31 07, 2017

JUST SOLD! 88 Colgate Ave #424 – Leslieville


Stunning 1 bedroom plus den condo in the heart of Leslieville! Open concept floor plan with a modern designer kitchen, floor to ceiling windows and an incredible spacious balcony overlooking the tree tops. Parking and locker!

31 07, 2017

JUST SOLD! 58 Myrtle Avenue – Leslieville


Wonderful detached family home situated in Leslieville! Renovated throughout with attention to detail. 2 spacious bedrooms and a finished basement with a walk out to the fully fenced in yard. Parking included!

31 07, 2017

SOLD OVER ASKING! 201 Carlaw Ave, Loft 129 – Leslieville


This stunning 2-level loft is located in the original section of the building revealing soaring ceilings and exposed brick with plenty of character. Located on Carlaw just north of Queen St. E, the location is what we consider the heart of Leslieville.

1120 square feet of interior living space provides ample room to enjoy. Open concept living, dining, and kitchen feature light laminate wood flooring throughout. Stainless Steel appliances, beautiful granite counter tops and a handy kitchen island to provide the perfect setting for your cooking creations.

The upper level boasts an impressive bedroom with plenty of natural light, exposed brick walls, 12 foot ceilings, and a triple wide closet for plenty of storage. This level also features a beautifully appointed 4 piece bathroom with modern tiles accented with granite counter tops and a large den area that has potential to be converted to a 2nd bedroom if desired.

2 separate entrances provide easy access to the street level for everything Leslieville has to offer or to the parking area, perfect for carrying in your groceries from the car!

Just move in and enjoy this spectacular home!

31 07, 2017

SOLD OVER ASKING! 233 Carlaw Ave, Penthouse Loft 815 – Leslieville


Welcome to Penthouse 815 in the renowned Garment Factory Lofts!

The interior features trendy style at every turn with a wonderful openness and abundant natural light. The interior and exterior flow is seamless so it is truly an amazing space morning, noon and night.

Recent interior updates give this loft a nice edge while keeping it very comfortable.

The open concept floor plan is perfect for entertaining with enough space for separate living and dining areas and space for a home office if desired.

The loft features engineered hardwood floors throughout, soaring 10’6” ceilings, exposed ductwork and custom industrial style light fixtures. The kitchen includes granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a large centre island as well as a modern subway tile backsplash.

The bedroom is a fantastic space to wake up in as the morning sun fills the entire space. There is a large double closet with built ins for added storage and a sliding glass door. The spa like bathroom features a new wall mounted vanity and impressive slate tiles.

The balcony accommodates comfy seating. Perfect for reading a good book and plenty of space for enjoying a barbeque in any season.

The unobstructed expansive lake views are enhanced by a blanket of lush green trees in the summer months and a coat of glistening snow covered roof tops in the winter.

Move in and enjoy this wonderful space!

8 01, 2017

How laneway houses could help solve Toronto’s real-estate woes


The GTA housing market has been operating within a policy of intensification for more than a decade now. This has caused a shift away from ground-oriented homes and moved the market toward higher-density housing, such as condominiums.

Our real-estate market has seen consistent increases in the cost of housing, with the average price of a detached home in Toronto increasing by over 32 per cent this past November from the same month last year, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.

While those who prefer urban living have embraced higher-density housing, folks looking for traditional ground-oriented housing must move farther and farther away from the city to find it.

So what if there was a way to introduce new ground-oriented housing in the heart of Toronto that could accommodate up to 100,000 people, and the solution was literally in our backyard all along? That is, if your backyard is along a laneway.

Laneway housing is an innovative concept first introduced in Toronto back in 2006. And while it ultimately went nowhere here, it did inspire Vancouver, Ottawa and other cities to introduce policies that embraced it.

The original concept a decade ago contemplated a separate dwelling being legally severed and requiring new municipal services, resulting in the digging up of laneways.

The new groundswell of interest in laneway housing (call it laneway housing 2.0) is focused on taking a different approach, where the new structures will be treated as secondary dwellings on the existing property.

