Just by looking at this cup in my hand you probably know exactly where I’m sitting right now. If you live in a downtown condo, you are probably surrounded by Starbucks coffee shops, however, when you are looking for your first house you may want to pay special attention to where the closest Starbucks is located.

This is one of several videos in my series about “How to Sell Your Condo and Buy a House“. Check out my Youtube Channel for the entire series.

The Starbucks Factor is a qualitative factor that is remarkably accurate in predicting which neighbourhoods will be the next hot area. Where Starbucks goes, that’s where real estate values are on their way up. The story goes that Starbucks invests massive amounts of money into researching an area before ever opening a store there. Perhaps more than any other retailer, having a Starbucks in your neighbourhood is usually a very good sign.

The key to getting the most out of the Starbucks Factor is to look for neighbourhoods where there is not a Starbucks yet, but where there will likely be one soon. Not an easy task but understanding neighbourhood trends and having a Realtor who can pinpoint the areas where prices are rising more rapidly than the average will help you find these up and coming pockets.

Probably the most famous example of the Starbucks factor was in the West Queen West neighbourhood in 2005 when a Starbucks opened there near the Drake Hotel. For better or worse, the opening of the Starbucks started a gentrification process that has completely transformed the once derelict area. Now if you go to this stretch of Queen West between Ossington and Dufferin you’ll notice several new condo developments under construction representing an influx of thousands of high income home owners into the area.

If you are thinking about selling your condo and buying a house this year, I’d love to help. For more information contact me.

Are corner lots a good thing or a bad thing? Check out this video for my take on this hotly debated topic.

This is one of several videos in my series about “How to Sell Your Condo and Buy a House“. Check out my Youtube Channel for the entire series.

If you are thinking about selling your condo and buying a house this year, I’d love to help. For more information contact me.

Most of my condo clients don’t even know what school district their condo belongs to. However, when it comes time to sell the condo and buy a house, it’s often because a baby is coming and suddenly what school district your home belongs to is VERY important.

This is one of several videos in my series about “How to Sell Your Condo and Buy a House“. Check out my Youtube Channel for the entire series.

Whether you have kids or not, school district definitely affects the value of a house. The best neighbourhoods of Toronto have the best schools.

How good a school is usually determined by how well the students perform on average. Test scores can be easily viewed online on various websites.

When buying a home in Toronto, always find out what school district the home belongs to and what the school’s test scores are like – even if you don’t have any children or don’t plan on having any children, the school district your potential home belongs to will affect your home’s value now and in the future.

Besides doing research online, talk to the parents on the street of the house you are thinking about buying. Ask them what they think of the school and its reputation.

I’m here at Jackman Avenue Public School near Broadview and Danforth. This school is one of the most coveted public schools in Toronto. Homes in the catchment area routinely fetch a premium of $100K or more. Parents have been known to forge addresses or even buy fakes ones to ensure their children get a spot in this school. Students at the school boast very high test scores, the school has a green roof, a french immersion program, day care, arts programs, community tutoring, and more.

If you are thinking about selling your condo and buying a house this year, I’d love to help. For more information contact me.

When you bought your condo, you probably did not get a home inspection, however, when buying a house, especially your first house, a home inspection should be a top priority.

This is one of several videos in my series about “How to Sell Your Condo and Buy a House“. Check out my Youtube Channel for the entire series.

A home inspection typically takes about 3-4 hours, and costs between $300-$500.

There are two main reasons why you should get a home inspection:

First, it can protect you from buying the wrong house. A home inspection most importantly points out the flaws in any house and tells you approximately how much you need to spend to fix them. This can help you avoid a costly mistake.

The second and often overlooked reason for getting a home inspection is that a home inspection is like a crash course in home ownership. Going through the property that will soon be your home with a qualified and professional home inspector is a must-have educational experience about how to care for and maintain a house.

Over the years of helping my clients buy houses, I’ve worked with some great home inspectors and some not so great home inspectors. How do you know who is a good home inspector?

1) the more experienced the better
2) ask around and get someone who is highly recommended
3) while not necessary to be a good inspector, I’ve found that those inspectors who are also professional engineers tend to be the most knowledgeable and thorough.

What often separates the good inspectors from the not so good is a willingness to go the extra mile. Many inspectors will find excuses to not inspect certain aspects of a house, but the best ones will do whatever it takes to get the job done. For example, one client recently purchased a house that was a particularly tall house. The inspector wanted to inspect the roof but his ladder did not reach. This inspector voluntarily offered to go to home depot and rent a longer ladder on his own time to go up and inspect to roof! My clients were very impressed!

If you are thinking about selling your condo and buying a house this year, I’d love to help. For more information contact me.

