2024 has been an eventful year for The Matt & Ben Team, full of challenges, lessons and wins. We thought you might enjoy hearing about some of our experiences because real estate reality shows don’t exactly capture what realtors deal with on a day to day basis! Despite the challenges Ben & I still managed to be in the top 1% of all realtors on the Toronto Real Estate Board for the 19th consecutive year.
We kicked off the year by selling a very large church in East York. We had been nurturing that relationship for almost 15 years when they first asked us to provide them an opinion of value on the property. By keeping in contact for a decade and a half, that simple property valuation request evolved into a listing that we sold in just over a week. It was an eye-opening experience, teaching us everything from church financing to understanding the unique buyers in that market. One of the most surprising things we learned is that there are specific rules for selling a church, which stem from a 1939 document signed by King George IV. Who knew!
On a more challenging note, a recent ongoing case involved a tenant who stopped paying rent but refused to leave. Without permission, he kept several dogs that caused significant damage to the property, including soiling the floors and balconies. We had to sterilize the property, replace floors and baseboards, and repaint. This process took 14 months, involving the landlord, tenant tribunal, and eventual eviction. Since our clients live out of province, we handled the situation on the ground. It was our first time working with Sheriffs, who we accompanied during his eviction, allowing him to take his belongings and dogs while a locksmith changed the locks. He had 72 hours to collect the rest of his items. It was an emotional experience, but the tenant's sense of entitlement—living rent-free for so long and being uncooperative—was shocking. Unfortunately, this kind of situation is becoming more common across the province. I hope the government will streamline the landlord-tenant tribunal process to make evictions faster and more efficient when tenants refuse to pay their rent.
The condo market in Toronto has been challenging, with listings hitting record highs. Despite the tough conditions, we’ve managed to secure many solid sales. With recent rate reductions, we're starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and we’ve recently had some very successful transactions that sold quickly.
One of our most sensitive deals involved a home where a tragic murder had occurred. We worked closely with the family, who was out of the country, to ensure everything was handled transparently and ethically. It was a tough but successful sale, and it reminded us that experience & doing your research matters—we even consulted with lead council for the Ontario Real Estate Association to make sure we disclosed everything properly.
We also had some fantastic sales this year, including breaking street records on several properties, even in a down market. Notably, we sold one of the most expensive semi-detached homes in South Riverdale for just under $3 million, a truly spectacular property.
Pavel Shaganenko, a member of our team who is & speaks Ukrainian, has been helping many Ukrainian refugees find rental properties in the GTA. Navigating the rental market without established Canadian credit or employment is tough, but Pavel’s success in helping these newcomers has been incredible. Our clients come from all walks of life: refugees searching for rental homes in Toronto, elderly seniors navigating dementia, people upgrading, downsizing, going through a divorce and more. Regardless of the situation, we approach every client with the same level of compassion and discretion.
Another major part of our business is connecting our clients with trusted agents across Canada, the U.S., and beyond. With RE/MAX’s network of over 100,000 agents in 100+ countries, we’re able to refer clients to the best agents wherever they’re buying or selling. This year, we facilitated transactions across Ontario, including cottages and family homes, and referred clients to agents in the U.S., while also receiving referrals from there in return. Moreover, RE/MAX Hallmark has recently expanded to Naples Florida. At the end of this month we will be attending a conference on buying property in the United States. If you would like to talk about this at some point, never hesitate to give us a call.
In closing, the market is heating up and we are anticipating a massive 2025. We are also very confident that home prices in the GTA will increase in price. If you or someone you know would like to know the current value of your home, we’d be happy to provide a no-obligation consultation. Feel free to reach out anytime.
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