Perhaps that’s a loaded question to ask the Broker of Record of the company, but if you want to hear it someplace else first, why don’t you check out our nearly two-hundred Google Reviews? (link?)
Now, let me attempt to remain unbiased and tell you why I think we’re the absolute best at what we do.
Experience
Every agent touts “experience,” no matter how long they’ve been selling real estate, but truth be told, you might find an agent with forty years’ worth of experience who isn’t worth his or her salt.
Why?
Well, perhaps they’ve got one foot out the door already, or most of their body. Maybe they keep their license to sell 3-4 properties per year.
Experience is great, but if you’re not using it, then it doesn’t really benefit the client.
At Toronto Realty Group, we’re led by a Broker of Record with twenty-two years of experience, who has been the #1 agent at Bosley Real Estate for the last eleven years. We boast a team of agents who have been hand-selected, personally-trained and educated, and who all hold the same values and business philosophies.
Most teams are simply a collection of individuals working under the same umbrella, but at TRG, we are a team in the truest sense of the word, working collectively with every client to ensure they’re covered, represented, and serviced effectively.
Get to know those values and learn how TRG got started by checking out Our History.
Reputation
I was doing an interview with Rob McLister from the Financial Post last week, and he asked me what differentiates one listing agent from another. I told him that, first and foremost, there’s a brand value associated with the ‘name’ of an agent or the brokerage.
He asked me that that meant, and I gave him an example: When I see a new listing hit MLS, the first thing I do is scroll down to the bottom to see who has the property listed.
I can’t name names here, but let’s say that there is a very prominent agent in Riverdale who has that listing. She’s experienced, well-respected, and her name carries weight. I know that property is going to do well, and I know it’s going to sell for top dollar. As a result, I’m going to advise my buyer-clients accordingly.
On the flip-side, let’s say that I’ve never heard of the agent (or the brokerage), well, to be quite frank, I’m going to discount that property, subconsciously or otherwise.
There is a brand value out there when it comes to who’s listed the property, and it’s based on reputation.
The same can be said for the name of the listing brokerage, and I see this all the time. I recently interviewed a builder who was looking to sell his house in Leaside. I told him that the Leaside buyer pool expects to see a Bosley Real Estate, Chestnut Park, or RLP Heaps-Estrin sign on the front lawn, and if they see a no-name listing brokerage from north of the city, they too are going to discount the listing.
Having sold real estate since 2004, I am proud of my name, brand, and reputation, and there’s a reason I’ve worked with a family-owned company like Bosley Real Estate for my entire career. Trust that your house will benefit from our names, reputations, and brand recognition.
In addition to the reputation we’ve built through brand recognition, we also stay connected to the industry, whether through our podcast, The Last Honest Realtor, or our sister site, Toronto Realty Blog.
Building a reputation also means building trust. We do that even further by answering your tough questions with transparency and honesty. We’re not here to tell you what you want to hear; we’re here to ensure your home sale goes off without a hitch. Get answers to some of your tricky home-selling questions with these posts next:
- What is the Worst Time To Sell a House?
- Should Sellers Get a Pre-Listing Home Inspection?
- What NOT to Fix When Selling Your House
Business Model
There are all kinds of different business models in the real estate industry, whether you’re looking at the brokerage or the individual agent.
Buzzwords are thrown around to describe brokerages and agents alike, many of which don’t apply.
But what does “full service” mean to you?
We are not a virtual brokerage. We are not a discount firm. We do not have part-time agents. We are not a “new player” in the real estate space.
We are full-service agents working for a traditional real estate brokerage; one that has been in the business for nearly a century, as Bosley Real Estate was founded in 1928.
Over the last decade, we have seen countless examples of a company trying to “reinvent the wheel,” offering discounted buying and listing services. Models that have apparently worked in Europe or the United States have arrived in Canada and been exceptionally unsuccessful.
Knowledge, experience, and reputation simply cannot be substituted in the Toronto real estate market, and that says nothing of interpersonal skills and negotiation strength in a business that is still conducted person-to-person.
