The Thurston Olsen Real Estate Team has been presented with the RE/MAX Platinum Club award for the third year in a row. We’re thrilled to receive this award and want to say THANK YOU to all of our clients who continue to put their trust in us and pass along our name to their friends and family. Cheers!
7 Juniper Avenue in The Beach sold over asking in 5 short days! Congratulations to our wonderful sellers and the new owners who will surely love this classic home for years to come.
The spacious foyer features a grand staircase and French doors opening into the beautifully appointed living room. Substantial wood trims and impressive engineered hardwood floors flow throughout the entire main floor. With abundant natural light, the south facing formal dining room is enhanced by traditional pocket doors. For easy entertaining in all seasons, it also includes a pass through to the recently renovated and very stylish eat-in kitchen and a walkout to the deck and lushly planted back garden.
The upper level of the home features 3 nicely appointed and spacious bedrooms all with large windows, closets and new broadloom. With a beautiful bay window and built-ins in the closet, the master is very comfortable. The washroom on this level has been recently updated featuring neutral décor, new flooring and a charming clawfoot tub. Perfect for a relaxing soak at the end of a busy day.
The lower level includes an impressive rec room with pot lights and trendy polished concrete floors. Ideal space for movie time, child play or some quiet time with a good book. For added convenience, this level also features a 3-piece bathroom and separate laundry area.
Juniper Avenue is a quiet street tucked away in the Beach neighbourhood. It’s a very short distance to the recreational delights of the area including the boardwalk, beach, bicycle path, tennis courts, abundant parks and ravines! It’s also a short walk to the cafés, restaurants and shops on both Queen Street and Kingston Road.
Located in the catchment area for the highly regarded Malvern Collegiate, Williamson Road Junior Public School and Glen Ames Senior Public School, it offers many academic options. It’s also an easy commute to the downtown core by either public transit or vehicle.
more photos: 7 Juniper Ave
You’ve chosen your moving company and booked the movers, but there’s one thing that still needs to be done before the big day: packing up your belongings. Before you get too excited and begin stuffing your boxes with all your stuff, make sure that you’re setting yourself up for a smooth and efficient move. Mindless packing can end up taking a lot of otherwise unnecessary time and energy to fix—a combination that could cost you, as you’re most likely paying for the movers by the hour. “Sometimes people will complain and not tip the guys because it took so long,” says Cezar Iordan, owner of Moovers Chicago, “They don’t realize that it took so long because of the simple mistakes they made.”
So what are these mistakes? Here, Iordan reveals the three most-common packing blunders he sees, as well as the quick fixes to make your moving day as painless as possible.
Why it’s a problem: We understand—you want to keep your beloved book collection in just one or two boxes. But Iordan says that this strategy slows the process down as huge, heavy boxes are incredibly difficult for movers to lift and carry—not even their trusty moving straps make it easier.
What’s more, Iordan says people often don’t tape these hefty boxes properly—they’ll usually put only one line of tape on the bottom of the box. “They have 100-pound boxes they want us to move and have them in perfect shape when they’re dropped off,” he says. “When you have a huge, large box full of books, the bottom of it will collapse and everything will fall out.”
The fix: Pack books in small boxes and reinforce with multiple strips of tape. While you may have more boxes, it’s easier for the movers, who can carry several smaller boxes with their moving straps.
Why it’s a problem: Reusing those old boxes from your last move? That’s fine, but make sure that any and all labels from previous moves be removed or covered—multiple labels make it difficult to know exactly in which room it should be placed. “Imagine you’re holding the box and asking a client where they want the box to go, but they don’t know what’s inside so they have to open it up and see what’s inside,” he says. “It will drag the duration of the move out.”
The fix: Cover or cross out all previous labels and put one very clear label on the side of the box, not the top. “Since we use dollies or straps, we carry four or five boxes at a time which makes it impossible to see the top of every box,” Iordan says.
Why it’s a problem: “People will put all of their fragile items in a box without any kind of bubble wrap, paper, or peanuts, and expect the items to be in perfect condition after the move,” Ioran says. “That’s just impossible.” The good news? Many professional moving companies (like Moovers) will refuse to move the precious cargo until it’s properly wrapped (but this adds a lot of time onto the actual move).
