About Sue Anfang

Welcome to your future home sweet home in Whitby! No more squeezing into tiny rooms.  This 2000+   sq ft beauty boasts large bedrooms that are perfect for your growing family or hosting friends from out of town.   

A double car garage handles your cars, bikes & sports equipment with ease with convenient direct entry to the house!   The best of both worlds on the main floor, with a separate living & dining room for formal entertaining – and a spacious open concept family room combined with kitchen for casual get togethers. 

Details like 9 ft ceilings, deep, elegant crown moulding, and double door to the primary bedroom are fantastic, along with the huge en-suite bathroom. Low traffic neighbourhood where kids can bike and play safely.  Close to tons of shopping & major highways – plus you’re just minutes away from golfing, a conservation area and ski hills.    

Schedule a viewing today and see for yourself why this may just be the perfect place for you and your family to make cherished memories.

Enjoy the video walk through! 

This is for the home sellers - several times a year our neighbourhood gets these notes in our mailbox.   I just got one yesterday. 

It usually inspires a lot of chatter on the local Facebook groups. So are these legit or are they too good to be true?  Well, here’s what I know about these. 

If you’ve seen the ads for seminars and conferences about how to make money in real estate, quite often this is the strategy they are teaching.  Often they're pitched as buying real estate with little money down.  

These notes are usually from a group of investors, pooling their money together to buy homes.   They look low key & designed to look hand written.   I imagine they appeal mostly to people who haven't been able to renovate, estate sales, or people who have not been able to keep up with repairs.  Here's what the one I received looks like:

So how do they make money?  From what I understand, they make money one of two ways; they either 'flip' or 'assign' the purchase contract itself or buy homes below market value to renovate and re sell. 

Often they will buy homes for less than a house would sell for on the open market.  Their pitch is you can save real estate commissions.

Method 1 Assigning or reselling the purchase contract: Once they have purchased a property, they will try and assign the paperwork to another buyer before the home closes.  They are basically reselling their purchase contract to a second buyer. That way they make profit without having to pay out a hefty land transfer tax, which is due on closing.   Is this legal?  Yes it is!  As a matter of fact, it happens all the time with pre-construction condos where the original buyer will try and resell the unit before closing.  They are trying to assign the contract for a profit - the catch is the second buyer may pay substantially more for the contract than the seller made with the cash buyers.  And none of this money filters down to the seller. 

Method 2 Flipping.  I'm sure you have all heard about house flippers.  They purchase a house, renovate it and resell it for a profit.  This is a totally legit way of making a living.  But when house prices, mortgage rates & construction materials increase substantially, profit margins fall. This is where the 'cash buyers' come in.   They will offer to buy your home for substantially less than market value so they can flip and resell. 

Both of these tactics bring up 3 important questions to me: 

1.  Is there a benefit to selling to an all cash buyer?   Yes, this is a thing in the USA.   But in Canada our mortgage laws are different - which is why we were protected from the US crash that happened in 2008. In Canada it makes absolutely no difference to the seller whether your buyer is taking out a mortgage or not.  

2. What happens to the deposit money? I am not sure how the deposits work for this type of purchaser, but for organized real estate, we are bound by regulations to make sure deposits are protected.  Brokerages and lawyers must have Trust accounts to keep the deposit money safe for consumers.  And if a buyer can’t close or decides to walk away from a purchase, there is a strong case law that the seller will get to keep the deposit money.  I am not sure how secure the deposits are with the cash buyers from the flyer.  

3. As a seller, how do you know you're getting market value?  As a real estate professional, we spend a lot of time learning how to price properties - both for the benefit of the seller - to get the best price, and buyers - so they don't overpay.  We do this by analyzing and comparing sales and home features.  While some of this information is available publicly, the details (and how to interpret them) are available to Realtors.  And it always pays to get a second opinion! 

Why does it matter? Making the wrong choice could lead to problems like money worries and stress. It could even trigger legal problems, and a whole lot of anxiety, too.  Not fun, right?

And if you're making a decision as a family - both of you need to be on the same page.

Buying or selling a house involves many things—some you can control, some you can't.  Things like the housing market, the uniqueness of properties or finding a temporary place to stay, can't be changed.  

You can look at your money situation, how much risk you're okay with, and what you've done before. All these things help you make a good choice.

There is a risk-free option -  buying a home with a condition that you can sell yours.   In the business we call this a condition of "SBP" (Sale of Buyer's property) This sounds good, but there's a lot to this.  In this type of arrangement, we negotiate: the length of condition, escape clauses, non-refundable deposits, among many other terms.  Expect to pay a premium to get this type of offer accepted.  Sellers usually don't go for this idea in areas where houses sell quickly.  It's more often used when the housing market is slow where you're buying and hot where you're selling. 

Now, let's break down the pros and cons of the buy first/sell first options:

Buying first: Imagine knowing exactly where you're headed! You can pick a property in your favorite community.  The risk, of course, is you might end up owning two homes, or selling for less money if the housing market isn't great.  In this case you'll need to do a lot of financial pre-planning. I find this works best for homeowners looking for a very specific property, want to renovate before moving in and have a good financial cushion they can draw on short term.  

Selling first: You sell your current home first. It's exciting because you'll know how much money you have for a new home. But, here's the twist: the perfect new home might not be available when you're ready, or you might need to rent a place until you find one you love. Renting can be tricky or expensive.   For this option you need to be flexible with your purchase - and take comfort in knowing you'll make a finance based decision.   

In a nutshell, it’s a bit like a teeter-totter, and these decisions can tip things one way or another. Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all answer.  But with some financial planning & a bit of risk evaluation, you’ll find the answer that best fits your situation.  

The good news is you don’t have to do it alone, because I have helped many people through these decisions!