Duncan Fremlin's Blog

"If Not Now, When?" How many times might these words apply to a situation or incident in your day- to-day life? Thinking of giving up that dastardly cigarette habit?  ......"If Not Now, When?" Thinking of looking for a new job?   ........"If Not Now, When?" Thinking of calling the Food Bank to vo...

Over the years, as I was trying to make a business for myself as a Realtor, I had mentors who would advise and guide me when I was losing my way.  I owe every one of them a debt of gratitude.  Each of them would begin the relationship by asking me if I had a business plan.  At first, I poopooed t...

Good is the enemy of better I'm not sure if it's original to any particular author but I first read this phrase a few years ago and it stuck in my normally fluid brain.  "Good is the enemy of better." I can't recall exactly but I think I read it in a James Hollis book.  I've read pretty much ever...

A few months ago, I reported here that I had two clients who called me asking for advice about their parent's Florida condos.  I hooked them up with local Realtors and the news on both counts is sort of good. One condo has been rented and will stay in the family for the time being. The second con...

There is now one more level of government involved in a real estate transaction. So far, Realtors are regulated by and/or have to deal with and/or pay dues to: Canadian Real Estate Association, Ontario Real Estate Association, Real Estate Council of Ontario, the Toronto Real Estate Board and of c...

I read a piece in the paper yesterday about luxury homes.  They are selling quite well here in Toronto.  The builder/developer who was being interviewed mentioned something that I've heard before but only now did it register.How best to measure the desirability of a property?  This fellow describ...

A client called yesterday about a legal issue.  I couldn't answer his question and suggested he call his lawyer.  He bemoaned the fact that each time he calls, "the clock is ticking".  So I called my own lawyer and received a timely (and free) answer to his question.It made me think of the added ...

When I first got into real estate over 20 years ago, I used to do open houses to (a) get clients and (b) sell them a house (not necessarily that house).  It was as simple as that.  In those days, when a potential buyer came through that door, I owned them.  If they wanted to buy that house, they ...

I work very hard to stay in touch with clients I've done business with and my track record for retaining their business is excellent.  However, in the past few months, I've "lost" two previous clients to other Realtors.  Three good consequences have come from this.  Firstly, I've revisited my sys...

I have a client who makes over $200,000.00 each year trading on ebay.  I have no idea how he does it but he's obviously got it figured out.  He knows what to look for.As a Realtor, I like to think I know this game, much the same as he knows his.  For example, in this "seller's" market, there aren...