My Life Before Real Estate

This is a second career for me after 25 years in marketing communications, primarily in global public relations firms. The communications and client services skills were very transferrable and I haven’t looked back.

What I Love About Being a REALTOR

Hands down, the strategy!!! I love figuring out what makes my clients tick – as individuals and/or as couples — and how they need to receive information from me to best help them. On the buy side, what approach do we need to take to get my clients what they want? What homes should we be looking at? What’s our offer strategy? How can we get the upper hand in a competitive situation? And on the sale side, how do we stand out from the pack? What is the optimal pricing and marketing strategy to get us sold for the highest amount, in the quickest amount of time and with the least amount of stress? In my previous career I focused on strategy and I get to flex that muscle every single day in this one too.

Why I Love Helping Buyers

I often joke that working with buyers is how I redeem my soul after a quarter century in marketing communications selling soap and toothpaste. When you work with buyers you are truly making a difference in their life — whether it’s buying their first condo (and the feeling of adulthood and independence that comes with it) or the first home a couple will bring their new baby home to, or a family looking to upsize (and downsize), working with buyers just *feels* so good.

Favourite Buyer Story

I was working with a young couple with two pre-school children looking to buy their first home. Two things about this buy make it a great story. Their number one criteria was school district however their budget made homes in those areas (almost) unattainable. After a few heartbreaks we finally found a home that worked for them and seemed like it might be attainable within budget. Unfortunately, it had the same offer night as another home they liked (that we thought was worth a bit less but, because of that, we felt like it might have more bidders, driving up the price) so we made the strategic decision to offer on the first one. We were right. The second house got seven offers, and the one they bid on only had two! Better yet, they paid less than the buyers of house #2. That felt great. But the best part? They were waiting for me at the BREL office while I presented their offer and, when I came back and told them they won, they burst into tears and hugged me. That never happened to me in marketing communications.

Why I Love Helping Sellers

There are a lot of reasons people decide to sell their homes, some happy, some sad and some bittersweet. But it’s always about a new chapter in life and, with that, comes a lot of stress. My favourite thing about helping sellers is taking a lot of that stress off their plate, because we have the systems, tools and people in place that get the job done in the best way for them.

My Life Outside of Real Estate

I have a lot of passions. Baseball (part of my obsession with strategy), cooking new recipes inspired from watching more cooking shows than I care to admit, travel, walking my dog in the morning in High Park or along the Lakeshore Waterfront Trail, visiting my amazing nieces and singing Springsteen favourites (loudly) in the shower. I also follow current events and politics a great deal although I consider that more of a vice than a passion.

You’ll Enjoy Working with Me If…

…you like your communications clear and straight forward coupled with a hint of humour. I’m also punctual and hyper-organized and my clients tend to appreciate that.

Related: Read more about Lisa Bednarski here.