Real Estate Toronto Canada

The wait for One Park West is almost over! As a member of Daniels’ exclusive Platinum Agents Club, I will be getting floor plans and pricing this week and my clients will begin reserving their units of choice. If you would like more info on how you can reserve a unit before anyone else at One Park West for FREE, please contact me.

If you are a first time buyer frustrated with trying to find a good, affordable condo downtown, One Park West is for you! Here are 5 reasons why One Park West is my “Best Buy” for first time buyers:

1. Value. You won’t find a better bang for your buck when it comes to new condos downtown than at One Park West. To get the same quality of finishes and features in a new condo elsewhere you are looking at approximately 25-50% higher prices.
2. 5% Deposit. For qualified buyers, you can buy at One Park West with as little down as $3500 up front, and then $1000/month until you reach 5% deposit. You won’t find this kind of deposit structure anywhere else! Typically developers require a minimum of 15% up front, many are moving to 20% up front.
3. Move-in in 1 Year. Construction is already well underway at One Park West. Most new developments say they will be ready in 3 years, but usually that means 4 or 5. When Daniels says it will be ready next year, you can count on it!
4. Location. Right on the Park! With a brand new aquatic centre coming soon too. The Regent Park redevelopment is the largest urban revitalization project in North America. In 10 years this will likely be one of the neighbourhoods that people say, “Should have invested there!”
5. Developer. Daniels is one of the best. They do what they say they will do and despite their incredible success record of late, they don’t take buyers for granted and treat everyone with respect.

Suites in the tower will offer great layouts and park and city views. On top of all this, there will also be a number of townhome suites released ranging from smaller 1 bedroom units right up to family-home sized 3 bedrooms. One Park West really offers something for every first time home buyer. Contact me now for details.

Mortgage rates moved higher this week as bond investors chose to look at the bright side of the news. Markets run on emotion and this means swings in prices based on the mood of the moment. Mortgage rates had dropped to their all time lows over the last few weeks as fear of a double dip recession took hold. With gloom in the air, investors bought treasury bonds for safety, and mortgages went along for the ride. When you buy bonds, whether they are treasury bonds or mortgage bonds, you are locking in a fixed return for a long period of time. With fear the dominant emotion, investors were locking in low, low returns. If the economy turns lower or deflation takes hold, these low returns will still mean that investors aren’t losing, and it will be a positive trade. But if the gloomy consensus is wrong and the economy improves, that means the investors are tying up their funds for almost no return. They would either have to hold on to the bond and collect a meager return, or sell the bond at a loss so they can put their money into investments with better prospects. So when the economy showed a few glimmers of light, it wasn’t that surprising that money would rush out of bonds and rates would rise. The two reports that made the difference were the release of the Fed Beige book, and the weekly unemployment claims. The line in the Fed’s beige book that sparked the activity, stated – "Continued growth…mid-July through the end of August, but with widespread signs of a deceleration." In other words, it sounds like a train is coming, but it isn’t here yet. With this statement the stock market rallied and bonds sold off. More damage was done when the weekly unemployment claims fell by 27,000 to 451,000. Economists had projected claims would fall to 470,000, so this is an improvement. On the other hand, unemployment is still distressingly high, and because this was done over a shortened Labor Day weekend, some question the accuracy of the report. The bottom line is that there are a few points of light, but the picture is still very dark.

So the question is, have we seen the bottom of the low mortgage rates, and if Rates are higher, have you missed out on your opportunity to take advantage of the low rates? Mortgage rates are still near their all time lows, so for most people a little blip won’t make a big difference. But for those who have sat on the sidelines waiting for rates to drop even lower, there may be a long wait. The chart below (courtesy of mortgagecoach.com), shows what has happened in the mortgage backed securities (mortgage bonds) market over the past month.

