Guide BOOKLET

Bigger IS Better. A Guide to Buying & Selling Your Home When You’ve Outgrown Your Space.

WELCOME When you bought your home, the space worked great for starting your family, but now that you’ve added to it and the kids have grown, it just doesn’t work anymore Your house feels small and cramped, the layout doesn’t work for your family, and the home you used to love now feels a bit like it’s closing in on you. You’re trying your best to keep your house in order, but your kids don’t put anything away because nothing has an actual place anymore. You’re tired of stepping and tripping over toys, boots and everything else they leave lying around. You lack the space required to neatly put everything away and it’s frustrating you, which causes you to yell at your spouse and the kids way more often than you’d like. Your friends can’t even stop by because you don’t want them to see the never ending mess. Homework time is also a mess. Your table is constantly covered in bills and flyers and it makes the cluttered situation worse before you add on the kids’ textbooks, half- finished projects, the spots of glue from the hot glue gun. Ugh. It’d be so nice to have an office space or separate workstation that would allow you to sit down and enjoy a family dinner at the table with conversation to find out how everyone’s day went, but there isn’t room for you to do that without totally sacrificing your living room. Your kids are also frustrated because they don’t have the privacy they need. They don’t like sharing a room, and you know when they get older they’re going to want their own space. You know it would certainly make homework, reading, and even a time out easier without their brother or sister aggravating them. You want to stop yelling at your kids and stop them from yelling at each other and constantly ribbing at each other. You can’t even send the kids outside to get them away from each other because you have a small and almost non-existent yard, and the street isn’t safe for them to play in. You want somewhere for the kids to ride their bikes or four wheelers. You remember all the fun times you had as a kid and want your kids to spend more time outdoors playing instead of online. You worry they aren’t spending enough time actually playing outside like you did as a kid. Instead, they spend all their time inside playing video games and watching 30495845 Youtubers and Twitch streamers. And sure, you could try to add on an addition or renovate, but that would be a bandaid solution. You know your home needs some updates as is, but even if you spent the money upgrading the space, it’ll look nicer, sure, but it still won’t solve the lack of space long term, and it’ll be expensive.

You’ve been buying organizers for toys, clothes, books, shoes, coats and backpacks, etc. If you can think of how to organize something or you find a Pinterest hack, you do it. You know enough about storage hacks to start a whole blog about it. And yet, somehow, despite all the time and money you’ve spent, your house is still full. You’ve even tried to purge the extra stuff you no longer need, you’ve held garage sales, but it’s like everything’s just as cluttered the next day! It’s time to face facts: The space that once worked and was perfect for your family no longer fits. You’ve made some amazing memories in your current home… but those memories are rapidly fading into chaos and arguments. You’re just getting more and more overwhelmed by your kids’ stuff every single day, and you don’t know where else to start decluttering, so the yelling continues. And that causes stress between you and your spouse, as well as you and the kids. It’s tiring to tell kids to pick stuff up constantly, you’re tired of repeating yourself, and losing your patience on something that isn’t entirely their fault. You’d like to be able to shut playroom doors and keep individual bedroom doors closed and just give everyone a break. As the kids have gotten older and have started picking up on things, it’s also getting hard to find any time to talk to your spouse without being interrupted or snooped on. When the kids have gone to bed, you’re both too exhausted and your relationship becomes even more strained. . You know that if something doesn’t change, your kids’ social skills will be seriously lacking, because all they do is spend time indoors. They aren’t playing with other kids. It seems like they can’t go anywhere without a phone or tablet in their face because they never learned how to have fun without technology, and you spend more time yelling at them to put down the electronics. You can all feel that your family is hitting a breaking point. People are being judgy, even your “friends” and especially your family. It seems like there’s a lot more complaints than celebrations these days. All the stress is causing your once happy family to drift apart. You’re no longer spending quality time together because you always feel like there’s something that needs to be done, or you don’t want to get into an argument. And the worst part? When you do argue… there’s nowhere to escape. I get it, because I’ve been there, and I’ve watched families go through this for a long time.

