In this intensive online course, leading Toronto area real estate analyst and broker John Pasalis coaches you on how to successfully apply the knowledge and strategies of top insiders to your own house or condo purchase.

How It Works

Convenient, flexible, with plenty of support (no push-ups required).

  • Over 100+ Video Lessons

    Covering every step of your buying journey from how to budget properly to winning an offer, lessons are a dynamic mix of lectures, discussions with fellow experts and on location talks. Each lesson averages 5 minutes so it's easy for you to keep up.

  • Watch Your Way

    You get all lessons on Day 1 'On Demand' so you decide when you watch: First thing in the morning, on your lunch break or in the evening. You can follow our suggested weekly watching schedule or watch all the lessons at once - it's up to you.

  • Private Coaching Session with John

    Get more out of your course with a private coaching session with John. Discuss your specific home buying questions whether you are in early planning stages or considering a purchase in today's market. One session per participant

What You’ll Learn

When you are a home buyer in the Toronto market, with its sky-high prices, endless competition and fears of 'buying at the peak' before prices fall, you need to arm yourself with the right knowledge to make the right home buying decisions.

  • How to avoid being house - or condo - poor

  • How to understand market conditions - including when prices are more likely to fall

  • How to decide whether a pre-construction vs resale house/condo is right for you - given all risks and benefits

  • How to decide where to invest - which areas are likely to be a better vs riskier bet?

  • How to choose an agent that helps - not hinders - you

  • How to spot hidden home problems

  • How negotiation strategies (and not just price) enable you to be competitive in a hot market

Who is This For?

Anyone buying a house or condo in the Toronto Area for the first — or the fifth — time.

  • Repeat Buyers

    Whether you are upsizing, moving to a new area or buying due to a major life change, the market you bought in yesterday has changed.

  • First-Time Buyers

    With record high home prices and demand from other buyers, you need to be competitive without compromising your finances and life goals.

  • Investors

    Even in a hot market, not all investments are equal. You want to find value in a market teeming with ‘can’t miss’ opportunities.

About Your Instructor

  • John Pasalis

    John Pasalis

    John Pasalis is President of Realosophy Realty, a Toronto real estate brokerage which uses data analysis to advise residential real estate buyers, sellers and investors.

    A specialist in real estate data analysis, John’s research focuses on unlocking micro trends in the Greater Toronto Area real estate market. His research has been shared with the IMF and cited by the Bank of Canada and CMHC.

    A frequent commentator on the Toronto housing market and real estate consumer and industry issues, John has contributed to the Globe and Mail, CBC, BNN Bloomberg, TVO’s The Agenda, Toronto Star and other media, government and industry organizations. He most recently advised the Government of Dubai on international best practices for the real estate sector.

    John holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of Toronto and Henley Business School.

Why Learn With Us?


When you take The Homebuyer’s Bootcamp, you get the same training that John provides to his market-leading agents and clients at Realosophy Realty. Launched in 2007 to improve the quality of real estate advice provided to everyday home buyers, Realosophy's open, data-focussed, pro-consumer approach has seen John and his agents do approximately $1 billion in real estate sales with enthusiastic client reviews and frequent citations by media and other leading organizations. Now, you can benefit from this expert knowledge without being a Realosophy client - and have the no-obligation option to contact Realosophy for more support with your home buying needs after you complete The Homebuyer Bootcamp.