There is a certain type of work ethic that is present in every great real estate agent in the city, but there is no great agent who does not have this essential virtue.
Our team recognizes that this is a business that requires personal sacrifice, as the clientele need their real estate agent to be available morning, noon, and night. Evenings and weekends.
We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Thinking about selling, but not sure where to get started? Download our Free Seller’s Guide today for a step-by-step breakdown.
Staging & Marketing
As with just about every other tangible benefit touted by real estate agents in today’s market, every agent talks about their staging and marketing.
But all things are far from created equal. You can’t expect every restaurant to serve the same quality of food and provide the same level of service, can you?
There’s good staging and bad staging, and we see it out there every day.
Real estate agents are always looking for ways to cut corners; ways to cut costs. We are of the opinion that an agent who rents furniture from a third party “stages it themselves” is doing the seller-client a major disservice. If our car breaks down on the side of the road, we’re not going to decide today is the day to learn how to change the tire. We’re calling C.A.A.
We have been working with the same staging company for over fifteen years, and we list and stage close to one hundred properties per year with Toronto Staging & Design. Our team not only provides the best staging and design services you’ll find out there today, but is always looking to update furnishings and stay on brand with current trends.
When it comes to photography, videography, 3D tours, and social media marketing vehicles, we spare no expenses. The difference between a high-end, top-quality photographer and an average one can make or break the presentation of your property.
Learn more about the staging and marketing that goes into your home sale by reading these posts next:
- How to Stage Your Home For Sale
- Signs Your House Will Sell Fast
- Should I Price My Home Below Market Value?
Pre-Listing Renovations
This is truly our greatest competitive advantage, and the facet of our business that we are the most proud of.
While we have always been at the forefront of advances in property staging, we realized a few years ago that staging can only take you so far.
Once upon a time, staging itself was a competitive advantage. But if everybody is staging, then we need to take our listings one step further.
No house or condo out there is perfect, and every property could benefit from some level of repair, renovation, or improvement.
Whether it’s as small as a fresh coat of paint and a few new light fixtures, or whether it’s a three-month renovation, we walk our seller-clients through every conceivable way to improve the marketability of their home and increase the value.
But a picture paints a thousand words, so here’s a recent example:
This beautiful Edwardian-era home had been tenanted for seven years and was looking tired.
If you look closely at the centre island above, on the right-hand side you can see there’s a small piece of cardboard under the edge of the island. This ‘shim’ was used to stop the island from wobbling.
That doesn’t exactly scream “Two Million Dollars,” does it?
With my contractor and interior designer, we set out to propose a renovation to the owners that would not only ensure the property was sold, but also provide a substantial return on investment.
For more on this, read: Best ROI Renovations When Selling Your House
The proof is in those two photos above, and the fact that we received six offers on the scheduled offer night and sold for a fantastic price.
Renovations are not easy, and everybody has a friend or family member with a horror story. But we pride ourselves on working with a team that always delivers what was promised, on time, and on budget. It sounds impossible, and if anybody told me this, I would be skeptical. But time and time again, we walk our clients through the process of a pre-listing renovation, and they remain amazed at both the process and the result.
More importantly, we can deliver renovations within any budget. It’s no secret that this is an industry where homeowners risk overpaying, but our team is as trusted as they come. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had them renovate my own home. That is putting our mouths where our money is.
What Really Makes Toronto Realty Group Different
In case it’s not obvious by now, one thing that sets us apart from the rest is our passion.
There’s simply no way to do what we do, how we do it, and as often as we do without being exceptionally passionate about every aspect of the listing process, from start to finish.
It’s an absolute pleasure to prepare, list, and sell homes in Toronto, and nobody takes greater pride in this than we do.
If you’d like to discuss how we can maximize the sale price of your home, please contact us any time.
You can fill out the form on this page, or call us/email us directly to get in touch.
Ready to Get Started?
It all starts with a conversation. Whether buying or selling, TRG can help you achieve your real estate goals. Get in touch with our team today to start the process.