I’m Erin Boynton-Seeley. My parents have been in the real estate business for over 30 years, so to say that it runs in my blood is an understatement. I grew up listening to my parents talk real estate, using the lingo, and carrying around the file folders, pagers, and thick MLS books! As kids, we spent many hours hanging out at the office with mom and dad, so this brings the saying born to sell to a whole new level. The systems sure have changed a lot over the years, but the one thing that hasn’t changed is the drive to provide the best customer experience possible. My own kids now listen to me talk real estate with clients on the phone every day, so who knows, maybe one of my four boys will become a realtor at some point! After marrying my high school sweetheart, we had our first two kids and while I was still at home with them, I got my real estate license in 2000 and started working full time. To this day it’s not uncommon to walk into my office and see my kids hanging out or playing. Over the years, I’ve worked with a wide variety of clients, but many of my clients have grown with me. Just as my family grew and we moved into a bigger home, so too did most of my first-time buyer clients. Now, it’s my pleasure to help upsizing families! I know the stress and tension that can come from moving. I loved our very first home, it was just perfect for our new family of 3. I remember living in that house it like it was yesterday, even though that was over 22 years ago. It was the start to so many “firsts” for our family. I believe that where you live is so much more than where you throw your coat and drop the kids backpacks. It’s where you spend time with your family and where memories are made that become the pictures in your mind for the stories in the future. When we outgrew the space as we added another son and it no longer fit our needs, I knew it was time to move and it was no longer going to be our forever home. It was difficult, especially with children. We have bought, sold and built our own home many times over the past 22 years. Each time, we knew it was the right time to sell and move on so we’d start with a plan of what needed to be done to get our home ready.

Our most recent selling experience started with the plan to declutter, minor renovations and paint, clean & clean some more (with 4 kids and 2 dogs, oh my). Once we were ready to list and get showings, the worry set in that others might not like our home - it even happens to realtors! My husband would ask me if we had received feedback 5 minutes after they left each time, and explaining to him that’s not the way it works was a process, but deep down I really wanted to know, too, while reminding myself not everyone will love my home. We had to wait for the right person to fall in love with it the way we loved it. Then we negotiated a successful offer and it was time to pack up everything but those incredible memories, those I’ll have forever. We’re so pleased that another family is enjoying our former home now. I love my job because I get to help clients make the transition that I’ve made so many times! My passion is helping families adjust their lifestyle as their needs and wants change because I’ve been there - I know that anxiety, and I know what it’s like to have a lot going on beyond the sale and to need a streamlined, refined process. I don’t believe in showing you a particular lifestyle, I’ll help you figure out what’s right for you. I help you search for the right property, find it, and negotiate a successful transaction. I’ll market your property with targeted, but effective advertising to attract the right person who will love and cherish your home as much as you have over the last several years. It’s not just about buying and selling homes, I get that. I can help! And as a Certified Negotiation Expert, you’ll be working with someone who knows how to advocate for you and be your biggest ally in reaching your real estate goals! I designed the Bigger is Better method specifically for families like mine and yours, who need more space because their home has become unmanageable. My goal is to help you find the home that your family will happily grow in for many years while minimizing the stress of selling… because it shouldn’t be the source of new arguments in your family.

STEP ONE: B efore we list your home or look for a new one, it’s important to understand Determining what you loved about your current property Demands & and want to keep going into your next home, Desires as well as what you need to be different. I’ll help you determine what’s most important and discuss your budget with you, so we can set clear expectations from the outset. We’ll also make sure you’re working with a lender of your choice who can accurately and efficiently determine what your options will be. I’ll get you set up in the email system to notify you of new listings, so we can get started on finding the right property, and we’ll be in touch regularly. This will help us to make sure we are on the same page and make sure we are looking for the right property.

STEP TWO: Adjustments & Refinement for Enhanced Display O nce I know what you’re looking for in your next home, it’s time to make sure your current home is showing ready. I’ll do a thorough examination, as I like to call it, to see if there are any improvements to be made before we can list your home. We’ll go over any immediate repairs that should be done, like plumbing leaks, or roof repair, paint touch ups, trim or window caulking etc,. as well as any recommended easy and affordable upgrades, like a kitchen backsplash and new hardware, updated bathroom vanity or light fixtures, etc. Once the repairs and upgrades are done, it’s time to hire a cleaner to do a full presale deep clean. Doing these things in advance will help your home to show its best while eliminating a reduction in price or value from a potential buyer. This will help you get more money and sell faster for the least amount of inconvenience.

STEP THREE: Kiss Goodbye W hen your home is ready to hit the market, we’ll begin the promotion process. We start with professional photography and a video tour. As soon as we have the photos from the photographer, it’s go time. It will hit both the local real estate board as well as the Toronto real estate board, and go on multiple Facebook business pages as well as Instagram for a successful online presence. We also use targeted Facebook ads to get your home in front of people who are actively looking to purchase a home. The printed marketing plan includes the local newspaper, the Grey Bruce Homes magazine, as well as the Upscale Homes & Land magazine distributed through the GTA. The goal is to get your home in front of as many qualified Buyers and Realtors as possible, so we can get showings and an offer. Once we have an offer on the table, I’ll negotiate to make sure you’re happy with the end result to get your home sold and kiss it goodbye. Getting your home sold will allow you to negotiate a better offer and end result moving forward on the purchase of your new home. STEP FOUR: Hey, How You Doin’? T he time has arrived! We get to find the home of your dreams where your next adventure begins. Using the list of must haves vs. nice to haves that we did when we first met, we’ll be set to go looking. We’ll thoroughly search the current MLS to make sure we’re checking out all of your options, view suitable potential homes, and when you find “the one,” I’ll submit an offer, negotiate on your behalf, and we can proceed to purchase your new home. We want to make sure we find the right place that fits your needs and will eliminate the stresses from everyday life that aren’t necessary. Now, it’s time to take a breath knowing that all of your ducks are in a row.