That means the garage at the rear of the property could be rebuilt by the owner to include a secondary dwelling unit, potentially serviced through the existing municipal connections, limiting neighbourhood disruption and creating new appropriately sized, ground-oriented housing units that could range in size from 700 to 1,500 square feet.

This could represent one of the most innovative solutions to a wide range of the city‘s housing needs, including multi-generational households where the owner can provide accommodation for parents or children or introduce much needed rental housing stock and help generate new income from their property. And it would be creating new ground-oriented housing in areas close to transit and existing community amenities, with minimal neighbourhood disruption.

There is no silver bullet solution to solve all of our housing challenges in the GTA, but with approximately 300 kilometres of laneways in the City of Toronto, laneway housing could be a good start.

But this innovation will require that everyone works together: citizens, government and industry. And community consultations are underway. If you’re interested, you can participate by going online to: lanescape.ca/survey to learn more about the initiative and provide your input.

Remember: The best way to predict the future is to help create it.

SOURCE: THE TORONTO STAR

14 11, 2016

First-time home buyers to get $4,000 land transfer rebate

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Finance Minister Charles Sousa is giving first-time home buyers a $4,000 land transfer tax rebate.

Sousa used Monday’s fall economic statement to announce the tax break for eligible purchasers is being doubled from $2,000.

“Purchasing your very first home is one of the most exciting decisions in a young person’s life, but many are worried about how they will be able to afford their first condo or house,” the treasurer told the Legislature.

The change, which takes effect on Jan. 1, means first-time buyers will not pay land transfer tax on the first $386,000 of the cost of their homes.

“For many this will mean no land transfer tax on the purchase for their first home,” said Sousa.

“The housing market is an important source of economic growth and employment in Ontario and improving housing affordability will help more Ontarians participate,” he said.

Under the land transfer tax break, more than half of first-time home buyers won’t have to pay land transfer tax at all — although those in Toronto will still face the city’s levy implemented in 2008.

Renters are also getting a break, as the government freezes the property tax on apartment buildings — which are taxed at more than double the rate of other residential properties and condos, for example — while it reviews how the “high property tax burden” impacts the affordability of rentals.

To fund the breaks, the government will increase land transfer rates on houses that cost more than $2 million.

For every dollar over and above that, the rate will rise from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

But the tax on the portion of the purchase price between $400,000 and $2 million will remain at 2 per cent.

The rate between $250,000 and $400,000 stay at 1.5 per cent and between $55,000 and $250,000 at 1 per cent.

And the first $55,000 of a purchase price will remain at 0.5 per cent land transfer tax.

Those changes only affect properties with one or two single-family residences.

For other types of properties, such as apartment buildings, the only increase will be on the portion over and above $400,000, which will jump from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent.

Despite a controversial accounting change from Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk, Sousa said the Liberals would balance the books in 2017-18 as he has promised.

The deficit for 2016-17 will remain at $4.3 billion as he had projected in the February budget.

That figure would have been lower but for Lysyk surprising the Liberals last month by announcing two government-sponsored public pension funds should no longer be booked as assets — even though they had been since 2001.

The actuarial adjustment — which is now being reviewed by an independent expert panel — wiped $10.7 billion from the assets column and is the equivalent of a $1.5 billion hit on next year’s budget.

“We will balance the budget in 2017-18 and remain balanced in 2018-19 as scheduled. It’s not going to be easy, but … we will make the right choices to bring Ontario to balance,” said Sousa.

Lysyk said she amended her interpretation after examining the province’s claim to the co-sponsored Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union Pension Plan and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

In other measures — most previously announced — Sousa reminded Ontarians the government will waive the 8 per cent provincial share of the harmonized sales tax in electricity bills starting in January and bring in savings up of up $540 a year on hydro for some rural Ontario residents.

The first of 100,000 promised new child care spaces by 2022 will come this school year, with 3,400 spots at a cost of $65.5 million, while the more than 100 hospitals across the province will share an additional $140 million in base funding.

Schools will get another $1.1 billion over two years to help address a backlog of much-needed repairs and upgrades, with another $60 million going toward an effort aimed at boosting math skills in elementary school pupils by giving them one hour of math instruction daily from Grades 1 through 8.

