The Michael and Patty Real Estate Show

🏡✨ Thinking about rent to own, lease to own or a vendor takeback mortgage (VTB) on Prince Edward Island? Before you sign a single page, listen to this — because in most of these deals, you're probably paying too much. 🎙️ We open with July's PEI market stats, then dig into rented cottage and condo lots advertised as owned land, multiple tax numbers on one property, stairs that must come off a 35-foot bank every winter, and the seller "renting it out" after quietly selling privately to dodge commission — hit play for honest Maritime real estate advice. 📲📊 First up, July stats. We walk through what actually happened last month — what sold, what sat, and where prices landed if you're buying or selling before the autumn slowdown. Data beats gut feeling every time. 📈🔑 Then the big one: lease to own, rent to own, vendor takebacks and capital gains from the vendor's side. These get sold as a clever shortcut into home ownership, and sometimes they are — but here's the truth nobody says out loud: you're probably paying too much. Premium rent, inflated purchase prices, and option fees that vanish if the financing doesn't come together. So negotiate with the seller. Work out what the vendor's motivation is, why a vendor takeback might appeal for capital gains reasons, and how that becomes your leverage. 💰🏝️ Next, rented cottage lots and condo lots — and the listings that describe them as owned lots. If you're buying seasonal or waterfront property in PEI, this matters enormously. We don't do open looks at rural condos or rented lots, and we explain why that's deliberate rather than lazy. Then the question everyone asks: would I personally buy a condo lot or a rented lot? You'll get a straight answer, plus what to ask about lease terms, annual fees, renewal rights and resale. 🌊🧾 Multiple tax numbers for one property? It happens, and it usually traces back to a form of tax relief programme through the government. We explain how one parcel ends up with more than one tax number, why it isn't automatically a red flag, and what to verify so your property taxes don't surprise you later. 🏛️🪜 Then there's the waterfront listing where the stairs leading down a 35-foot bank to the water have to be removed every winter. Every. Single. Winter. Our advice? Just buy something without a bank. Or a helicopter. 🚁 Or check whether there's beach access close by, because plenty of buyers get all the water they wanted without the seasonal demolition project. 🌅🚫 And the story that says everything about our business: a seller announces they're renting their house out, knowing full well that is definitely not happening. What really happened? They sold privately and don't want to pay commission. We talk about what that shortcut costs a seller, and why it rarely saves what people think. 🤔🧼 Finally, a definition worth knowing before your next paint job: TSP, or trisodium phosphate — a white granular solid that dissolves in water to form a strongly alkaline solution. It cuts grease, soot and mould, gets washed onto walls to degrease and dull glossy surfaces before painting, turns up in tiny amounts in processed food to balance acidity, and works industrially as a pH buffer and water softener. Prepping a house for sale? This is your friend. 🎨🤝 Buying or selling on Prince Edward Island or anywhere in the Maritimes? Whether you're a first-time buyer weighing rent to own, a cottage hunter staring at a rented lot, or a seller tempted to skip commission, call Patty and I. Straight answers, real data, and our full referral network. 📇🎧 Honest, funny and packed with the things other agents won't say out loud. Hit play, then like, follow, share, and send us your real estate questions — we read every one. 📲✨

🏚️✨ Ever driven past an abandoned house or a vacant piece of land on Prince Edward Island and wondered who owns it — and whether they would sell? We can track them down, and in this episode we tell you exactly how. 🎙️ From scoring showing feedback on a zero-to-100 scale, to why email conversations can haunt you a decade later, non-refundable deposits on delayed closings, AI reading a credit card statement, and the disappearing clients who sabotage their own listings — hit play now for the honest, practical Maritime real estate advice buyers and sellers are searching for. 📲🏚️ That derelict farmhouse. That overgrown lot with the ocean view. People contact us all the time asking whether we can find the owners of an abandoned property and ask if they would consider selling. The answer is a resounding yes, we can! We walk through how we track down owners, open the conversation, and turn a forgotten property into a real opportunity for the right buyer. 