Toronto/GTA "house for sale" reviews

House for sale in Etobicoke ($430K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:02:00 +0000

A detached semi-floor house for sale in Etobicoke district.

Location
Address: 31 Aldgate Ave, Toronto, Ontario.
Main intersection - Park Lawn Rd / The Queensway, Etobicoke.
MLS district - W07.

Price
$429,900.

Square Footage
The information is restricted.
Judging by its view, it’s about 1000 square feet (100 square kilometres)

Age of the house
About 50 – 60 years.

Type of real estate
Semi-floor house.
As I understood, initially it was a single-floor house, but then some know-it-all decided to build a staircase to the attic and made a bedroom there.
Build and made.
But it’s impossible to sleep there when it’s hot.
I was there not on the hottest day, but 2 air conditioners didn’t manage the workload – it was quite hot and stuffy upstairs.

Size of the lot
40 x 175 feet (12 х 52 metres).

Kitchen and household appliances
The kitchen looks quite good against the general background.
At least, there are fewer complaints against it.
The colors a bit depress, but this can be easily helped.

Main rooms
There’s only one main room.
It’s logically divided into two parts by the sofa.

There’s a fireplace.
The agent said that it’s gas, though it seemed to be firewood (there was even an armful of wood nearby).

Bedrooms
It’s a sore point in this house.
There’s only one bedroom (upstairs), but it’s impossible to sleep there: it’ll be hot in summer and cold in winter.

But tastes differ.
If you, like Rakhmetov by Chernyshevsky, decided to train your strength of will by means of torturing your body, this house will be a suitable variant for you.
Philosophers should pay attention to this house too.

Basement
The basement is finished and tolerable, saving nearly a total lack of windows.
There’s even a bedroom there.

Driveway
The driveway would be nearly normal, if it fit for 2 cars in its width.
Though there’s even a garage, 3 more cars would fit into, but they’ll leave along the stack.

Backyard
The backyard is a light moment in the survey.
The backyard is large, with a pool and hottub,
and old fruit trees.

District
The district is not totally awful, but not very good.
It’s probably possible to live there, but you could find some better variants.

Schools
The nearest schools are Etienne Brule JS, Park Lawn JMS (both of them are quite near – 5 10 minutes of walk) and Etobicoke CI (you need to go by bus there).

Parks
Woodfrod Park, South Humber Park and Bell Manor Park – it’s just a 5 - 10 minute walk (in different directions, see the map).

Shops
The Shop in Queensway,
You need to drive somewhere to find big ones...

Transport
The highway (Queen Elizabeth Way) is a three-minute drive,
streetcars and buses are also nearby.
Though it’s not very convenient to go to the subway using public transport.

Property tax
About $3000 in 2007.

Pros
The price isn’t high for Etobicoke.
The highway is nearby; the access to TTC (Toronto buses-trams) is not very far.
The backyard made me happy.
The pool and hottub produce the impression of luxury.

Cons
The house is extremely small, it actually has a single bedroom (it’s not a suitable variant for families with children).
The district is so-so, a bit dirty.
In South Humber Park (within one kilometre to the east from the house) there are large sewage-purification facilities. If the wind blows from the east, it’ll smell, you know.

General thoughts
The backyard impresses greatly.
On the whole the house produces a better impression than the previous one, but this kind of real estate is lower than the average level.
It’s possible to live here only in case of emergency.
My evaluating of the house is 4 of 10.

Technical details
Living room: 7 m x 3.50 m
Dining room: 4.50 m x 3 m
Kitchen: 3.40 m x 2.70 m
Kitchen with a place for having meals: 3.30 m x 2.70 m
Bedroom (upstairs): 5.25 m x 3.40 m
Room in the basement: 4.80 m x 2.80 m
Kitchen in the basement: 2.75 m x 2.40 m
Bedroom in the basement: 3.30 m x 3 m
Room for washers-dryers in the basement: 3.80 m x 3 m

One more detached Etobicoke house ($430K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:50:00 +0000

One more detached bungalow in Toronto (Etobicoke district).

Location
Address: 5 Inverleigh Dr, Toronto, Ontario.
Main intersection - Royal York / QEW, Etobicoke.
MLS district - W07.

Price
$429,000.

Square Footage
A difficult question.
The agent dodged the question.
Seems to be not more than 1000 square feet (100 square metres).

Age of the house
About 60 years.
Looks decrepit.

Type of real estate
A detached bungalow with finished basement.
No garage.

Size of the lot
44 x 113 feet (13 х 34 metres).

Кitchen and household appliances
The tiniest kitchenette I’ve ever seen in Canada.

To my mind, kitchens are larger even in Canadian apartments.
Here it reminded me 50-100 years old European flat.
The appliances are comparatively new – they say that all of them (the fridge, washer, dryer, and stove) were bought in 2007.

Main rooms
Several adjoining rooms.
Produce a bit miserable impression because of their small size and the age of the house.

Bedrooms
Two bedrooms upstairs and one in the basement (it’s scary to sleep in the basement).

Basement
Curtailed and deterrent.
Iron-barred windows, the existence of which I’ve already forgotten about.
As the agent says, the owner of the house is crazy about safety.
But, frankly speaking, it’s indicative of bad criminal situation.

Driveway
Grass-bush-flowers.
3 cars, they say, can fit into the asphalt driveway.
They may fit into, but only the last will be able to leave.
The driveway to the main road fit for a single car reminds me of the times when horse-drawn trams ran about in the street, and the fact that a family had more than one car seemed to be a flight to the Moon.

Backyard
The backyard is unexpectedly large (or it seems such against the background of the house).

District
Judging by the iron-barred windows, the district is good :)
Indeed, the nearby street Queensway seems dirty and ragged. The sidewalks are broken, there’s garbage in the streets.
The first sign that there’s something wrong with the district...

Schools
The nearest schools - Norseman JMS (10-15 minutes of walk) и Etobicoke CI (you needn’t go by bus).

Parks
There aren’t any parks nearby.
It’ll take you 10-15 minutes to walk to Woodford Park, Queensway Park East and West – a bit farther.
But there’s a playground with some slides nearby (just a few minutes of walk).

Shops
Small shops are on Queensway,
something more or less big like No Frills, are about 5 minutes of ride.
There are no big stores nearby.

Transport
The highway (QEW) is nearby, buses (along Royal York) go to the subway.
A streetcar going downtown was also declared (it was said that it would take about 40-50 minutes).

Property tax
About $3000 in 2007.

Pros
The price can be considered low for the district.
The highway is nearby and the centre of the city is not so far.

Cons
The house is old and small, one of the smallest Canadian houses I’ve ever seen.
The district is so-so, not at all super...

Resume
The house is for those people who want to live not far from the centre, and the magic word “Etobicoke” makes the heart pounding.
But the house itself is sheer disappointment.
My evaluating of the house is 3 of 10.

Technical details
Living room: 4.30 m x 3.70 m
Kitchen: 2.85 m x 2.45 m
Dining room: 2.80 m x 2.50 m
Master bedroom: 3.17 m x 2.66 m
Bedroom 2: 3.23 m x 2.94 m
Bedroom 3: 3.53 m x 2.75 m
Main room in the basement: 10.85 m x 3.37 m
The bedroom in the basement: 3.70 m x 3.13 m

A detached house in Etobicoke ($750K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:17:00 +0000

A detached one-storey house (bungalow) in Toronto (Etobicoke district).

Location
Address: 181 Royalavon Cres, Toronto, Ontario.
Main intersection: Kipling / Burnhamthorpe, Toronto, Ontario.
MLS district - W08.

Price
$749,000.

Area
about 1000-1200 square feet (100-120 square meters).
Plus the basement of the same measure

The age of the house is
about 50 years old.
But, frankly speaking, you won't tell by it.
It looks a spry man.

Type of real estate
A detached house with finished basement (with a separate entrance).
Single car garage.

The size of the lot
50 x 150 feet (15 х 45 meters).

Kitchen and household appliances
Everything's new, stainless steel, combined into kitchen furniture.
Counter tops of granite
Central air-conditioner.

The main rooms
In spite of the age, everything is designed sensibly.
All looks quite spacious.
It's seen that recently (in 2006) certain alterations and renovations have taken place.
Gas fireplace.
There is parquet on the first floor.
High ceillings and windows in the roof (even in the toilets) impress greatly.
It looks super.
It's just the thing for those who suffer from claustrophobia.

Bedrooms
2 bedrooms on the first floor, and two more in the basement.

