Madalin’s steady guidance made the process easier.

“Matt wanted to make sure that we were making the right decisions for us. He didn’t want to see us make a decision based on how the market was because he knew eventually we may not be as happy,” says Joanne. “We were flip-flopping back and forth between just finding a larger condo or making that big jump into a freehold home. He took us everywhere we wanted to go in different areas of the city so that we could really just narrow down where we wanted to be and exactly what we were looking for. So, it was a lot of looking.”

Their search lasted over a year and included disappointment in the spring when the couple was involved in bidding on a home along with 21 others. They didn’t win. “We got a little bit nervous and stepped back,” Joanne explains. “After that kind of loss, you re-evaluate what your budget is and where you need to be. There was a lot of coaching from Matt.” They got back to the search after the summer and finally found their dream home in October.

Success!

There were multiple bids again – 9 this time – and theirs was not the highest. But Joanne says it was thanks to Matt that they got the home. “The owner of the house said, ‘Your real estate agent sold this for you’. He was just really impressed with Matt in general and that weighed heavily on his decision to give it to us.”

Their dream home is a freehold semi-detached in Leslieville, the neighbourhood they ultimately always wanted to be in. “We ended up getting exactly everything we dreamed of,” says Joanne, who is most looking forward to – when the weather warms up – having her own backyard and front porch. “And having a private driveway is rare.”

As for selling her condo? That was easy, she says. “Selling it was never a concern; it was us finding the right place to move because we were happy where we were, so we were very picky.” The condo sold in five days and the Emersons “did a fantastic job promoting it. They’re a great team!”

When it comes to success in buying or selling real estate, you can’t discount the value of the client-Realtor relationship. That’s something Alecia Aquino, a director of strategy at RBC, quickly realized when working with Matt and Madalin to buy a larger condo and then sell her smaller one.

Relationships Matter

“They’re probably one of the most trusted advisors that I’ve engaged from a professional standpoint,” Alecia says. “I trusted their advice, they were very active listeners. They paid attention to what your wants were, what you didn’t want. They were very approachable, very warm and welcoming. At one point I didn’t really feel like I was dealing with a real estate agent, I was dealing with a friend.”

And that relationship – and friendship – has continued well beyond the transaction.

First Steps

When Alecia was hunting for a move-up condo two years ago, she wasn’t prepared when the perfect unit came up. She had been casually checking MLS listings for several months, gauging inventory for her wish list, which was specific: a two-bedroom-plus-den in her downtown neighbourhood.

“Those were really hard to find at a reasonable price point at that time.”

She knew she would have to be patient, and that was OK. But she didn’t have an agent and she hadn’t got pre-approved for a mortgage, so when a loft condo came up that she fell in love with, she wasn’t ready. Still, she wanted to put in an offer.

A friend recommended Matt. Within 24 hours they had connected, met and put in the offer. While it wasn’t accepted (she wasn’t prepared to raise her price or waive a condition on financing), the relationship had begun.

“My first impression upon meeting Matt, I felt we could work together, even though I hadn’t known him,” Alecia says. “I had a strong referral and recommendation.” She appreciated how Matt reassured her about her decisions. “He wasn’t pushing me in one direction just to get the purchase.”

Finding the ONE!

Alecia loved the building that first unit was in so much that she was prepared to wait for another unit in the building to be listed. In the meantime, Matt did find other condos for her to look at that were in her area, in her budget and met her space needs.

And when, a month later, another loft unit in her favourite building came up, they pounced.

“Matt was fantastic,” Alecia says. “He already had the offer pre-drafted even before I came to see it."

“We were first in and we won the offer!” Alecia says. The condo is perfect for her and fiancé Sean. It’s just a block and a half away from her old place and within walking distance of work for both of them.

“It’s really built for entertaining,” she says. That was important as they host frequent parties. It offers a large open space with a big kitchen, office & collectibles space for Sean, a separate dining room, high ceilings and two bathrooms. They’ve also increased their living space to about 1,000 square feet, versus the 750 or so at Alecia’s old condo.

