Liquidating our Assets (and responsibilities)

With 2 properties, 2 cars, a house full of furniture and a cat, we had to quickly decide what we were going to do with all our ‘stuff’.

After debating whether to rent our properties, where to store the furniture and contemplating importing my cat, Pixie, we decided that considering the length of our stay was undetermined, it would be best to find a new home for everything and liquidate all our assets.

Wanting to maximize the return on our properties, we decided to sell our properties on our own through Comfree. Jordan’s friend Reid had great success a year before using Comfree and we felt we could take on the challenge to sell on our own.

Considering my condo was in the unique, historic Kaufman Loft building I was confident this would be a quick sale. My outcome would be much different though, considering it took 72 days before I received an official offer. The process turned out to be quite educational as I learned the following lessons:

1. It is a lot more work to sell with tenants still occupying the property

2. Never mention in passing to your tenant it “would probably be ok if you wanted to get a cat”

3. Just because someone else over prices their property, doesn’t mean you should follow suit

4. Apparently living on the 1st floor is an acquired taste

5. Open Houses in condos are not a common thing (and a waste of time

6. Don’t count on an offer until the document is in your hand

The whole process would have been manageable with tenants if they hadn’t decided to get TWO CATS without telling me just days before I listed the property. I am a cat lover myself, but after having to spend countless hours managing the collection, babysitting and return of the cats, litter, cat house and toys for each showing and open house, I have come to appreciate the importance of a strict ‘No Pets Allowed’ clause in a lease. Poor Jordan spent hours in his car in the hot summer heat watching two kittens while I showed the condo to prospective buyers. He would soon pay me back though as I found myself in the car with Pixie ON MY BIRTHDAY while he showed our house to buyers.

Pixie panting in the hot car with me Jordan with my tenants 2 kittens

Even though 2 neighbours across the street put their houses up for sale the same week, Jordan managed to force a 3-way bidding war. A last minute showing proved worth it as it helped him get above his asking price in the end. His practiced sales pitch, meticulous cleaning and unique split staircase won buyers over. The success of Jordan’s sale even attracted the attention of Comfree who decided to feature his story in a case study on their website!

In the end we managed to get both properties to close within 2 days of each other, however the early closing left us homeless for about 2 weeks (which we would need to sort out later). Next will be selling our cars and furniture! Thanks to Kijiji this should hopefully be a breeze (fingers crossed)