The fix: Wrap your fragile items with care while packing. “Always, always, always wrap anything made of glass in bubble wrap to ensure that nothing gets damaged,” he says. You’ll thank yourself for putting in the extra time when moving day comes, and the movers will thank you, too.
source: apartment therapy
51 Cranberry Lane is located within the prestigious Highland Gate development in Aurora on a premium lot with 65′ frontage. Congratulations to our buyer clients on the purchase of their new home overlooking the park! The south facing backyard oasis offers ultimate privacy with a stunning Gunite pool by Todd Pools and hot tub with waterfall surrounded by a stone deck and patio. The basement retreat features custom oak wainscotting, a wet bar, fireplace (1 of 3!) and unique lighting. Overall, a beautiful home loaded with charm and character, they’re sure to love it for years.
With rent continuing to rise in Toronto, it’s never been a better time to fill that basement apartment. For those of us who don’t have separate units, there is still opportunity to make a little extra cash by renting out your place while you’re away, or even a spare room or couch through Airbnb. Here’s 7 tips that no one ever tells you about being an Airbnb host from Apartment Therapy:
This means clearing out all of the personal items and then some, says Mariana Leung-Weinstein, who has been hosting guests for over a year at Wicked Finch Farm, a property she and her husband inherited in Pawling, New York.
“Most people think they can just open up any home and make it into a rental, but it took more time than I ever imagined,” she says. “You want it to have some personality but not enough to be off-putting or for guests to feel like they are crashing at a stranger’s home.”
For Leung-Weinstein, this meant sweeping the house for anything that could be deemed “creepy.” “Weirdly, that meant surveying any decor items, figurines, or artwork that looked like they had big eyes or strange faces,” she says. “This was one thing I never anticipated.”
This includes scheduling, check-in logistics, shopping for the best homeowners insurance, and organizing your taxes, says Lindsey Smith, who has been a host at this Pittsburgh property since 2014.
“A lot of people don’t want to talk about money when it comes to hosting, but it’s super important,” she says. “It’s pretty frustrating when other hosts drop their prices super-low to be competitive or when people try to haggle a price.”
Prices can—and should fluctuate—but Smith says that many times, it feels like the market devalues how much time and money it costs to operate an Airbnb.
“This still surprises me,” Smith says of the sheets, lamps, and games that have disappeared from her Airbnb over the years. “I usually assume it’s because an accident happened and the person is afraid to say anything, but honestly, I’d rather know than to find out later that an item is gone.”
It’s not always intentional. “Forks and spoons disappear the most probably because people take them for snacks,” says Felipe Cabrera, who manages seven properties on Airbnb (four in Peru and three in San Francisco).
This ends up meaning that Cabrera buys a new set of six forks and spoons every three to four months per apartment. But sometimes it’s not just the cheap stuff that get taken: “We also had a nice set of steak knives disappear and learned our lesson not to provide anything fancy in that category,” he says.
Cabrera provides three large towels and three small towels per registered guest.
“This prevents us from getting requests for more towels,” he says. “We use nice cushy towels, the ones that make you feel good in the morning.”
Still, those get worn out very fast since they have to be washed after every guest. Since there are many days when guests check out at 11 a.m. and new guests arrive at 3 p.m., that leaves no time for laundry, so Cabrera needs more available as back-up. On average, Cabrera says he buys three new towels every month for his bigger property (which sleeps eight) and three new towels every two to three months for the small apartments.
“This is the only way we can manage this at scale,” he says.
If you’re planning on opening a family-friendly Airbnb property, take note of Karen Akpan’s experiences when she rents out her L.A. home.
“We have a big home and our goal is to accommodate families,” says Akpan, who blogs at The Mom Trotter. “This means lots of kids and me constantly painting the walls, especially due to the lingering fingerprints!”
Determining the right amount of toiletries to offer guests has been something of an experiment, says Leung-Weinstein.
“I want to make sure that guests have enough amenities to enjoy throughout their stay, but not leave the bulk of supplies for guests to raid and take home,” she says. “In addition to items like shampoo, conditioner and soap, I like to also supply sheet masks and makeup remover as lots of girlfriend getaways get booked at our property. It has been interesting trying to figure out how many items to offer.”
Cabrera says he used to have guests using his properties for parties at least once a month—until one very bad guest experience.
