Seriously Muskoka Real Estate Blog

HERE'S THE SITUATION

Adrian and his family have vacationed in Muskoka for over 40 years. As his kids grew older, they expressed their desire to have a cottage of their own, especially with grandchildren on the way. Rather than renting or going to a village as they have in the past, they finally decided to take the plunge and buy a cottage to call their own. 

WHAT THEY WANTED

After vacationing in Muskoka for years, there was no doubt in their minds that this was the place they wanted to buy their second home.  "We wanted to find something we loved at a price we were willing to pay. We interviewed a couple of other realtors, but no one really stood out to us. Our friend, who is a broker over in Toronto, ended up recommending Heather," Adrian said.

HOW WE MADE IT HAPPEN

Adrian did a lot of his own research, constantly refreshing the MLS, waiting for new listings to appear. He did this for years and got to know the market extremely well, which also helped me gain a better understanding of what he was looking for and where his priorities stood. 

We arranged a day to meet up and look at cottages. Keeping this "checklist" in mind at all times, we toured about a half a dozen properties. 

"She lined up a good variety of places for us and was able to point out attributes - both positive and negative of each," Adrian began. "She had a great knowledge of the market as to what was correctly priced as well as what you could do to improve or modify each of the cottages."

THE PRICE WAS RIGHT, BUT...

The location sealed the deal. Helping Adrian find a cottage that encompassed everything his family was looking for at a price that they could pay was extremely rewarding, but there was something even more special about their new second home.

 "This cottage happened to be almost next door to a lodge that we used to go to when the family was much younger...The minute we drove down the private road to see the cottage, I immediately felt a connection to it," Adrian said.

THE "ICING ON THE CAKE"

"Heather's continuous service. From day one, we needed a home inspector. She had great contacts for that. We needed a local lawyer. She had great contact for that. We needed help decorating. She had great contacts for that." 

Like any real estate transaction, closing day brought some unexpected twists and turns. "The vendor wasn't anywhere near finished moving out on closing day. Heather had arranged for cleaners to come in and clean the cottage up to make it spotless before we got there."

WAIT...IT GETS BETTER

"On closing day, I had mentioned in passing some small landscaping projects and items I wanted to get done," Adrian said. "When we came back the following weekend, Heather had already done them for us."

ADRIAN'S ADVICE TO OTHER BUYERS

"Heather was great to work with and we still speak to her often. She's very knowledgable, diligent, friendly, responsive, driven...Everything you could ask for in a realtor"