Toronto Real Estate – Help And FAQs – Part 1
// July 27th, 2010 // Real Estate
I’ve heard I may need a building permit for some renovations I am doing on my house.
The City of Toronto may need to give you formal permission, a building permit, before you can make a start work on your property, which includes construction, demolition, additions or renovations. The Ontario Building Code, local Zoning By-laws and many other regulations must be studied by Toronto Building staff before a permit can be issued. Here are quite a few situations of when a building permit may be mandatory: Assemble a new building or put on an extension, make structural alterations, some reno’s, demolish or remove all or a portion of a building, alter a building’s use, install, change, or remove partitions and load bearing walls, make new openings for, or change the size of, doors and windows, build a garage, balcony or deck, excavate a basement or construct a foundation, install or modify heating, plumbing or air-conditioning systems, install or reconstruct chimneys or fireplaces or wood burning stoves, create a new basement entrance or second suite the list goes on.
My insurance business is asking a multitude of questions about the real estate I bought, can my realtor help?
If your property has been renovated in any way, the amount of land the property sits on, when the property was put up are some of the questions asked. We will contact the listing agent for your new house to get as many answers as we can from the sellers, who will know the most about the house. Most insurance companies understand that the the original details are not always available, as a result they normally accept approximate details.
What is the better investment opportunity, a house or a apartment?
We deal mostly with houses for sale Toronto but I believe that this all depends on your personal situation, how you envisage the future and what you are expecting out of the purchase. If you are looking for something that pays for itself, then based on Toronto rental prices, a well placed condo can do that, but if you are looking for somewhere to live and rent, then a house may be the better option. One of the services we offer to our clients is specific advice based on your individual lifestyle.
Why do prices for the same type of unit alter so much in the same building?
There are many examples for why there could be a price difference and most are down to the additional things provided such as kitchen upgrades or ceiling height. Also, the higher the floor in the building, the larger the price (ie penthouse suites can sell for a lot more than ground floor suites). Lastly, don’t forget that list price – asking price – is not always the same as what the units will actually sell for!
