Consider Regent Park?
January 06, 2009
Often you hear that Regent Park is an area to be avoided. However, there are positives if you are interested in a deal and are a speculator. Housing prices in the area can be 30% lower that other neighborhoods. Also, there are a number of plans to revitalize the area. The West Don Lands development will include 23 acres of park and a significant amount of new mixed housing - 5,800 units (1,200 designated as affordable). The area is also close to the Distillery District and St Lawrence Market.
I am going to check the area out and will report back on Thursday.
Posted by Bruce at 9:40am
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Choosing a neighborhood
January 04, 2009
A big part of buying a home is feeling good about your hood. Here are a few questions to ask yourself: What is your current neighborhood lacking? How far are you willing to commute? Interested in a historic or new neighborhood? You can now zero in on a couple of options. Two sites to help you are Homezilla.ca and TorontoLife.com/realestate. You are then prepared to build an overview of the hood (crime rate, schools, parks, coffee bars).
Assuming you now have narrowed your search down to a couple of neighborhoods, visit them and give them a grade.
1. Remember your first impression. What do you notice first about the neighborhood? Do the streets have curb appeal? Are the houses well-maintained? Do the shops and restaurants look hip and inviting?
2. Visualize yourself in the neighborhood. Think of your daily routine. If you can’t live without a morning latte, is there a coffee shop nearby? Where will you walk your dog or go jogging? You’ll enjoy the neighborhood more if it’s easy to do what you like.
3. Observe the neighborhood at different times of the day. Driving through will help you get a snapshot of life in the community — good and bad. Do the roads turn into a parking lot after school or during rush hour? Are people using grills or decks in the evening? Are neighbors and kids socializing or do people keep to themselves? Are the streets well-lit at night? These visual clues can help you decide if you’ll fit in.
4. Make sure the local schools make the grade. Even if you don’t have kids, pay a visit to the nearby schools. High ratings are great, but seeing the buildings is much more telling. It will be easier to sell your house later if the schools are nice.
5. Look for warning signs. Be on the lookout for signs that the neighborhood is in trouble. Do you see abandoned buildings or vandalism? Are there a lot of “For Sale” signs or rentals? If the community goes downhill, so does your house’s value.
6. Stop and listen. Bird and nature sounds are generally pleasant, but what about noise from the highway, airport, hospital, train tracks or nearby clubs and bars? It’s not very relaxing to listen to trains screech by during your morning coffee — especially not every morning.
7. Talk to your future neighbors. Ask how they like the area, and get the dirt on anything they don’t like about the place. What do they want to change? What’s their favorite place to hang out? If they’re rude to you, they probably wouldn’t be good neighbors anyway.
8. Talk to more people. You’ll get the best information from regular people who aren’t trying to make a sale. Hit up your waiter for information when you’re checking out the local food, or ask a gas station attendant to spill what they know about your chosen neighborhood.
9. Specifically, are there any? You can’t experience unpleasant smells on the Internet and they’re not advertised in tourism brochures, but they can certainly affect your decision to live in an area. Take a big whiff of the air, and ask around if you smell any fishy (or just bad) odors.
Posted by Bruce at 12:35pm
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To know before you buy
December 28, 2008
We’ve compiled a few tips to bring you up to speed on buying.
Be sure to ask your realtor what fixes and furniture are being sold with the house. Questionable items should be itemized in the purchase contract.
Try flushing the toilets when house shopping. Chugging drains and running water could be plumbing problems.
Of major appliances, gas ranges last longest (15 years).
Window replacements get 103 percent of cost recouped on sale.
The average home appreciates 5 to 6 percent per year.
Most homeowners move every seven to 10 years.
The average bathroom remodel costs $10,500. They also have the highest return on investment — about 102 percent.
Outdoor living is key for today’s buyer.
Three considerations when choosing a home are price, location and condition.
Ask about lead paint or asbestos in older homes.
Tree roots can crack a driveway.
Talk to homeowners in the neighborhood you’re interested in for more information about the area.