Unlike a condo, the curb appeal of a house can dramatically affect its value.

This is one of several videos in my series about “How to Sell Your Condo and Buy a House“. Check out my Youtube Channel for the entire series.

A house with a good curb appeal will attract a lot of interest from buyers. Afterall, a buyer’s first impression of a house is usually made before they ever enter the property. Everyone likes a pretty house, but when buying a house it’s important to always look past the appearance to the details.

For a great buy, look for a renovated house with bad curb appeal. This type of house is often overlooked by buyers and can sometimes be a good way to find a bargain in a competitive market. A significant increase in curb appeal can often be achieved with minimal cost. A fresh coat of paint, some new plants, new lighting, and some basic landscaping call all be done for a few hundred dollars but the added value can be worth thousands.

I wanted to show you this house which is right across the street from Monarch Park here on the Danforth. This house has great curb appeal. Notice the attention to detail on the porch, the fresh colours and tones, the cedar shake siding, sleek black roof, and the beautiful landscaping and stone work. This is a house that anyone would love to come home to and one that if it were on the market, would generate top dollars.

If you are thinking about selling your condo and buying a house this year, I’d love to help. For more information contact me.

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Unless you live on the penthouse level of your condo, the roof of your building is probably something you have never thought about. HOWEVER, when selling your condo and buying a house, you need to know that the roof of your home is one of the MOST important parts of your house.

The two main types of roofs you’ll come across in houses in Toronto are flat roofs and pitched roofs.

Flat roofs are not actually flat, they always have a slight slope to them to allow drainage. They don’t tend to last as long as pitched roofs, however, they are generally cheaper to build. Of course everyone knows that flat roofs are great for roof-top patios and decks. A good flat roof should last at least 10 years

Pitched roofs come in many different styles and are typically very low maintenance and are designed to let rain and snow fall away from the house. A good pitched roof should last at least 20 years, but it can be much longer depending on the materials used.

So how do you know if your roof needs to be repaired or replaced? On a pitched roof, look for cracked or curled shingles. Look for holes and possible entry points for animals in any corners or crevasses. Look for fading or discolouration. The condition of a flat roof will be very difficult to assess without going up onto the roof.

My first expert tip for inspecting a roof is to not inspect the roof at all, rather, go inside the house and check the ceilings and walls for signs of possible water damage and leaks caused by a faulty roof.

My second expert tip is if you get a home inspection when buying a house, make sure your home inspector actually goes up on the roof. Many of them do not and only do a visual inspection which adds very little value to such an important purchase.

I wanted to show you the roof on this house near the Danforth as an example of a common problem many homes in Toronto have and that is uneven wear and tear. This roof is generally in pretty good condition however you can see that along the sides the shingles are badly damaged and in need of replacement. This is because of water run off from the dormer above. This problem can easily be avoided by adding a downspout to connect the upper and lower eaves.

If you are thinking about selling your condo and buying a house this year, I’d love to help. For more information contact me.

You may or may not have experienced a bidding war when you bought your condo, however, when you are shopping for a house in Toronto, bidding wars are a reality that just about everyone has to deal with.

First of all, bidding wars are extremely common in Toronto’s best neighbourhoods. Even though people like to think that bidding wars are a relatively new phenomenon in Toronto, the reality is they have been happening for decades. Competition and real estate go hand in hand in Toronto.

Secondly, there are no set rules of how a bidding war is structured. The only thing you as a potential buyer will know is how many offers you are bidding against. This makes it absolutely crucial to have an experienced buyers agent on your side to guide you through the process.

My first expert tip for surviving a bidding war is to collect as much information before you put in an offer as possible. Find out exactly how many offers there are, how many other comparable properties are on the market, and know both the market value of the house is, and also know what the value of the house is to you.

My second tip is to always come with your strongest offer up front. Many buyers think that they will always be given a second chance to improve their offer, so they hold back some of their cards, only to be disappointed when a seller elects to go with someone else’s offer. Never assume that there will be a second round of bidding.

Recently I had a couple of clients who were putting an offer in on a house against 5 other offers. After the first round of bidding they narrowed it down to my clients and one other buyer. My clients ended up not getting the house because they were out-bid by around $20K.

Just a week later another house came up on the market around the corner from that house and they ended up being the only offer that came in on the house. So they got a very similar house for about $80K less than what the previous house sold for!

The moral of the story is be patient and you will find the right property!

I hope you learned something about  bidding wars in real estate today. Check out my website or contact me for more information.

If you are thinking about selling your condo and buying a house this year, I’d love to help. For more information contact me.