Basement
A finished basement with a separate entrance without any strange smells.
Average lightness, but in general, it's suitable for living.
A separate entrance from Burnhamthorpe, so you can subrent it or use the house for two families.

Driveway
The house is in the corner of Burnhamthorpe и Royalavon St., so it has two driveways - one from both entrances. The only garage, though, more than that for one car, and more than that a kind of ancient and decrepit.
Each driveway would accommodate 2 cars.

Backyard
The backyard is average in its size, but very cosy.
It's seen nothing from the street, encloused by thick bushes.
There's a pool with a fountain-falls (naturally, electric) in the backyard. It looks beautiful, impresses greatly.

The walls of the pool are concrete, not plastic. Built in 2002.
The agent asserts that you can leave the water in for winter season, as concrete is durable, It won't be broken. I would have argued to this, but didn't do that. It's better to pour the water out for winter season, it'll be much more healthful. So be ready for addituonal costs. Besides, the insurance for a house with a pool is a bit higher, as a pool, you know, water and nature, there's no fence, children running, and two metre depth ...

District
The area is good, without any doubt.
The most of newcomers can't afford to buy a lodging here, but the district is not at all bad.... So, Etobicoke is regarded here as quite a pleasant district (of course, excepting such monsters as Forest Hill or Post Road).

Schools
The nearest schools - Islington JMS (a 10-15 minutes walk) и Etobicoke CI (somewhat farther).

Parks
Quite near - Islington Golf Club, Thomson Riley Park и Echo Valley Park (farther north to the districts of other parks).

Shops
It seems there are no large supermaekets within the distance of a short walk, but there are small shops in Dundas (a 15 minutes walk),and within the distance of 10 - 15 minutes ride - No Frills, and Costco, and many others.

Transport
Subway Kipling - within the distance of 15 - 20 minutes walk.
Or two minutes to the bus station, and the bus will bring you to the subway.
It's probably one of the main reasons of popularity of this district.
It will take you 3 minutes of ride to reach the highway (427), and from 427 - 5 minutes to 401, and to QEW.

Property tax
$3500 in 2008th.
Impressively low.
The agent explains that it's an old bungalow, aged to the times of baby-boom, and the municipal government has kept low taxes,haven't let them rise since long ago.
Maybe out of respect for the people living here who aren't to blame that their houses cost more than a million.

Pros
The district is old, comfortable and well settled.
Sky lights windows in the ceiling look very nice.
The pool and the falls are not at all bad.
The subway is at arm's length.

Cons
The price is a bit high, but no one is to blame that for lower price you can find either something sensless or in Newmarket.
The windows look out a street with intensive traffic (it's very dangerous to let the children out).

General thoughts
The house is in good state and seems to be quite pleasant.
The subway and the highway (427) are quite near.
The price seems to be a bit high, but to my mind, it'll be going down.
My rating of the house is - 8 out of 10.

Technical details
Living room: 4.32 m x 5.04 m
Dining room: 4.32 m x 5.04 m
Kitchen: 4 m x 3.17 m
Family room: 4.01 m x 5.76 m
Master bedroom: 3.33 m x 3.60 m
Bedroom 2: 3.38 m x 3.65 m
Room in the basement: 5.60 m x 3.60 m
Bedroom 3 in the basement: 5.58 m x 3.90 m
Bedroom 4 in the basement: 3.20 m x 3.10 m

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:25:00 +0000

I would like to have a chance to thank you for your interest to my blog,
happy New Year to you and your family,
and all the best in the 2009th!

Detached house in Keswick ($332K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:05:00 +0000

Detached 2 storey house in Keswick, town of Georgina.

Location
Address: 37 Joe Dales Dr, Keswick, Ontario.
Major intersection - The Queensways South / Ravenshow Ave, Keswick, Ontario.
MLS area - N17.

Price
$332,000.

Footage
Near 2350 sq.feet (235 sq.meters).

House Age
Almost new house,
approximately 5 years old.

Property Type
A detached two-storey house with a half of finished walkout basement.
Two cars garage.

Lot Size
52 x 100 feet (16 х 30 meters).

Kitchen and Appliances
Everything is new and nice.

There is a central air conditioner.

Main Rooms
Carpet is everywhere - can be good and safe for children but dusty comparing to hardwood floors.
8 feet ceiling in the house.

The owners looked a bit strange because of heavy colors of walls and chandelier in washroom.

Bedrooms
There are 4 bedrooms upstairs.

Basement
As already mentioned the basement is walkout which is nice, and that's the reason it is bright and light.
Half of the basement is finished (there is a room that can be used as an office) but the major part of the basement remains untouched.

Driveway
Four cars driveway which is pretty usual in new houses these days.

Backyard
Backyard is very average and has no special features.

Neighbors are occupied all the sides so it doesn't look private.

Kind of nestling box.

Area
The are and neighborhood are brand new and very fresh.

The houses faces new construction development lot,
the construction supposed to be finished within a year or two.
That means you have to live on construction site with all the advantages like dust, dirt and noise.
To learn more about Keswick which is a part of town of Georgina please visit the municipality website.

Schools
Lake Simcoe Public School is within 5 minutes of walking.

Park
Tornelogde Park starts right behind the school,
and I have to say that Keswick is very nice and very green place.
Nature seems everywhere,
and Simcoe Lake is withing walking distance.

Shopping
Price Chopper and Zehrs are in 10 minutes of driving.
Big stores like Walmart or Canadian Tire - in Newmarket (20 minutes of driving).

Public Transit
Go and YRT (York Region Transit) buses are here.
Also there are some local Georgina buses.
For more information please visit Georgina website.

Property Tax
Near $4000 in 2008.
Comparing to other cities it's pretty high percent of property value.
That can be explained by not that much businesses here who can pay most of the taxes required for the town, so residents pay more.

Pros
Lake Simcoe is right here.
The property is not overpriced, much lower even comparing to Newmarket.
The town is small and nice.
The house is new.
The house is spacious.
Very bright walkout basement.

Cons
Far far away of civilization.

Resume
This real estate property looks almost ok but the main problem I see that it is too usual, there is no any salt in it.
I cannot find any particular fault in it but don't know why I didn't like it.
But I liked Keswick itself.
My personal mark - 5 out of 10.

Technical Details
Living room: 3.47 m x 6.40 m
Kitchen: 3.10 m x 3.35 m
Eating area: 3.90 m x 3.35 m

Family room: 4.16 m x 4.75 m

Laundry room: 2 m x 2 m
Master bedroom: 6.25 m x 3.73 m

Bedroom 2: 2.77 m x 2.77 m

Bedroom 3: 3.15 m x 3.22 m

Bedroom 4: 5.31 m x 3.18 m
Basement room: 4.44 m x 3.30 m

Bungalow in Keswick ($325K) for sale

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:30:00 +0000

A detached bungalow in Keswick (town of Georgina).

Location
Adress: 435 Lake Dr. South, Keswick, Ontario.
Major intersection - Queensways South / Glenwoods Ave, Keswick, Ontario.
MLS area - N17.

Price
$324,900.

Footage
Approx. 1500 sq.feet (150 sq.m) within several levels.

House Age
Strictly protected information, hasn't been disclosed even after direct question.

Answered "too many upgrades for the last year".
By feeling, the house is very old.
I wouldn't guarantee 100 years but easy 70 or 80.
Internal decorating is almost modern (if you consider 10-20 years old as a modern).

Property Type
Detached bungalow, backsplit.
Half a level up you can see 3 bedrooms and almost luxurious bath.
Half a level down you'll find a separate apartment including a separate entrance (possible can be rented out).
No garage.

Lot Size
63 x 115 feet (19 х 34 metres).

Kitchen and Appliances
Tried to look nice but we can see their age as well.

There is a central air conditioner.

Main Rooms
One big room (logically presented as two rooms) at the main floor, near kitchen.

So the whole main floor looks like one big room.

Bedrooms

There are three bedrooms on high level, one more is on low level.

Basement
I would say not basement but low (ground) level.
It contains a separate apartment.

The entrance is right from the ground and it is supposed it had to be light and bright here.
Surprisingly it is not.
There are so many mature trees near the house that not much light in the ground level (be honest also not much light on high level too).

Driveway
One car track, not even paved used here as a driveway.
3 cars can be parked here (but since the driveway is one car wide only one car can move when parked).
No garage as already mentioned above.

Backyard
Backyard is not so huge but I would say cozy and nice.

There is a hot tab on backyard.
Looks nice.

Area and Neighborhood
The area looks not so good being honest.
View to Simcoe is very nice but neighbors seemed a bit gloomy, and the neighborhood itself looks... hmmm... slightly slovenly.

