Why Choose Us To Help You Buy?

We Can Provide You With Exclusive, Quality Service

We are in the people business and want to help you succeed! We strive to understand your unique situation and motivation when it comes to buying and selling. For most, buying a home is the single largest investment they will ever make. We take that very seriously and will educate and walk you through the process in a way that will be worry and stress free. We want you to feel comfortable, confident, and become raving fans about your experience with us.

People

“Worsfold. . . a trusted family Name in Kelowna Real Estate for over 50 years” is a reality we have cultivated through thousands of transactions. This comes from a solid reputation, hard work, and a continued walk of integrity that have been passed on from one generation to the next. We are not out to “sell you” on something, but help you succeed—we want clients to be our clients and friends for the long term. We strive to be congruent in both words and actions, and feel privileged to have built a business of long standing relationships and referrals.

Integrity

In changing markets, the right advice, real solutions and real results have never been so important. We are not just about talk, we are committed to building phenomenal real estate experiences for our clients, continuing our track record of success, and consistently going above and beyond what is expected.

Performance

We know that selling or finding a home takes time, information, and energy. We will communicate with you and walk alongside you from start to finish. We can connect you to our trusted resource people to make sure that the journey to home ownership or selling is smooth. Check them out here.

Service

We believe in doing business and life with excellence! We believe people are looking for a high level of professionalism and to go beyond the expected. We want people to say, “wow that was awesome!” Thoroughness, professionalism, attention to detail, commitment to improvement and finishing well are important to us.

Excellence

We are committed to getting better and better at what we do! We are constantly striving to do our best: increasing our knowledge and training, exploring new technologies and systems, and adapting to the changing demands of our market. We listen to our clients and want to meet your needs—quite simply we want to continually become better and more proficient at what we do!

Growth

We enjoy people, we enjoy life, and we really enjoy working together! We love meeting new people, and cultivating long term relationships. We work hard, but also have fun doing it!

Fun

Our Team

We are so thankful for the people that work with us! Our SW Properties team is hand-picked and we’re proud of them and the skills and passion they bring each day. We also have an amazing support staff at Royal LePage—we trust every one of them and appreciate where they shine! When you work with Shawn you get the skills and resources of a whole team!

Our Team

Shawn has lived in Kelowna since he was 18 months old, and Reece moved here with her family when she was 15. That’s a lot of history, insider knowledge and experience of a couple of real locals—we know the area like the back of our hand! As a buyer or seller, insight and information are vital in making good decisions. We have a wealth of insider information about neighbourhoods, present and future development directions, and its impact on property owners (as it’s always evolving). We also know the best schools for your kids, the best places to bike, and, of course, where to find the best coffee, beaches, golf, and wine!

WE KNOW KELOWNA

The Worsfold Story

The Worsfold name is synonymous with real estate in Kelowna. In Shawn’s family, around the breakfast table, dinner table, in the car, on the boat—the topic was always real estate. Success in real estate is not something you can learn out of a book or a course, it is something that is molded and comes through experience. Shawn’s mom was the #1 producing realtor in the whole Okanagan real estate board for 22 years straight in her 30 year career, and Shawn has continued the award-winning tradition for almost 25 years. Literally thousands of homes, lots, acreages, farms, commercial buildings, and lakeshore properties have been sold by the Worsfold family.

WE KNOW REAL ESTATE

As clients of Shawn and Reece and the SW Properties team, you also have access to our list of people we trust. This is a growing list of people, companies, and services which have proven trustworthy. We value the relationships and service these companies give—please mention that we referred you as our special clients as some deals and special pricing may apply.

WE KNOW GOOD PEOPLE

Shawn is highly trained and astute to the legalities of real estate and contract law and understands the issues of different types of property, what to look for, the questions to ask, and the resources to find answers. He knows how to write good contracts that are legally binding, that promote and protect your interests, and in an easy to understand format enabling deals to be put together, and challenging issues be addressed. Third party negotiation by a trained negotiator is always easier and obtains the best results!

