Here’s why I recommend Socrates to everyone who even mentions buying or selling property:
BUYING. We met Socrates almost a decade ago when we were moving to TO. He seemed knowledgeable, focused, and trustworthy. All proved true and more. When house-hunting, the realtor you choose can make the difference between snagging your dream home or missing out on it! We wanted keep our price down (in downtown TO... hilarious, I know) but we also wanted something unique! When an amazing two-level condo with garden terrace hit the market, he called us IMMEDIATELY and we were the first in the door. He had our offer on the table before the clients of other realtors even had a chance to view it.
SELLING. We saw our next dream home on MLS recently. Called Socrates, and he made it happen. It was kind of a ‘spur of the moment’ thing that left us a very short window to sell our place. It was in great shape and we thought it looked decent but Socrates had a better plan and we trusted him. Within 24 hours he had painters, handy-man, decorators, movers, cleaners and photographers scheduled. He put most of our furniture (except our bed, TV and a few other small things) into a storage unit and then brought in his stuff. Furniture, art, bedding, lighting, patio furniture... In a short time he and Claire transformed our home from nice (like most of the listings you see on MLS) to an amazing show home!
It was an interesting experience sitting in our living room among all of Socrates’ beautiful furnishings and decor, enjoying it but also thinking “For the love of God, don’t spill anything on this gorgeous rug!” It made me realize I could definitely try harder with my own home decorating. But I digress...
The result of Socrates’ magic??? **We got the highest per-square-foot price in our building, ever!**
I’ve bought and sold a good number of homes over the decades and even done the ‘for sale by owner’ thing. I used to wonder if realtors are really worth what they cost. But, I also used to think my taste in decor wasn’t bad either...
It can seem like a large fee you pay a realtor to sell your home, but what I wish I’d learned sooner is to ask before hand, “What exactly am I getting for that fee?” Have a look through MLS listings and you’ll see that with a lot of realtors out there, the answer is, “Not that much.” (I cringe when I see pictures where they didn’t even bother to put the toilet seat down...). Selling a home nowadays maybe doesn’t take that much, but selling it for the very best possible price takes some work and skill. And, let’s face it, money. I don’t know how much of Socrates’ commission went to pay for painters, movers, cleaners etc. but it was not insignificant. I have no doubt that the incredible makeover netted a price well above the commission, so in effect, his amazing services didn’t really didn’t cost us.
But beyond all of that, Socrates has always made us feel like he genuinely cares about us. I’m sitting here watching the cursor blink, going over the long list of things he’s done for us and wondering where to even start. This is already too long so suffice it to say, he REALLY knows his stuff and is a genuinely good person who always goes above and beyond. I’m looking forward to him stopping by our new place sometime this spring for an espresso so I can show him I’m not just phoning it in on the home decor anymore.