The higher the level on the chart, the lower the mortgage rates should be. The green bars show days where the prices improved from the opening, and red showed days that worsened. The two things you can see from this chart are that, first, mortgage bonds are volatile. There is a lot of movement from day to day, even when rates seem to be holding steady. Secondly, mortgage bonds are sitting at their worst level in the last month. We have been in a range, and it is entirely possible that now that we have hit the low point of the range rates will bounce back. But if optimism holds, rates could get much worse, at least for a while. My own feeling is that we still have a long way to go before the economy is back on track, and rates are likely to remain low for a long time. At the same time, I don’t see us getting any lower than where we have been over the last few weeks. I won’t be surprised if rates increase another 1/8 or a 1/4 of a point over the next weeks, but we are still in a long time low range, and these rates are still at bargain levels.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee, best FHA rates assume a 660 Fico score, but loans are available with credit scores as low as 620. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I will take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

*(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts a conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

** 5-5 ARM is fixed for first 5 years, with 2/6 caps it can’t go more than 2% above the start rate for the next 5 years. 2% cap for next 5 years – so a blended rate over 10 years is no more than 1% over the start rate. Super Jumbos available.

FHA LOANS 3.5% down payment FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans – Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Have you ever read one of your old posts and thought something was different? Maybe a few words were changed, the formatting was different, or an entire paragraph was missing. You poured your heart and soul into the post and didn’t know someone changed it after you hit publish. If this sounds familiar, you probably have a multi-author blog.

Today we’re launching a feature called Email Post Changes to help blogs with multiple authors collaborate better on the same posts and pages. If you turn it on, we’ll instantly notify you by email whenever a change is made to a post on your site. You’ll recognize the format of the email is the same as post revisions, making it easy to see exactly what has changed.

More than 460,000 WordPress.com sites have multiple authors, with one site having 641 users, so we think this will be a great feature for a lot of you. We’ve been using the email notifications at Automattic for a while and hope it will be as useful for you as it has been for us. If you have an interesting usage, let us know in the comments.

For more details and configuration help, head over to the Email Post Changes support document.

The Email Post Changes plugin will be updated soon for self-hosted WordPress.org users.

In any Toronto real estate transaction, a land survey is sometimes overlooked. A recent story in the Toronto Star about two neighbours who shared a mutual driveway between them reiterates the importance of getting a land survey and understanding property boundaries before purchasing or selling a home.

The couple who recently moved in next door actually owns most of the two homes’ formerly-shared the driveway and is now forbidding the other couple from using the driveway they’ve used for the past 33 years, which also connects to their garage. According to a land survey from over 50 years ago, the shared space between the home is actually divided 25/75 and the neighbours with the larger share have since blocked the other homeowners’ access to the driveway.

In Ontario, land surveys used to be called a surveyor’s real property report, and these can be fairly outdated as the province slowly switches over to the newer provincial Land Title system. The older Land Registry laws would have allowed the neighbour who has used the driveway for so long to keep using it, however the Ontario Land Title system effectively takes this right away.

A similar case in Nova Scotia was also mentioned, where a driveway was amicably shared between two neighbours, even though one neighbour was only entitled to 3 feet and the other was entitled to 8 feet. Those with only 3 feet built a fence and prevented the other neighbours from using the driveway. This case led to expensive court proceedings and litigation, which can easily be avoided by conducting a land survey.

A land survey is very important as Toronto’s neighbourhoods are filled with homes that share driveways. Professional land surveys use historical records and research as well as measuring to accurately determine where someone’s property boundaries are. This will ensure that both the buyer and seller know exactly what is changing hands during any real estate transaction.

Land Survey: Toronto Homebuyers And Home Sellers Shouldn’t Overlook It is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

Traditionally the real estate market in Toronto has slowed down twice per year… in the July-August period and in the December-January period.  However that pattern was broken for the most part during the past decade.  Instead of everyone relaxing during the summer months since 2000, the momentum generated during busy spring markets carried over into summer and we just powered through.

I think, and history will either prove me right or wrong, we’ve just experienced a return to a ‘normal’ summer where listings and sales dropped off from their spring highs and, once everyone is back to work in September, more sellers get interested in selling and more buyers get motivated to buy.

If I’m right, then all the blaring headlines from newspapers etc about the imminent demise of the Toronto real estate market will all be wrong.  I’ve been tracking Toronto’s market trends for 30 years now and I’ve certainly been off on occasion but I’ve also been correct more than not.