One building in particular always seems to have an abundance of ‘out to lunch’ sellers trying to pawn their listings off on an unsuspecting buyer at outrageously inflated prices. That building is Maple Leaf Square (55 and 65 Bremner).

Exhibit A: a small 2 bedroom unit is on the market at $469K with no parking, or $499K if parking is included. The listing has been on the market for almost 3 months. Several of the same floor plan have sold in the past year. Average selling price including parking was $465K (6 sold units). This seller is approximately $35K over market value or 7.5% over market value.

Exhibit B: a small 1+Den with no parking is on the market at $429K. The listing has been on the market for a total of about 300 days at various different price points. Average selling price of the exact same unit over the last year is $353K (4 sold units). This seller is approximately $76K or 21% over market value. One listing of the same floor plan was priced as high as $455K this year!

These are just a couple of examples. Having been working with a buyer-client who is trying to get a unit in this building it’s very frustrating and a serious time waster for all trying to negotiate with someone who is completely out of touch with reality. In the summer I submitted an offer for this buyer-client on a unit that was listed at $399K. The offer was for $355K. The seller acted like he was insulted and his agent was just as incredulous. Several months later and 100+ days on the market that unit never sold. Meanwhile 2 other units of the same floor plan and very similar floor level sold for $349K and $357K respectively.

What is it about Maple Leaf Square that seems to foster this insanity among sellers? I don’t know but I suspect there are a lot of investors who paid all cash for their units who really don’t care if they sell them at all, however, if someone wants to offer them an outrageous price above what all other units are selling for they will gladly take it!

Questions or comments? Please contact me.

Location is the most important factor when considering any real estate investment. You can change many things about a property, but you can’t change its location, therefore it’s vitally important for any condo buyer to understand exactly what makes a good location good. Why do some condos appreciate at higher rates and command higher resale prices compared to others that are often located just steps away?

Just being downtown is not enough with today’s buyers. Buyers want to experience the best of urban living.  Today’s urbanites are more sophisticated than ever. They know the difference one block in the wrong direction can make on quality of life and resale-ability down the road. They know the impact of having a Starbucks in your building can make versus having a Coffee Time.

The best locations are those that combine two key factors:

1) Highly visible. Being in a highly visible location is critical to attracting people, businesses, services, and even government dollars to fund things like transit and infrastructure. You need to be seen from the street by pedestrians, people in their cars and on transit. You need to be in a spot that is well-known and familiar with the average person in Toronto. This is why condos located immediately on the crossroads of two major streets are always tremendously popular with buyers (One Bloor at Bloor and Yonge, The Hudson at King and Spadina, L Tower at Front and Yonge, etc.). This is also why condos located busy pedestrian and transit-friendly streets like King or Queen tend to out perform those located on one-way, transit-less streets like Richmond or Adelaide.

2) Highly visited. Just because a condo is located in a highly visible location, does not mean it will be a highly visited location. A great example of this is Cityplace. Everyone knows where Cityplace is, and the towers dominate the skyline when you are coming in from the west on the Gardiner, however, no one except the people who live in Cityplace ever go to Cityplace. This is one reason why prices in this area continue to lag significantly behind that of other nearby neighbourhoods.

Recently a fairly high profile project launched in the heart of the downtown to much fanfare. Many Realtors were pushing this project as a great investment to their clients, however, I quietly told my clients to ‘pass’ on this project even though the building was located a few minutes walk from the multiple subway stations. Why? It was essentially located on a side street of a side street. Most people including Realtors had to Google the address and still didn’t know where it was! The location of this building is neither highly visible or highly visited, thus I advised my clients to hold out for other projects.

Questions or comments? Thinking about buying a condo this fall and want to be sure you pick one with a great location? Contact me.

The reasons are quite simple:

1. Summer Vacation. Many buyers and their Realtors are not working in the summer and buying property gets pushed to the sidelines. Fewer buyers = less competition.
2. Leftovers. Many of the listings on the market in July are those listings that are ‘left over’ from the spring market of April, May, and June. The longer a property is on the market, the more likely the seller will come down from their list price (generally speaking).

Last summer was a GREAT buyers market. Right after the HST rush was over, July produced some memorable sales across the city that I still scratch my head at when doing market research for my clients and comparing current listings with past sales. Many people thought the sky was falling last year and many buyers who stuck around after June 30th got some amazing deals by today’s pricing standards.

While your friends are out sipping cold beers on a patio somewhere downtown, keep focused and make sure you have a vigilant Realtor working for you and you just may nab yourself a nice find this summer!  You’ll be glad you did when the fall comes and all your beer drinking friends are fighting for condos in bidding wars once again.

Thinking of buying a condo this summer? Let’s talk.