However I must say Keswick is nice place to live. I really liked it.
More about it you can find on Georgina municipality website.
And real estate property is still not overpriced here, especially comparing to Toronto closest suburbs.

Schools
What we can find withing a walking distance here? I would mention Brock High School and Our Lady of the Lake Catholic College School.

Parks
There is Simcoe Lake across the road. Here you'll see our private beach (the owner pays $45/year now)

Shopping
On Queensway (10-15 minutes walk) you can see may small shops plus large grocery store Price Chopper. One more grocery store (Zehrs) you'll find on Woodbine (10 minutes drive).

Public Transit
Go and YRT (York Region Transit) buses are here.
Also local Georgina buses that make public transit in Keswick surprisingly wide and divaricate. For more information please visit Municipality website.

Property Tax
$3400 in 2008.

Pros
Simcoe Lake is just across the road.

The price is not skyscraper's.
There is sewer system, not septic as you may expect from such house.
Two families can live here not interfering to each other.

Cons
A bit far from everything (however it's a question to Keswick but not to this particular house).
The house is a bit old.
Installed alarm system ($35/month) also tells you about something.

Resume
The house is old but at the first look is in a good condition (for the second look ask for your home inspector's opinion).

Dark colors of walls and ceilings are too hard to accept.
I guess the whole house will be much brighter if repaint everything in light colors.
A bit far from amenities however if you work from home (or don't work) then you can consider this property.
My personal opinion - 6 out of 10.

Technical Details
Living room: 5.79 m x 5 m
Dining room: 3.05 m x 3.05 m
Kitchen: 2.74 m x 2.62 m
Master bedroom: 3.99 m x 3.99 m
Bedroom 2: 3.35 m x 3.37 m
Bedroom 3: 3.07 m x 2.70 m
Recreational room in basement: 2.62 m x 2.70 m
Family room in basement: 3.99 m x 7.80 m
Bedroom in basement: 2.76 m x 2.71 m

Detached house for sale in Sharon / East Gwillimbury ($740K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:07:00 +0000

Detached bungalow in Sharon, East Gwillimbury.

Location
Address: 65 David Wilson Trail, Sharon, Ontario.
Main intersection - Leslie / Green Lane, East Gwillimbury, Ontario.
MLS area - N15.

Price
$739,000.
The price has recently been reduced for $40,000 (the previous price - $779,000).

Footage
Near 2500 sq.ft (250 sq.m)

The House Age
Built in 1996, so now it's near 12 years old.

Property Type
A detached one-storey house (bungalow) plus started but not completely finished basement. Three cars garage.

Lot Size
98 x 233 feet (29 х 70 metres).

Kitchen and Appliances
Marble counter tops (renewed in 2007).

Spacious, bright and very clean.

All the appliances in very good condition.
Although you can see they are not new.

There are central air conditioner (CAC) and central vacuum.

Main Rooms
There are enough rooms and it looks that's enough for everyone.

Some rooms have strange green carpet.

Some other have hardwood floor, in very good shape, no even any scratch.

The house includes eight rooms including three bedrooms.

Bedrooms
3 bedrooms.

There are 3 washrooms - per each bedroom.

Basement
The basement is big and potentially nice, like the house itself.
The floor is just painted, and all the walls are covered by drywall (I guess some insulation stuff is hidden under it) - that's pretty much it.
But there is really enough space.
Not much light though.

Driveway
Driveway is professionally landscaped.
Can accomodate 6 or even 9 cars.
I also must say that everything in the house shows some expanse so no compromises in any rooms or even any detail.

Backyard
Backyard faces absolutely open space,
it looks like a farmer's field at the backyard.
We can guess such situation can be for a long time (or even forever) but the selling agent gave a tip to contact municipality and confirm plans about this area development.

To be honest we have to note the civilization is far far away so we can assume no builders will be here for a nearest (or even not only the nearest) future.

Area
The area is very nice and it looks the neighbours are doctors, lawyers, business owners, i.e. not newcomers and first time buyers.

There are no 300K houses in the neighborhood so paying this price you can be sure your neighbours are at the same level as you.

Schools
There is a school within ten minutes of walking.

Parks
Rogers Reservoir Conservation Area is in 15 minutes of walking.

Shopping
A few small convenience stores can be found in the area but more serious grocery stores are in Newmarket which is in 10-15 minutes of driving.

Public Transit
It's almost unbelievable but there is a line of YRT (York Region Transit) buses here. But for sure in such remote areas our own car is the primary way of commuting. 5 minutes of driving - East Gwillimbury Go Station where you can start you trip to Toronto downtown (approximately one hour of train trip).

Property Tax
$6245 in 2008.

Pros
Really nice and beautiful house,
very pleasant neighborhood.

Cons
Price.
No sewer system (there is a ceptic).

Resume
The house is very nice if you are ok with the price.

Far away from city's noise,
right on fresh air,
with all the advantages of modern life (all amenities are within 15 minutes of driving).

The owner is a lady 80+ years old so all the walls/floors/appliances are in just perfect condition.
Overall the price looks reasonable.
My personal opinion - 8 out of 10.

Technical Details
Living room: 4.90 m x 4.13 m
Dining room: 4.49 m x 3.42 m

Family room: 5.28 m x 4.27 m

Kitchen: 4.32 m x 3.91 m
Eating area: 2.30 m x 3.91 m

Master bedroom: 4.03 m x 6.12 m
Bedroom 2: 4.08 m x 3.35 m

Bedroom 3: 4.34 m x 3.35 m

House for sale in Brampton ($430K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:48:00 +0000

Interested in buying real estate property in Canada?
Take a look at Brampton - one of the most affordable areas near Toronto!

Detached two-storey house in Brampton for sale.

Location
Address: 266 Fernforest Dr, Brampton, Ontario.
The main intersection: Bovaird Dr. East / Bramalea Rd., Brampton, Ontario.
MLS area - W24.

Price
$429,000.
A little bit reduced.
Previously the house was for sale for 449K.

The owners are already moved out so are paying two mortgages now. That means they would be very flexible in case of any (of course reasonable preferably) offer.

Footage
Approximately 2500 sq.feet (250 sq.m.), plus finished basement which is usually not included into declared house size.

House Age
Near 12-15 year.

New roof in 2007th.

Everything looks very nice.

Property Type
Detached 2-storey house with finished basement.
2-car garage.

Lot Size
41 x 110 feet (12 х 33 metres).

Kitchen and Appliances
The best impression.

Everything looks like new.
If move-in date is tomorrow I think you wouldn't even do any cleaning.
Nobody lives in the house now so I guess a complete cleaning was done at the time of moving out. Everything just shines.

Main Rooms

All the rooms are big, light and spacious.
Not comparable to other houses (at the same price range) located at other areas of Toronto suburbs.

Hardwood floor are everywhere on the first floor.

Bedrooms
Master bedroom has very unusual panoramic windows that make a kind of semicircle on the wall (right on perimeter of the house which is non-rectangular).

Also there are many windows in a bedroom that faces to driveway but that one can be considered as a game room, not bedroom. But it depends on your requirements..

Basement
The basement is finished and well-done.I cannot say it is too light (it is hard to modify when the house is already constructed) but being there is absolutely comfortable.
No strange smells.

Driveway
The driveway is for 4 cars.
It looks inconvenient that the house is located at Fernforest Dr which is actually very busy.
So driving out of driveway becomes a problem and often can be a dangerous action.

Backyard
The backyard is pretty standard, contains nice deck.
Faces to neighbors so there is no special privacy.

Area
The area is very Indian.
Turbans and saris are everywhere - on streets, stores and children playgrounds.
Wind brings smell of curry.

So all the attributes of Indian culture is here.

Schools
Across the street - Father Michael J. McGivney Catholic School.

Parks
Within 5-10 minutes of walking you can reach Upwood Park and Sandringham Park.

Shopping
5-10 minutes of driving.

Public Transit
Highway 410 is in 5 minutes of driving.
Local Brampton buses are on Bramalea, Bovaird, Dixie and Sandalwood which are in 5-10 minutes of walk.

Property Tax
$3830 in 2008.

Pros
The house is big, light and pleasant.

Cons
The area is a bit far from Toronto so you may experience troubles with commuting if work there.
Not really multicultural neighborhood.

Resume
It is really hard to say...
My personal opinion about the property - 7 out of 10.

