Next Week I will be away from Monday March 13th – Monday March 20th.
For any real estate needs during the week simply call 416-849-2121 as I have several realtors looking after my business while I’m away.
Good evening everyone!
I am super excited to share with you that this email communication is being composed from within our newly built home!
We FINALLY moved in last Thursday evening for our first sleep in the home. It was 2 years ago that we moved out of our old home and 1 year and 8 months since construction began. It’s also worth mentioning that their was about 8 months of pre-construction planning that went into the whole endeavour.
In many ways the move in date was fitting. Thursday was Lara’s birthday. 14 years ago on March 2nd we received keys and took possession the original home. We were able to create the same excitement and eagerness as back then.
Our boys were sad to leave their grandparents’ (it was a very sweet emotional goodbye) but they absolutely love their new rooms.
So many people have helped us along the way to make it possible and it was a group effort to make it a reality.
Super huge fantastic thank you to:
- My in-laws for taking us in for 2 YEARS! They were absolutely wonderful to us and never once complained about us taking over their space.
- Of course Jorge, who helped immensely in the build as a contractor and as a friend. He did so much pro-bono work for us that we are only on the verge of bankruptcy and not actually bankrupt
- All the professional service and trades people who worked on our home – All the shining stars that actually cared and YES even the ones that I would not use or recommend ever again! I learned tonnes from them all!
- Friends and family that: put up with us and our drama, offered really good constructive criticisms and suggestions and also lent helping hands along the way.
- My family who often were their to take the boys for days when Lara and I were scrambling for work and home construction duties.
- And to so many more people that played a part in making this crazy idea come to life. It still has not sunk in.
Trying to manage this build was only possible with all the support that we received. Had we had to hire and actual contractor it would of not been financially possible for us to build. Our construction costs would have been closer to industry norms at about $250-$350/sqft for the finishes and features we selected. We are at about $180/sqft. The trade off was A LOT of running around – sourcing things out to exhaustion, lots of help from Jorge, family and others. Lara was her own interior designer and family and friends were always good to point things out and make suggestions.
1 Example I use to illustrate where we were able to save is in the insulation of our home. The whole home has been spray foam insulated. We had 2 quotes of 75k (which seemed to be the norm) and a third quote of 35k. That 40k savings would not have been realised had a contractor been involved. The spray foam contractor did a great job over all.
A GOOD contractor is definitely worth having! There are situations (career, time, knowledge etc. ) that just don’t allow for individuals to take on a project like this. A contractor’s wealth of knowledge and experience is as an important as their contacts. I am fortunate enough to have flexibility in my over all schedule to make it kind of work. I also have the peace of mind to know exactly how my home was built.
We are moved in but it’s far from over! Over the next several years we will try to tackle landscaping, hardscaping, basement etc. New or older home it never really ends – that’s not a complaint but a truism. Would I/we do it again? Absolutely. To any who are interested I am happy to send pics.
In the Real Estate Market (See Full Report)
The Toronto market is making global news. We are at 27% average higher sale prices than this time last year. Home types that were selling for 900k just 4-6 months ago are fetching $1.2 million or more!
Sales Up and Listings Down in February TORONTO, March 3, 2017 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 8,014 residential sales through TREB’s MLS® System in February 2017. Despite the fact that February 2016 had one more day due to the leap year day, this result was up on a year-over-year basis by 5.7 per cent compared to 7,583 sales reported last year.
The government of Ontario and the city of Toronto were previously ruling out placing a foreign buyer’s tax on real estate transactions (similar to what occurred in Vancouver). However, in a recent announcement today the tone has changed. Charles Sousa, the minister of finance, a foreign purchaser’s tax is “one of many tools that can be considered and possibly implemented”.
The recent spike in prices in such a short time is unprecedented. I have been perplexed by the surge. Realtors are actually having a tougher time as we try to guide buying clients offer after offer with little success. Just this week I was helping buyers make an offer on a town home in liberty village. The same model town home sold last November for 850k and it was an end unit in slightly better condition than the one we were offering on. There were 16 competing offers and the home sold for 970k! $120,000 more only 4 months later and an inferior unit to the last sale.
This has been the norm in my business over the last several months. . Price increases prior to this were explainable and stable. I can’t explain it.
Stay tuned!
Have a great weekend and a wonderful March break.
Anthony