The BREL Team: A BIG Announcement

Some news is just SO big and SO exciting that you just don’t know how to share it. We’ve been sitting on one of those BIG and EXCITING secrets for a while now. Today, we’re finally ready to share it.

But First, Where it All Began

This morning, Facebook  showed me this old status update..

…which of course brought up some questions: Was it only 6 years ago that we decided to make this thing real?  How did a small-town girl from Espanola and an Old Boy from UCC decide to take on The Toronto Real Estate Industry and think they could do it differently? Why did only 2 people ‘like’ my status update?

Six years in, hundreds of homes bought and sold later and now a team of 8 (!!), the BREL team is ready for the next step.

The BIG Announcement

We’re excited to announce that we have signed a 5-year commercial lease for our very own space in the Junction!

The new BREL team Headquarters will be located at 3091 Dundas Street West (at Dundas and High Park), right in the midst of the best part of the Junction’s Dundas West strip. Surrounded by eclectic furniture stores, creative-types, families, hipsters-with-jobs and some wicked restaurants and bars (read: Indie Alehouse), we think BREL and the Junction were just meant to be.

Not our actual office. Stole this photo from here: www.toronto.com/articles/things-to-do-in-the-junction/

Why the Junction?

Why not? The Junction has been one of our favourite up-and-coming neighbourhoods for a few years now, as downtown’s boundaries continue to push east and west. While Brendan and I live just past the official boundaries of the Junction, the Junction is where we shop, eat and play (and did I mention the Indie Alehouse?).

Does that mean BREL is all about the Junction now?

As a team of 6 agents (and 2 awesome full-timers who keep us in line), we buy and sell in multiple neighbourhoods from east to west and north of downtown Toronto. We’ve never tried to be the #1 Agent in XYZ Neighbourhood, and we’re not about to start. We know the kinds of people we like to work with, the kinds of condos, lofts and houses we like to sell and the kinds of neighbourhoods where those two intersect. So no, we aren’t going to become exclusive Junction neighbourhood agents, but we are looking forward to hanging our hats there and becoming part of the community. And of course, we’re REALLY looking forward to beers at the Indie.

When’s the Party?

Today we begin renovating the new BREL HQ at 3091 Dundas Street West. We’re working with a team of awesome designers and contractors to bring our vision to life. Our new space will reflect who we are and how we work: it won’t be douchey or intimidating; it will be unique; it will be fun. We want it to be the place where awesome people come to buy awesome properties with awesome agents.  

Mark your calendars: we’ll be breaking-in the new BREL Headquarters BREL-style on August 20th, 2015. We think the Junction will wonder how they ever got on without us.