Steve Stockwood, a realtor for Re/Max Caldwell Agencies takes On Site columnist, Kali Love, on a tour of three different homes. Each home has its own unique appeal and all are very different, not just in price, but in style and size. The point of this exercise? To explain that buying a home is not just a financial investment but an emotional journey as well.

Why did you get into real estate?

There is a certain self-satisfying gratification (that goes along with real estate). Getting a pay check—that’s fine. Having someone who is exciting about moving, that makes my day—that is my whole world . . . I want to help, that is why I got into real estate. To be a counsellor or psychologist would take eight years of school but I want to help now and be useful now.

Can you expand on why networking is such a huge component to real estate?

People say that I don’t have a normal job. I don’t go in at 9:00 a.m. and leave at 5:00 p.m. and then shut it off. Every day that I am outside, I am working. Whether I am talking to a neighbour, a bus driver, a client, I am networking. You never know when that person may want to buy one of my sellers listing. It is constant work and it is work that I love. It is all about people and helping them. I would do this job for free.

Can you explain what you mean when you say that people have to feel an emotional connection to the home they buy?

Look at these homes as if you were a buyer. What I tell all of my buyers is to feel the emotion. See if the emotion hits you in the heart. If it doesn’t hit you within a couple of minutes, then it is never going to hit you . It is not going to come and it is not going to build up. It is the same thing as being in love with someone. You either have that connection or you don’t and you know right out of the gate.

Is there a specific process that you see buyers go through when you show them a home?

(In my opinion) there are always three steps to purchasing a home. The first step you feel is the emotion. The second step is the justification. So, if you like the house, the logical side of things—do the numbers make sense? Is it in my budget? does it have the right amount of bedrooms and bathrooms? The third step is actually going through the process of purchasing the house.

Is there anything that a seller could do to make their home more appealing?

When selling a house, we recommend that you take down all personal pictures because it is tied to you—it is personal to you. When you have buyers in, you want to appeal to them and a broad range of people. Everyone would be attracted to warm, comforting, neutral colours. When you have a well staged home, people from all walks of life will be attracted to that.