If I’m right, then it’s a fabulous time to buy… low interest rates ranging from 3.7-3.8% for a fixed 5-year term make homes very affordable and motivated sellers are interested in negotiating prices.

Having said that, our Team has encountered 3 multiple offers since September 1st so they haven’t gone away entirely.

I’ve put all of the data from the Toronto Real Estate Board together in our August Toronto Real Estate Market Report.  Click on the video below to get the latest perspective on our market!

Thank Goodness The Summer Real Estate Market Is Over In Toronto is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

Keep track of posts across multiple blogs with the subscriptions reader.

Do you have trouble keeping track of all the blogs you read each morning? You may use RSS feeds to keep track, but those can be tricky to manage for a non-technical person. You may also open multiple tabs and scan through every blog, but that becomes difficult with a large number of blogs to read. Let’s face it, keeping up to speed with multiple blogs is tougher than it should be.

To solve this, today we’re introducing a new subscriptions feature to WordPress.com. Subscriptions are an easy way to track and read posts across multiple blogs, all in once place.

How Subscriptions Work

Let’s say you’re reading a blog on WordPress.com that you really enjoy — so much so you want to be notified when new posts are published so you remember to read them. You can subscribe to this blog really easily by using the “Subscribe” menu in the admin bar. By going up to your admin bar, and clicking “Subscribe to blog”, you’ll be instantly subscribed and all current and future posts will be added to the subscriptions tab on your WordPress.com home screen.

The next time you visit WordPress.com, if new posts have been published on any of these blogs you’ll see a “NEW” notification on your admin bar. This lets you know that there are new posts for you to read. You can now use the “My Subscriptions” menu to quickly access your subscriptions reader and catch up on all the latest posts. You can also head straight to your subscriptions by using the new subscriptions tab on the WordPress.com home screen.

We’ve also brought email and jabber notifications all under one roof, so it’s easy to turn on email notifications of new posts, or get posts sent directly to you via instant messenger. Don’t worry, all of your existing email and jabber subscriptions have been ported through.

Subscriptions are live and ready for you to use. We’ve put together a subscriptions support page that will get you up to speed and show you how to get started.

Midtown is the new downtown (or something like that)! The composure of Yonge and Eglinton has changed significantly in the last couple of years since the addition of the Minto Towers at 2181 and 2191 Yonge Street. Some of locals protested vehemently against the Minto towers, but now that they are there, you can expect plenty of intensification and development in this corridor over the next several years. Enter: The Berwick. Contact me for VIP access.

The Berwick will be 17 storeys and house 225 units. The building will have around 50 different floor plans to choose from ranging from 478 sq ft bachelors to 1002 sq ft 2+dens. Located just a stones’ throw away from Yonge and Eglinton, what more could you ask for when it comes to midtown living?

For buyers looking at midtown, there are not a lot of options right now in pre-construction. The smaller units at MYC are all sold out. The Berwick offers a great chance to get a unit in the low $300s or less if that is what you are after. As always, best to act quickly because the smallest units go first.

Pricing at The Berwick is averaging around $560 PSF (very comparable to MYC) and deposit structure is 20% over 9 months + 5% at occupancy. Standard finishes include hardwood (laminate) throughout, stainless appliances, granite counters, 9′ ceilings.

The developers (Andrin and The Brown Group of Companies) are relatively inexperienced in the Toronto condo market, however, I was told they have built around 6000 homes between them  including some condominiums outside Toronto and loft conversions.

If you would like to purchase a unit at The Berwick, register with me now to get priority access and buy now. Floor plans and price list available now.

The Berwick will be a landmark address offering a contemporary urban lifestyle that perfectly suits its surroundings. Beautifully  landscaped entrance and arrival area to provide for a gracious first impression. 24-hour concierge. Individually controlled heat pump heating and cooling system. Individual suite metering for hydro consumption. Luxuriously appointed party room with both indoor lounge and outdoor patio for entertaining. Well equipped fitness centre adjoining a separate yoga/stretching room. Furnished Guest Suite.