WE KNOW CONTRACTS

The SW Properties team has a proven results track record; check out our proudest accomplishments below!

  • Royal LePage Individual Sales Performance :
    • #1 Kelowna for all 5 offices 200+ Realtors 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017
    • #7 in BC 2009, 2014
    • #9 in BC 2013, 2016
  • Top Tier
    • Top 3 Royal LePage Kelowna for all 5 offices 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
    • Top 10 in BC for 2009, 2013, 2014, 2016
    • Top 10% in Canada for 2007, and top 3% 2008-2017
  • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Award of Excellence
  • Canada Top 3%: Diamond Award: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
  • Canada Top Tier of Diamond Class - Red Diamond Award: 2017
  • Top 3 in Kelowna local company Real Estate Office Hoover Realty Sales 1988-1995

OUR STATS AND AWARDS

Client Love

We are so thankful for the many people who consider us their “real estate team,” and who refer their friends and family to us. Referrals and repeat business account for over 90% of our business—that’s the biggest compliment we can receive!

CLIENT LOVE

Royal LePage is the largest Canadian owned real estate company in Canada and has been established for over 100 years. It is the local industry leader in over 100 markets nationwide. With 18,000 Realtors nationwide, the SW Properties team is in a unique position to have resources and support unlike any other company. If you are relocating anywhere in Canada, we will find a good agent for you to work with. We have 5 local offices to serve you in Kelowna, Peachland, Westbank, Lake Country, and Big White.

Canadian Real Estate Company

Certified Negotiation Expert

Whether you are a buyer or a seller, you want someone to act for you, advise you, protect and promote your interests, and create a deal that will work. Shawn earned the designation as a Certified Negotiation Expert. While anyone can break a deal, it is true skill to be able to bring people together. At times it is also wise to collapse a deal, when it is in the client’s best interest. Shawn brings experience, a keen mind, and legal understanding to protect and promote your interests. Shawn also knows people, and brings right perspectives and information needed by his clients to make good decisions. He knows the questions that should be asked and how to work through issues. Shawn has a reputation in his industry for writing in-depth, professional, iron clad contracts.

Luxury Home Marketing Specialist

Shawn has been awarded the prestigious Certified Luxury Home Marketing specialist designation for demonstrating exceptional knowledge, education, experience, and expertise in the luxury home market.

DISC Trained Facilitators

The world is made up of many types of people, and they all bring their own unique personalities, perspectives, and priorities into negotiation. Shawn and Reece were trained as DISC Personality Facilitators, and have taught and utilized DISC in individual and pre-marital counselling, leadership teams, and corporate groups to better their emotional understanding and relational effectiveness. In real estate, it has been an effective asset in connecting with people, bridge building, and negotiation.

Completed Professional Development Courses

  • Project Marketing
  • Trends and Issues in Real Estate
  • Contracts
  • New Homes and Condominiums
  • Legal Updates
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Commercial Real Estate
  • Designated Agency
  • Condo/Strata Law
  • Foreclosures
  • Competition Law

We will put you on our real estate market E-Bro database. Our goal is to provide useful resources and tools, helpful home-ownership tips, as well as market snapshots to keep you current with the pulse of the Kelowna real estate market; it’s good to stay in the know so you can make a move when it matters! As a wise, old real estate investor told us, the secret to success is to, "walk when others are running, and run when others are walking."

REGULAR MARKET UPDATE REPORT

We know that buying a home and selling your home can be a nerve-wracking, nail-biting endeavour. Ongoing communication about what’s happening with your listing and where we are at in the process can help calm your nerves. We regularly request and collect feedback from your home showings and communicate buyer’s thoughts and impressions back to you. We will keep you in the loop through active listing searches to keep you constantly informed, and connected, through your preferred method of communication. Whether that’s email, text, phone, mail, or carrier pigeon.