“We weren’t around to check on the place and it turned out that this person hosted a birthday party with 50-plus people at our house, much to the chagrin of our neighbors,” he says. “They tried to clean up afterwards but still left the biggest mess we’ve ever seen. Their guests went into private areas of the house, snooped around in our garage and stole a few expensive bottles of alcohol from the cellar.”
Because of this, he had to update his house rules and welcome messages to make it very clear that parties and larger gatherings aren’t permitted.
Still thinking about jumping in? If you live in a condo, be sure to check out the rules and regulations on short term rentals. Owning a freehold property will provide you with more flexibility, but do you due diligence to ensure you’re thoroughly covered and know what you’re getting into.
It was only two summers ago that Toronto’s long-abandoned R.L. Hearn Generating Station burst back into life for the 10th anniversary of Luminato.
Thousands flocked to the decommissioned power plant, which was shut down in 1983, for 10 days of wild art installations and performances in a specially built 1,200-seat shipping container theatre.
Those lucky enough to score tickets got to dine in the generator’s old control room, which had been transformed into one of the coolest French restaurants Toronto had ever seen for the occasion.
Simply stepping into the massive, hollowed out heritage building — an iconic fixture along the skyline Toronto’s eastern waterfront — was enough to thrill most people, and for good reason.
The Hearn is spectacular, inside and out, and many in the city had hoped to see more huge-scale, public events staged there (you know, after the building was brought up to meet the safety standards of Toronto Fire Services).
No dice.
The provincially-owned Ontario Power Generation (OPG) announced this week that has sold sold the entire site, which produced electricity from 1951 to 1983, to Studios of America Corporation for $16 million.
Studios of America, which had been leasing the property from OPG since 2002, maintains the Unwin Avenue property as an “enclosed feature film and TV production complex.”
Mayor John Tory and Toronto city councillor Paula Fletcher both told The Star on Thursday that they were not consulted on the sale, or even aware that it was happening.
“This is a sad day for the waterfront,” said Fletcher, who had hoped to redevelop the site for public use.
“This is an iconic landmark building that should remain in public hands and be part of our new waterfront, and, instead, it has been sold for a song.”
So why the fire-sale price?
If you ask OPG, it’s at least in part due to the former coal-burning site’s status as a heavily contaminated industrial brownfield (though other, more nefarious theories are floating about).
OPG pokesperson Neal Kelly told the star that conditions of the sale included Studios of America not being able put residential or other “sensitive uses” on the site within 15 years. The company is also forbidden from reselling the Hearn within three years.
Disappointed as the city may be, its possible that Studios of America will still rent the space out for special occasions.
“The studio lot is located on a strategic 27.6-acre parcel of Toronto waterfront land with direct multi-modal road, rail and water access,” reads President Paul Vaughan’s Linkedin profile in a description of the company.
“Accommodations originally intended for film production have become popular for staging indoor and outdoor special events.”
Source: BlogTO
Lead Photo: Hector Vasquez
Additional Photos: Ford Thurston
One of the simplest, most cost-effective improvements of all is paint! Freshly painted rooms look clean and updated. When selecting paint colours, keep in mind that light neutrals appeal to the greatest number of people, therefore making your home more desirable. On average, a gallon of paint costs around $25, leaving you plenty of money to buy rollers, painter’s tape, drop cloths and brushes. So buy a few gallons and get rollin’!
The power of curb appeal is real. Keep your lawn looking good with regular mowing and clean-cut edging. Low-maintenance landscaping saves you money now and adds value when you sell. It’s no question that shrubs and colourful plants will add curb appeal to any home, but when shopping at your local garden center, make sure that you “think green.” Purchase plants that are native to our region or plants that are drought-tolerant; these require less water and maintenance, which means more savings to you and more green in your wallet.
Kitchen and washroom renovations can easily cost thousands, so focus on the smaller, more manageable projects. Consider painting your old cabinetry to instantly brighten the space. Replacing the hardware will also make your cabinets look newer and more modern. The backsplash is another design feature that resonates with buyers. When choosing tile, stick with neutral tones and an unfussy design — white subway tile is classic for a reason.
Nothing kills a mood faster than bad lighting, and if you want to show your home in the best light you will have to do exactly that! A quick and affordable fix is to install light-control dimmers on switches. Not only does this add drama and ambiance in areas such as the dining room and bedrooms, it is also good for energy efficiency. Lighting is particularly important in the bathroom, where it should be warm and bright. Keep lighting even around mirrors to prevent unwanted shadows when you are shaving or applying makeup.
