November 8th, 2022 | Buyers

Buy Your Last House First

The phrase Hindsight is 20/20 refers to the fact that it is usually easier to analyse and evaluate events after they have already happened, rather than when you’re in the middle of them.

It’s like that with almost everything in life, isn’t it?  I should have, I could have, I would have … and you’re right, had you known what you know today, you may have very well acted differently (and in favour of what you now know would have resulted in the best outcome) … who wouldn’t, right?

Well, here’s the thing … more often than not, you do possess hindsight.  You’re a superhero and you didn’t even know it!

In a recent article we published entitled “Market Crashes Are Opportunities In Disguise”, we shared a famous saying of Warrant Buffett’s, which goes like this:

The biggest mistakes we’ve made by far, are mistakes of omission and not commission.  Meaning, it’s the things I knew enough to do, within my circle of competence, and I was sucking my thumb.  Those are the ones that hurt! 

_{Warren Buffett}

And, I commented on how the above quote REALLY RESONATES with me (Amir), because I can distinctly remember my “missed opportunities”.  I particularly love that he specifically says … “mistakes of omission and not commission” – because it couldn’t be truer.  

You (and I) do know what’s best … because a little voice in our head is often trying to help us/steer us in the right direction … so why do we ignore this voice?

Because, the “right choice” is not always the easiest one.  Simple as that.

In this case, we’re talking about Buying Your Last House First.  So, what do we mean? 

Exactly that – if you can purchase the home of 5-10 years … but today … do it! Over the years, we’ve helped countless Buyers, Sellers and Investors. We’ve also purchased, sold, renovated and kept many of our own properties. On average, we find our Buyers tend to move every 3-5 years, for various reasons, here are a few:

• They’ve outgrown their home (kids, pets, etc.)
• They’re looking for a different lifestyle (moving out of the city and gaining more land/space etc.)
• They love their home … but other factors are driving their decision to move (neighbours, schools, jobs etc.)

Here’s the issue – moving isn’t cheap!  Nor is it easy!!

And while some Buyers simply cannot consider purchasing something that might suit their future needs due to financial constraints – there are many Buyers that can … and may just not know it as they’ve never asked and nobody’s ever breached the topic.

At the very least, a conversation around the potential options is warranted – because this could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in a 3-5 year period – not to mentioned the equity you may have gained in that same period had you opted for the future home today (i.e. a better/larger/more favourable located property is likely to appreciate in value more quickly).

And, no moving!  So not just financial gains but also saving you loads of time and energy!!

Enough hypotheticals, here’s a concrete example, and we’ll use ourselves:

When we started out, Aleks and I were young Realtors who loved to live, work and play in downtown Toronto. I (Amir) owned and lived in my condo at CityPlace and it was great. When it came time to move, as things were getting “hot and heavy” between us (Seinfeld reference – if you know, you know!), we chose to chase the housing market (i.e. no condos – houses only).

Why?  

Because we noticed that the gap between how much more a house cost at the time vs a larger (2+2 condo) wasn’t super significant (i.e. a 2+2 might have cost you about 500-600K and a house in a desirable neighbourhood was around 600-800K).

And while the 100-300K extra would cost us more both up front and monthly – we recognized that the long-term benefits were too sweet to pass up, here are a few:

• We believed the appreciation would be greater for houses – we were right!
• We believed that we’d likely get tired of downtown living and would want more space/a yard etc. – we were right!
• We recognized that the potential for houses outweighed that of condos (i.e. renovating, adding, digging etc.) – we were right!

All of this drove us to purchase homes vs condos. And, in short, it helped us greatly! As within 3-5 years, those same homes had appreciated by 30-50%++ – saving us tons of money, time and energy! Not to mentioned helping us leverage and grow our property portfolio!!

Now, your future home may not be a traditional house … maybe you’re a condo person or a loft or a commercial property with residential on top or whatever …

But, the bottom line is, YOUR needs are worth exploring so that today’s YOU may do whatever YOU can to benefit future YOU as much as possible.

And why are we talking about all of this now? 

Because, this period of time in our Real Estate Market, while scary for some, is a great opportunity for others … and perhaps for you.

We strongly encourage you to read our piece “MARKT CRASHES ARE OPPORTUNITIES IN DISGUISE” to see why.

It all starts with a conversation – so please, even if you’re not sure, just reach out … we’re always here to help!