I initially spoke to Tom in 2014. He received one of my flyers in the mail and asked me for a home evaluation. At the time, all he wanted was a ballpark price since there were no plans to sell in the near future. He was retired but Linda still had about 2 more years before retirement. I did some research, provided them with an estimated price and told them I would keep in touch with my monthly Market Watch newsletter, which I mail out each month to keep our clients in touch with what’s happening in the marketplace. It has all the sales stats in Durham Region, such as: Number of Sales, Average Price, New Listings, Sales-to-New Listing Ratio, Active Listings, Months of Inventory, Sales Price-to-List Price Ratio and much more. I also devote a full page to giving my take on the market, including past, present, and future trends. Our clients really enjoy getting it in the mail each month, as did Tom and Linda.
I reached out a couple times just to keep in touch. Then in April of 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic, Tom called. They had purchased a new-construction home in Port Hope before COVID, and it was closing in September. They weren’t entirely sure it would be built in time since no one really knew for sure how COVID would affect construction timelines. However, they couldn’t take any chances and decided they had better sell.
If you remember, the world literally came to a standstill at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic. People were afraid to go out and a lot of agents stopped working. However, there were people like Tom and Linda that had to sell, so it was incumbent on me and my team to help these people. If you think back, it was next to impossible to find protective equipment like hand sanitizer, disposable gloves, disinfectant wipes and disposable masks at that time. It took some diligence and money, but eventually, I was able to get my hands on all of them.
We also came up with a way to social distance and list homes safely during this unique time in all our lives. For Tom and Linda, I had them take their dog for a walk while I inspected their home using disposable gloves and a mask. This took about 20 minutes. When I was leaving, I met them in the driveway and set up a time to meet them virtually (by Zoom) the next day. Then I went home and researched the MLS to prepare for our meeting. We met by Zoom and after we agreed on a list price, I had them sign the listing paperwork online by DocuSign. We spaced the showings out in 15 minute intervals. On the listing, instructions were given for anyone entering the home to use masks/facial protection and gloves or the hand sanitizer provided. Even though the market was quite a bit slower than just a few weeks earlier, we still sold the home for close to the asking price in just 2 weeks!
It’s amazing, but the pandemic has forever changed the way real estate is done today. Even though the majority of our meetings with buyers and sellers is still face-to-face, we now have a lot of virtual (Zoom) meetings. Before COVID, the use of electronic signatures for signing offers and listing agreements was on the rise. However, now, especially for offers, I’d say the use of electronic signatures is very close to 100%!
Anyway, you can see what Tom and Linda had to say about working with me and my team below. And if you would like to receive the monthly Market Watch newsletters I describe above, you can call me at 905-426-7484 and leave your name, full address, phone number and message that you’d like Market Watch. Or you can call my office, 905-683-7800, and ask for my assistant, Ginette Wicks, or myself if she’s not there.
We had the unenviable task of selling our home during this pandemic and luckily for us we chose Brian Kondo and his team to get the job done.
We could not have been more pleased with the result. We chose Brian first and foremost for his professionalism and negotiating skills.
Brian’s knowledge and real estate experience far exceeded our expectations and his sense of humour during this stressful time really helped reduce our anxiety and stress levels.
Brian also has an awesome team, from Emma and his staff in the office who scheduled the showings, to his assistant Ginette, who took care of the details.
Obviously, it goes without saying that we would highly recommend Brian and His team to get the job done.
The house sold quickly despite the pandemic and market uncertainty and for almost 100% of our asking price!
Brian Kondo
Sales Representative / Team Leader
The Brian Kondo Real Estate Team
Re/Max Hallmark First Group Realty Ltd.
905-683-7800 office
905-683-6025 direct
brian@briankondo.com
www.BrianKondo.com
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