For most of us, our home is our most important and valuable asset. The choices we make when purchasing Real Estate are critically important for reasons that I will address within this page.

There are many decisions to be made when purchasing a property, but I personally believe that your #1 most important decision is your choice of a REALTOR®. Naturally you want a REALTOR® with considerable skill and experience, but you also need your agent to have your best interests at heart at all times. This is the true essence of the agency relationship.

I’m Ted Greenhough. Prior to becoming a full-time professional REALTOR® in 2004, I had a previous career as a business owner. When I was 27, I started Power Twins Performance Parts – a wholesale distributor of motorcycle parts. Over the next 14 years my company morphed into Parts Canada and became the undisputed #1 parts distributor in Canada. My average rate of sales growth over those 14 years was 55% per year.

The main reason for my success was my relentless determination to set a new standard for customer service in the industry. My business mind-set was (and still is) very simple, “How can I do better? How can I further exceed my customers’ expectations?” I wish more businesses operated in this way!

When I sold my company and decided to become a REALTOR®, I was financially secure, so I had the flexibility to take my time and carefully study the Real Estate business. On the buying side, one of the main things I wanted to learn was, “What are the factors that cause one property to appreciate in value faster than another seemingly similar property?”

If you go to work every day with a passionate desire to become the best, and you continue that devotion to learning throughout your career, you will eventually become a leading expert in your field, someone with a deep level of knowledge whom others will seek out for advice.

I began my 2nd career (Real Estate) in 2004 with a solid understanding of business and customer service and then very purposely devoted myself to becoming the best REALTOR® I could possibly be.

Many highly successful REALTORS® eventually become “listing specialists” where their primary focus is to list as many homes as they possibly can. This means that on the buying side, you will often be handed off to a “junior” agent, as if buying Real Estate isn’t nearly as important as selling it.

However I’ve always believed that your agent’s expertise on the buying side can be even more important than on the listing side, for reasons that will become evident later in this article.

When you make the decision to work with me, you will never be handed off to a junior agent for any reason. You work directly with me one-on-one throughout the process, from our initial chat through to taking possession of your new home.

Because I put a high level of importance in working personally with buyers, without question this makes me a better listing agent also. For example, I’m more in touch with changing trends and understanding what buyers want, so this helps me to provide better advice to my sellers on how best to prepare their homes prior to listing. I thoroughly enjoy both sides of the business and I’ve excelled at both over the last several years.

I’ve achieved success and I’ve won all the sales awards. But it’s how I’ve achieved those awards that is far more important to me. I’ve done it by consistently providing the highest possible level of customer service to my clients. I’m more proud of my customer reviews than I am of all the sales awards in the world.

For the record, almost all my business now comes from repeat clients and referrals, so for that reason I work all over the city and at all price levels. For example, I find it very rewarding to help first-time buyers to get a good head-start in life. The first house purchase is the most important one!

This page is a brief summary of my process with buyers, but of course there is much more to learn. After you’ve read this page, if you want to know more, I invite you to contact me to discuss your goals in more detail.

A few thoughts on hiring a REALTOR® to act as your Buyer’s Agent

How much does it cost?

It’s usually FREE. Your Buyer Agent is normally paid one half of the commission that is paid to the Listing Brokerage (by the seller). But…

Even though it’s FREE…

Doesn’t it make sense to seek out the best expert representation that you can possibly get? After all, buying Real Estate can be a fun and exciting adventure, but it can also be very stressful! That’s because you are simultaneously making TWO critically important decisions.

The first decision is location and lifestyle…

Where will you and your family live and play and set down roots together?

The second decision is about your financial future…

Your home is likely your single most important and valuable long-term investment.

You have to decide how to balance these two decisions…

Most people tend to focus mostly on location and lifestyle, and not enough on thinking about their home as an important long-term investment.

House ‘A’ and House ‘B’ both sell for $500,000…

Today, House ‘A’ and House ‘B’ are worth exactly the same on the open market. However, House ‘A’ appreciates by 2% per year while House ‘B’ appreciates by 4% per year. After one year House B is worth $10,000 more than House A. That’s a lot of money. But here’s the punch line…

After ten years, House B is worth $130,625 more than House A!

You may not notice any significant difference between House A and House B today…

But I do!

That’s just one of the distinct advantage of working with one of the top Real Estate experts in Calgary – one who truly cares about your future financial well-being.

Ted’s Thoughts on the Future Resale Potential of Your New Home

Everyone is different, and Future Resale Potential shouldn’t be the only factor you consider, but for most people it should certainly be at least one of your most important considerations. If you are young and buying your first home or first move-up home, future resale value should certainly be your #1 most important consideration. After all, if you buy smart today, you’ll get to your dream home that much quicker.

Throughout my career…

I have carefully considered every factor affecting value for each and every one of the thousands of properties I’ve viewed in and around Calgary. What features caused one Real Estate property to appreciate faster than another?

