Buying a detached (standalone) house around ~20k radios from Toronto CBD

[seeking]

Hi all,
Hoping to get some solid feedback on the housing front, around Toronto area. GTA is not an option for me (too far from everything, don't fancy the area, cleanliness etc)

We are after a 3-4 beds, with moderately large land (could potentially be bit of a rundown, which we would renovate anyway). Location, convenience, access to train, safety, size of the land, close proximately to school, not super close to downtown are more important factors to us.

Could you pls recommend few suburbs which will fit the bill? Also price range?

Is there a particular website I can look up? Like here in AU we have domain.com.au or .realstate.com.au

Many thanks

 

[newtone]

www.mls.ca

 

[seeking]

Thank you, any suggestion about suburbs I should be looking into?

 

[zardoz]

Thank you, any suggestion about suburbs I should be looking into?

How much money can you raise?

 

[seeking]

Sorry are you asking what's my budget?

 

[scylla]

Yes - tell us what your budget is.

Prices vary based on location. Where I live a 3 bedroom semi that needs renovations on a small lot (20x100 feet) will run you around $800K.

 

[seeking]

Hi Scylla,
Thanks. We would be looking around $750K - $1 mill highest.
I know it's a rather big range but that will probably give us few suburbs to consider ( im guessing).

I have kinda looked around N. York area and looks like there's quite few houses avail. Ideally we would like to be able walk to the train station than driving during the rush hour.

e.g : realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?PropertyId=15090771 - (81 NAIRN AVE, Toronto)-
realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?PropertyId=15110911 - (155A HARVIE AVE, Toronto,)
or even this - realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?PropertyId=15081409 - 110 LILLINGTON AVE, Toronto, Ontario
realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?PropertyId=14946836 - 21 GOWER ST, Toronto, Ontario

none of them looked too bad to me, but obviously i have no idea about the area etc...
Hope this helps

Thanks

 

[scylla]

Based on those links, it looks like you're looking for a fully renovated house.

Some of those properties are in North York and at least one is in the Beaches area (bit north of there). Those are very different areas of the city with different feels. Which one is better for you is really a personal choice. I would personally spend a few months in Toronto first getting a feel for each area before you buy. Work with an agent to find out what you can get for your money vs. what houses are really selling for. Sometimes houses go for quite a bit more than the mls listed price - sometimes less. Only an agent can tell you.

Also, make sure you educate yourselves on closing costs - especially the land transfer taxes. For a $750K property for example - you're going to end up paying close to $25K in land transfer taxes (in addition to the purchase price).

 

[seeking]

Hi Scylla,
Thanks for the info.

I'm not particularly looking for fully renovated ones, just that the few I picked happened to be fully renovated.

100% agree with what you are saying about living in Toronto before committing to buy a place and we will certainly be doing that.

I am just doing some online research to establish a rough guideline about what we can achieve with our budget in Toronto, and would that give us what we need. Over here (Sydney) we have managed to not have to deal with heavy peak hour traffic by staying walking distance from a train station, so that's high in our priority list. Life is too short to spend 1.5 hours every day sitting in your car.

Yes, I'm familiar with the closing cost, but thanks for the heads up. Over here, we are used to forking out lot more!
Thanks

 

[scylla]

I completely agree with you when it comes to commuting. I work in Toronto's financial district and can get to work in around 20 minutes by public transport (I'm less than a five minute walk from a subway station). I love this lifestyle. Yes - money certainly doesn't buy you much where I live. But I'll take the small house and property in exchange for the convenience. In five minutes we can walk to more great restaurants than I can name, cool bars, cafes, etc. I love it. Plus, while downtown, our neighbourhood is a very strong community and has a small town feel.

I'll be open and say that North York is not for me. But lots of people love it (and might find where I live too central).

Toronto has a large number of very different pockets and neighbourhoods. Definitely live here a few months before making the big decision to buy.