ONGOING COMMUNICATION

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) though realtor.ca is a truly amazing system and continues to be the highest source of properties for sale for over 1200 sales professionals in the Okanagan, and close to 90,000 agents in Canada. A home can only be advertised on this website through a licensed Realtor. Weekly meetings with our 5 local Royal LePage offices of over 230 local realtors, plus Shawn’s great ongoing relationship with all the other agents locally, regionally, and even nationally, provides immense access to finding property. This is not only for mls listings, but exclusive listings and “sleeve” listings (listings that are "word of mouth").

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS

We put your search parameters into our Matrix System which accesses all listings on the MLS (Multiple Listing System). This tool is only available to licensed realtors. This means you receive information on new listings that fit within your search parameters the minute that they become active on the market. This happens 24-48 hours before you will see those listings on any public websites (like realtor.ca). This personalized home search is an active link to a website that organizes the homes that are in your search parameters. It keeps track of new listings as well as recently sold listings, let’s you categorize according to favourites and possibilities, and gives you tons of information including a map system, full listing details, pictures, and more! This gives you an advantage over those not working with a realtor, which can mean everything in a fast-paced market like Kelowna is experiencing.

PERSONALIZED SEARCHES

Buying a home is a big project; it takes several players, many process and stages, and a lot of coordination of services and resources. We are experienced in the step-by-step process of buying and will assist you in the process from beginning to end. We’ll provide ongoing communication and connecting you with some of the best mortgage brokers and banks, qualifying you for financing, and getting you on the road to pre-approval for purchase—so lean on our expertise! We’ll walk you through the steps of property searching, showing, and communicate regularly on the progress of your sale. We problem-solve, deal with paperwork, set up home inspectors, do the conveyancing, and handle deposits along with a million other small details! When the unexpected happens, you can be sure you’re covered and protected by our professional expertise. You’ll never have to guess what needs to be done next—we’ll let you know!

GUIDANCE FROM BEGINNING TO END

Completed Professional Development Courses

  • Project Marketing
  • Trends and Issues in Real Estate
  • Contracts
  • New Homes and Condominiums
  • Legal Updates
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Commercial Real Estate
  • Designated Agency
  • Condo/Strata Law
  • Foreclosures
  • Competition Law

WHY DO I NEED A BUYER’S AGENT?

Real Estate has changed over the years in its complexity and intensity on many fronts. From legalities and negotiation aspects between parties, to diversity of sellers and buyers and where they come from, the amounts of money being negotiated, to the specialization of different types of real estate. There are many moving pieces! No to mention the rapid speed of the decision-making process, the staggering amounts of information, and the intensity of conflicting and competing interests. It can feel like merging onto the highway in first gear. The necessity of an experienced, trusted real estate agent who has a track record of successes has never been more important.

Over the years the law of agency has evolved, and is evolving now once again. In order to further protect the public, and to avoid conflicting interests and insider knowledge of parties, the law of agency is developing such that an agent can only work for either the Buyer or the Seller, but not for both parties. Even if in a limited fashion, called limited dual agency.

WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE YOU AS A BUYER’S AGENT?

It makes sense when dealing with a real estate transaction to find an agent who you trust will promote and protect your interests the best. Working with Shawn and the SW Properties team as your buyer’s agent, you gain the decades of experience, extensive training, trusted wisdom, immense resources, and legal and negotiation expertise to promote and protect your best interests as a buyer. Shawn is your personal “shoppers agent” and can show you any property listed on the MLS system. He can also represent you with for sale by owners, and pursue properties not for sale. Under agency, we have a fiduciary duty to you as a client, to bring all our professional know how to work for you, to be confidential in personal information given, and accountable for money, property, and all the things put into our hands.

The Worsfold family has been a top awarded and trusted name in the real estate industry for 50 years because we work hard to build a good reputation for every deal that’s done!

WHERE DO WE START?

