Why Equus Estates should represent you in your purchase
If it was just about writing the contract, your lawyer could do it. (But they will bill you, and we won’t.)
Buying an acreage, farm, ranch, equestrian estate, or horse facility can be a complicated venture. Here are some questions to ask before you jump in.
- How are you going to find the “perfect” property?
- When you do find it, how do you know there isn’t a better one right around the corner?
- How can you be sure there are no hidden problems with the property that will cause you grief in the future?
- Is the property worth what you’re paying for it?
- If you had the services of an experienced negotiator, could you get a better deal?
- If you’re buying a property to run a business or as an investment, can you calculate your Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Cash-Flow Before and After Taxes (CFBT & CFAT), Net Present Value (NPV), and Cap Rate? What do these numbers mean?
- And finally, how many hours and days are you willing to spend researching insurance, zoning, infrastructure, building costs, drainage, septic systems, water wells, ring footing, income statements, expense reports, employee costs, building quality, easements, rights of way, Site Profiles, Property Disclosure Statements, riparian rights, creek setbacks, development bylaws, and feasibility studies?
All of these questions and more are ones that we answer every day. Selling equestrian estates, farms, ranches, and horse facilities is our full-time profession. Our promise to you is to find you a property that meets your requirements, to help you negotiate the best deal possible, to look after your best interests above all others, and to know everything we can about the product we sell. If we don’t know the answer, we know someone who does.
So how are we going to find you the “perfect” property? As you may have already noticed, at Equus Estates we specialize exclusively in exactly the type of property you’re looking for. Every single day we review all new listings throughout south-western British Columbia to find the ones that would best be suited for equestrian purposes. While the computer does help us to narrow down the search, we actually sort through all of these by hand and load them onto our website. This means that we are at least peripherally aware of every single one of the hundreds of equestrian estates, farms, ranches, and horse facilities posted on the MLS System®. If you let us know that you’re looking, we will keep you in mind any time we find something new that becomes available.
If you are interested in a few specific properties, there’s a good chance we have already seen them. Obviously, because we are both life-long horse people and have both spent the majority of our 30+ years of real estate sales experience specializing exclusively in horse facilities, farms, ranches, and equestrian estates, at some point or another we have already seen many of the properties out there. We may be able to save you a lot of time.
But how do we know there isn’t something better right around the corner? Maybe there is, but the chances are we know about it. There may be a property that was listed for sale all of last year and has now expired from the MLS®, but we know that they are still interested in selling. And properties that are operated as a business often choose not to publicly advertise that they are for sale for fear of losing their customers. We stay on top of all of these things – it’s our livelihood.
We also know what isn’t listed on the market. Cheryl Dewson and Telf Maynard both come from equestrian families going back generations. We attend, sponsor, and even organize equestrian events throughout the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley, and on Vancouver Island. Among our many other connections, we are the Official Real Estate Agents to Thunderbird Show Park. We are well known, well respected, well connected, and we know the “players” in the equestrian world. It may be the case that the perfect property for you is not currently for sale – that the owners hadn’t even thought about selling. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t consider it if approached in the right way.
We believe in “friendly competition” with other equestrian real estate agents throughout British Columbia. We make sure they know right away about all of our new properties for sale, and they ensure that we know about theirs – often before they are listed, and even the ones that never make it to MLS®. If we know what you are looking for ahead of time, there’s a good chance we could give you the chance to buy it long before anyone else knows it’s even available.
Are there any problems with the property you choose that you should know about? Before buying an acreage you should receive, understand, and review a Property Disclosure Statement and a Site Profile. But there are also plenty of other things you need to check. As your real estate agents, it is our responsibility to let you know about all of these things, and to make sure you understand all of it. We also know what problems commonly occur, and how to check for them. Our years of experience, training, and checklists ensure that nothing is ever forgotten. Don’t forget, when we work for you as a Buyer, our job is not to “sell the property” – our responsibility is to represent your best interests.
We are experienced negotiators, and are extensively familiar with the type of property you are buying, and the region in which you are purchasing. Even if we weren’t involved in a particular sale, we have followed the history of every single equestrian estate, farm, ranch, and horse facility in that market area. We know what each property is worth, and when we work for you, it is our duty to tell you what we know. Put our knowledge and negotiation skills to work for you!
We have an extensive array of knowledge and tools for the investor or prospective business owner. If you are considering running an equestrian facility or farm as a business, you will want to talk to us. Through our industry contacts, we have been granted access to confidential figures from all types of actual equestrian businesses. Additionally, Cheryl has the skills gained from many years of industry experience in working with developers, businesses, and developments, and Telf has the knowledge and tools gained from hundreds of hours of training with the CCIM Institute (Certified Commerical / Investment Members). This helps us to analyze each investment or purchase, as it specifically applies to your situation, to help you determine things like feasibility, your Return On Investment (ROI), proceeds on a future sale, Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and annual or monthly Cash Flow Analysis.
We work hard for your business. We know that we have the only website in British Columbia that contains a comprehensive list of equestrian properties for sale. It costs us a lot of time and money to maintain this website and the website itself does not generate any income at all. We are professional Real Estate Agents, not webmasters, and our profession is marketing and selling properties. We operate the EquusEstates.com website simply because we firmly believe that those who appreciate the service we offer will choose to take advantage of our extensive market knowledge when buying or selling their horse property.
We know what you need to know, or we know someone who does. Whatever type of acreage or equestrian estate you want to purchase, we can help you out. With over 30 years combined experience in the Real Estate Industry, and a lifetime of experience in all things equestrian, Cheryl Dewson and Telf Maynard will get you the answers you need, and are always delighted to help out. Put our knowledge, contacts, and experience to work for you today.
Remember: You are the client. While you may not be the one paying us, we are solely responsible for looking after your best interests. And we never get paid until you get what you are looking for.
Please give us a call. If you’re serious about buying the perfect property, we would love to work with you.
Cheryl & Telf
1-877-693-7887
info@equusestates.com