If this were a normal year, and we weren’t in a pandemic, very few of you would be reading this as you’d already be up north for the weekend.

But it’s May of 2021.

Which is feeling quite similar to May of 2020…

We’re looking at the last long weekend of the “spring market,” after which, we usually see a slowdown as we head into the end of the school year, the start of summer camps, and the beginning of vacations for parents who force their kids to serve four weeks at Camp Kawabi while they galavant around Europe without a care in the world.  Thanks Mom & Dad…

But again, we’re in May of 2021.  So are people going to abandon the city come July?  Will the market slow down as it typically does?

To both those questions, I would answer “maybe.”

So on this Friday before a long weekend, I figured I’d slow down the pace here on TRB and simply entertain the readers with a few comical videos I’ve shot in houses and condos as of late.

Chatting with two new agents this week, they both expressed amazement by “what they see on a daily basis in this business.”  Yes, that’s true.  Real estate isn’t all perfectly-staged properties, glossy magazine covers, and Toronto Life fodder.

You wouldn’t believe what I see in the average week.

Here are a few examples…

I recently visited a house that was priced at what I consider to be ridiculous, but the listing made mention of the “luxury” features, finishes, and craftsmanship.

In the MLS remarks: Built With The Highest Quality Workmanship.

But ever single facet and feature of the house was off.  Off, like, somebody was using inches instead of centimetres.  This is a microcosm of the entire house:

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Whether you’re a regular reader or a casual reader, you know how much I believe in staging.

I stage every single property I list for sale, without fail.

I believe that I have my process perfected, and I trust my stager emphatically.

I could write an entire blog about staging.  The do’s and don’ts, for example.  What works, what doesn’t.  What buyers want to see, what mistakes stagers make, and on, and on.

There’s something to be said for “gimmicky” staging as well as “gaudy” staging.

So what do you think of the following?

Somebody went out of their way to accumulate shopping bags from designer labels so they could “stage” a closet with them.

I’m a cynic, and I also buy my chicken at Costco in bulk.  So far be it for me to critique the “value” of an Hermes belt.  But who is this staging speaking to?  And more importantly, does it turn off the large(er) part of the buyer pool that is not impressed by it?

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This one was really, really interesting!

We saw a house that needed a little TLC, and to be fair, the listing said as much.

One of the support beams was exposed as the drywall had been removed.

I’m no structural engineer, but I’m pretty sure being able to play Jenga with the beams isn’t a good thing…

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This is one of my absolute favourites!

I don’t want to spoil the surprise, so just have a look…

Yes, they built a bathroom at the top of the stairs.

I walked into this house and wondered how and where they’d have room for a 2-piece powder room on the main floor, and I started to think there was a mistake in the listing until I opened the door to go downstairs to the basement, and voila!

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There are so many questions to ask after seeing this video, you almost don’t know where to start…

First, you think, “Why is the faucet dripping?”

But then when you realize that water is supposed to go down a drain, you wonder, “Why do they have that bucket there?”

I mean, what’s going on underneath this house?

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This next one shows how a faucet and a drain are supposed to work.

Only, it might be the ugliest think you’ve ever seen…

My clients purchased this home and one of them told me, “That’s the first thing we’re getting rid of when we take possession.”

I tried to convince them to keep it, but my feelings fell upon deaf ears…

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And last, but certainly not least, for those of you who are experienced in downtown Toronto condos, you know the word “Kitec,” right?

Kitec plumbing?

Yes.  Every single condo in the downtown core that had Kitec plumbing has either gone through the process of replacing it all, or is doing so as we speak.

Starting about five or six years ago, “Kitec” became the new buzz-word with a negative connotation, like “knob-and-tube wiring,” but worse.  Every condo in the city was forced to have the Kitec removed, and it wreaked havoc in the lives of condo owners, condo buyers, and condo sellers.

Here’s the basement of a house I toured recently…

The amount of Kitec pluming in that basement is what I may expect to find combined in eight condominiums.

Wow.

But it’s different for houses………….right? 🙂

Have a great long weekend, everybody!