🔍📋 Showing feedback: helpful tool or emotional minefield? We share a simple methodology for assigning every opinion a value between zero and 100 based on what it is actually worth. The golden rules: never take feedback personally, and never give weight to an opinion before considering the source. Some of the worst decisions in real estate come from listening to people with no knowledge, no experience, or worse — ulterior motives. We show you how to filter the noise and keep only the feedback that helps you sell. 🎯📧 "I'm not interested in email conversations." Strong words, and here is why. Dishonest people love a paper trail they can twist, carefully wording messages to paint you into a corner — and an email you dash off today can be dragged up and held against you ten years from now. We talk about when to pick up the phone instead, and how to protect yourself in writing when a written record actually matters. 🛡️📅 Will they close next year? Long closings can absolutely work for sellers, but only when the deal is structured properly. Think a large, non-refundable deposit that shows the buyer is committed, and a super-tight contract reviewed by a lawyer before you sign anything. We break down what protects a seller when the closing date is months — or a year — away, and the red flags that suggest a buyer may never make it to the closing table. ⚖️🤖 AI Corner: this week we put Claude to work processing a credit card statement — sorting, categorising and making sense of the numbers in a fraction of the time it would take by hand. Another practical look at how artificial intelligence is quietly changing the admin side of real estate and everyday life, and what it could do for your paperwork too. 💳📵 And then there are the non-communicative clients — the ones who disappear for hours or days between questions. Here is the truth: we can get you on MLS in minutes when you work with us. But if you fail to supply documents, dodge our calls, and still want to be on the market quickly, it simply does not work. Speed is a partnership, and we explain exactly what we need from you to launch your listing fast and get it sold. ⏱️📩 Got a question about an abandoned property, a long closing, or getting listed quickly? Reach out — whether you are buying or selling on PEI or anywhere across the Maritimes, we are always happy to help, answer your questions, or point you to someone trustworthy who can. 🏘️🎧 Honest, practical and never boring — that is the promise. If this episode saves you from one bad decision, one twisted email, or one deal that never closes, it has done its job. Hit play, then like, follow, subscribe, share and leave us a review so more Maritime buyers and sellers can find the show. 📲✨

🏡 What is your REALTOR® really saying? In this episode we open up the Realtor-to-English Dictionary and translate the sales talk, pricing games and listing tricks every buyer and seller needs to understand before signing anything. From inflated price expectations and phony comparables to real estate scams, HST surprises, hollow "solid wood" doors and survey pins you should never trust, this is the straight-talking, fact-based real estate advice Prince Edward Island buyers and sellers — and anyone in any market — can actually use. 🎙️ Whether you're a first-time buyer, a seasoned seller, a cottage hunter or a mainland family planning an Island move, grab a coffee — this one is loaded with practical tips, cautionary tales and plenty of laughs along the way. ☕📉 "It went up 30% in three years!" No, it didn't. We dig into one of the oldest tricks in the book: dragging in sales from other areas or completely different markets to prop up a vendor's wishful idea of price. A comparable is only comparable if it's actually comparable — and we show you how to spot the difference between real market evidence and a number built to win a listing. 💰☎️ Communication 101 for agents (and everyone else): when you text or call and leave a voicemail, include your name, what the call is about — the more detail, the better — plus your contact numbers and e-mail address for data sharing. It sounds basic, but you would be amazed at how many deals stall because nobody says who they are or what they want. 📱🧾 Taxes, taxes, taxes: we unpack HST liability on vehicles, allowances for financing, and why declaring contents matters for capital gains. Remember — commission is based on the sale price, and HST applies to commissions, legal fees and accounting fees too. Budget for the real numbers, not the brochure numbers. 💸🚪 Solid wood doors… filled with drywall? A safety door — who knew? We share the story of a door that wasn't quite what it claimed to be, and why you should never confuse cement with solid wood. In real estate, always verify what things are actually made of. 🔨🗺️ Before you book a showing, look at a map! Ask about the bank, the beach and the views before you drag a vendor through 24 hours of scrubbing and staging. Patty shares tales of new agents with no common sense booking showings on Highcliffe cottages that were never going to go through — a little homework saves everyone a lot of heartache. 