In terms of consumer protection, the government plans to ban door-to-door sales of water heaters, air conditioners, furnaces and water filters and will pass legislation to licence and set qualifications for home inspectors.

As well, fees for special occasion permits allowing the serving of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages at weddings and other events will be cancelled.
SOURCE: THE TORONTO STAR

9 02, 2016

Getting Ready To Sell This Spring? Here Are Some Household Cleaning Tips!

cleaning
1. To clean bathroom tiles and grout naturally, try a solution of 1/2 cup of baking soda in 2 gallons (approx. 8 litres) of warm water. Apply with a clean rag or soft toothbrush.
2. To scrub out or blot a stain on a cushion with a slip-cover, put a sheet of plastic between the cushion and the fabric, to prevent the stain from becoming absorbed by the cushion.
3. Most shower curtains are machine washable. Wash yours with some water, detergent and a bit of bleach (for disinfecting), plus add a few towels for abrasion.
4. To clean your dishwasher, consult your dishwasher manual for cleaning instructions, as the methodology may differ based on the interior finish of your machine. Most recommend running the machine with either vinegar, a light bleach-in-water solution, or a brand-name cleaner recommended by the manufacturer.

3 02, 2016

Toronto’s east end has the hottest real estate in the city

Homes north of Danforth Ave. and east of the Don has the shortest sale times in Toronto, according to TREB data.

By: Robin Levinson King Staff Reporter, Published on Wed Feb 03 2016

The trendiest neighbourhoods in Toronto aren’t in the trendy west end, but the east.
Homes north of Danforth Ave. and east of the Don River are selling fast, according to data provided by the Toronto Real Estate Board. The area, which encompasses posh Playter Estates to the west and rough-around-the edges Woodbine-Lumsden further east, boasts the shortest sale times in the city, with homes averaging a mere 12 days on the market compared to a city-wide average of 21 days.

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To the south, Leslieville, Riverside and Riverdale came a close second, with homes averaging 13 days on the market.
Over the past decade, sale times across the city have been declining despite soaring home prices.

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The median price of a Toronto home — stand-alone houses and condos combined — was $643,145 in 2015, compared to about $341,450 in 2005.
Yet in 2015, homes typically spent 21 days on the market, down 10 days from 2005 when they took a full month to sell. It’s a trend that has touched almost every corner of the city. The only areas that did not see a decrease in sale time were neighbourhoods around the Annex, Casa Loma and Wychwood.
Toronto realtor Desmond Brown said that low interest rates and population growth mean that there are more buyers than available homes, so most properties get snapped up fast.
“I think it’s basic supply and demand,” he said. “Good inventory is at a premium.”
That’s great news for sellers, especially for those north of the Danforth who bought at a low price and can now reap the benefits of a decade’s gentrification. Over the past ten years, the median value of homes north of the Danforth has increased 132 per cent, from $288,500 in 2005 to $608,500 in 2015.
“We’ve seen higher prices there, or even bidding wars, because it’s about supply,” said real-estate agent Linda Ing-Gilbert.
A recent listing, a three-bedroom semi at 106 Woodmount Ave., sold in six days for $681,700, more than $80,000 over asking. Ing-Gilbert, who grew up around the Danforth, said the area is often the last refuge for affordable family homes for many in the city.
Most of the bidders for the home west of Woodbine Ave. were first-time home buyers, she said, or young couples looking to upgrade from a condo.
“I think every single woman was pregnant,” Ing-Gilbert said.
Many start out hoping to buy in the more trendy west end, Ing-Gilbert said, but soon come to realize you can get the same amenities — access to the subway, schools and good restaurants — for about 10 per cent less in the east.
But there’s a price to pay for affordability, and that’s popularity, said Brown. Everybody loves a bargain, which means it can take buyers a few tries to land an east-end starter home.
Conversely, homes in neighbourhoods like the Annex can take a bit longer to unload.
“It’s a simple explanation — there aren’t as many buyers for the high-end properties,” he said.
SOURCE

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