Partner.  Collaborator.  Tough negotiator.  Clear & thoughtful communicator.  Rare listener.  Loyal friend.  Generous helper.  Careful money manager.  Research & analysis geek.  Dedicated cyclist.    Fixated on home improvement.  Building & construction fanatic.  Relentless comparison shopper.  Shoe aficionado.  Bargain hunter.  Pragmatist.  Aspiring artist.  Photography buff.  Health nut.  Avid fiction reader.  Library regular.  Coffee connoisseur.  Deep thinker.  Methodical decision maker.  Independent operator.  Car obsessed.  Math guru.  Project Manager.  Urbanist.  Business oriented.  Hobby anthropologist.  Boldly perceptive.  Fatherly influence.  Sustainability-minded.  Disciplined.  Authentic.

“Change is constant; neighbourhoods evolve, houses mature, and place matters.  There are many areas in the city that offer a variety of lifestyle benefits, and I’ve made it my business to understand the comparisons between them.  I also believe that resale housing can be upcycled to suit individual needs and circumstances if design thinking is applied early and the costs to customize are accounted for sooner in the buying process. Ultimately, for a house to truly feel like home it has to function well and feel right.”

Partner.  Mom.  Collaborator.  Design thinker.  Unconventional creative type. Optimist.  Visionary.  Agent of change.  Trend vulture.  Blogger.  Vintage enthusiast.  Furniture scholar.  Strategist.  Planner.  Ambitious upcycler.  Preservationist.  Secondhand clotheshorse.  Fabric fanatic.  Thrift store addict.  Magazine buff.  Closet style maven.  On again/off again tennis player.  Armchair traveller.  Shameless picture taker.  Smart marketing admirer.  Summer lover.  Internet junkie.  Antique & decorative arts hobbyist.  Hometown girl.  City dweller.  Arts & culture consumer.  Entrepreneur.  Non-fiction reader.  Lifelong learner.  Community-minded.  Politically aware.  Discerning.  Candid.

“To me, luxury is about how we live rather than what we have, no matter what the budget.  Too often, we adapt our lives to the space we occupy instead of the reverse.  By applying design thinking, it is possible to create a home that accommodates our everyday patterns, enables our individual pursuits, and reflects our aesthetic preferences.   I believe a house becomes a home when it combines convenience, comfort, and beauty in a pleasing atmosphere that conveys personal style. “ 

This is our manifesto:

• Helping people figure out what home means to them is fun!
• Think first, then choose deliberately.
• Our minds are always open to another point of view.
• It is better to use less and conserve more.
• Each of us is unique and home is the ideal place to express ourselves.
• When mistakes happen, everyone learns from them.
• While cheap is usually expensive in the end, there is no need to be frivolous.  Spending smart is about knowing the difference.
• Buildings have a history.  So to do people and their things.  Understanding and respecting these help make a house feel like home.

FAQ

Are you two “partners” or “partners”?

KC:  Both actually!  Since we first met, we have been talking about houses.  Early on, we talked about our respective dwellings – about what we loved, what worked and what didn’t.  On dates, we scoured around town for used furniture, mulled over new paint colours and offered unsoliticited opinions on where to hang each other’s artwork.

Before too long, things got serious.  We started thinking about a home together.  We seriously considered the ideal location and spent countless hours visualizing the perfect space.  As we talked, we came to understand each other’s aesthetic preferences, we discovered our personal patterns, and we managed to establish the kind of lifestyle that would suit us best.  Eventually, we combined our two houses into one home base, and have been building a life that resembles our dream ever since.

We have repaired and renovated.  We have squabbled over the storage of stuff (who doesn’t?), moved furniture and mowed the lawn.  Through it all, we’ve been learning to accommodate each other respectfully.  We have found places to be together and places where we can be alone.  We even have the space to be alone together.  Lucky for us, we have found ourselves truly at home.

Then one day, we decided we’d really like to share what have learned about making our house into a home.  We studied hard and laboured like crazy to start something new because we believe that helping people build better lives is work worth doing.  So yes – for us, this partnership is about more than just business!

It seems you are focused on buyers – why the emphasis? What about selling houses?

MG:  Like anyone real estate, I am in the business of both buying and selling homes.  Many agents focus on a specific market like a neighbourhood or an area, and others concentrate on a type of property like condominiums or new homes.  Today’s sophisticated buyers want to compare between neighbourhoods, which I can do.

In addition, we want to really get to know our clients.  Knowing buyers as individuals – and encouraging them understand themselves and their unique needs – helps me provide truly personalized service and genuinely sound guidance.  In the end, I believe a buyer should be happy in their home, well after the particulars of their real estate transaction have faded to memory, and this is why I have chosen to do business this way.

Plus, when shopping for a new home, many buyers are selling too.  By understanding all aspects of a client’s specific situation, I am far better able to help them achieve their goals.

What if I’m not interested in your specialized services, and I just want to buy or sell my house?

MG:  That is just fine with me,  I understand. There are some people who know exactly what they want, who do not want to spend a lot of time understanding more, and who just want to get the job done. If this sounds like you, I am more than happy to help.  You are the customer, and in my books, that puts you in charge.  While we have set up a simple but systematic process to ensure our clients are satisfied in the long run, I aim to get the job done right no matter what kind of clients come my way.

How are we supposed to pay for all of this value added service?

MG:  The real estate business is often maligned and rarely well understood.  That’s because it can get complicated, and because buying and selling homes is not the same buying or selling a living room couch.

In a real estate transaction, the Seller pays a percentage of the sale price as commission.  This commission then gets split between the Selling and Buying Brokerages, and then again between broker and sales representative.  In the end, your representative will yield anywhere from 1-3% of the sale price in a typical transaction.  

Katharine and I work together for the benefit of my real estate clients.   When you hire me, you get genuine added value at no extra cost.