Most agents suggest that the No. 1 reason houses don’t sell is price.
Forty-three percent of homebuyers rank proximity to a school as an important factor
Fixing a home’s foundation can be one of the more expensive repairs, so be on the lookout for things like dampness in the basement.
To freshen up a musty basement, open the windows and wash the floors and walls with a solution of 3/4 cup bleach and 1 gallon of water.
Most buyers will look for six months to a year before finding their dream home.
Only 15 percent of homebuyers remodel within the first two years of owning their home.
Four out of five homebuyers want a garage.
Posted by Bruce at 7:31am
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Decorating hints - on a budget
December 27, 2008
Once you have purchased a home the next step is adding your personality - through decorating. You could search through mags and watch tele shows for the latest trends, however, our advice is to decorate it the way you’d like to. Forget about judgement. This is your place. You want to feel comfortable and at home.
Here is some advice from our friends at HGTV:
1. Make a design wishlist. Write down everything you’d like to do and buy. Be specific. Although you’re indulging in a bit of fantasy, don’t forget to include the practical stuff that needs to be fixed, upgraded and purchased. Your fabulous new furniture won’t appreciate that ratty, old carpet and cracked plaster walls.
2. Determine your actual budget. Take a look at your monthly inflows and outflows, as well as any funds you’ve set aside for rainy day projects, and see how much you realistically have to spend. If the money just isn’t there, it might make sense to put off your project while you set a savings goal, rather than maxing out your credit card.
3. Familiarize yourself with price tags. Before you draft an itemized budget, hit the stores, catalogs and Internet to research how much the items on your wishlist will cost.
4. Prioritize your purchases and labor. Start itemizing with your decorating wishlist, real costs and your total budget in front of you. Maybe that chic wallpaper you’ve been eyeing will need to be nixed in favor of colorful paint. If you have a whole home to decorate, decide if you need to tackle the project by room or category: furniture first, then window treatments, etc.
5. Draft your decorating plan. Break down each element: List the work to be done, the items to be purchased and other practical projects (such as recycling old carpet), as well as the amount you plan to spend on each. Using a computer spreadsheet program makes it easy to keep a running tally of what you’ve budgeted for each item, what you’ve actually spent and how that affects your bottom line. To help you stay organized and on track, order each item chronologically and set a timeline for getting it done (or bought, delivered and installed).
6. Invest in important room features. Consider big splurges for the things you’ll use every day; are hard to change; will hold their value over time; or will add value to your home. That could be new flooring, built-ins or other permanent components, well-made furniture with lush upholstery or investment art. Don’t feel guilty about splurging on the things that will “make” your room — just make sure they’re worth what you’re spending and will serve you well over time.
7. Scrimp on the cosmetic changes. Once you’ve earmarked the bulk of your budget for the big items, divvy up what’s left for the extras: linens and other textiles, lighting and decorative accessories — anything that’s available at a wide variety of price points and is easy to switch out or upgrade later.
8. Make trade-offs to juggle your expenses. ”Budgeting and decorating are a process — calling for review, rethinking, reevaluating and adjusting until you arrive at choices you can live with,” says Patricia Hart McMillan, interior designer and co-author of Home Decorating for Dummies. For instance, if the hardwood floor you chose eats up a bigger chunk of change than you planned for, downsize the amount you allotted for an area rug so you still hit your overall number.
9. Keep common budget busters in mind
Just as you would with a remodeling budget, tuck away 10 to 15 percent of your total for unexpected expenses. If, you’ve set aside $5,000 to create a bedroom sanctuary, do your best to draft an initial budget that tops out at $4,250. That way, you’ll have money in reserve to pay an electrician when it turns out that hanging the bedroom chandelier isn’t a simple matter, or when the reading chair you’ve decided on is discontinued and you’re forced to order a pricier alternative.
10. Phase it in. Unless your budget is unlimited, you may not be able to do everything right away. But don’t lose heart — you can spread out the expense by making a long-range plan and implementing your design in phases, as time and money allow.