It’s important that we listen to you, and we understand what you are looking for in a home. It’s also important for you to understand the buying process, the necessary steps, as well as the terms and contracts that are used. Informing you of your options is part of our education process which helps us understand where to begin your home-owning journey.

DO I NEED TO TALK TO A MORTGAGE BROKER FIRST?

This is a great question. We often have people tell us that they know what they can afford. This is a great first step, but it’s also necessary to find out what a bank will lend you for a mortgage. They don’t really care what you think you can afford; there’s many factors that play into what they will lend you. With respect to lending, there’s been many mortgage changes over the past few years that affect a buyer’s ability to qualify for a mortgage. We have several trusted mortgage brokers that we work with who will sit with you, go through your financial history and current situation, and explain the process of qualifying for a mortgage. They have access to many banks, credit unions, and lending institutions and will find the best fit for your situation. A mortgage broker can cater a mortgage to your unique needs and situation. It’s good to go to the experts! You don’t want to be looking at homes that are beyond your means (this can be frustrating and disappointing). So yes, it’s an important part of the process to talk with your bank, or a mortgage broker before we start looking for homes!

WHAT CAN YOU OFFER ME THAT I CAN’T DO ON MY OWN?

We’re professionals! This is what we do! We’re guessing you wouldn’t pull out one of your own teeth just because you have access to a pair of pliers! We’ll spend time listening to you, understanding what you need, and even what you search for in a home. We put your search parameters into our Matrix system which accesses all listings on the MLS (Multiple Listing System). This tool is only available to licensed realtors. This means you receive information on new listings that fit within your search parameters the minute they become active on the market. This happens 24-48 hours before you will see those listings on any public websites (like realtor.ca). This personalized home search is an active link to an online website that organizes the homes that are in your search parameters. It keeps track of when and for how much they sell, lets you categorize according to favourites and possibilities, uses a map system, and has full listing details and pictures. This gives you an advantage over those not working with a realtor, which can mean everything in a fast-paced market like Kelowna is experiencing. We are also intimately familiar with all the in’s and out’s of buying a home. We have years of experience; Shawn is a fierce negotiator and will go to bat for you. We problem-solve, deal with paperwork, set up home inspectors, do the conveyancing, and handle deposits along with a million other small details! When the unexpected happens, you can be sure that you are covered and protected by our professional expertise.

WHAT DOES IT COST ME TO WORK WITH YOU?

In most real estate transactions, the commissions are entirely paid out of the purchase price. This is standard industry practice. We only get paid If we do our job and find you a home, putting the deal together from start to finish! If you want to gain the benefit of all the fiduciary duties of our real estate services, we discuss what our typical fees we expect as SW Properties team. In most transactions, the seller pays these fees, and in the case where some brokerages offer lesser amounts, we negotiate the balance of our fees into the transaction. We’ll even get you a latte to enjoy as we go out house shopping!

ARE THERE OTHER COSTS TO BUYING A HOME?

There are other costs in purchasing a home besides the price of the house itself. Our Buyer’s Guide 101 breaks down these costs for you so that you can make an informed decision on the timing of buying your first home.

Buying a Home?

HOW MUCH DO I NEED FOR A DOWNPAYMENT?

A down payment is the amount of money (your share) of the purchase price, that you pay upon closing. A prescribed minimum down payment (e.g. 5%-20%) may be required to obtain a mortgage. It can be to your advantage to put down as much money as possible, because lower interest costs over the life of a smaller mortgage can add up to significant savings. That being said, waiting to save more down payment and delaying your purchase can result in a higher purchase price, so it's always important to compare all alternatives.

  • For homes with a purchase price less than or equal to $500,000 the minimum down payment is 5%.
  • For homes with a purchase price greater than $500,000 and less than $1 million, the minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the remaining balance.
  • For homes with a purchase price of $1 million or more, the minimum down payment is 20%.