Ceiling height approximately 9 feet. Solid 4” squared edge baseboard. Terrawood® flooring or equivalent laminate flooring except for tiled areas, as per plan. Granite kitchen counter top. European-style kitchen cabinetry. Stainless steel appliances package including self-cleaning electric oven, microwave hood fan vented to exterior, built in dishwasher and frost-free refrigerator. White stacked washer/dryer. Solid surface counter with integrated sink on bathroom vanity cabinetry, ceramic tile flooring. White acrylic soaker tub. Full-width mirror over vanity. Single-lever faucets for vanities.

In various Toronto real estate transactions, sellers may promise things nonchalantly to buyers or buyers may ask for promises the sellers can’t really keep. Buyers backing out of a deal can be one undesirable result of these promises, as can putting yourself in the position of being sued for damages.

If a Toronto real estate view is promised to be unspoiled, consequences could arise later on.

Promises fall into two categories in real estate lingo, warranties and representations. Warranties are essentially a promise that things will be in good working order. If this is found to not be the case, the seller can be sued for damages. The other type of promise is called a representation. A misrepresentation is an example of when things can be more serious, because it can allow buyers to walk out on a deal.

A good example of a warranty issue is promising the buyer that the washer and dryer that come with the house are new and in great working condition. If the buyer moves in and finds that’s not the case, they can sue for damages.

An example of a misrepresentation is relaying a message about the redevelopment of the area: a buyer falls in love with a property that faces a forest or meadow and is told that the owner of the land is not planning on developing that property and buys the home for that reason. The seller could have been passing on information he thought of as fact, or something he just heard in passing. Regardless, if a Wal-Mart is built in the area within a year and the buyer can prove they bought the home specifically for the naturalistic view, they can cancel. This only works however, if the buyer can prove that.

Representations and warranties are perfect models of how something said in passing or casually written on an agreement can be a bad idea later on.

These reasons also provide extra assurance that having a Toronto real estate agent by your side through the home buying or home selling process is an added advantage that can’t be replaced. Your real estate agent may also add an additional agreement to the transaction that gives buyers extra time to determine if everything is working properly, as warranties typically expire on the closing date.

A real estate lawyer can also assist in reviewing all of the transaction documents before they are signed, sealed and delivered.

Toronto Real Estate And Promises, Promises is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

X2 was one of fastest selling condos downtown in the past 12 months. Back when it launched in November ‘09 there was much controversy over the fact that a large group of agents got shut out of getting any units because they were supposedly in the wrong line up (let’s just refer to it from now on as LineupGate, shall we?).

The news today is that X2 is now going to be 49 stories instead of 42. These top floors have just been released to VIP agents such as myself. After about a week, whatever is remaining will go on sale to the public. If you are interested in buying a suite at X2, please contact me for floor plans and price list. Prices are starting at just under $600 per square foot. A very competitive price for suites on 40+ floors in such a quality building. Try finding a suite anywhere else for under $600 PSF at such a floor height downtown – it will be very difficult to find I assure you. Deposit structure is 15% up front and 5% at occupancy. If you are looking for a high-floor suite at an affordable price, this is a great opportunity. There are also suites available still in the podium levels, and the penthouse suites (top 2 floors) are yet to be released.

September and the little (or not so little) ones are off to school. The temperature is cooling and the leaves are changing colours. Maybe this is happening too fast or too slow for you, but the weather has its own schedule and there is nothing we can do to change it (except if you talk to climate change enthusiast, but that’s a whole other topic!).  This time of year often gets people thinking about selling their home. I know that there are plenty of people who are staying put so that their children won’t have their school year upended, but what about those families with no children or those with children who are out of the house now. I’ve recently met several families with two or three children all going off to work or school and they are now empty nesters. Then there are people who have family circumstances that are driving the need to move.

So is now the time for you to list your home for sale? Only you can make this decision by looking at the circumstanses driving your move. Is your home too big or too small? Is your yard the right size for your lifestyle? Does the location of your home still work for you and your family? Should you think about moving now when you still have options, rather than waiting for circumstances to force you into a move that you are unprepared for?