Based on my experience and expertise…

I feel a solemn sense of responsibility to tell you exactly what I’m thinking about every property we view together; all the positives and all the negatives.

For example, I might say…

“I know you like that feature, but be aware that most buyers do NOT. Therefore, it will likely be a significant negative resale factor when you are ready to re-sell.”

This is how I communicate with you throughout the viewing process…

Based on my years of experience and having seen literally thousands of properties, and having studied the value of those properties over time, I will point out anything and everything I see in each and every property we view together; all the positives and all the negatives that I think may affect future resale value. The purpose of this is simply to give you additional information so that you can make a more intelligent buying decision.

If I believe you’re making a bad decision…

I will tell you. I’ve convinced my clients literally thousands of times NOT to write an offer for all kinds of reasons they hadn’t considered.

I hear this all the time:

“Oh! I never would have thought of that. Thank-you Ted!” So, we keep shopping. Until you find a better home with better future resale potential.

Maybe it takes a little bit longer…

But I don’t mind if you don’t mind. In the end, you get a better home and I get happier clients who want to refer me to their family and friends. Everyone wins!

Here’s the bottom line…

The reason I’m different from most other agents has nothing to do with how many homes I’ve sold (a lot), how many awards I’ve won (I lost count), or even how hard I work (really hard). Here it is:

I’m NEVER trying to “sell” you…

Instead, I see my role as an expert Real Estate advisor. I will provide all the information you need to make an intelligent buying decision, whenever you are ready.

Ted’s Typical Real Estate 10-Step Process with Buyers

Step #1 – Let’s CHAT

Give me a call or e-mail me and we will have a brief informal chat about your wants and needs, your goals, your timeline, etc. I’ll ask you a few questions and make some suggestions to help you get more focused.

Step #2 – Let’s REVIEW

I will e-mail you a few listings for your review, and then we can chat again. The more feedback you’re able to provide, the more focused I can get on finding you the right property.

Step #3 – Let’s get your mortgage PRE-APPROVED

There are many important reasons to get pre-approved for your mortgage, including putting you into a stronger negotiating position when it’s time to write an offer. I have access to some of the best Calgary mortgage brokers with the best rates in the business. This service is absolutely free with no obligation.

Step #4 – Let’s do our HOME-WORK

This means going out together to visit some listings. This is the fun part! You can look at listings on the Internet all you want, but you’ll find out quickly that the Internet can be very deceiving. This will be an eye-opening experience for you to view properties, accompanied by your personal expert advisor. You will be surprised at how much you learn, possibly even completely changing your mind about what is really important to you, and what is not. For such a significant decision, it’s very important to take your time and not rush the process!

Step #5 – Let’s ANALYZE the pros and cons

Every house (without exception) has good points and bad points. It’s my job is to ensure you clearly see both, “Here’s the good stuff and here’s the bad stuff.” Once you’ve got ALL the information, then you’re going to be in a better position to make an informed and intelligent home buying decision.

Step #6 – Let’s work TOGETHER

I take the agent-client relationship very seriously. That means I’m acting on your best behalf at all times. I’ve saved my clients from making disastrous and costly Real Estate buying decisions countless times by simply ensuring they had ALL the facts first. When you’re working with me and we find the right property, it will be an obvious decision for everyone.

Step #7 – Let’s REVIEW again

You’ve seen several properties, but are you still on the right track? You’ve learned a lot and sometimes that means we need to change our focus one way or another.

Step #8 – Let’s PUT IN AN OFFER TO PURCHASE

Once you’ve found the right property, I will walk you through the purchase contract and make suggestions on how to structure the offer to achieve the best possible result. You would be surprised how much can be done to give you an edge. I pride myself on being one the most effective negotiators in the Calgary Real Estate business.

Step #9 – Let’s WORK THROUGH THE CONDITIONS

This may seem like a complicated process to you, but I’ve done this hundreds of times and I will walk you through each and every step.

Step #10 – Let’s MEET AT YOUR NEW HOME!

On possession day, I will meet you at your new home one more time to hand over the keys. Congratulations on the successful purchase of your new home!

If this process makes sense to you…

I’m happy to help you with no obligation whatsoever, even if you’re not planning to start shopping for several months or longer.

For example, I can set you up on a Web Portal – your personal web-link showing only the active listings that match your specified search criteria. You can then sort the listings, trash the ones you don’t like, favourite the good ones, attach notes, etc. The Web Portal will also notify you by e-mail immediately whenever a new listing is posted matching your specified criteria. You can even get notified when a listing sells and for how much, if you wish.

The Web Portal is a great tool that makes searching on Realtor.ca seem tedious and obsolete. It’s easy for me to set it up and it runs automatically. Simply let me know your specifications and you’ll receive an e-mail link to your personal Web Portal, usually within an hour. (Unsubscribe with one click).

If you have any questions, call me, text me, or e-mail me, and I’ll get right back to you. Or, if you’d like to meet face-to-face for an in-depth discussion, let’s set up a meeting.

No matter what stage you are at, please contact me and let’s get started!