The down payment amount (plus legal fees and closing costs, less any deposit paid prior) is to be included in the cheque given to the lawyer at time of closing. All major banks/institutions will verify your down payment by way of a 90 day history. The funds must have been in your account or accumulated 'normally' during that time, with any large 'unusual' deposits required to have source of funds (ie tax refund, asset sold, etc).

DO WE LOOK AT HOMES ON OUR OWN, OR DO YOU TAKE US?

This is the best part for us! We love house shopping! After setting up a personalized home search, and narrowing down the homes that look to be a fit for you, we grab lattes and head out for a few hours of shopping. It’s good to drive through the neighbourhoods, walk through the homes, and for us to hear what you like and what you don’t like as you go through the homes.

WHAT ABOUT “FOR SALE BY OWNER” HOMES-ISN’T THAT A BETTER DEAL FOR US?

It might seem like buying a homes that’s for sale by owner will be a better deal for you, but actually, that isn’t often true. Most home owners are happy for a realtor to bring them a qualified buyer-and Shawn will negotiate his fee with the home seller. This way, he can still protect and represent you as a buyer, can offer third-party negotiation skills (remember he is a certified negotiation expert) and can most likely negotiate a better deal for you than you could on your own. Buying a property without a realtor, or at the very least, a lawyer involved, is complicated and most often comes with costly mistakes. Simply from not knowing how things work, not writing a proper contract that covers your interests, or missing things that are necessary in making a deal happen smoothly are all things that could happen without a realtor. If you see a for sale by owner home that you’re interested in, let us know and we will contact them directly on your behalf.

AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS? WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THOSE?

Another fair question! Most developer’s are also happy to work with realtors—we are the biggest source of qualified, pre-screened buyers that they have! We are happy to go into developments with you-that’s how they like to work. The developer’s will respect this working relationship.

ONCE WE FIND THE HOUSE WE LIKE, WHAT NEXT?

Shawn hits his forte here! He writes a professional, legally binding contract that he will go through with you. He’ll explain all the terms, conditions and dates. He then begins the negotiation process on your behalf, and puts his bulldog teeth in! He’s able to be impartial and unemotional in the negotiation process—trust us, this is important. We all can get emotional when it comes to the home we want, and could easily be talked into terms or a price we’re not comfortable with. Shawn will protect your interest, your timing, and get you the best price possible! We will also manage the process and people to carry out the sale to its completion. Setting up home inspections, dealing with issues that may come up post-inspection, putting you in contact with insurance brokers, it a lot to do! We will also go through strata docs, collect your deposit, coordinate with our conveyancing team, and send the proper paperwork to the lawyer’s office; these are all things that we are trained to do and have experience in. We will communicate the process with you clearly and help you navigate those next few weeks between getting an accepted offer, and firming up your sale! We can then refer you to movers, help you know when to transfer your utilities, get home insurance and coordinate moving days and times. We are good at what we do and love to make an overwhelming process less stressful for you!

I’M IN A SENSITIVE SITUATION, WHAT DO I DO?

Buying or selling a home often coincide with life’s big events like a new marriage, a new baby, more kids, a new dog, or extended family needs. Sometimes those events are challenging or complicated. A separation or divorce, the death of a loved one, or an estate sale to work through. We want to respect your privacy and your unique situation just as we respect you. Integrity and honour are a big deal to us, and we will celebrate your exciting events and help you through the less exciting ones. You can be assured of our confidentiality, safety, and sensitivity.

  • Mortgage brokers
  • Financing
  • Personalized home searches
  • Coordinate showings
  • Work with developers
  • Work with for sale by owner homes
  • Proper legal contracts
  • Negotiating price and terms
  • Conveyancing
  • Deposits and trust accounts
  • Home inspection
  • Utilities
  • Synchronize timing
  • Lawyers
  • Notaries
  • Appraisers
  • Move in/move out coordination
  • Problem-solving
  • Counselling (this can be a stressful time after all)

Components we help coordinate