We met Marc in 2010, he was recommended by a friend of a friend who invested in real estate. We bought our first income property with Marc and then purchased about every 2 years after that. Then in 2018 we worked with Marc to buy a home for ourselves. We’ve been with him for 15 years now and haven’t sold any of our properties because we’ve been very happy with them all.
We then referred him toMelissa to sell her home – he gave them great advise when they were buying from the owner directly.
The other realtor we initially worked with’s only purpose was to get us into homes we wanted to see — there was no other information given, there were no opinions or a lot of knowledge about the market, about the areas, about the way things work. That was the extent of the relationship.
Other realtors wanted us to sign a contract to cement the working relationship. Marc works on the relationship – he doesn’t need the contract to work with you.
The sense with Marc wasn’t that at all. “If we’re going to do something together… the paper won’t mean anything.” He’s confident in his ability.
Marc is very open with sharing his knowledge. He doesn’t withhold information based on a contract. Marc was helpful even when we bought directly from the seller when there was no realtor involved. That was quick and unexpected. When we went to sell our condo there was a special assessment that was going to potentially cause some issues. Marc’s experience in dealing with different situations is very reassuring. He doesn’t panic, stays calm and gave us different solutions. He’s respectful in letting us know what our options are, explains them well and doesn’t push – he gives us the time to decide what we’re most comfortable with. He’s really good at staying solutions focused.
He's encountered all kinds of problems in the past and he can draw on that. That’s really valuable. Things don’t always go smoothly. You can start to panic if things go awry.
When we bought our second income property with him – the inspection revealed issues that could warrant a price negotiation. He doesn’t shy away from having difficult conversations with the other realtors. You really do feel that he is on your side and he’s going to do everything he can to make sure that you’re getting the best deal that he can get for you. He knows how the repercussions of faulty inspection can impact a deal on so many levels. He knows the ethics and machinery behind things. He’s familiar with the legal jargon and can translate.
Marc also speaks both English & French so can work in both languages. Marc knows the psychology of realtors and many of the agents different styles. Insider information about agents, properties and neighbourhoods. He can rule things out rather quickly.
I was always on my guard – he’s a salesman, he wants something – I was suspicious. He feels confident about his skills so he will get something out of the relationship without extraction. He doesn’t count transactions. The karma will come around. He knows he’s got the skills and the knowledge to be at the right place at the right time.
He doesn’t need to trap you — with him it’s deeper than a professional relationship. He really gets to know his clients. He knows our values. He knows what we’d be looking for. He genuinely wants to help us to reach our goals to reach our investment
He decreased the stress level right away. He owns this. He takes the responsibility off of you and says “I’ve got this.” And didn’t he advise you guys on the timing of your listing.
Marc is very open to share his knowledge about the market, the area and the house.
I can’t explain some of his techniques but it’s his touch. He’s very patient which is so reassuring. You never feel pressured. While buying my parents’ home and finding a home for my uncle and my grandfather, we started the process without really knowing what we were looking for. We have a lot experience so we were pretty involved – our parents were from Mississauga and my grandfather and uncle were from Montreal so we’re the locals and knew Marc. My mom and dad were getting listings emailed to them – from all over the place. He was very patient showing them everything they wanted to see. There was a lack of clarity around location vs. bungalow. So he was dealing with our whole family. My uncle and grandfather bought a house without seeing it. Imagine... an older grandfather leaving his home of 50 years and moving to a new city?! Marc was patient and thoughtful and helpful. He always jumped in to offer to do things or to help.
He did Zoom calls with all of us and FaceTime videos during visits. We all ended up on the same street. They’re about to change the name of the street to Chow Lane... LOL!
He's good at pivoting without being frustrated when we changed what we’re looking for – he was very patient. And very thoughtful. He was able to include everyone on emails too! A large family group with different opinions!
– The Chows (3 generations)