🏖️🚨 Scammer red flags: they won't talk on the phone, they have no voicemail, and then the Dropbox link arrives with PDF files loaded with viruses and Trojan horses. We walk through exactly how these real estate scams work and how to protect yourself, your data and your money. If an inquiry feels off, it probably is — slow down and verify before you click anything. 🛡️🧳 Moving from another province or state? We can handle the transaction on both ends and make it a seamless transition — from listing your current home to landing in your new one, with a warm Island welcome and a toast to your new house when you arrive. Relocating to Prince Edward Island has never been easier. 🥂📍 Are there survey pins on that building lot? Michael's honest answer: even if there are, he wouldn't trust them. We explain why a proper, up-to-date survey beats a rusty pin in the ground every single time — especially before you build. Measure twice, build once. 📏🎧 Honest, funny and genuinely useful — that's what we're about. Whether you're buying, selling, building or relocating to Prince Edward Island, this episode will help you cut through the jargon, dodge the scams and do it the smart way. Hit play, then like, follow and share the show with someone who's about to call a REALTOR®. 📲

🏠 What really happens when a house sits vacant for five or six years? And why do sellers blame everything except the price? This week on PEI's favourite real estate podcast, Michael and Patty pull back the curtain on the situations agents actually run into — from mouse-filled vacant homes to furious vendors, verbal counter offers gone wrong, and the surprising truth about Prince Edward Island's famous roadside lupins. If you're buying, selling, or just curious about Island real estate, this episode is packed with practical advice you won't want to miss! 🎙️🐭 A HOUSE LEFT VACANT FOR YEARS Michael shares a jaw-dropping story from the field: a property left empty for five or six years, still filled with food — and, unsurprisingly, mice. With just one mouse trap and some poison on site, it's a cautionary tale about what happens when homes are abandoned and why proper preparation matters before listing.😡 "YOU LET ME OVERPRICE MY HOUSE!" Patty gets an earful from a frustrated owner who accuses her of being unprofessional — for allowing them to overprice their own property! This sparks a candid conversation: should agents get a disclaimer signed for over-priced listings? Why does the second or third listing agent so often win? And why is it never the price according to the vendors? Instead, sellers blame a lack of open houses, a lack of agent open houses, or insufficient marketing. Michael even shares how he lost a listing over a missing sign — on a property that was simply overpriced. Spoiler: a sign was never going to make the difference. 🪧📞 SHOULD AGENTS FOLLOW UP AFTER SHOWINGS? A listener wonders: when a buyer views a home and says there's no interest, do agents usually follow up to find out where those buyers eventually ended up? Michael and Patty agree it sounds like a great idea — and discuss what that kind of feedback can reveal about your listing, your pricing, and your next move as a seller.🏢 SELLING A COMMERCIAL BUSINESS IN PEI "My wife likes so-and-so, but he has no commercial experience." Sound familiar? The hosts walk through the right way to sell a commercial property on the Island: start with an AACI appraisal, seek out one of the two or three genuinely experienced commercial agents in PEI, and avoid out-of-province agents — remember, they must be licensed in PEI to practise here.🏡 FREE HOME INSULATION FOR ISLANDERS Patty highlights how free home insulation is helping Islanders save money and stay comfortable year-round — plus other available programs focused on insulation (not heat pumps). If your energy bills are climbing this year, this segment could save you serious money on heating and cooling. 💰🤝 THE VERBAL COUNTER OFFER THAT KILLED A DEAL A listing agent is stunned when buyers refuse their verbal counter offer — and simply walk away. The lesson? Treat every offer as the buyer's best and last, and take them all seriously. Just because someone makes an offer doesn't mean they're prepared to go up!🌸 THE ORIGIN OF PEI'S LUPINS Finally, Patty explores a beloved Island icon: the roadside lupin. Surprisingly, these colourful flowers are mostly introduced plants, not native Island wildflowers! They likely arrived in the early 1900s as garden ornamentals — forms of the large-leaved or bigleaf lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus), native to western North America. From gardens, cemeteries, and roadside plantings, they gradually escaped into ditches, fields, and disturbed areas. Botanist David Erskine found them only locally in the early 1950s, and they were still uncommon across the Island into the late 1970s. 🌷🎧 Tune in for honest talk, real stories, and expert insight into Prince Edward Island real estate — only on The Michael and Patty Show!