Toronto Real Estate and Neighbourhoods Blog | Move Smartly

FlexHousing™ Brings Adaptable Housing Options to Canada

Rachel Loizos in Real Estate Trends

A recent article in DreamHomes & Condominiums magazine highlighted one of the most interesting trends in real estate that I have seen in awhile.   The trend is in what are called Flex-Homes, which as explained on the CMHC site, comprises a concept in housing that incorporates, at the design and construction stage, the ability to make future changes easily and with minimum expense.  The intention of FlexHousing™ is to allow homeowners to occupy a dwelling for longer periods of time while adapting to changing circumstances and meeting a wider range of needs. Similar concepts are referred to as Universal Housing in the United States and Australia and Lifetime Homes in the United Kingdom.

The CMHC site also goes on to list the myriad of ways that this style of housing is beneficial for everyone because of the ability of the home to grow with you.

Home Buying in a Gentrified Toronto

Rachel Loizos in Legal, Real Estate Trends

Assuming that Toronto has a housing bubble, and that it will not burst (or if it does, it won’t be soon enough), how are average people supposed to enter the market? I agree that consumers should not buy above their means, but what if that results in being priced out of everywhere you want to live?

I came across a very interesting New York Times article recently that (although cheekily mocked for its navel-gazing in a satirical blog) does raise a very interesting point.  The article, peppered with Richard Florida references,  highlights Brooklyn and the San Francisco Bay area where people, priced out of the market, join together to purchase property that they could not otherwise afford.

In a previous post, I described Tenancy in Common, a method of owning property with others.  In the face of gentrification and rising markets in general, this could provide those people who were going to share a rental space the opportunity to share an owned space.  Obviously, this type of ownership is not for everyone, and it is not a new concept - but obviously more relevant as we face increased housing costs and fewer options.

I believe that this kind of ownership is certainly a sensible way to start.  Having said that, make sure you go in to the transaction with your expectations known, and even if you decide to buy property with your brother, make sure that you have documented the agreement between you in detail.  Nothing drives people apart like disputes over money so to protect the relationship, make sure you have clear expectations from the outset.   

Rachel Loizos is an associate lawyer at Sotos LLP in Toronto. She practices in the area of real estate law.
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Related Posts:

How to Take Title - Sole Ownership, Joint Tenancy and Tenancy in Common

Richard Florida and Toronto's Openness Paradox

Bejeweled Phantoms: Will Foreign Investors Accelerate Gentrification in Toronto?

 

Real Estate Fraud Action Plan: Enhancing the Security of the Ontario Electronic Land Registry System

Rachel in Legal, Real Estate Trends

Some new developments are coming to pass in the legal world as it relates to real estate. You may or may not know that the province of Ontario was the first jurisdiction in the world to provide electronic registration of land-related documents. In order to enhance the security of the system, the Ontario government's Real Estate Fraud Action Plan has outlined its new Access Requirements.  The people who are currently registered to use the system are required to re-register in order to continue to use it. The Ontario Bar Association has been sending fairly regular reminders about this, so it will be interesting to see if any deals are actually delayed because of the transition.

Titles, Trophies and Testimonials: the Sorry State of Real Estate Advertising

Ed. Note.  Move Smartly is pleased to welcome Carl Minicucci and his insightful commentary to our blog.  Carl is a sales representative with Humber Valley Realty in Vaughan and is active in the real estate industry.  He has a professional background in accounting and business.

Carl in Real Estate Trends

As a member of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) finance committee, I always look forward to monthly updates of membership statistics. Certainly, there is a direct correlation between the swelling numbers of new registrants over the past number of years and the corresponding strength of the real estate market.

According to the TREB, for the year 2007, there were approximately 93,200 total residential unit sales and approximately 26,800 registered members as at year’s end. Five years earlier, for the year 2002, there were approximately 74,800 total sales and 18,100 registrants. The net result is a decrease in average unit sales per registrant of about 16%.

The above trend arguably is a contributing factor to the overall proliferation of media advertising among Realtors. From billboards, bus shelters and balloons to trade journals, television and tried and true ad-mail, traditional advertising continues to prevail. Add to that the exponential growth of on-line marketing and Web 2.0 and you begin to appreciate the breadth of media being used by Realtors in their efforts to capture consumer attention.

English Farmer Hides Illegal Castle Behind Haystack

John in Real Estate Trends

In an effort to evade local planners English farmer Robert Fidler built his dream castle, complete with two turrets and a cannon, underneath tarps and hay bales and then lived in it for four years. 

Before

After

The Fidlers went to great lengths to keep their castle a secret, including keeping their son Harry away from pre-school on the day students were supposed to do a painting of their home.

"We couldn't have him drawing a big blue haystack – people might ask questions," said 39-year-old Mrs Fidler.

Local planners visited the site during the summer of 2006, but never noticed the castle.

Mr. Fidler was trying to take advantage of a local law that would allow an illegally built home to stand so long as no complaints were raised with the local planning department during within the first four years.  Local planners are arguing that the law does not apply because local residents were not aware that the castle was even built. 

Mr. Fidler may have as little as six months to tear down his £50,000 castle.

Photo Credit: Daily Mail

John Pasalis is a sales associate at Prudential Properties Plus in Toronto and a founder of Realosophy. Email John

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Toronto Condo Developer Misses the Mark with Facebook Advertising Campaign

John in Toronto Real Estate News

Urbancorp, the developer behind West Side Lofts and Bridge Condos, is Toronto’s first condo developer to leverage Facebook’s new advertising platform. This is just part of the developers “viral sales & communications strategy” according to a recent press release.

Unfortunately for Urbancorp, their marketing team came up with a campaign doesn't speak to Facebook users, appears to be disingenuous about its goals and has a Facebook application that will certainly go down as one of the most ridiculous applications ever developed.

Welcome Year of the Rat

Jesse in Real Estate Trends

Recently, Chinese New Year ushered in the Year of the Rat. Interviewed by the Globe and Mail, Paul Ng, a computer systems manager turned philosopher, warned of fires to property owners in southeast Toronto and suggested that Toronto’s hot real estate market will continue. 

Feng Shui Master Sherman Tai advises B.C. to expect a slow real estate market for the first half of the year, according to the Vancouver Province. 

Meanwhile south of the border, Grandmaster Hong Lui tells the Arizona Republic that the US real estate and mortgage plight will slightly recover in the New Year. Downsides to Lui’s accounts include an increase of violent storms and nature-related catastrophes.

Jesse Fleming is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Email Jesse

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photo credits: www.greendragonarts.com

For Sale by Owner Poses the Same Security Risks as Those Facing Realtors

Rachel in Real Estate Trends

The recent, tragic death of B.C. realtor Lindsay Buziak highlights the security risks that face those in the real estate industry.  My heart goes out to her family. As I was reading the ongoing coverage in the Globe and Mail, and other news sites, I noticed that other realtors had posted their own suggestions for methods of protecting themselves, but as I looked at RECO, TREB and VREB, I could not find anything relating to agent safety tips.  I certainly hope that this is part of their internal site offering, but it does make me wonder, what kind of access to resources do homeowners who are selling without an agent have?

Realosophy Launch

Welcome to realosophy.com!  We hope that you are as excited as we are about our new Toronto HomeBuyer’s website.

We are a group of young consumers and professionals who once wondered why HomeBuying wasn’t more fun, open and easy to understand.  Then we decided to do something about it—something we call Realosophy.