Some London, Ontario apartment condos sit on the market for weeks while others in the same building sell quickly. The difference is almost never the unit itself. It's inaccurate listing data, unresponsive agents, incorrect condo fees, incorrect taxes, lockboxes with no unit numbers, and occupied units where nobody warned the occupant that a showing was booked. This is a true account of one Thursday of showings in a single London condo building — five units, five listing agents, and a set of problems that would have sent most buyers straight to the next building. Ty Lacroix, Broker at The Envelope Real Estate Group, has spent 24 years ensuring none of this happens with his listings.
I should warn you before you read further: my comments here are based on genuine frustration and exasperation. I don't suggest events like these will always repeat themselves. Can pigs fly?
My clients were interested in downsizing from their two-storey home and wanted to see two-bedroom units in a specific building — five units listed for sale, all priced within $35,000 of each other. We chose Thursday for viewings. I arranged showings Tuesday morning.
One agent replied within an hour — fine. Another responded the following day. A third confirmed that afternoon. Two didn't respond at all, so I called their offices and used our appointment scheduler. One called back immediately and apologized for forgetting to confirm. The other I never heard from. Three weeks later, that condo was still listed for sale.
Checking the Facts
The evening before the showings, I did my homework. I pulled all sales in the building over the past two years. I called a past client who had purchased in the building years earlier — asked how happy she was, how the property manager performed, how solid the condo corporation was. Everything a buyer would want to know before falling in love with a unit.
Then I verified the numbers on the five listings.
Two out of five had accurate property taxes. Not off by a few dollars — one listing showed a difference of $1,732.
The condo fees shown for all five units varied by $166.19. How? After speaking with the property manager, I confirmed that only one listing had an accurate, current condo fee — because that listing agent had a current status certificate ready. The other four were working from outdated information.
Mistakes happen. I noted the discrepancies and prepared protective clauses to verify all fees, taxes, and material details if my clients decided to make an offer.
The Day of Reckoning
We met in the building lobby. Lockboxes hold the keys for the building entrance and individual units. Nine lockboxes in total — one with a unit number. Opening several, some keys were tagged, some weren't. My client found this funny and offered his four pockets to help manage the key situation. Between us, eight pockets, five keys. We managed.
What we found inside:
One unit bore no resemblance to what the listing described in terms of appliances, room sizes, or amenities. One unit was a disgrace. One occupant refused to let us in — "Nobody told me you were coming," she said. Two units were priced well out of line with the others in the building.
We returned to the lobby and played Russian roulette with the lockboxes again, matching keys to units.
I looked at my clients and asked, with a straight face, "Well — what do you think?"
The usual comments: poor layout, overpriced, condition issues. But underneath that, they were quietly questioning whether this was the right decision at all. Not because of the units themselves — because of the chaos surrounding the process of seeing them.
The Outcome
They didn't purchase anything that day. One week and two buildings later, they purchased a beautiful unit they were genuinely happy with.
They now understand — as my past clients understand — why I work with a small number of clients at a time. Thorough preparation before every showing takes time. When the data being listed can't be trusted, that preparation becomes essential rather than optional. And when buyers encounter enough of this, it creates real mistrust of what they're being shown — which slows everything down for sellers who did nothing wrong.
Not all agents work this way. But enough do that it matters. If your condo is listed for sale, check weekly that the information on your listing is accurate: taxes, condo fees, room sizes, appliances, showing instructions. Accurate listings sell faster. Inaccurate ones sit while others move.
Note: I first wrote this account four years ago. Pigs have not yet learned to fly. I have encountered similar challenges twice this year.
Want your condo listing handled with the preparation it deserves? Reach out for a private conversation — no pressure, no pitch.
Also find me at tylacroix.com and Totally Preachless
