Buying Or Selling During Covid-19? Avoid ‘Panic’ And You’ll Ultimately Be Happier
Covid-19 has spun the housing market into hyperdrive in Saint John, as demand outpaces supply and multiple offers on choice properties pile up.
If you’re looking to buy a home (or even sell and upgrade) it can be wildly tempting to panic in this kind of market and buy something that may not be the right fit.
Many realtors will even give you more-or-less that exact advice. But Paul Doiron of Coldwell Banker Select Realty has a much different philosophy: take a breath, do a little extra preparation, and think hard before you make a big decision.
“What you can get caught up in when you’re in a busy market is a rush to everything: a rush to get your house listed, a rush to find a home, because it can be sort of a panic mentality,” he says.
Doiron works hard to keep his clients from getting too frazzled, both when they’re buying and selling. He counsels them not to list until they’ve put in a little extra time into preparing their home for sale.
Doiron says low-cost or simple projects like giving the bathroom a new paint job or planting some bushes in the backyard can have a big impact on your closing price.
“Doing those things just shows a little more TLC in your home and that gives people a totally different perception, and they’re willing to pay for that,” he says. “And this stuff doesn’t have to take long. In fact, it will probably have very little effect on how quickly you can list.”
But Doiron says not rushing becomes even more important when you’re ready to buy a home.
“This is the most high-stress purchase most people are ever going to make, and the last thing you want to do is rush into something,” he says. “I tell my clients don’t buy something just for the sake of buying it. Make sure you’re buying a home you’re going to be happy in for as long as you live there.”
He recalls one client, a retired widow who was selling the house she’d lived in for 25 years. It was an emotionally draining time for her, but Doiron counselled her not to rush it.
He took months to help her prepare the house for sale and went with her four or five times to check out a potential new home she liked.
She needed to downsize but wanted to go someplace with a strong community and good support.
“I wanted it to be right for her to make a big decision like that,” he said.
In the end, thanks to all the preparation, the woman sold her home just eight hours after putting it on the market. And she had the perfect new home to move into once she did.
“She was ecstatic,” Doiron says. “But it was really all in the preparation. If she had rushed any of that process, she just wouldn’t have felt comfortable.”
Doiron says he’s constantly counselling his clients to take those extra moments, and put in that little bit of extra work, even in hot markets like the one Covid-19 has created in Saint John.
He’ll ask them to consider why they want to live in the neighbourhood the house they’re interested in is in, what they think of the nearest school, how the location will affect their commute, and dozens of other questions.
Often, he’ll even knock on neighbours’ doors, just to chat with them and make sure there’s no red flags.
“You’re not necessarily even looking for negative stuff, it can be the positives, too. It could be, this person down here has two little girls, and your client can have two little girls that are around the same ages, and that could be a factor for them,” he says.
It’s this kind of preparation, he says, that allows people to both to sell homes quickly and close a deal fast when they’re ready to buy.
“When your house hits the market or the house you want is for sale, I will make sure you are prepared to be in the best position possible to buy or sell that home,” Doiron says.
This story was sponsored by Paul Doiron of Coldwell Banker Select Realty. For more information contact Paul at 506-333-9897 or [email protected].