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As part of our Agent Spotlight series, today we’re talking with Matt Shapiro, who has been part of the BREL team since 2015 – this year marks his 5th year anniversary with the BREL team!
Why did you get into real estate?
After working through my second property purchase – a move-up buy from a townhome to a detached home midtown, I fell in love with the entire process of selling and buying real estate. I told my wife I wanted to leave my career in telecom and help people buy sell homes. Jen, being a real estate junkie herself, was completely supportive in helping me make the transition.
What did you do before becoming an agent?
I have had a few career changes throughout my life. First, I was born into the family bakery business where I grew up in Montreal, then switched gears when I was 17 and moved to Toronto to become a Prosthetic Technician where I would custom fabricate artificial limbs. I later moved to the life of telecom for what seemed to be a never-ending 10 years, finally realizing real estate as my true calling for the last 10 years.
What’s it like being on the BREL team?
Being on the BREL team is like working with your family. It’s almost as though I have come full circle, working for the family business! But in all honesty, we are such a close-knit team, we call, text and email each other at all hours and we never get sick of each other! It’s not a second family, it’s just family.
What do you love most about buying and selling homes?
For me, I love researching and finding the right property for my Buyer clients. I love the thrill of the hunt – treating every client like a blank slate, finding a home or investment property that is perfectly right for them. I get a rush from the feeling of helping someone move to the next stage of their life – whether that’s because of a new baby, marriage, death or divorce or just a neighbourhood move or upgrade to bigger digs. The thrill never gets old.
Tell us about where you live.
I live Midtown at St. Clair West with my amazing wife Jen, our two kids (Levi -12 and Leikah -9). our dog Rizzo and our cat Jackson. I can’t ever see us moving out of the neighbourhood, we just love walking down to St. Clair as a family, hanging out in the summer, eating our way through the St.Clair West restaurant strip.
What does ‘home’ mean to you?
Home is my backyard, it’s my garage (man cave). Home is my street where I hang out with my awesome neighbours. It’s the spot in front of my house where I taught my kids to ride a bike. It’s my corner of the world that is Shapiro HQ.
What’s your craziest real estate story?
A few years back, I had clients looking for a property for their son who was moving to Toronto for school. After a few weeks of searching, they had narrowed it down to a specific condominium building they wanted to purchase in. There was nothing available on the market and the school year was only a few months away, which meant their son would likely to have to commit to renting for another year which was not ideal. I decided to dig deep and comb through the building’s sales history to see if there was a unit that was listed but had not sold, Bingo! I found a 1 plus den that was perfect! I called the listing agent who happened to also be the owner of the unit. We put in an offer and it was accepted the same day. A year later, the son wanted to switch schools to another province – we put the property up for sale (fully staged BREL-style) and turned over a $100K profit for my clients!
In 25 words or less, what’s your best advice for a Toronto home Buyer?
By whatever means, try and hold onto your first property purchase and turn into an income property if you are in the market for a move-up purchase. You will thank me later when you are on the road to passive investment income.
In 25 words or less, what’s your best advice for a Toronto home Seller?
When you’re ready to sell, spend your time and energy prepping your house to look its best. Buyers do not want to see old appliances even if they are still functional! But don’t go overboard with a huge renovation. Listen to our staging team, our goal is to help you sell for top dollar with as little money invested during the final stage of leaving your home. A little elbow grease goes a long way.
What we ❤️ best about Matt:
By Melanie, Broker/Owner
Matt and I go way back – we’ve actually known each other for 20 years, from back in our ad industry days. We reconnected 9+ years ago while working at the same real estate brokerage, which gave Brendan and I an insider view as to how he treats his clients. It was a no-brainer to bring him onto the BREL team all those years ago – we knew he valued the same things as us.
Matt is one of the kindest and most honest people I know and provides such incredible support to his clients navigating life transitions. That level of caring – truly caring about the outcome and the people – is one of my favourite things about Matt.
He’s also a hustler – in a good way. He leaves no stone unturned when trying to find someone the right property, and he’s very proactive in trying to rustle up offers for his listings (that’s rare in Toronto). Matt’s always on the hunt for a deal and I admire his negotiation style – I’ll never forget how scandalized he was when he found out I pay full price at HomeSense vs. negotiate with them.
Above all else, Matt’s the kind of generous person who’s always got your back and will do anything to help his family, friends and clients….and that makes him very BREL.