Technical Details
Living room: 4.18 m x 3.29 m
Dining room: 4 m x 2.90 m

Kitchen: 6.10 m x 3.96 m
Family room: 4.46 m x 3.29 m
Master bedroom: 5.31 m x 4.31 m
Bedroom 2: 5.28 m x 4.14 m
Bedroom 3: 3.28 m x 3.20 m
Bedroom 4: 3.21 m x 2.94 m

House for sale in Brampton ($440K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Detached two storey house for sale in Brampton, Ontario.

Location
Address: 28 Panorama Cres, Brampton, Ontario
The major intersection - Bovaird Dr. East / Bramalea Rd., Brampton, Ontario.
MLS Area - W24.

Price
$439,900.
An audacious price taking in consideration the common trend of price reducing plus historically Brampton has lower than average prices comparing to other GTA areas.

Footage
2500 sq.feet (250 sq.m), plus finished basement.

House Age
Near 25 year.

Property Type
A detached two-storey house that has a basement completely renovated for renting purposes (with a separate entrance). There is another separate entrance for one more tenant that can occupy a part of the first (main) floor.

Two cars garage.

Lot Size
42 x 140 feet (13 х 42 metres).
The lot is big enough, but not rectangular as usually - it is slightly dilative to backyard.

Kitchen and Appliances
Enough room,
looks good but pretty standard.

Central air conditioner unit is broken (air pipes are ok according to the real estate agent) so it would require your attention.

Main Rooms
Although relatively large house, it looks not enough rooms here.

That may look so because of part of the house (I mean the main floor) is re-done to make a separate entrance for tenants (there are one bedroom, washroom and laundry room dedicated for that). No owner/tenants day-to-day crossing, everyone uses his/her own entrance.

However anyway the rest of the house (owner's part) looks spacious enough because most of the renovating job done in a smart way, and also the house is really bigger than average by its size.

Bedrooms
There are four bedrooms on the second floor, one more at the basement (for tenants) and another one on the main floor (redone part of the house dedicated to another tenant).

Basement
The basement is completely re-built for renting out.
There is a permission from municipality (city of Brampton).
A separate entrance from south side of the house.
The basement contains kitchen, washroom, bedroom and pretty large living room.
There is also a gas fireplace but it seems not functional.

Driveway
4 cars driveway here.

Backyard
I wouldn't say the backyard is so big as you could expect from so large house.
It faces to neighbors so there is no feeling of any kind of solitariness.

Area
Brampton as you may know is a little India in Canada.
So this area is mostly occupied by emigrants from this country.

Schools
The nearest schools - Calderstone Middle School, Red Willow Public School, Thorndale Public School, Chinguacousy Secondary School.

Parks
There is a lake in two minutes of walking (Professor's Lake), and a park near by.
Enough place to walk.

Shopping
No major stores within walking distance.
10-15 minutes of driving however will help you.

Public Transit
Highway 410 is located within 5 minutes of driving (actually - the best distance ever: it is close enough but you don't hear the noise and your air is not a highway air).
Local Brampton buses are in 5 minutes walk (on Bramalea and Bovaird).

Property Tax
$3800 in year of 2008.

Pros
The house is big.

You can rent out a part of the property to two families and earn additionally $800-900 for the basement and $400-500 for the part of main floor.
A beautiful lake is near by.
Windows are changed at 2008.

Cons
A noise on backyard from a busy street (Bovaird Rd).
Central air conditioner is not working.
No really multiculturalism (there is one dominated culture).

Resume
The price is not so low for the house a) in Brampton, b) on highway.
Also you may be not happy to live in another culture neighborhood.
However the house itself is spacious and it looks it has enough room and rooms.
My opinion - 5 out of 10.

Technical Details
Kitchen: 7.01 m x 3.66 m
Living room: 5.79 m x 3.66 m
Family room: 6.10 m x 3.66 m
Dining room: 3.81 m x 3.66 m
Master bedroom: 6.40 m x 3.66 m
Bedroom 2: 4.57 m x 3.35 m
Bedroom 3: 4.88 m x 3.35 m
Bedroom 4: 3.66 m x 3.51 m
Family room in basement: 6.10 m x 3.66 m
Kitchen in basement: 5.35 m x 3.33 m

House for sale in Brampton - $270K

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:31:00 +0000

Detached house for sale (bungalow) in Brampton.

Location
Address: 69 Crawford Dr, Brampton, Ontario
Main intersection - Queen St. East / Hwy 410, Brampton, ON.
MLS area - W23.

Price
$269,969.
House for sale for this price at least has to bring our attention.
It is hard to find anything where it's possible to live that costs less than $300,000 in Toronto and suburbs.

Footage
Approx. 1200 sq.feet (120 sq.metres), plus finished basement.

House Age
34 years.
The roof has been replaced in 2006.
Full basement renovation in 2008, everything is new and shining.

Property Type
Detached one-storey house.
One car garage.

Lot size
60 x 100 feet (18 х 30 metres).
Wide enough.

Kitchen and Appliances
Some appliances are almost new,
some may require replacement.
There is a central air conditioned in the house.

Main Rooms
Because of bungalow all the rooms as you understand are located on the same floor. We'll talk about basement a bit later.

So we have two bedrooms, kitchen and one spacious living room - here we are, and that's pretty much it. I wouldn't say it is much room at the house.

Bedrooms
Two bedrooms on the first (main) floor,

Two more bedrooms are in basement.

Basement
Basement is dry and almost light,
it's definitely something the owner may be proud of.

Completely renovated at 2008.

Painting looks like "yesterday-was-wet",
all woods are fresh, nothing tells about the house age.
Brand new basement is always nice you know...

The house is slightly elevated (actually it is called Raised Bungalow), so the basement includes light windows, and there is an optimistic impression of airy rooms.

Driveway and Garage
Four cars driveway.
There is also one car garage however it looks very antique, the garage door is close to be disintegrated if you decide to open/close it every day. No surprise the garage is not daily used - it works as a garden shed where are lawn-mower, old children toys, garden/home tools and other kind of rusty metal junk conveniently stored.

Backyard
The backyard of course cannot be compared to those included into brand new houses builders offer thee days. This backyard is large, faces to some neighbors however the neighbors are somewhere reasonably far.

Very cool as a children or pet playground.

Area
Brampton is a bit unusual city in Greater Toronto Area.
It is different because it is visually one of the most one-nationality dominated areas in GTA.
Brampton is actually a center of Indian community.

But these blocks look multicultural - you can see different countries-born Canadians here, and I like it.

Schools
There are few schools in walking distance (10-15 minutes).

Parks
As selling agent affirms Brampton is one of the greenest-n-parkest cities in Canada.
So the number of parks squares is the highest as per sq.km.

Shopping
Walking to Queen St East (5 minutes) you'll find a big plaza with a number of different shops.

Public Transit
Highway 410 is within 3 minutes of driving.
Local Brampton buses are on Queen St. East (few hundred metres).

Property Tax
$3000 for 2008.

Pros
Light and just renovated basement.
Very cozy family neighborhood.

Cons
The house is not so spacious.
The garage actually cannot be used.
You are ok to commute if you work in Brampton / Mississauga / Etobicoke / Concord. Could be problems with commuting to let's say Markham or Scarborough.

Resume
If you are not scared by "Brampton" word then it makes sense to take a look at this property. On my opinion this is one of the nicest places in Brampton. And of course a house for $270K attracts attention of potential buyers.
My personal opinion - 7 out of 10.

Dimensions
Living room: 3.98 m x 4.38 m
Kitchen: 3.25 m x 5.87 m
Master bedroom: 3.67 m x 3.11 m
Bedroom 2: 3.26 m x 3.16 m
Bedroom 3: 3.28 m x 3.45 m
Bedroom 4: 2.95 m x 3.27 m
Recreational, Games room: 5.14 m x 6.40 m

Detached house in Newmarket for sale ($353K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:32:00 +0000

Detached two storey house for sale in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.

Location
Address: 132 Lowe Blvd, Newmarket, Ontario
The major intersection - Davis Dr / Leslie St, Newmarket, ON.
MLS area - N07.

Price
$353,000.

Footage
Approximately 2200 sq.feet (220 sq.metres), plus finished basement.

The House Age
Near 15-20 years I guess.

Property Type
Detached 2 storey house in residential area.
2 cars Garage.
Central vacuum and central air conditioner, so everything is ready for a comfortable living.

Lot Size
50 x 100 feet (15 х 30 metres).
Slightly bigger than average (I would even say wider than average)

Kitchen and Appliances
The kitchen is spacious,
walls here are covered by brick fake but the colors are a bit heavy as for me...

But anyway the kitchen looks better than an average one.
There is a central air conditioner in the house.

