A New Lease On Life (Conclusion)

Houses

5 minute read

May 7, 2008

We were down to our very last option, and if we didn’t sign a lease for this house, then we’d have to revert to Plan-B.

Since we didn’t have a Plan-B, and we didn’t want to start the search process all over, we decided we would do anything to get this house.

Anything…

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Devon, Barrett, and Roy were desperate to find a place for June 1st since that’s when they were being given the boot from their current rental property on The Danforth.

We’d looked at basically every three-bedroom residence for lease in the entire central core, and nothing seemed to work.

But when a house in The Annex reduced the asking price, it suddenly fell into our range and onto our radar.

Ironically, it was just down the street from the infamous house where a lonely gentleman ate stir-fry in his even-lonelier one-bedroom basement apartment…

Before I even took the guys to see this place in The Annex, I called the listing agent to make sure it was still available.  She told me it was available, but she asked me very plainly, “Your clients…..is it a group, or a family?”

I knew right away that we were off to a poor start.

This neighborhood was a family area, and the house was in impeccable condition.  The owners clearly wanted a family since they knew a family wouldn’t throw keg-parties or stay up past 10PM.

I thought pretty fast on my feet, and although I didn’t want to lie, I didn’t want to tell the truth either.

“Well, the thing is,” I started to say in a careful manner, “My clients….they’re actually two gentlemen.”

“Oooooh…..I see,” said the listing agent.  “Well, that’s fine.  That’s…..fine….yeah, okay, no problems there.”

PERFECT!  I didn’t lie, but I did manage to somehow mislead the other agent.

I explained the situation to Devon, Barrett, and Roy, and they knew right away.

“So you want us to pretend to be gay?” asked Barrett.

“So only two of us are going to be on title and on the lease, right?” asked Devon.

“Well, clearly it’s the two of you guys who are the happy couple!” said Roy.

I told them we should at least see the house first before we make any brash, life-altering decisions.  We were in desperation mode, and if allowing people to think that they were gay was the only way to get the house, then we’d have to consider this as an option.

I arrived at the house first and let myself in through the front door.  I began to walk around the main floor, when all of a sudden I saw a figure at the top of the stairs.  It seems I was not alone in this house.

“Hi, I’m David Fleming from Bosley Real Estate…..I’m here to show the house at 7PM.”

“Why don’t you take your damn shoes off, for starters,” said the cold woman who I soon realized was actually the owner!

I waited for the guys outside, and when they approached I told them, “Guys…..I think we’re off to a bad start!”  I explained the situation, and they lost a little bit of the excitement we had only a few moments ago.

When we browsed around the third floor of the house, we found the owner working away on her computer.  She turned to face us, and she immediately did the math and asked, “So….there are three of you?”

BUSTED!

So much for our plan of having Devon and Barrett pretend to be a successful young couple.

The guys looked at me in that “What do we do!?!” kind of manner, and that’s when the light-bulb went off overtop Devon’s head.

Devon single-handedly took over, and carried the rest of us on his back.

“By the way, I’m Devon,” he said as he leaned forward to shake the lady’s hand.  She introduced herself as well, and gave us the back-story: she and her husband had lived her for THIRTY years and wanted to spend one year in Boston before returning to Toronto.  They wanted the ideal tenant, and were willing to wait as long as it took. 

Devon then began what was the best sales pitch I’ve ever witnessed.

“I have to tell you, I absolutely love those floors downstairs.  Are they original?  They look original to me and it’s just so rare that you see anything like that.”

I could sense that Barrett was about to start laughing, since he didn’t know if Devon was still pretending like he and Barrett were, um, “together,” or if this was something new altogether.  Barrett walked out of the room, and let Devon go to work on the lady.

“We’ve looked at so many houses and we haven’t seen anything as spectacular as this,” said Devon.  “You know, we aren’t looking for a house; we want a home.”

Hmmmm….where have I heard THAT line before!

Devon went on to talk about his line of work, and added that he, Barrett, and Roy all work long hours and will “barely spend any time in the house—basically just a place to sleep.”

The lady seemed impressed with Devon and his candour, but Devon didn’t stop there.

“Can I ask you something?  Do you have a regular cleaning lady?  Because, um, well this is kind of embarrassing, but the three of us are all neat-freaks, and we’d like to keep the place in a regular state of cleanliness.”

By this point, you could almost see the woman smiling on the inside, as she surely wanted somebody who would take care of her house as she had done over the last thirty years.

“Why yes, of course I have a cleaning lady!  I’ll get you her number!”

“That’s great,” said Devon.  “Because we really want to find a place where we can actually leave it in better condition than when we found it.”

And THAT was the kicker!

Devon went on to talk about all the houses we had seen previously and how none of them were “up to his standards.”  He wanted to live in a house where he would feel “honored and privileged” just to be there.

I could barely believe what was taking place in front of me!  Devon had completely transformed into that handsome, strapping young lad that you were totally okay with dating your virginal daughter.  His words were so soft and he spoke with this uncanny calm that could lull you to sleep in a freakin’ rainstorm!  The owner was transfixed; she hung on his every word.

Devon exchanged business cards with the woman, and we soon parted ways.

Barrett and Roy were waiting on the sidewalk out front, and they had a nervous look about them as Devon and I came down the front stairs of the house.

They looked at us as if to say, “Well? What happened?”

Devon, with a strut in his step and a cocky look on his face said, “Don’t worry……..I got her.

For $2900/month, Devon, Barrett, and Roy would be renting a 3-storey, 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom house in The Annex that was in mint condition.

After weeks of searching, the end result was better than any of us had anticipated, and it was 100% due to Devon’s determination to get the house at any cost.

ANY cost…

In the world of real estate, there are ups and downs; good days and bad.

It’s working with guys like Devon, Barrett, and Roy that makes me love my job…

Written By David Fleming

David Fleming is the author of Toronto Realty Blog, founded in 2007. He combined his passion for writing and real estate to create a space for honest information and two-way communication in a complex and dynamic market. David is a licensed Broker and the Broker of Record for Bosley – Toronto Realty Group

Find Out More About David Read More Posts

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