Ep. 6 | What was the offer process like to buy our condo? #BuyandSellSeries

The offer process to buy our Toronto condo was relatively simple compared to most people as we didn't have to compete in any multiple offer situations which made the whole experience much less stressful.

As mentioned in a previous episode, we actually submitted offers on two different properties with the second one being accepted.  

Offer #1: Corktown Commons Condo

This unit was one that truly checked off 9/10 of our criteria as it was a fantastic 2-bed + den space with a pretty view over Corktown Commons Park listed at $1,099,000.

One red flag that stood out to me prior to booking a showing for the unit was that it had been on the market for 75 days when the average listing typically sells in 7-10 days.

This is a pretty strong indicator that the property is overpriced but we decided to take a look at it anyways.

After viewing the unit, we decided that we really liked it and would submit an offer which meant we had to look at the comparable sales to find what the true market value should be.

You always want to look at other units in the same building (ideally with the same layout) and luckily for us, there was a unit that had sold several months prior with the exact same layout, just on a lower floor.

This unit sold for $970,000 which meant that there was a $130,000 discrepancy between the last sale and the current list price of the unit we were interested in.

Based on this, we applied market appreciation to account for the several months that had passed & also added some extra since the unit we were looking at had a better view since it was on a higher floor.

We submitted an offer just under $1 million to the seller & waited for the reply.

It's at this point the emotional aspect of real estate kicks in as you start really envisioning your life in this new home which makes you hopeful that the offer will go through but also cautious that it may not.

Unfortunately the seller rejected our offer and didn't even bother to give us a sign back so we decided to wait a week to see if it was still on the market.

One week later, the unit was still on the market & we decided to submit a higher offer of just over $1,020,000.

Again the seller rejected our offer & said he was going to take the unit off the market and just rent it instead.

Feeling quite disappointed, we reluctantly continued our search for another condo.

Offer #2: Regent Park Condo

About a month after our rejected offer process on the Corktown condo, a really nice 2-bed + den unit came up in Regent Park however it was listed extremely low at $799,900 and holding off on offers.

This meant it was setup for a multiple offer situation which weren't in a position to get in as I would have needed a conditional offer due to my financing needs (i.e. selling my old condo).

I kept an eye on the unit and noticed that the offer date had passed but there was no update in the system as to whether it had sold or not.

After reaching out to the listing agent, I learned they didn't get the offers they were hoping for at the lower price so they were going to be re-listing it the next day for $875,000.

This seemed like fair market value for the condo based on everything else that we had seen so we booked a showing right away that afternoon.

Immediately once walking through the door we knew that it was the right place as it had the exact layout we were looking for, the outdoor space we wanted & the view I really desired.

We headed home and typed up the offer right away which was submitted and accepted that night.

This offer process was quite simple as it only necessitated a few minor changes to the conditions.

Now that we had an accepted offer, what happens next?

That's what we're going to cover in the next episode so be sure to stay tuned!

Have any questions about our buying or offer process?

Feel free to leave it in the comments section below!

Rylie C.