sTEP FIVE. (name) : N Now that you’ve put in a purchase offer that’s been accepted, we’re Happy Dance getting close to the end of the process. You’ll have an inspection done of your new home, and depending on your lender, they may want to come in and do an appraisal of the home. I’ll guide you through the closing process, making sure you check off all the steps along the way. I’ll make sure all paperwork is forwarded to your lawyer so they have everything they need. I’ll let you know when you need to contact your utility companies and I’ll explain exactly how closing day will work and what you need to do with your keys. We’ll do a final walk through of your new home right before closing, just as the buyers on your home will do the same. Don’t worry about the way your home looks with boxes packed - the buyers will be happy to see that you’re getting everything ready to move. This visit ensures that your home is still in the same condition and that your new home is still perfect with no new dents, scratches, windows broken, etc. Now we get to close + celebrate. You get to move onto life’s next adventure. Although this is the end of the road for the transaction I am always here to help with local advice and any questions you may have.

Here’s what happens when you use the Bigger Is Better method: • You don’t fight anymore with your spouse and kids about where stuff belongs because everything has a place. You get to buy the kids the ATV they’ve been begging you to get, and you get to enjoy it too now that you have somewhere to ride it. • You finally get to enjoy time spent together, instead of watching everyone else have fun while you try to organize the house. The stress is gone because you’re not yelling at everyone all the time. • You get to spend more time outdoors and there’s more quality time together. You’re enjoying spending time with friends and family showing off the space you love. • Your kids spend less time fighting because they can separate themselves and go to their own space and have quiet time. They’re thrilled because you let them decorate their own space to their own taste and no one can complain about it anymore. • Having somewhere to put the mail and kids school work that’s not cluttering the kitchen is a wonderful feeling, and having some separation between you, your kids, and your neighbors means that you and your partner have time to reconnect.

And yes, this works, even if… You don’t have enough of a down payment. Did you know you may be able to buy with as little at 5% down? Many homeowners believe that they need 20% down to buy, but that’s not necessarily the case. You may have enough equity in your home to pay off some current debt and buy with as little as 5% down. We’ll make sure you have a full pre-approval before, so you know exactly what you can afford to buy for your new home. You’re afraid of having to keep the house clean for showings. My proven method for getting your home sold decreases the time your house is on the market - meaning less showings, and I’ll provide you with a system to declutter and contacts to get your home professionally cleaned. You’re skeptical about finding a house you like after yours is sold. There’s a couple of choices. We’ll start the search so you can check out listings available and see if there is something you love. When you have to sell first, you do risk that you won’t be able to sell before another offer comes in to buy that home. We can always list your home, but make an offer conditional for a short period on your finding a replacement property, so the fear of being homeless will no longer exist. You don’t like feeling pressured. I’d never pressure you to make a decision. My job is to inform you of all your options and guide you through the process, making sure you’re happy along the way. The decision is yours to make and I’ll make sure you never feel pressured to make a decision that makes you feel uncomfortable. Book your call or send me a message today to discuss how the Bigger IS Better method can work for your family

Here’s how the Bigger is Better Method has helped other families move into their dream homes: “Erin was awesome to work with. She listened “Thank you for all your guidance through this to all of my requirements as I wanted a house process. I am so happy the house sold quickly with character yet still coming in at my price and at a good price. Your advice was right on!” range. I also needed a space large enough to house my current business. She took the time to - Kim F. show me houses and was constantly sending me new listings until we found one that suited me “Erin was very efficient, honest and perfectly!!! And we did just that!!! I would professional. Did her best to make sure we were definitely recommend Erin and would definitely satisfied with the offer that was presented to us. use again in the future.” She is also very personable which made us feel very cofortable throughout the entire procedure.” - Sandi Hanley - G Clark “Erin was recommended by an agent in Toronto, and we are so glad to be working with her! She has been a true advocate for us and we really rely on her knowledge of the market and the area. Erin was great at pre-screening properties and since we were coming from out of the area this was important to us. Erin is warm, friendly, and patient, and we really felt like she had all the time in the world for us. Her communication is great and she follows-up in a timely manner. I would highly recommend Erin if you’re looking for a pro with excellent knowledge of Grey County.” - Lola and Jeff

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