I don't know how one would describe the following article. Thinking back over the last two years I just had to sit down and write this:

My wife and I live in Burlington Ontario in a home along with my brother and mom. We don't own a cottage, a boat or a time-share anywhere in the world. We own a business that affords us only a two-week holiday once a year, however we do close at noon on Fridays.

It all began the summer of 2000. My wife and I were on our annual two-week holiday. We had not planned to travel anywhere other than day trips into Toronto. You may ask why Toronto and the answer would be that we just think Toronto is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and it is only less than an hour away down the QEW.

On many of our previous trips into Toronto we had been noticing the increase in amount of condos being constructed. It seemed along the lakeshore from the west end of the CNE grounds to Bay street there were wall to wall condos either built or being built

Back in the mid 70's my parents had always talked about investing in one of the harbor front buildings but they just never did. We decided that since we were in Toronto so often maybe we should consider investing in one of these new developments. Our only dilemma was that since we lived on the water already, we really weren't too interested in a water front property. That caused us to start looking a little further north of the lakeshore. We realized there were a lot of buildings going up in the core area but this didn't appeal to us either. Traveling up Bay Street we passed by a development called Opera Place, and noticed a building called Allegro, which was well into construction.  We thought this location near the Sutton Place hotel was just about perfect for us. We always like to look and shop around the Bay Bloor area and this location was within walking distance of that area.

We were heading for the Manu Life Centre to do some shopping and thought we could stop at the Allegro location on our way home to check it out.

As we turned onto Charles Street at Bay we noticed a sign advertising a new condo development around the Bay Bloor area. Wow, what a location. We parked the car and found our way over to the condo sales office.

This is where we really begin. We had no idea what to expect. Upon entering the showroom we were asked to sign a registration form before we could even ask any questions. We were pure rookies at this and wondered what we were getting ourselves into. The receptionist reassured us this was only for their database so they could inform us of any future developments. We filled out the form and began to start looking around. We were totally impressed with what we saw. A salesman came over to us and asked what we were interested in. We said we only wanted a one bedroom, on a low floor. No problem we were told, plenty of units left to choose from. We looked at some floor plans, got some printouts of them with the pricing and decided we would like to go home and think about it.

On the way down Bay Street we were going to stop at the Opera Place complex. Much to our surprise the office was closed. Several days later we were back in Toronto. the time was around 11:00 A.M. and the Opera Place office was closed, not open until noon. We had decided we really liked the Bay Bloor location so we were going to make an offer on a one bedroom there. Much to our surprise all went great until we got to the discussion of a parking spot. Because we were buying a unit under a certain value we were not entitled to a parking spot. Hold the press! How could we own a condo and have no parking in the same building. We negotiated with the salesman and made an offer conditional that we would definitely be able to purchase a parking spot. The offer was signed and presented; we were to come back within 10 days to get our answer. Nine days later we sat with the salesman and were told our offer had been rejected as presented because of the parking spot. We were told that if we signed now we would be first on the list if a parking spot came up. Obviously this didn't seem like a good idea to us and we asked for our deposit back, which you are entitled to within 10 days of signing. We left the Location very depressed and dejected. What were we going to do now?

My wife suggested we stop at the Opera Place and take a look. The location was not as great as Bay Bloor. But what else could we do. Walking into the showroom we were asked to register as we had done at Bay Bloor location. No problem, we were expert at this now, knowing we were not obligated at this point to anything. A sales lady approached us asking what we were looking for, one bedroom on a lower floor with PARKING. We were told no problem, and all units had parking. However the Allegro had only a few units left, no one bedroom, no lower floor. Now what? Not to worry we were told, a third building called Aria was just put up for purchase. There were plenty of units to choose from in our category. Even better was the fact they were less money for the same size unit and the parking was less money than Location. Our observation was that the quality was not the same but it was certainly very acceptable. We signed an agreement that very day. Ten days later we were the proud owners of a one-bedroom unit on a lower floor with parking at a location that we had originally thought was good. Our possession day was to be the spring 2003. There wasn't a hole in the ground yet, but we weren't worried about that. With all the construction around the city, our building would start soon. Month after month we would drive by the lot and not even a hole was dug in the ground yet.