It seems obvious, but one of the most important things you can do to boost the value of your home is to clean it up. Remember that potential buyers want to see a blank canvas and picture themselves in it. Do a hardcore decluttering session and divide everything you truly don’t need or use into “donate,” “toss” and “sell” piles. With your “sell” items, throw a yard sale or post items on Kijiji to make some extra cash to fund your home improvement projects.
Not everyone has the foresight to start saving for a down payment from the time you’re handed your very first pay cheque. Nor does everyone have parents who are able to, or willing to help out with the lofty sum required to purchase your first home in Toronto. This is when co-ownership in Toronto starts to look like a great idea – and it can be! If you’re thinking about buying a home, have a look at our home buying guidelines. Here’s what The Globe and Mail has to say about two friends who purchased a home together in Niagara Falls:
But they aren’t quite roommates: Ms. Beattie is co-owning the home with a long-time friend and renting out their basement. Thanks to the living situation, she ends up paying $500 a month and gets much more space than her one-bedroom apartment in Toronto, which cost five times as much.
Co-owning is an idea that is starting to catch on as housing prices get further out of reach for new home buyers. Real estate agents and mortgage lenders say they’re seeing more people interested in the idea of splitting a mortgage among two or more people – but they do say that the living arrangement doesn’t work for everybody.
For Ms. Beattie, 34, and co-owner Dawn Vanier, 35, the idea came up while the two were thinking of the best way to buy a home in Niagara Falls, which is itself having a price uptick.
“What you can afford on your own is not a lot,” said Ms. Beattie, who added that Ms. Vanier was looking at moving from a massive 3,500-square-foot house down to a little townhome after a recent separation from her partner.
“We were talking about it over wine one night, and I said ‘what if we bought something together?’”
Today, the two have their own separate mortgages on the house, meaning that if one decides to sell, they can do so without financially penalizing the other. They live almost exactly like roommates, except that the house is large enough that the two always have their own space when they need it.
“We are roommates – when I refer to her, I say ‘oh my roommate said this or my roommate does that,’” Ms. Beattie said. “All it is, is you have to have much more serious conversations at times.”
Those serious conversations that helped develop their current living situation were aided by the fact that there were already mortgage sellers with experience in co-owning around them.
Meridian Credit Union Ltd., a financial organization that operates in Ontario, even has a mortgage option specifically tailored to co-owning. The company always offered creative mortgages, but they only started branding it as a co-owning mortgage in 2017 when they started seeing increased demand for it.
Jason Davenport, a branch manager at Meridian’s Greektown location in Toronto, said hardly a month goes by where he’s not organizing some sort of creative mortgage for clients. The unique living situations go on and on: two four-person families living together, parents helping their son or daughter buy a home, or just two friends going in on a house together. Sometimes the co-owners split a mortgage evenly, while other times co-owners allocate a part of the house to each owner and set the value of each section.
“This kind of living situation is not uncommon at all now,” said Mr. Davenport, who added that some clients have even asked if more than four people can split a home.
“Ultimately, in a high housing economy, we have to be creative to get access to these spaces.”
He’s been setting up co-owning mortgages for three years, and hasn’t seen any go sour yet. But he does say that a good co-owning situation needs to be preceded by probing conversations that can sometimes be uncomfortable.
“When you put it out, you say ‘this is going to be an awkward conversation for a second,’” said Mr. Davenport, who adds that co-owners need to share a lot: their personal financial information, their thoughts on the value of each part of the home, their plans for the future and what will happen when one person decides to sell.
“For a lack of a better term, it’s a prenuptial on what’s going to happen.”
That’s what Lesli Gaynor, a real estate agent who specifically caters to co-owners, says.
“The one thing that’s true for anything shared is a notion of being able to be a little more fluid and little more flexible,” said Ms. Gaynor, who has co-owned a home with a friend in the past.
“You have to be able to say, ‘we’ve got a difficult conversation to have, but we’re invested in having it.’”
The payoff is immense when people find the right fit and have those fundamental conversations, she says. She’s seen seniors who are able to share a caregiver and have a better quality of life with more people around. She’s also helped two single mothers who were able to split daily errands such as picking up the kids from school.