Buyers are out in the market. Interest rates are still at surprisingly low levels and their are mortgage options to suit just about any budget. The resale market is holding its own. Media is reporting great downfalls, but call or email me and I can let you know about the conditions in your own neighbourhood. Year over year we are seeing great results in numbers. Number of sales are up and prices are up. Check this blog again in a few days because I’ll post all the up-to-date statistics.

If you find yourself in a situation that just doesn’t work for you anymore, then definitely consider a move. Ask me in to give you a free market evaluation, then think about it and list your home if the time is right.

The flavor of the week last week in the mortgage market was recovery. Signs of an uptick in the economy helped the stock market regain some steam, and caused mortgage bonds to drop from their all time best levels. Mortgage rates are still in the best range they have ever been, but with optimism in the air (ban news is good news for mortgage rates) mortgage rates are likely to be under pressure. The reason for this optimism boils down to a few reports released last week. The ISM (Institute for Supply Management) Purchasing Managers Index showed some growth in manufacturing for the past month, beating expectations. The bigger news though, was the release of the jobs report which showed a loss of 54,000 jobs for the previous month and an increase in the unemployment rate from 9.5% to 9.6%. This was spun into good news that 114,000 of those jobs lost were temporary government hired census workers, and private enterprise payrolls increased by 67,000 in August. 

A lot of this comes down to perspective. While any increase in private employment is good news, I’m not sure this is reason to celebrate yet. The overall report was still pretty grim. It takes about 125,000 new jobs each month just to keep up with new entrants to the job market, so we are still getting pushed back on the treadmill even as we see some progress. The bigger concern is the breakdown of those who are unemployed. The number of long term unemployed is at its highest point. 46% of those who are unemployed have been out of work for 6 months or longer. Economists are now saying that if we do get a recovery, there will still be a high level of unemployment for years to come. With government spending trending down, and banks still holding back on business lending, any recovery will be slow and hard fought. Markets arte fickle, and the good news today may be looked at differently tomorrow. We are still in a range and I think it is likely we will stay in this range. With refinancing activity high and pipelines full, mortgage lenders are slow to show improvements when the market is pointing toward lower rates, and quick to move higher at any sign that rates may move higher.

The effect of all this on mortgage rates this week is that mortgage rates are still near their best rates ever, but volatility is high and rates are as likely to worsen as go lower. Even as mortgage bonds have improved, mortgage rates haven’t. On days that mortgage backed securities have a good day, the wholesale lenders hold their rates or improve just a little. When mortgage bonds have a bad day, the wholesale lenders jump at the chance to raise rates (or more likely the pricing which determines the rates). Some of this is due to a normal cautious nervousness when rates are at previously uncharted highs. Part of this is because all the lenders pipelines are full, and they aren’t as hungry for new business when they are near capacity now. As some of the loans close, and more room is available, we may see some improvements, but for those waiting for the next leg lower in rates, it may be a long wait. There is a lot of activity this week, including the most watched indicator the employment report which will be released Friday morning.

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

*(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts a conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

** 5-5 ARM is fixed for first 5 years, with 2/6 caps it can’t go more than 2% above the start rate for the next 5 years. 2% cap for next 5 years – so a blended rate over 10 years is no more than 1% over the start rate. Super Jumbos available.

FHA LOANS 3.5% down payment FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans – Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

A couple of years ago, there emerged a series of home decorating and renovation television shows that heavily populated Home and Garden Television and The Learning Channel. They took a slight hiatus, and made room for a plethora of reality shows about families with small armies of children. Now, they’re back and many of these shows, such The Unsellables on HGTV, focus on turning any space into a dream home by merely moving things around, adding a few low-cost pieces or by making optimal use of the space that the home already has.

A simple paint job using the right colours can help your Toronto home sell.

Remove extra clutter

Just because a couch fits into a room doesn’t mean that it suits the room, and it can actually end up making the space look smaller. You can make a smaller home feel like it has much more space by removing just one piece of furniture per room. This furniture can go into storage, stay with friends for the time being or you can jump on the opportunity to lighten your load prior to moving by selling or donating it. By removing unnecessary furniture, many of the rooms in your home can instantly become clean-looking and uncluttered.