Main Rooms
The rooms are big enough,
not sure if they are light and sunny enough but my claustrophobia was sleeping there.
Besides the kitchen there was a big dining/living room.

You can find another room (with a TV set and gas fireplace) at the opposite side of the house.

I must say 2200 sq.feet house is much better than let's say 1500.

Bedrooms
There are 4 bedrooms on the second floor.

Non-for-Lilliputians.
That's enough even for children,
much more space and comfort comparing to some average house.

Basement
The basement is walkout and partially finished.

A dog lives here (a huge cage is located in the basement), that might be not a problem but wooden stairs are a bit gnawed away.

Driveway and Garage
Standard 4 car driveway ends with a standard 2 car garage.

Backyard
Backyard has disappointed a bit.
Not so big as expected taking a look at the house.

Don't be fooled by the picture taken probably by a professional using a fisheye lenses :)

Area
Comparing to Toronto we can talk about Newmarket as a balance between being close enough to all amenities (including jobs) and being far enough from noise and dirt of a big city. Most of the people living here are born in Canada and civilization (I mean immigrants from around the world :) ) is not here yet.
This particular house is situated in "old Newmarket" area.
10 minutes of walking to one of the biggest hospitals in York region (Southlake Health Centre), 20-30 minutes of walking (5 minutes drive) to historic center of Newmarket (Main Street).

Schools
Very near by (few minutes of walking).

Parks
Charles Van Vant Park within few minutes of walking.
The neighborhood is very quiet and family-oriented.

Shopping
Busy plaza with supermarkets, restaurants and small shops is located on Davis Dr / Leslie St (5 minutes of driving, or 10-15 minutes walking).
Yonge St is withing 2-3 kilometers, and everything is there - Canadian Tire, Wal*mart, Costco, Brick and big Upper Canada Mall.

Public Transit
YRT (York Region Transit) buses - on Davis Dr (5 minutes of walking).
Newmarket GO Train station - in approximately one kilometer, it may take up to an hour to be on Toronto downtown, however there are 5 trains southbound (to Toronto) every morning (weekday), and all of them return back on evening, no trains on weekend.

Property Tax
Near $3500 per year.

Pros
Quiet area,
relatively big house (definitely bigger than average),
the house in good condition.

Cons
A bit far from Toronto (if you are going to commute every day).

Resume
If you are tired about multiculturalism then consider small remote towns like Oakville, Oshawa, Newmarket where the situation is still close to that being here before mass immigration of the last decades. GO train however can bring you back to life.
Real estate prices are noticeably lower than in Toronto, or you can afford definitely bigger/newer/better house for the same price.
So you can consider that if you are not scared by distance from Toronto.
My personal opinion - 7 out of 10.

Technical Details / Dimensions
Kitchen: 4.20 m x 3.70 m
Living/Dining room: 7.80 m x 3.50 m
Family room: 5.80 m x 3.50 m
Master bedroom: 5.80 m x 3.60 m
Bedroom 2: 3.90 m x 3.20 m
Bedroom 3: 4.10 m x 3.20 m
Bedroom 4: 4.30 m x 3 m

Detached house for sale in Mount Albert ($400K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:21:00 +0000

Detached two-storey house for sale in Mt.Albert, Ontario.

Location
Address: 5832 Davis Dr, Mt.Albert, Ontario
Major intersection: Davis Dr / 9th Line, Mt.Albert, ON.
MLS area - N15.

Price
$399,900.

House Footage
Approx. 1000 sq.feet (100 sq.metres), the information is really approximate.

House Age
Don't be negative, don't tell me about this.
Persons with mental and psychical disorder, please don't read this.
Ready?
The house was built in 1870.
140 years old.

Property Type
"2-storey" house but really the second floor contains just a master bedroom and some strange lumber-room where you can hide something you prefer nobody would see.
Please be serious and don't ask me about CAC (central air conditioned), vacuum and other products of civilization.
There is a ceptic here.
Water comes from a personal well. The pump is in the basement.
I'm very impressed by the house, it looks like Black Creek Pioneer Village - I'm not sure how to live there but as an exhibition place it's very nice.

Lot Size
60 х 52 metres.

Kitchen and Appliances
There were something on the kitchen.

For sure it was something newer than a house but not so much.

Main Rooms
Kitchen and few other rooms are in grandma style.
The common impression is "this is our cottage for a while and when we are finally going home?"

Bedrooms
There are two bedrooms on the first floor and one more (which is actually master bedroom) on the second floor.
So you'll be able to spend a night somehow.

Basement
Basement looks like a screenshot taken from Doom2 computer game.
Mould dangling on the walls, smell of decay, rotten wood frame... wow...
Almost new water pipes look alien at this underground.

Driveway and Backyard
The yard (I cannot see a difference between a backyard and driveway - it's the same yard with the house in a corner) - so the yard is big enough.
There were a pool and a hot-tub with a heating... almost new...

Besides the house, the property includes three big sheds/barns where you can store some hardware, tractors, heavy tanks and elements of small aviation (just kidding... not enough room for an airplane).
The yard 60х60 metres is not a children playground.

Area
Country side.
The neighbors are those who live on country side as well.
The next house to West is a good farm where you can pick up your own strawberry.

Schools
The nearest school in Mount Albert, it's near 5 kilometres away.
School bus helps you to reach your goals.

Parks
We cannot talk about parks on the country side.
The closest neighbor is in a half a kilometer away.

Shopping
10-15 minutes of driving to Newmarket where you can find everything you may need - grocery stores, hospital, movie theatres, etc.

Public Transit
Not at all.
Transportation is yours.

Property Tax
~$2400.00 in 2007.
I guess government has to pay for this house instead.
I suppose the house can be included into the list of ancient objects by UNESCO.

Pros
The neighbors are far away.
The large yard can be nice for those who need to store/fix/maintain something (landscape contractors, cars/bikes parts, some agricultural hardware).

Cons
The house is relatively small.
The house is ~~relatively~~ old. "Old" is not correct word. The house is ancient and shabby. However you can consider demolition and raising a brand new building on the lot.

Life on Davis Drive is a life on highway. It's noisy, the cars are passin by every 15 seconds. Speed limit is 80 km/h here that means everyone drives 100-120 km/h that means you cannot leave your children alone for even a second.
A cemetery across the road.

Resume
If you are in construction/landscaping business you can consider this property.

The rest can see despondency in each detail.
The price (400K) on my opinion must be reduced twice because of the house is not supposed to shelter anyone. I would consider it as a cottage to spend a few nights at as a fun.
My personal opinion - 2 out of 10.

Dimensions
Family room: 4.90 m x 4.60 m
Living room: 5.20 m x 4 m
Kitchen: 4.20 m x 2.20 m
Dining room: 4.70 m x 4.70 m
Bedroom 2: 2.80 m x 2.64 m
Bedroom 3: 2.85 m x 2.55 m
Office: 5.84 m x 2.90 m
Master bedroom: 5.20 m x 4 m

Townhouse for sale in Toronto, Beaches area ($700K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:35:00 +0000

Almost new townhouse in Toronto, Beaches area.

Location
Address: 1898 Lake Shore Blvd East, Toronto, Ontario
Major intersection: Queen St East/ Woodbine.
MLS area - E02.

Price
$698,000.
So townhouse still doesn't cost a million dollars... so world is not crashed completely yet :)

Size
Approximately 2300 sq.ft. (230 sq.m.) together with finished basement.

House Age
8-10 years.

Property Type
3-storey townhouse.
You can see Ontario Lake from a bedroom at the third floor.

Lot size
15 x 117 feet (4.5 х 35 metres).
Townhouse like a typical townhouse.
Pretty regular size - high'n'narrow.

Kitchen and appliances
The kitchen is beautiful and I have no question to it.
Fridge, stove, dishwasher, microwave oven.
No air conditioned though.

Main rooms
The rooms are scattered on the floors.
The wall colors are pleasant.
The common feeling of a new house.
There is a hardwood on the first floor, carpet on the second and third ones.

Bedrooms
Master bedroom is on the second floor.
There are two smaller bedroom on the third floor.

Basement
The basement is finished and looks livable.

I'm sure it's been decorated by a professional designer so even details look stylish.

Driveway
What driveway you are talking about? The new construction doesn't care about those details.
The house front faced directly to Lakeshore so entrance to the house is from a walkway.

Backyard
The backyard is located between the house and its garage.
The garage is for two cars.

There is some landscaping on the backyard but honestly I wasn't impressed by it.