Today, she runs a series of “speed-dating” co-owning events in Toronto where people come out and meet others who are looking for a similar shared living situation. It’s more of a lighthearted exercise aimed at helping people realize their own expectations in a co-owning situation, and Ms. Gaynor says more than 50 people showed up to the first event.
Ms. Gaynor says she’s seen a noticeable increase in interest to co-own, and adds that more people are coming to her with realistic plans in place.
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With the money saved by living in Niagara, Ms. Beattie and Ms. Vanier were able to renovate their home and reap the benefits of a large house. GLENN LOWSON/GLOBE AND MAILBack in Niagara Falls though, Ms Beattie and Ms. Vanier are the only co-owners that they know of. It wasn’t until their story about co-owning was published in a local newspaper that people in their neighbourhood warmed up to them.
“People thought we were real strange when we told them what we were going to do,” Ms. Beattie says with a laugh.
“The neighbours when we moved in – you know two women, a third in the basement … they probably were like, what is going on here,” said Ms. Beattie, who said that the article helped clear things up.
“They’ve all come up to us after the article and said, ‘oh! So this is the situation.’”
There were some sacrifices that Ms. Beattie had to make as well. The hardest part is that she still works in Toronto a couple days a week, and the commute is not the greatest. But over all, the money saved means that they were able to renovate their home and reap the benefits of a large beautiful house. And because their monthly mortgage payment is so low, they’re able to enjoy everything about living in the Niagara region.
“We both drive around in Mercedes’, we go to wineries every weekend, we go out, it’s a nice life,” Ms. Beattie said.
“It’s kind of laughable that people want to interview me about something so simple. It works for us – it might not work for everyone, but I think you’ll see more of it in the future.”
source: globe and mail
What a beaut! This awesome 2 level loft in 150 East Liberty Street – Liberty Place has sold. Congratulations to our wonderful client and the buyer who will surely love this loft for years to come!
This two level condo is truly special with ample space for entertaining. The main level features a large front foyer, a beautiful kitchen with modern cabinetry, stainless steel appliances and a breakfast bar. The open concept living and dining area is spacious and filled with natural light. This space features a walk-out to the large south facing balcony where you can enjoy views of the lake and Liberty Village. There is also a powder room conveniently located on this level.
The den leads into the spacious master bedroom which offers the same south facing views as the main floor. This level includes large closets and a wonderful master ensuite, plus the convenience of a laundry closet with a stacked washer and dryer.
The Village offers many great shops, restaurants, patios and bars all within walking distance. Underground parking is also included. This location allows for a quick drive to the financial district, the waterfront or to the Gardiner Expressway if you’re headed out of town for the weekend. Liberty Village is just minutes away from Toronto’s Entertainment District and world-class sporting venues such as Scotiabank Arena (formerly Air Canada Centre), BMO Field and Rogers Centre.
The amenities include a party room, fitness faciities and guest suites. Floor by floor, Liberty Place offers more with their lifestyle amenities. Two floors, dedicated to everything from working out to a detoxing steam, partying to escaping in a new book or surfing the net. The spaces are well-designed with comfort, convenience and your lifestyle in mind.
1101 Woodbine Avenue sold in less than one week in multiple offers after a busy weekend of open houses.
Congratulations to our client on the sale of 1101 Woodbine Avenue! This 2 storey semi detached home is perfect for entertaining with a separate dining room, large kitchen with breakfast nook, and a spacious back yard deck. The new owners will surely enjoy the remainder of the summer under the shade of the mature trees.
The dining room is bright and spacious with lovely engineered hardwood and a large window overlooking the enclosed front porch. The living room features the same engineered hardwood flooring, pot lights and a window overlooking the back deck. The modern kitchen includes stainless steel appliances, ample storage and counter space, California shutters and a large breakfast area which walks out to the spacious back deck.
The second floor features a large master bedroom with engineered hardwood flooring, plenty of closet space and a separate sitting area. The second bedroom on this level is also generous in size with a closet and a window overlooking the back garden. The 4 piece washroom on this level includes classic subway tiles and a charming claw foot tub.
The finished lower level is an added bonus with a spacious room which can be used as either a bedroom or a rec room depending on your needs. There is also another 3 piece washroom on this level with the added convenience of laundry.
1101 Woodbine Avenue is ideally located just minutes from the subway line for an easy commute as well as so many fantastic shops and restaurants along the Danforth.