One year later almost to the day of signing our agreement, we received a letter from the Aria developer. The sales were not up to expectations and the building was not going to be built. We could pick up our deposit cheque within one week including interest. But wait, we didn't want our money; we wanted a condo. Too bad, that was not to be. What were we going to do now?

It just so happened we were on our annual two week holiday again. We decided to go back to the original Bay Bloor location and see if there were any units left. The hole was in the ground and construction had begun. We went into the showroom and actually spoke to the salesman that we had originally signed the deal with. We asked how the sales had been over the last year and were told that only a handful of units were left. I asked if they had any one bedroom units left, and was told NO. We were told however that there was a two-bedroom unit left on a low floor with a parking spot available. We asked how much and were disappointed to hear a figure much higher than what we wanted to pay. We did ask if we could negotiate and make an offer. We were told that all prices were firm and that there was definitely no negotiating on prices. The salesman was kind enough to offer us the opportunity to go home and think about it for a week and then give him an answer. We took him up on his offer and left for home. All the way home we waffled back and forth. If we liked the location and this was all that was left, either we bite the bullet and spend a little more or start looking again knowing there were not any other developments we could afford in the area.

We knew we had a week to think it over so panic had not set in yet. Over the next weekend I thought I would spend some time on the Internet searching out real estate sites looking for anything that might appeal to us. I was using google search and came across a site listed as simplycondos.com.

What I read on the site, informed me of one thing I didn't know. You should have your own Buyers Agent before you enter any condo office. Go to the site below to learn about why and how to obtain a Buyers Agent

http://www.simplycondos.com

On Monday of the next week, I contacted Charles Laurie Hanes. I explained all of our previous experiences and how we had found a unit at a location we really liked. I asked Laurie to be our Buyers Agent and what should we do next.

Laurie said he would be our agent and that he would take over from here for us. The sequence of events that happened next was quite amazing

1---- Laurie arranged for us to meet at the condo office.

2----Laurie told us that he was to do all the talking on our behalf. We would be consulted about any decision, however he was doing the talking

3----At the time of preparing the paper work, the salesman asked us if we needed a storage locker. He told us the cost and Laurie stepped in. Laurie asked us if we wanted the locker, to which we replied no. Laurie then turned to the salesman and asked him to subtract the cost of the locker off our offer. The salesman said that this was quite an unusual request that shouldn't happen, however he would write it into the offer not expecting it to be accepted.

4----Laurie then asked if there were any upgrades available. He was told that due to the upscale construction, there were not many available. One upgrade was to put Hardwood in the bedrooms rather than carpeting. Laurie asked how much that would be. When the price was told to us, Laurie asked us if we wanted the upgrade. On hearing our answer "no", Laurie asked him to subtract the cost of the hardwood upgrade off our offer. The salesman said that this was again quite an unusual request that probably wouldn't happen, however he would write it into the offer not expecting it to be accepted as with the locker cost.

5----Laurie signed and witnessed every page and signature that we signed, advising us on every page we signed.

That afternoon when we left the condo office we were elated. Not only had Laurie made our contract signing a relaxing experience, he was confident our offer would be accepted. We waited for four days before Laurie called us with the Great news. Not only had our offer been accepted, it hadn't even been countered.

This meant that within one week, we had signed Laurie as our Buyers Agent, by doing so he had represented us at no charge to us and saved us over 10,000 dollars which we wouldn't have saved representing ourselves.

My wife and I were total rookies entering the Condo market, however if we had been able to use the knowledge and expertise of a Buyers agent such as Charles Laurie Hanes way back in the summer of 2000, we probably could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble and heartache

We would like to genuinely thank Charles Laurie Hanes for all of his help and suggest to anyone reading this article that before they do anything else in their travels towards buying a new or used condo, CONTACT Charles Laurie Hanes, you won't be sorry!!!!!!!!!!

Nikolas and Nancy Konietzko