Area
The heart of the Beaches. The beach is located across the street.
I think it is the major advantage of this townhouse.

Schools
Everything is near by.
There are few children playgrounds withing 5-10 minutes of walking.

Park
The main park is located across the street.

Shopping
Everything required for a life can be found near-by.
For all the rest feel free to drive to the nearest Walmart or Loblaws.

Public Transit
No problems with public transit so you can live here even without a car.
Because after purchasing this townhouse you may have no money for a car :)

Property Tax
$4500.00 for year of 2008.

Pros
Location.

Cons
All the rest.

Resume and Conclusion
I still cannot understand who is the target audience for this property.

The most of young families cannot afford it because of its price.
It can be not so attractive for a serious businessman/executive because of neighbors behind the walls.
And lack of some matter-of-course features like an air conditioner honestly a bit depresses.
My personal mark - 3 out of 10.

Technical Details
Living room: 5.41 m x 4.19 m
Kitchen: 4.50 m x 4.19 m
Family room: 7.54 m x 3.05 m
Office: 3.98 m x 2.18 m
Laundry room: 1.85 m x 1.73 m
Master bedroom on the 2nd floor: 4.19 m x 4.01 m
Bedroom 2 on the 3rd floor: 3.71 m x 3.43 m
Bedroom 3 on the 3rd floor: 3.35 m x 3 m

Detached house for sale on Beaches/Toronto ($985K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:34:00 +0000

Detached 3-storey house in Toronto, Beaches area.

Location
Address: 97 Sarah Ashbridge Ave, Toronto, Ontario
Main intersection - Queen St East/ Woodbine.
MLS area - E02.

Price
$985,000.
Hmmm... Million dollars houses are coming and coming.
Even few years ago "a million dollars" house for sale looked as something so expensive.
But not now...
And someone buys that...

[UPDATE-Oct26]
The price has been just reduced to 919K!
So if you considered the property to buy then it is more affordable now.
Contact me today to view the property!
[/UPDATE-Oct26]

Size
Near 2600 sq/feet (260 sq.m.), or 3600 sq/feet (360 sq.m.) with finished basement.

House age
8-10 years.
As usually the age is a secret.
Like women who like to coquet.

Property type
Detached 3 storey house.
There are central vacuum and central air conditioner.
Hardwood floors are on kitchen, and broadloom at all other rooms.

Lot size
24 x 117 feet (7 х 35 metres).
The width is not so huge however it is the usual problem for Beaches area. Especially for those new blocks of buildings.
I would say that's a bit claustrophobic.

Kitchen and appliances
Everything is new and pleasant to take a look at.
No negative emotions at all.

Main rooms
Unlikely to the previous million dollar house for sale there are less rooms in this house. And even those ones are placed not so spacy.

Family room and Living room with a kitchen - here is the first floor.

Also natural gas fireplace if that's important for you.
The walls are painted a bit bright however it doesn't spoil them. Usually I am very careful about multiple colors on walls but here nothing is behind the limit of common sense.

Wires for speakers and different kinds of electronics are placed in the walls. So you can find speakers in so unpredictable corners. Gorgeous!

Bedrooms
Bedrooms are on the second and third floors.
There are three of them.

I guess the bedrooms are larger comparing to some average Canadian bedroom but it would be strange to see something very average in the million dollar house.

Basement
As you can expect basement is finished.

To live there is a bit uncomfortable I guess however as a recreational or game room, or maybe home theater room it is good enough.

Driveway
No driveway here.
The road, and just walkway to the house.

2 cars garage is on a backyard.

Backyard
The backyard is surprisingly nice.

Left and right sides are bordered by a fence, the far side of the backyard is backed by a 2-car garage.

It may look a bit inconvenient because of all your shopping must be taken and carried from the garage to house walking through the backyard. And even without shopping - you are coming/driving home and feel free to walk to the house through rain/snow/dirt/watching of your neighbors. No privacy at all. House for million dollar shouldn't have such features...

Area
The area is Beaches.
3-5 minutes walking to the beach on Ontario Lake.
Everything is near-by.
The area is nice but maybe a bit noisy.
You may experience some discomfort living there with children.

Schools
No problems with schools.
Kew Beach Day Care Co-Operative Pre School‎ and The Beach School are within 5-10 minutes of walking.

Parks
There are many parks within walking distance.
Also lake shore beaches are right here - the paradise for dog owners.

Shopping
A required minimum you'll find here,
for serious shopping feel free to drive to less crowded areas.

Transportation
TTC (Toronto public transit, buses and streetcars) are everywhere, you don't need to walk for more than 5 minutes and wait for more than 10 minutes. So the area allows you to live without your own car. However I may suppose the people who buy million dollar houses don't use streetcars. But who knows?

Property tax
$6250.00 for year of 2008.

Pros
The area is nice.
Everything is right here - restaurants, shopping, public transit, schools, exhibitions.

Cons
The price.
The area is new so looks a bit empty (no trees).
Frankly speaking the house is not so spacious.

Resume
I guess it's not the best one million investment.
However the Beaches fans I bet will like the house.
My personal opinion - 5 out of 10.
But honestly I never had a million dollars :) so maybe your opinion will be different? Anyway it is worth to take a look at...

Technical details
Living & dining room: 6.15 m x 4.78 m
Kitchen: 4.67 m x 4.27 m
Family room: 5.97 m x 3.84 m
Master bedroom on the 3-rd floor: 5.84 m х 4.32 m
Bedroom 2 (the second floor): 4.17 m x 3.73 m
Bedroom 3 (the second floor): 3.76 m x 3.71 m
Game room in basement: 6.81 m x 5.54 m
Bedroom 4 in basement: 5.54 m x 4.11 m

Free advertisement of your house/semi/townhouse/condo listed for sale

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:13:00 +0000

If you are a real estate agent and interested to post information about your property here please feel free to contact me.

At no charge your listing (formatted to fit this blog's postings, i.e. with a brief description of the property and area) can be placed in this blog together with YOUR contact information.

Bring potential buyers' attention to your listing(s)!

Why wait?
Contact right now!

About Me

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:52:00 +0000

My name is Alex Blinoff.

Here you can see my reviews of some houses/condominiums listed for sale in Toronto and suburbs. Also you can find my personal opinions about some areas of Toronto region.

I would be happy if this information can help you with purchasing or selling real estate property in Toronto and GTA (Greater Toronto Area).

I am available any time by phone (416) 273-7711, or by email contact@homebuyerblog.ca.

Also please feel free to contact me if you have any question regarding this blog (advertisement, placing a description of your property, etc).

Thank you for your interest to my blog.

Alex Blinoff.

Detached house in Toronto, Beaches area ($1M)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:19:00 +0000

Detached house in Toronto, on the Beaches.

Location
Address: 114 Edgewood Ave, Toronto, Ontario.
The main intersection: Queen St East/ Woodbine.
MLS area - E02.

Price
$999,500.
To be honest the price has confused me.
Taking a look at the picture and lot size (25 feet width) I supposed something was wrong in this game. So I decided to visit the house being just curious what houses could be for this price...

After seeing myself I would say the price is pretty reasonable.
Because this house is really different from other ones at this location.

Footage
Near 3000 sq.feet (300 sq.m.), plus finished basement.

House Age
8 years.
Finally I found an agent who knew the year of construction.

Property Type
Detached 3-storey house.
There are central air conditioner and central vacuum.
Hardwood floors are except bedrooms (where you can see carpet).
For an average house owner this beauty may look as a really luxury property.

Lot size
25 x 264 feet (7.5 х 80 metres).
The width is not so impressive however that's kind of old house legacy. And it's hard to expect anything else on the Beaches.
However the depth was a surprise.

Kitchen and appliances
Everything is new, clean and shiny.

Main room
There are many rooms you know...

According to the papers near 12 ones that looks like a true or close to true .. :)

4 washrooms.
5 bedrooms.

Two families I think can live together with pets, and sometimes invite guests and make parties.

Bedrooms
The bedrooms are located on the second floor.
Bright and spacious.

Basement
Basement is finished and makes the same nice impression as the house.

Driveway
The house has no garage, but by the papers it's declared 4 car driveway. I have certain doubts regarding that statement... or maybe those are Smarts/Minis supposed to be parked here, or maybe more serious cars but well-pressed up :)

Backyard
Backyard is not so wide but is definitely very deep.

I am really impressed.
Not so often can see so huge backyard relatively close to downtown.

Area
I thinks the Beaches always was a special and unique place in Toronto where you can feel the Art in the air. It's a place with high concentratiion of art people. But not even those who doing art for living. More even place with feeling of freedom. Freedom and a bit Europe. And this feeling is here, everyone can see it. That's why I' glad to go to Beaches when I'm tired of this American style of life.

