Townhome or House

[PIX]

That really sucks that you basically had to put your place up for sale because of some ****s! Maybe condos should go the extra mile and soundproof the units a little better? In my hallway I can hear people laughing/talking all the time....Inside the unit is pretty quiet though...except for the crazy woman above me who screams and breaks things every couple of months. Make sure if you get a townhouse, there's no one above you because you will have even bigger headaches.

Is Liberty Village too close to downtown? There are a number of decent townhouses in Etobicoke near lakeshore too.

I am willing to move as far as Steeles and Kennedy. I have been Googling new developments and notice such a difference in pricing like as low as $393,000 (http://www.aristahomes.com/new-homes-markham/boxgrove/floorplans/lindley) for 1707 sq ft near 9th Line and Hwy 407 to a 1628 sq ft townhome (http://millikencentre.com/floorplan_townhouse_en.html) at Steeles and Midland for $428,000.

What do you think?

 

[urbandreamer]

^Would you consider a fixer-upper in the Perth/Wallace/Lansdowne area of town? It's quieter, but is an up-and-coming area--art galleries, a few cafes etc opened this year. You buy an old Victorian for around $375k, then spend $20k renovating it. I've been doing the same to an old home in the area recently, and imho, it's an idea worth pursuing.

 

[Eug]

I am willing to move as far as Steeles and Kennedy.

Lots of good Chinese restaurants around there.

BTW, how much travel time are willing to consider, and by what mode of transport? Some of the further out places are relatively close in that you can drive from there to downtown (which would be important if you work downtown) in say 25 minutes on Sunday, but in rush hour it might take over an hour. I would suggest you try the commute during rush hour before getting too attached to a certain development or whatever. One of the reasons I didn't consider Steeles and Kennedy was the commute to my workplace, and the distance from downtown. My acquaintances who live near Steeles rarely go downtown because of the hassle. You might not care, but for me that's a big deal, since I like doing stuff downtown.

^Would you consider a fixer-upper in the Perth/Wallace/Lansdowne area of town? It's quieter, but is an up-and-coming area--art galleries, a few cafes etc opened this year. You buy an old Victorian for around $375k, then spend $20k renovating it. I've been doing the same to an old home in the area recently, and imho, it's an idea worth pursuing.

Hmmm... Only $20000 to renovate? That seems rather optimistic, unless you plan on doing a lot of the work yourself, no? A friend of mine spent 5 digits just to redo the wiring (from knob-and-tube).

 

[cdr108]

I am willing to move as far as Steeles and Kennedy. I have been Googling new developments and notice such a difference in pricing like as low as $393,000 (http://www.aristahomes.com/new-homes-markham/boxgrove/floorplans/lindley) for 1707 sq ft near 9th Line and Hwy 407 to a 1628 sq ft townhome (http://millikencentre.com/floorplan_townhouse_en.html) at Steeles and Midland for $428,000.

What do you think?

that's a drastic move in distance and space from your CP condo !

i'm assuming you have a car and willing to commute.
how far will your work be from your prospective new place?

re: aristahomes
lindsay floorplan "A" is better than "C" for larger and similar sized 2nd/3rd bedrooms.



re: millikencentre
the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are quite small ... 7'10" x 10'2".
have the broken ground yet? IIRC that project was selling for the past 5 years ?!?

 

[Eug]

the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are quite small ... 7'10" x 10'2".

Holy crap that's small. I had a guest bedroom in my townhouse that was 9'x10' and felt that was already small.

 

[AKS]

that's a drastic move pix, are you sure you want to move so far away? If you work downtown, it will take you awhile to get downtown. If you take the GO it will be faster, but expensive commute. If you want pre-construction, why don't you consider River City? It's a new area.

 

[Eug]

Even if you move out away from downtown, there no guarantee that you won't get a total ass as a neighbour.

 

[PIX]

River City looks compelling but I would like to move by middle of 2010. I'd prefer a newer home not more than 5 years old. I work near Eglinton and Birchmount. My Sister lives at Kennedy and Steeles and it takes me over an hour to visit her from downtown. Though it's a long commute I'm OK with that and yes I noticed there are a lot of good Chineses restaurants in the area. Unfortunately many new Markham developments are further North so I will have to investigate the public transit situation and commuting time to work. I'm still entertaining other locations.

