That's Why I'm A Condo Specialist

Charles Hanes
January 15, 2012

Trading in detached houses is substantively different than trading (industry terminology for buying/selling) in condos, lofts and townhouses!  That's why I've specialized in condos for the past three and a half decades and kept away from houses.

When it comes to detached houses, I really haven't got a lot to offer a client other than to set appointments, drive them around from property to property, open lock boxes get the keys and open and close the house.  I've always said that the property sells the property, thus when it comes to detached houses, the selling takes over once all of this administrative work is done.

Having started by selling condos back in 1979, there has not been a condo building built in Toronto that I have not visited, inspected and, if it was any good, bought or sold units in.  That gives me a whole lot of insight into the quality of the building, the background and/or integrity of the developer, the floor plans, amenities and appointments, thus I have something of tremendous value to my clients that I can share with them.

I've spent the past couple weeks working with a Florida associate in an effort to find a client of mine from Toronto who is transitioning into being a Snowbird a winter home and I've been amazed by just how different the two real estate boards themselves are.  Florida real estate is conducted substantively different than Toronto.

For example when we book appointments for our clients to see Listings we simply call the listing Realtor's office and request the viewing with the receptionist who then text pages the listing Realtor and arranges the viewing.  The receptionist has detailed viewing instructions so he/she follows them, whether it's contacting the occupant of the unit to get their authority to access the suite, location and code of the lockbox, notifies occupants requesting 24 hours notice or whatever and then they contact our office staff and confirm the appointment delivering full instructions including lock box codes, etc.  Simple and straightforward.

In Florida I watch my associate calling each Realtor (in the majority of cases the Realtor is setting the appointment), and in the majority of cases get a voice mail so she leaves a message and waits for the Realtor to get back to her.  This can takes hours and even days.  And now you've got dual scheduling as that listing Realtor has to now fit the viewing into their life schedule and the game of schedule ping pong takes over.

I've been complaining about all the telephone calls required in Toronto's board and have got to admit that it's a case of the cobbler's kids having no shoes!  With today's electronic technology it seems abundantly clear to me that email will, one day, take over this game of telephone tag and the accompanying personal interactions and on-hold time.  Efficiency is important to me.

The majority of houses are sold on an average of ten years so, until they arrive at the house, the Realtor is as much in the dark about the property as the client.  When it comes to condos the information on the building, its amenities, security, facilities etc., is usually as important as the suite that you look at and here, I am uniquely qualified to help my client, not to mention the background on the quality of the building and developer.

This recent exposure to another dimension of the real estate industry has told me that I should stick to that which I am accustomed to and that is condos, lofts and townhouses.  If you are considering one of these residential alternatives, in Toronto or southeast Florida, the best thing you can do, before anything else is to Register with me.  I've got what you need to make your own informed decisions.

I'm Charles Hanes