Do you know why the area is called the Beaches?
It is on lakeshore of Ontario lake, there are large line of sand where you can find nice sand beach. Feel free to swim and acquire some tan there.
But Ontario is not a warm lake frankly speaking. :)

So because of that this area (few kilometres in radius) was called the Beaches.

Schools
In the centre of the city all the schools are usually very close to each other.
There are many of them on the Beaches.

Parks
The Beaches is one big park.
At least I consider it this way.

Shopping
There are many small (European-style) stores on the streets here.
I found even couple of tiny supermarkets, and of course they are not comparable to huge plazas somewhere in Richmond Hill. But nobody compares, c'mon... Your "enough" minimum is here, and we don't care about the rest...

Transportation
TTC (street cars and buses) are on every serious street (5 minutes of walking from any place on the Beaches). It may take 20 minutes of TTCing (or 10 minutes of "no traffic" driving) to downtown Toronto.

Property tax
$6500.00 for 2008.

Pros
The location si one of the best in Toronto.
This house is new (the old one has been demolished, brand new one been built from scratch), and the new house cannot be compared to regular 100+ years house which are usual on the Beaches.
The house is really large. I would say - as large as the lot width may allow.
Quiet street however at the same time everything is close - shops, public transit, restaurants, schools, Ontario Lake.

Cons
The price.

Resume
If you are not shoked by the price I think this could be a nice variant.
The house makes an impression of holiday.
My opinion - 8 out of 10.

Technical details
Foyer: 5.50 m x 4.45 m
Living Room: 7.01 m x 5.80 m
Dining Room: 4.54 m x 4 m
Kitchen: 5.43 m x 4 m
Master bedroom: 8.03 m x 5.80 m
Bedroom 2: 4.82 m x 4 m
Bedroom 3: 3.66 m x 3.05 m
Family room/bedroom in the 3-rd floor: 10 m x 5.80 m
Game room in the basement: 8.35 m x 5.80 m
Bedroom in the basement: 5.82 m x 4.82 m

Detached house in Tottenham ($230K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:00:00 +0000

Detached 2-storey house in Tottenham.

Location
Address: 87 McKnight Cres, Tottenham, Ontario
The major intersection: Queen St / 5th Line, Tottenham, ON.
MLS area - N19.

Price
$229,900.00.
To be honest I am not so familiar with Tottenham real estate prices but comparing them to Toronto prices those looe very very good. At the same time if you have to commute to your workplace to Toronto / Brampton / Concord / Richmond Hill then this location (I mean Tottenham) is the same as Newmarket (where the real estate prices are 50% higher) - the distance to Highway 400 is almost the same.

The original price was $250K, then $235K, now it is $230K and I guess it's not the limit. It looks if you come and bring $220 offer the owner will be glad to discuss it, and maybe give you a tip for a beer. :)

House Size
Approximately 1600 sq.ft. (160 sq.metres), plus finished basement.

House Age
Near 10-15 years old.
I'm always surprised why usually an agent doesn't know (doesn't tell?) exact size and age of the property.
Mistyfing those questions like I'm asking about some military secret...
Maybe they don't know really?

Property Type
Detached two-storey house in residential area.
There are central air conditioned and central vacuum in the house.

Lot size
30 x 105 feet (9 х 30 metres).
By the way it's not so huge lot even for GTA, not saying about such far-far-away areas like Tottenham.

Kitchen and Appliances
Clean and nice.
Absolutely good "my own home" environment, and to live here would bring no negative points.

Main Rooms
Dining room and living room have no visible separators and are practically the same big room.

There are hardwood floors everywhere and it looks very organic with even not the biggest footage.

Bedrooms
There are three bedrooms on the second floor.
Looks pretty standard by Canadian tendency.

Basement
Basement is finished and spacious but unfortunately a bit dark.
No windows however nothing that looks wet or smells bad.

Driveway
The house has an attached garage for one car,
two more cars can be placed on paved driveway.

Backyard
Backyard is not very big but cosy and pleasant to be at.
Wood deck.
The backyard is bordered by tall wood fence.
Faces not to a neighbor but to a children playground which is very nice as for me.
No direct access to the playground though.

Area
The area is very nice, and it's not a surprise - so far from Toronto so good :)
Very clean and quiet.

Schools
Are very close to us, maybe 5 or 10 minutes of walking.
The area looks very safe (to allow children to walk themselves) because even cars are moving not so often. Like in any village in middle of nowhere though :)

Parks
There are few children playgrounds withing a walking distance, and a big park in 10 minutes of driving (Tottenham Conservation Area).

Shopping
Two big grocery stores are located on opposite ends of the town so no risk to die because of lack of food. Also the near-placed plazas have many small convenience stores that carry all the stuff required for life :) including few family doctors (it's hard to find one in Toronto, but here the situation is much better).

Transportation
Someone said there was a bus that can take you and move somewhere closer to the civilization. But I'm afraid living without a car is impossible in Tottenham.

Property Tax
~$2050.00 for the year of 2007.

Pros
Relatively low price.
Very nice neighbourhood - everything is very quiet, clean and near-by.
Far from noisy Toronto, another style of life.
Main manufactoring plant of Honda Canada (in Alliston) is withing 10-20 minutes of driving (that's regarding a job).

Cons
Anyway the house could be a bit more spacious.
The nearest hospital is in Newmarket (more than 30 km).
There is no variety of schools and after-school programs comparing to Toronto and/or suburbs.

Resume
Everythign depends on where you live and what style of life you prefer.
I mean for this house the question is not "I like the house or not", but "I like Tottenham or not".
The house is nice for a family with up to 4 people.
The price is good and you won't find anything like that in Toronto or GTA.
So if you work from home, or need to commute to Barrie, Alliston, Orangeville or Newmarket - this town can be suitable for you.
You can reach Hwy9/Hwy400 intersection in 10-15 minutes, there are steps to north Toronto from there.
My opinion - 7 out of 10.

Technical details
Kitchen: 4.42 m x 3.05 m
Dining room: 7.17 m x 3.05 m
Living room: no data but it looks that the previous demensions (7.17 m x 3.05 m) are for both Dining & Living rooms together
Master bedroom: 3.75 m x 3.35 m
Bedroom 2: 3.35 m x 2.52 m
Bedroom 3: 3.11 m x 2.67 m
Game room in basement: 6.86 m x 4.12 m
Laundry room in basement: 4 m x 2 m

Detached House (bungalow) in Bradford ($310K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:04:00 +0000

Detached bungalow in Bradford.

Location
Address: 4322 Sixth Line, Bradford, Ontario
Main intersection - Hwy27 / Hwy88.
MLS area: N18.

Bradford - that's something north-west of Newmarket.

The town itself is a bit closer to Newmarket, but this particular house is located in so called rural area which is country life as I understand it.

No central sewer system,
the output goes to ceptic which has to be emptied and cleaned once per few years. I am personally a bit scared by these devices but it works somehow and most of the houses in rural areas use ceptics. Hmm.. ok...

But life in rural area definitely has some positive moments like having less noise, less neighbours and the distances are much longer.

Price
$309,900.00.
The price is not so high but it's hard to understand whether the reason is the location (middle of nowhere) or something wrong with the house itself.

Footage
At my opinion the house has 1000-1100 sq.ft (100-110 sq.metres), plus finished basement (almost the same size).

House Age
Approx. 30 years old, according to real estate agent.

Property type
Detached house, bungalow (one floor plus basement).
However I wouldn't expect anything else from an old house in rural area.
I think 30 years ago nobody tried to save few more sq.feet of land.

Lot size
100 x 200 feet (30 х 61 metres).

Kitchen and appliances
Nobody lives in the house now since the owner made full renovation and left so there are no major appliances, You'll have to bring your own ones.

Main Rooms
There is a dining room, not so big, near the kitchen. It faces to the big window so you can see your driveway and the entrance to your lot while eating/sitting. Very bright and beautiful so no doubts it's a pleasure to have a dinner there.
Nice and big family room.
Hardwood floors everywhere except bedrooms (carpet) and washrooms/kitchen (tiles).

Bedrooms
Bedrooms are tiny. One bedroom is pretty small, another one (master bedroom) is a bit bigger but anyway it's not so impressive.

But that may make sense: I never understood why the bedroom should be huge. I guess it's better to have more space for children to play instead of for adults to sleep.