Simplify the decor as much as possible, with a piece of art here and there and fresh flowers in any vases. Items you may not ordinarily consider “personal clutter” like bathroom mats, towels, anything hung up on a coat rack or kitchen appliances (this means you, coffee maker) can be hidden away in closets or under the kitchen counter to create even more space.

The deliberate placement of some furniture around a room can also increase the perceived amount of space it can offer. Lamps on each corner table will illuminate these corners and add depth to a room, and curtains on every window will highlight their size. Specifically, sheer, white curtains, which can be inexpensive and are available at many home stores.

Renovating to sell

Sometimes, a home might need more than just a fresh coat of paint. However, if you don’t bother to do a renovation when it’s needed, someone may just buy your home and flip it. So why not cash in on that work yourself?

This is the Appraisal Institute of Canada’s renovation value calculator worksheet.

Using current market values, it can let you know how much money you can expect to recuperate on any renovation investment. For example, a $5,000 bathroom renovation will boost the home’s value by between $3,800 and $5,000, or offer a return of 75% to 100%. The calculator has a list of the top 25 home renovations for boosting value, including kitchen renovations, exterior painting and paving a driveway. It’s a great little tool to see how a renovation might affect your home’s potential sale price.

However, a fresh coat of paint may be the only thing the rooms in your house need for a  slight pick-me-up and it can make a world of difference. Keep in mind that while some prospective home buyers will absolutely love a bold, brightly coloured room, some will not. In order to not alienate the “dislike” crowd, choose appropriately toned-down shades.

Prospective home buyers know that they can repaint and redecorate to their own satisfaction if there’s a few things they don’t like about how the home looks. Diligently staging a home will take some of the guesswork out of home buying for the prospective buyers and allow them to really see what the home actually offers with regards to space – instead of showcasing merely the home’s potential.

Staging Your Toronto Home Or Condo For The Ultimate Selling Success is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

A recent Toronto Star column by Toronto real estate lawyer Bob Aaron shines some light on a somewhat gray area for downtown Toronto homeowners with neighbours in close proximity, which is an extremely common situation due to how homes are built in the city.

It's not unusual for Toronto real estate to be close together downtown.

Aaron tells the story of a client whose new neighbour next door had dug up the area between the homes to repair the foundation on their own home, but in the process caused damage to the client’s home by removing the weeping tiles and waterproofing from his foundation walls. The client became understandably concerned that the hole between the homes might eventually be filled without his foundation being repaired properly.

When a neighbour must access adjoining property for the purposes of making repairs, building fences or other reasonable situations, they have a right to if the neighbour consents to this or they get a permit from the Municipal Licensing and Standards department, according to Toronto Bylaw. As well, damages caused by accessing the land or whatever is done on the land is the responsibility of the neighbour, who must provide compensation. A permit, on the other hand, needs liability insurance and a security deposit.

The wording of the bylaw, in particular, does not say that permission or a permit are the only ways for someone to enter their neighbour’s property in order to do repairs, so if the neighbour skirts the rules and just goes ahead, the city can’t do anything about it and the matter becomes private. The only recourse the homeowner with the affected property has is taking the neighbour to civil court for trespassing and damaging the property.

If you are not overly friendly with your neighbours, keeping an eye on any work that begins near your property, especially if your neighbour has hired a company to do it, is wise. Toronto real estate is often built quite close to other homes, and there’s a good chance that if a neighbour has a lackadaisical roofing crew doing some re-shingling that roofing nails will wind up in your driveway. There’s also a good chance that if they need to redo their foundation, you’ll be shaken awake every morning at 7 a.m. This is why it’s prudent to either get along with your neighbours or keep an eye on their construction. Each day when work ends, do a quick inspection of the outside of your property for any damage or issues that might arise in the coming days, and bring them up then and there with your neighbour and the construction crew before it gets out of hand and you have to resort to legal unpleasantries.