And that old place?

When it came to that previous condo, Matt and Madalin were able to make quick work of getting it sold. The condo was in good shape, but Matt recommended decluttering, staging and a few repairs. “Whether it was getting a contractor or fixing it himself, he went above and beyond what was expected from a real estate agent,” Alecia says. And that effort paid off: the condo sold within 24 hours.

The Advice

Be ready: “As spontaneous as it is, when you’re looking for a home, it is really important to get your ducks in a row,” like getting mortgage pre-approval, Alecia says. “If there’s something you really want, you want to be able to minimize those conditions on your offer.”

Ask questions: “Ask your real estate agent questions if you’re not clear,” she says. “As a consumer I think it’s important to ask questions and not just rely on your real estate agent to have it covered; not to say that Matt didn’t – he did – but I needed to ask those questions just to be clear on what was expected and what to anticipate.”

Get a referral: “There’s value when looking for a real estate agent in consulting with your family and friends for references versus potentially going with a listing agent or just looking someone up,” Alecia says. “There’s long-term value as well as the transaction value of working with someone who you can trust and who is going to act in your best interest.”

The trust that Matt and Madalin instilled, right from the beginning, has resulted in a strong business relationship and friendship today. Alecia doesn’t hesitate to recommend them to her family and friends and they continue to stay in touch and get together.

“They do maintain such a level of client contact that your client experience with them extends beyond once you buy your house or sell your house,” she says. “Matt and Madalin’s personalities just give you that level of comfort.”

In an extreme example of how technology – combined with trust in your realtor – can help you buy your home, today’s success story is about a young family who made the leap of faith to follow through on the buying process without even being in the country.

The Challenge

Damian and his wife were ready to sell their condo last fall. With a three-year-old and a baby on the way, it was time to find a larger place.

Both Damian and his wife travel for work, which meant working around their schedules became an interesting challenge. It also meant putting a lot of trust in Matt and Madalin.

They met Matt and Madalin during an open house in their condo building. “We were looking for an agent and we were tracking how well they did with the sale of one of our neighbours’ condos,” says Damian. “We thought they were very professional, we liked the fact that it was them at the open house and not a junior colleague from their firm.”

Damian figured the sale of their own condo would be straight forward (it was) but wasn’t so sure about then becoming buyers. “We knew we’d be travelling a lot, there would be time limits and communication and time zone issues. We didn’t even know if this could work.”

The Plan

Having built up that trust in selling the couple’s condo, Matt starting looking at houses with them. “That’s when Matt took it to the next level as far as an agent,” says Damian. “He really became an advisor. His knowledge of building materials and construction quality and craftsmanship and everything that goes into the finishes of a house and fundamentals of a house all came together to make us really confident that he was a good person to guide us through the purchase of another home.”

As the search continued and work trips interfered, that’s when the technology came into play. Matt would visit a home and create a video walkthrough that he would send to Damian, who would also utilize things like Google street views and satellite images to get a sense of what was around a home. It helped that he already had a good knowledge of Toronto, but he still relied on Matt’s guidance for deep details on a neighbourhood and things like how to find out the rating of a school. And, oddly, being in different time zones was a plus.

“When it came to the house that we ultimately purchased and the three or four leading up to it, which we dug a little deeper into, I was nine or 10 hours ahead, so by the time Matt had woken up and started his work day, he already had an inbox of stuff of me going, ‘Hey, I saw this one; hey, what do you think of the roof; hey, what’s that building next to it’ and all these things the pictures weren’t showing so he knew what to look for when he went by with the video,” says Damian. “That worked to our advantage that I would have this leeway.”

Added to that, they coordinated with their lawyer and notaries in the countries Damian and his wife were in at the time to make sure they weren’t going to hit a roadblock while travelling.