One more small bedroom you can see in basement.
However it has no windows at all.
Very hard impression.
It looks like you can practice enforcing sleeping there as a punishment.

Basement
Basement is walk out (not an usual feature in houses for sale in Bradford and Toronto) so you can step out right to backyard.
The basement is bright and light enough.
The bedroom in basement looks not so perfect as for me (as already mentioned). You can however use it as a storage room.
There is a real wood fireplace, that's something I really liked.

Driveway
No driveway as we understand it.
Just not-paved piece of one-direction road coming directly to the house.
Logically there is a designated space for two-car garage right near the house so you can build it if you want. But the cars can be parked as it is now, without a roof.

Backyard
The backyard is nice.
Why I usually don't like rural area houses is their ceptic system, and why I like them is their backyards.
It is wide, deep, very close to nature and looks great.
The house located on a hill so backyard is a bit uneven. But that's not a negative point.
However the problem with the backyard is there is a major road (highway 27) visible from the backyard. Frankly speaking it breaks the feeling of seclusion and doesn't help meditation.

Area
Non-immigrant population, very nice and not depraved by big cities.
Nice people until you make them angry :)

Schools
Usually no schools withing walking distance in rural areas.
But schoolbus can take your children and then bring them back so it doesn't look as a problem.

Parks
The whole are is a big park.
You can live in the park - was it that you dreamed about?

Shopping
The nearest grocery store is in Bradford, approximately 10 minutes of driving.
If something minor required urgently feel free to go to the convenience store in 1 minute of driving.
Maybe not so convenient comparing to residential area but anyway...

Transportation
What transportation you guess can be an option is rural areas?
Your own truck is the best variant I think.

Property tax
~$3000.00 for the year of 2007.

Pros
Relatively low price.
Far away from big (and even small) cities.
No much neighbours in the neighbourhood.
Large backyard.
Walkout basement.
Recently completed renovation.

Cons
Far away from big (and even small) cities (you are right, that's in both lists - everything depends on your mood).
However it's a bit noisy from highway 27 that laid near by.
The house is not new.
No central sewer system.
Oil heating.

Resume
You can expect silence and quietness from a rural area house.
But it's a bit noisy, plus all the problems of rural areas.
Besides, there is a steep hill road between highway 27 and the house so I'm not sure you'll be able to drive uphill on your Civic in winter time after snowfall.
The rest is ok.
My mark: 5 out of 10.

Technical details
Kitchen: 6.90 m x 2.75 m
Dining room: 3.96 m x 2.70 m
Living room: 5.73 m x 4.90 m
Master bedroom: 4.30 m x 3.47 m
Bedroom 2: 3.53 m x 2.75
Kitchen in basement: 2.70 m x 2.62 m
Bedroom in basement: 3.53 m x 3.05 m
Family room in basement: 5.40 m x 4.17 m
Game room in basement: 5.70 m x 4.26 m

House for sale in Mississauga ($350K)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:05:00 +0000

For the first review we have chosen a semidetached house in Mississauga, Ontario.

Location
Address: 422 Ginger Downs, Mississauga, Ontario
Main intersection: Cawthra/Dundas.
MLS region: W15.

Price
$349,900.00, this is already reduced price.
A month ago this house has been listed for the price of $364,900.00, so now we can see a tendency to slow moving down, i.e. negotiating is a must here - I'm sure it's not the last price.

Property size
Approximately 1600-1700 sq.ft. including finished basement

House Age
No data but I suppose may be near 20-25 years.

Property type
Semidetached house, so there are some neighbours behind the wall.
The selling agent is sure it is not a problem since the neighbiurs are quiet and the wall is isolated enough.
Maybe that's true.
At least for a half an hour spent in the house we didn't hear any noise at all.

It is a backsplit, i.e. entering the house we see a kitchen and living/dining rooms and then can go either upstairs for a half of a floor, to washroom and bedrooms, or downstairs (to the same a half of a floor) visitng basement.

Lot size
31 x 242 feet (9.5 х 74 metres).

Kitchen and appliances
Electrical stove looks pretty new. The fridge and dishwasher unfortunately not that much. If you decide to buy this house then maybe it makes sense to think about purchasing some new appliances as well. Of course it depends though :) The old ones are working so maybe it's not the number one purchase in your priority.
There is a CAC (central air conditioner) in the house.

Main rooms
Practically speaking, the main room is the only one, but logically it is divided to dining room and living room. There are a table, sofa and TV set in the rooms.

Hardwood floor and tiles everywhere, looks good enough.

There is a dog living in the house now.

Bedrooms
There are 3 bedrooms at the 1.5th floor.
To be honest, the bedrooms are not huge by size.
Dark colors of painting didn't make me much enthusiastic, but maybe you'l like it. Anyway it's not a big deal to repaint them into ~~black~~ more light and eyes-friendly colors.

Basement

The basement is finished,
there are washroom and shower (a cheap one from Home Depot but that's definitely better than nothing) in the basement.

The basement smells like someone's smoking there time by time.
All the rest is clean.
The agent says the smell can be removed by cleaning the ventilation pipes. I'm not sure about that but maybe she's right.

Driveway
The driveway is big and can accomodate up to 4 vehicles.
Besides, there is a gate that can be opened so two more cars can move into paved place almost at the backyard.

Backyard
The backyard is great.
Really, it is the most attractive part of the property.
It is wide and deep, and is definitely a nice place to play and take a rest.
There are an inflated pool (big enough for the whole family, or children party), also plastic garden house, swings, some bushes and trees.

Area
The area is good.
Not the best probably but not so bad.
My concerns were 2 rental buildings in 5 minutes of walking but overall the area is average, with its pros and cons.
No specific nationality/foreign language dominated.
Livable.

Schools
A secondary school in 5 minutes of walking.

Parks
5-10 minutes of walking can bring you into one of two big parks - CedarBrae Park and McKenzie Park. In 15-20 minutes of driving you can find more seriuos parks. So we can talk about family neighbourhood where you can walk with children or pets.

Shopping
No information, sorry...

Transport/commuting
GO station Cooksville (buses and trains to Toronto downtown) is located in 10 minutes of driving (20-30 minutes of walking).

Property Tax
~$3000.00 for year of 2007.

Pros
Super backyard
Family neighbourhood
Quiet street

Cons
The major concern for me was a railway right near the backyard. And it is railway for GO Trains which are passing nearby quite often in morning and evening hours. Let's say for the half an hour spent there we noticed two trains come through. They are a bit noisy and annoying. And 6am train may be surprise for someone :)

Also I would add the house age to Cons list. I cannot say it is very old house but it is definitely not new.
Also the house size.
Honestly it is not a big house. I would rather say - a small house...

Resume
For a not so big family (up to 3-4 people) that could be a good choice.
Feeling about area are good.
And the overall opinion is positive.
If you can live with a railway on your backyard.
My rate: 6 out of 10.

Not so interesting technical details
Kitchen: 3.66 m x 3.01 m
Living room: 2.68 m x 3.17 m
Dining room: 3.05 m x 4.23 m
Master bedroom: 3.36 m x 3.01 m
Bedroom 2: 2.74 m x 3.05 m
Bedroom 3: 2.60 m x 3.93 m
Basement: 6.09 m x 3.66 m
Bedroom in the basement: 2.90 m x 2.50 m

What is this and what is it for

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:03:00 +0000

I am Alex Blinoff, a real estate agent located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
And what do you think I should tell you about? :)

You are right,
I can tell you about real estate market here in Toronto.
What's for sale, what are the reasons to buy, or, if you are a house owner, what could be the reasons to sell (and buy something else of course).

Here I plan to provide reviews of houses which are listed "for sale" now.
I realize it's impossible to visit all the houses and make your own opinion about them. So you can read my notes and see my opinion about the house, the area and the neighbourhood. I believe that could help you to learn more about different variants of properties listed for sale, and make your own choice - what makes sense to visit and take a look yourself.

If you have any question I would be glad to answer.
Also maybe I didn't observe some area that looks interesting to you - so just let me know and I will do that.

See you, and I look forward for your feedback!

Hi there

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:48:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to my new blog!

My name is Alex, and I'm opening a new blog.
Home buyer blog.

All of us sometimes are home buyers.
How to choose a house, what are important moments in process of purchasing, where to live and other questions will be (I guess) discussed here.

I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
So my area of interests is GTA (Greater Toronto Area) - not just city of Toronto but also Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket, Markham, Pickering, Ajax, Oshawa. Long list, right? he-he... We'll see how it's going...

Stay tuned... as usually. :) But if not interested feel free to find another way to entertain...

Let's get started.