Posted by Bruce at 9:51am
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Boxing Day Sales
December 26, 2008
In keeping with Boxing Day sales, we thought we’d add our own sales section. Check out foreclosures in the HOT Properties section. Good luck shopping!
Posted by Bruce at 10:11am
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Change of office and new calendar feature
December 24, 2008
Buyingblock.com has moved its offices to 571 King Street West, between Bathurst and Spadina. We wanted to be closer to our customers. Drop in anytime and say hi.
We have added a calendar on our homepage - bottom right corner. We will be adding events such as home buying seminars, property tax reminders, etc. As always, we welcome your input!
Posted by Bruce at 11:46am
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South Parkdale - neighborhood review
December 22, 2008
| I moved into South Parkdale three years ago and love it but it is not for everyone. There is a growing mix of residents from new immigrants to hip artists to the homeless. Many refer to the area as colorful. From our friends at Toronto Life: “Once a suburb to rival Rosedale, the area south of Queen and west of Atlantic took a nose-dive in the 1930s, and fell flat on its face in 1966 when the Gardiner opened and cut it off from the lake. But it has since recovered its poise. The liveliest stretch of Queen West, including the Gladstone Hotel, lies just to the northeast, and features some of the best 19th- and early-20th-century domestic architecture west of the Annex. The mid-rise apartments on Jameson have seen better days, and the neighbourhood in general is still in transition, but the tree-lined streets are alive with both classic bay and gables, and larger mansions that mix Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque styles. The streets can still be mean and the street life overly colourful for some, but there is something for every budget, age and lifestyle. Those unwilling to wait out South the slow gentrification in South Parkdale or those priced out of Beaconsfield Village can opt for the townhouses sandwiched between King and Queen, go for a condo in Liberty Village.” |
Posted by Bruce at 12:20pm
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Buy a home for your kid going to uni
December 21, 2008
Rising university costs are causing some parents to consider an alternate housing plan for their students. They are bypassing the dorm and off-campus apartments in favor of purchasing a condominium or single-family home.
Purchasing a single-family home instead of a condo lets parents have a place where their child can live and other rooms can be rented out. Also, parents might be interested in university or college towns or areas of cities where universities are located as they’re often recession proof.
Best yet, your son or daughter will graduate with a degree and an investment.
Posted by Bruce at 2:50pm
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Power of sale opportunities
December 19, 2008
Power of sale in Canada is similar to foreclosures in the US. When a mortgage holder isn’t able to continue payments, the lender can seize the property. Power of sale properties can be good deals but you have to know what to look for and here is why: 1. Lenders are obligated to get fair market value. Whatever funds are left over after all of the selling costs are taken into account has to go back to the original owner. 2. There is no warranty on the state of the house. The home is usually sold without appliances. 3. The original owner has the right to buy it back at the last minute. However, on the plus side these homes are usually priced on the lower end of the acceptable range of market value.
To spot a good power of sale, you need to know the following: 1. what similar properties in the neighborhood are selling for, 2. the cost to bring the property to move-in condition and finally, 3. the history of the property allowing your lawyer to assess risk and look out for land mines during the closing. We will soon be introducing our hot 5 power of sale properties on our site, so stay tuned!
Posted by Bruce at 2:37pm
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Where your property tax is spent
December 17, 2008
Here’s where your property taxes went in 2007 (City of Toronto based on property taxes of $2,174.60). Police ($531), City Debt charges ($266), Fire ($227), Social Service ($183), Housing admin ($173), TTC ($161), Parks and rec. ($153), Transportation services ($124), Waste Management ($124), Library ($101), Children’s services ($43), Emergency Medical ($42), Public Health ($34), Community Partnership ($28), Homes for the Aged ($22), Economic Development, Culture and Tourism ($17), City Council ($13), City Planning ($9), Licensing and Standards ($7), Building Services (<$8<), Other (<$75>).
Posted by Bruce at 7:46am
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