The Advice

If you’re hiring an agent, be sure first and foremost that you’re hiring the individual, for that personal touch, says Damian. Will your agent be staffing your open house, or the lowest person on the totem pole at the firm?

“With Matt and Madalin, they are who you get. That is who is selling your house, who is going in and making an offer. It’s not deferred to somebody else,” he says. “They did a really great job.”

When your budget is tight and you’re not willing to compromise on your wish list, finding the right home can take a combination of determination, patience, the right agent and moving quickly when opportunity strikes.

The Challenge

Such was the case for Nichola and Mike, new parents who needed more space than their 530-square-foot condo allowed.

Nichola, a self-employed public relations specialist, and Mike, who is staying home with their infant daughter, Lucy, had a modest budget and wanted to stay close to downtown. At a time when average prices in Toronto were $750,000, that made finding a home within city limits difficult.

They also did not want another condo they would quickly outgrow, seeking instead to find a home where they could stay long term.

The Plan

They began their search when Lucy was about four months old, knowing they had a deadline. While their cosy condo had been fine for just the two of them, it was no longer enough space with a baby who would soon be crawling.

“We knew we had a time limit on how long we could stay in the space,” Nichola says.

Nichola already knew Matt, who helped her buy that condo back in 2011. It made sense to turn to him again now that it was time to upsize.

“Matt is a genuine person, he authentically cares about his clients and getting the right place for them and he works really hard,” she says. “He’s a trustworthy person to have on your side.”

But Nichola was concerned they would not be able to find what they wanted in their budget.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge, for sure,” she says. Many places came up that they thought might work, but they were at the higher end of the budget and it was obvious the owner was looking for a bidding war.

“It ended up being one thing after another that was just out of our price range. It was really discouraging,” Nichola says.

At one point, she thought perhaps they should give up and move out to Hamilton, or look at another condo and do small living again, even though it wasn’t what they wanted.

And they went so far as to put in an offer on a home in Scarborough, pulling the plug at the last minute because Nichola instinctively felt it would not be the right move.

“It was the most insane process just trying to find something,” Nichola says. But through the five-plus months they were looking, “the cool thing was Matt was very steadfast in that we should just hang on and keep looking for what we want,” she adds.

Success!

And, sure enough, the right property came up. “It was a modest home, but for what we want it’s perfect,” Nichola says.

But they had to act fast.

Matt found the property, which is just six kilometres away from their current Liberty Village condo, the first day it was on the market. He shot a video and sent it to them, giving them a good sense of what the home looked like on the inside, and they were able to visit it the same day.

Because the owner was taking offers any time, they knew it would be wise to put in an offer right away. Matt was able to perform all of the due diligence in a very tight timeframe and they secured the home below the asking price – a very rare occurrence in Toronto.

Nichola and Mike love their new home. The two-bedroom, one-bath, semi-detached home has 700 square feet plus a usable basement, with a parking pad and a backyard that’s perfect for Lucy.

“It has a lot of potential for future expansion,” says Nichola, who has plans to add on down the road so their little family can really put down roots.

Selling the Condo

Of course, Matt also helped them sell their condo, suggesting they change the kitchen counters, paint and declutter. Matt staged the condo and Nichola, Mike and Lucy went to stay with family temporarily while the condo was up for sale. “He staged it so well. Our place looked like a million bucks,” Nichola says.

The process of preparing the condo while also juggling work and a baby was stressful, even though Matt did everything he could to minimize the stress. But “it totally worked out,” Nichola says. “We ended up selling our place for 8% over asking.”

The Advice

Nichola’s advice to others who may have a tight budget and a wish list they don’t want to compromise on? Stick to your guns.

“Be patient, even when you think you’re never going to find what you want. Just stay the course and keep the faith that something will come up.”

And make sure you trust your agent, she says. When it came to Matt, “I have a level of comfort with him,” she says. “I truly believe that he is looking out for my best interest. There’s a real authenticity with Matt.”