Always interesting to read different approaches to buying and selling in this age of super-fast technology and the gadgets that make our real estate transactions work. However, I’m suggesting that we not totally lose sight of “old school” approaches every now and then.
Here in Ottawa and surrounding area we have a hot sellers’ market, many properties selling with multiple offers, leaving disappointed buyers in their wake. On Tuesday last, a property was entertaining offers at 6 p.m. The listing agent kept all interested parties informed all day. Because her sellers were either not comfortable with e-signing or didn’t have the technology at their disposal, the presentation would be live at their house at 6.
She asked all interested buyer reps to have paperwork to her by 5:30 so she could print copies and take them with her to the property. My buyers were making an offer. Hmmm, says I.
My buyers signed their offer, I printed two copies, drove an hour to the house, had my buyers in tow behind me in their own car, rang the doorbell at 5:55 (having not let the listing agent know I was coming), handed her the two copies and waited in the driveway.
Twenty minutes later we get a counteroffer with a 10-minute irrevocable, accepted on the hood of my car by the driveway-waiting buyers (all in masks, of course) and, voila, blew everyone else out of the water.
It was exhilarating fun! The selling agent later told me that the strategy was what turned the tide in our favour. Did I mention that I’ve been at this for 35 years and taught grade school for 15 years prior to real estate? So, doing the math, I’m not exactly in the glow of youthful exuberance. So is it “old school” in a new-school market or is it some things old can be new again?
Bob Blake
Salesperson
Royal LePage Team Realty
Ottawa