 

[Eug]

Interesting you should mention Birchmount. They're probably in the wrong price range ($700000), but a few townhouses are going up at Birchmount and Kingston Road. Huge - 2350 square feet. Benefit would be a 5 minute commute to work, 5 minute drive to Queen and Victoria Park (where The Beach restaurant strip starts) and only 25 minutes to downtown in rush hour (if you ever have a desire to go to downtown in rush hour). Also, from there to Steeles and Kennedy is less than half an hour too I'm guessing.

 

[PIX]

Interesting you should mention Birchmount. They're probably in the wrong price range ($700000), but a few townhouses are going up at Birchmount and Kingston Road. Huge - 2350 square feet. Benefit would be a 5 minute commute to work, 5 minute drive to Queen and Victoria Park (where The Beach restaurant strip starts) and only 25 minutes to downtown in rush hour (if you ever have a desire to go to downtown in rush hour). Also, from there to Steeles and Kennedy is less than half an hour too I'm guessing.

I'm feeling excited about this new development at Kingston Rd and Ellesmere. I was told occupancy for middle of next year: http://www.mycarringtonplace.com 30 minutes on the bus to Kennedy station. Amenities look good around this area. What do you think about this area?

 

[Eug]

I'm feeling excited about this new development at Kingston Rd and Ellesmere. I was told occupancy for middle of next year: http://www.mycarringtonplace.com 30 minutes on the bus to Kennedy station. Amenities look good around this area. What do you think about this area?

It's very far from a lot of stuff. My impression (which could be wrong), is that a lot of people are very car dependent in that general area, although you do say it is on the bus line to Kennedy Station - 30 mins. Alternatively, those who work downtown can take the Guildwood GO, although they still have to get to the GO station first.

Furthermore, does that bus really help you that much? You'd have to transfer to another bus to get to your workplace, and it'd probably be much faster just to drive, even in rush hour. My guess it's a 15-20 minute commute by car to Birchmount and Eglinton at peak times.

Also, I wonder what's gonna happen in 10 years when they build the Scarborough Malvern LRT. It's going to go along Kingston Road from Kennedy Station, except it won't go as far as Meadowvale on Kingston. It's gonna go up Morningside. Will that mean you'll have to take the bus to Morningside, and then take the LRT to Kennedy, and then take another LRT on Eglinton from Kennedy Station to Birchmount?

 

[PIX]

Do you think it would be a good idea to put my condo on the MLS now as opposed to waiting until Spring? I noticed 11 smaller units than mine in Neo alone. Low inventory and affordable interest rates? I just purchased a beautiful (end unit) townhome by Stafford Homes, close to Upper Danforth Village which will be ready in August 2010.

 

[AKS]

Then you might as well wait until spring to sell since you won't be moving until next summer anyhow. Otherwise you'll have to rent. I don't think the market prices will drop drastically next year. It's best to sell when the rest have sold off first. Then there's less competition in your building to sell units.

 

[ponyboy]

If you want guaranteed quiet, I would stay out of condos or townhouses. I would go for a bungalow in a marginal/up in coming neighbourhood. They often have wider lots (more space from neighbours) and you won't have to worry about high heels dancing on your ceiling.

as far as areas, I'd look at Eglington west (between Eg West Subway station and Dufferin), East York, and out on the danforth beyond the trendy Greektown area. You should find a nice bungalow in your price range in these places. Alternately, consider renting in areas you don't really know much about so you can get a feel for whether you like it or not.

 

[PIX]

If you want guaranteed quiet, I would stay out of condos or townhouses. I would go for a bungalow in a marginal/up in coming neighbourhood. They often have wider lots (more space from neighbours) and you won't have to worry about high heels dancing on your ceiling.

as far as areas, I'd look at Eglington west (between Eg West Subway station and Dufferin), East York, and out on the danforth beyond the trendy Greektown area. You should find a nice bungalow in your price range in these places. Alternately, consider renting in areas you don't really know much about so you can get a feel for whether you like it or not.

I actually ended up buying a new three-story, freehold, 1715 sq ft. semi-detached townhome by Stafford Homes. Located a 10 minute walk South of Warden Subway and three layer of homes East of Warden. It comes with private entrance, private driveway and private patio which is scheduled for completion late next year. There was $10,000 of free upgrades when I purchased the home.

There is a large nursing home just one or two layer of homes North of mine -will have to call the cops on them if they are noisy

There is actually another row of homes but the photo was cut-off when I stitched it together. Mine is the end unit surrounded by the white box.

This model kitchen is a little smaller than mine but it includes stainless steel applicances.