Featured In

  • BNN Bloomberg
  • CBC
  • Bank of Canada
  • Globe and Mail
  • Toronto Star

Course curriculum

  • 1
    Introduction
  • 2
    Real Estate & Your Money
  • 3
    Is This The Right Time To Buy?
  • 4
    Mortgages
  • 5
    Homebuyer Bootcamp - Part 1 Discussion
  • 6
    Working With Agents
  • 7
    Finding The Right Neighbourhood
  • 8
    Market Education Tour
  • 9
    Homebuyer's Bootcamp - Part 2 Discussion
  • 10
    When Touring Homes
  • 11
    What is the Home Worth?
  • 12
    Offer Basics
  • 13
    Homebuyer's Bootcamp - Part 3 Discussion
  • 14
    Making the Offer
  • 15
    Offer Strategies
  • 16
    Offer Case Studies
  • 17
    After You Buy A Home
  • 18
    Homebuyer Bootcamp - Part 4 Discussion
  • Course Format Welcome
  • Getting Your Numbers Right Money Advice with Gail Vaz-Oxlade How to Disaster Proof Your Life with Preet Banerjee The Biggest Financial Mistakes First-Time Buyers Make The Biggest Financial Mistakes Upsizers Make Closing Costs
  • How to Manage Worry About High Home Prices Why are Home Prices in Toronto So High? What Exacty is a Housing Bubble? Is Toronto in the Middle of a Housing Bubble? How Housing Markets Cool Down Why Toronto Home Prices Fell in 2017 Where Home Prices Fell the Most in 2017 Why I Tried to Buy at the Peak of the 2017 Bubble The Best Predictor of Tomorrow's Home Prices… Theory > Practice: A Look at Toronto’s Market Today Housing Risks for Toronto Is it the Right Time to Buy for Me?
  • How Does a Bank Decide How Much You Can Spend? Comparing Insured vs Uninsured Mortgages Why You Need a Mortgage Pre-Approval Why an Appraisal is the Final Say Choosing a Fixed vs Variable Rate Mortgage Why the Lowest Rate is Not Always Best Smart Home Buying Strategies When Getting Your Mortgage Making Sense of Canada's Mortgage Stress Test
  • Homebuyer Bootcamp - Part 1 Discussion
  • What Does a Buyer Agent Do? Before You Sign a Buyer Rep Agreement What is a Buyer Rebate? The Biggest Risks When Working with Agents Interviewing Agents Before Hiring One Determining a Good Real Estate Agent vs a Bad One The Characteristics of a Good Negotiator Testing Your Agent On Their Negotiation Skills
  • Developing a Neighbourhood Wish List Finding Your Best Neighbourhood Match Get Your Own Personalized Neighbourhood Match Report Key Considerations When Buying an Investment Property Which Neighbourhoods Are the Best Investment? The Pros vs Cons of a Pre-Construction Property
  • Two Goals of the Market Education Tour Check 1 - Roof and Eaves Check 2 - Lot Grading Check 3 - Evidence of Structural Problems Check 4 - Evidence of Moisture in the Basement Check 5 - Heating and AC Check 6 - Electrical Check 7 - Main Water Line and Pressure Check 8 - Type of Plumbing Check 9 - Evidence of Termites Check 10 - Age of Windows
  • Homebuyer's Bootcamp - Part 2 Discussion
  • The Biggest Mistakes Buyers Make When Viewing Homes What Your Agent Should Do Before Touring Homes Why Your Agent Should Be Recommending Homes How to Analyze Homes Online How to Avoid Hidden Home Problems What You and Your Agent Should Be Looking For At a Showing How to Look for Value Regroup: When You Are Not Finding Homes You Like Why You Need a Status Certificate Should You Buy in This Condo Building
  • Why Valuing a Home is Hard - and Critically Important What is a Comparative Market Analysis? A Sample CMA for a House What if a House is Unique? A Sample CMA for a Condo What if a Condo is Unique? What Your Agent Should Tell You About Market Value
  • Walking Through a Standard Offer What is a Home Inspection Condition? Should You Make an Offer Without a Home Inspection Condition? What is a Financing Condition? Should You Make an Offer Without a Financing Condition? What is a Condition on Reviewing the Status Certificate? (Condos only) Should You Make an Offer Without a Status Condition? (Condos only) What Does it Mean to Buy a Home 'As Is'? Deciding on a Closing Date What if There is a Tenant You Need to Vacate? What if You Are 'Assuming' a Tenant? Other Offer Important Clauses Always Read Your Offer Before Signing It Do You Need a Lawyer to Review Your Offer?
  • Homebuyer's Bootcamp - Part 3 Discussion
  • Three Potential Offer Scenarios How Does a One-on-One Negotiation Work? How Does a Bidding War Work? What You Typically Need to Win an Offer A Behind The Scenes Look at a Multiple Offer What’s a Bully Offer?
  • Strategies to Get an Edge in Today's Market When Going for Your Second Choice Home is Better Strategies for a One-on-One negotiation What Your Agent Should Do Before You Compete in a Bidding War? When Does a Buyer’s Letter to Seller Help? Why Your Agent Needs to Sell Your Story What Price Should I Offer in a Bidding War? When Giving a Seller a Tight Timeline Works What a Listing Agent’s Feedback On Your Offer Reveals How Walking Away from a Bidding War Can Help You Win It Detecting Phantom Offers What if You Lose a Bidding War by a Little? What if You Lose a Bidding War by a Lot? What if You Keep Losing Bidding Wars? When Should You Make a Bully Offer?
  • Case Study 1: Establishing Rapport to Get an Edge Case Study 2: Taking Advantage of a Mispriced Home Case Study 3: How a Tenanted Condo Saved $75K Case Study 4: Making a Pre-Emptive Offer
  • When a Home Inspection Reveals a Problem When Your Sale Goes Firm Next Steps After You Buy
  • Homebuyer Bootcamp - Part 4 Discussion

FAQ

  • When does the course start? What is sign-up cut-off?

    All of the lessons are available 'on demand', allowing you to watch the lessons on your schedule.

  • Is this course for first-time home buyers?

    Yes - and all other home buyers, whether you are actively buying a house or condo now, or are planning to, whether for the first, second or fifth time, as a regular buyer or an investor. If you want to make your decisions based on what today's most-skilled, financially conscious, data-focused and strategic brokers and agents would do in a complex, competitive market, this course is for you.

  • Is this course specific to the Toronto area real estate market?

    No. Many of the strategic concepts taught in this course can be applied to housing decisions in any city in the world. But if you live in the Greater Toronto Area, you will get the additional benefit of John being able to respond to more specific real estate market-related questions in the live Q&A sessions. (Please note that John will not able to respond to specific market-related questions for markets outside the Toronto area.)

  • If I want to watch all the lessons at once is that allowed?

    Yes. All lesson videos are available 'on demand' from Day 1 so you can watch all at once if you wish.

  • Do I have to have John or anyone else at your brokerage, Realosophy Realty, work with me as my real estate agent before, during or after this course?

    No. This course is designed to give participants an opportunity to be coached by some of Toronto’s leading real estate professionals - even if you are not actively working with John or other agents/brokers at Realosophy Realty. In fact, this course will teach you what should know before working with any real estate agent. Note also that we will not contact you with any sales calls as a result of registering for this course. We may email you useful content such as Toronto real estate market reports and information about upcoming courses and services - you can simply click to unsubscribe at anytime.

  • Can I work with John or another Realosophy agent or broker to buy a home after taking the course?

    Of course! All participants can contact John directly to discuss the additional support they may need for their home buying needs.

  • Why is there a course fee?

    Our course fee of $100 ensures that all course participants are committed to learning how to make better home buying decisions, which makes for far more engaged and mutually beneficial live Q/A & coaching sessions.

More Questions?