Avoiding Home Damage From Neighbours’ Construction In Toronto is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

From 10,000 feet, the Fort York neighbourhood is booming. Hard to believe that 10 years ago if you went to the corner of Bathurst and Lakeshore, you wouldn’t see a single condo abutting that intersection. Now there are several completed buildings like 219 and 231 Fort York, 600 Fleet Street, and the nearby 38 Dan Leckie Way (Panorama), and Tip Top Lofts (637 Lake Shore). Under construction and nearly complete are phase 1 and 2 of West Harbour City (628 and 630 Fleet Street), Neptune (640 Fleet), and Quay West at Tip Top. Construction is underway for LTD, and construction will be starting probably late this year on Library District and Garrison at the Yards. If you are counting that is at least 12 major buildings either built or underway.

Obviously the area is very attractive to many people and investors who bought years ago for under $300 per square foot in some cases are doing the “I told you so dance” to those who were skeptical about this area. However, the area has been criticized for having a dearth of amenities and lacking a neighbourhood ‘feel’. What does the future hold for Fort York?

The area has long been one that I’ve proposed to clients and investors who want to own downtown but were squeamish at the thought of paying prime downtown prices for areas like Bay Street, King West or the St Lawrence Market. Fort York is ‘off centre’ in the sense that is downtown, but the Gardiner expressway and the Rail Lands to the north can make the area feel cut off from the action of the city. Retail shops, restaurants, dry cleaners etc. are very scarce. You have to have a car to live in this neighbourhood, or you need be comfortable with long walks or spending a lot of time on the streetcar to get to where you are going.

My opinion is that this area will never be seen as one of the best downtown neighbourhoods, but it will improve as more amenities are added. It will continue to be a good alternative for those wanting to be in the core without paying premium prices. Also it’s great for people commuting to Mississauga. A game changer for the area would be if Loblaw does something exciting or ground-breaking with their building on the north east corner of Bathurst and Lake Shore.

Interested in buying or selling in the Fort York Neighbourhood? Contact me today.

Some Toronto real estate owners as well as those who own recreational real estate in smaller cottage communities may have their wastewater treated by a septic tank, or if you want to get fancy, an onsite wastewater system. When buying Toronto real estate with a septic tank, you should ask the sellers when the septic tank was pumped last, and whether there have ever been tank or water quality problems.

A diagram of a septic tank and its proximity to the leaching bed and home from the University of Guelph's Ontario Rural Wastewater Centre.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a septic tank needs to be pumped every three to five years or when it is 1/3 full with solid waste, but this timeline may fluctuate depending on frequency of use or the size of your family. Additionally, new septic tanks are made of concrete or fiberglass, but home or property owners with an older septic tank may find that it’s actually made of wood or steel and could need replacing due to rot or rust.

Septic tank problems can be serious and difficult to spot. Some signs include spongy land near the septic tank, water-using appliances taking a longer time to drain, sewage odours after heavy rainfall or dangerous bacteria in well water.

When it comes time to pump or inspect a septic tank, finding the access hatches – which are buried underground – can be difficult. Approximately 25 per cent of Canadian homeowners have a septic tank on their property, but if you’re a new homeowner, finding out where on the property the access hatch is located may have slipped your mind. Some homeowners might go the “dig until you find it” route, which isn’t great if you want to entertain in your backyard or enjoy it at all during what little summer we Canadians get.

Things to look for when finding your Toronto or cottage septic tank

The weeping bed is a special, layered area of earth next to the septic tank that helps treat and filter liquid waste. This weeping or leaching bed appears as a large, raised patch of grass on most properties. In other cases, the tank itself can create a raised area of about four feet by eight feet in the backyard. A smaller depression in the soil can also indicate the access hatch if it has previously been dug for. In the winter, snow may melt oddly to create a depression just over the septic tank. A small, round vent on the side of a home on the foundation may be the plumbing waste vent, which is also directly lined up with the septic tank on the property.

Once the hatch is located, a marker such as a stake or custom-made lid that is flush with the ground (for easy lawn mowing) can make accessing a septic tank much less disruptive and difficult.

Toronto Homeowner’s Guide To Finding Your Septic Tank is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates