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Nothing says summer better than sitting in a lawn chair on a dock overlooking a lake while sipping a cool drink. Lakeside living in Toronto is actually easy to find given the number of superb lakes that the province boasts. If you are thinking about moving to cottage country and want the ultimate lakeside cottage, then you are not alone. Lakeside living is gaining momentum as a younger generation of adults are opting to live rurally on their off-time and rent in urban centers for their daily living.
 
Lakeside cottages require slightly more care than those found on a on-waterfront site. The presence of a shoreline means that the activity of your household will directly affect the quality of the water and the integrity of the shore. In order to maintain your shoreline and prevent costly repairs that might be necessitated by improper use, it is best to take care when developing your property. Hiring a certified contractor who is familiar with building along shorelines is a must if you need to install or replace a dock. You must hire someone who will minimize the impact of the work done to the shoreline in order to spare the environment as much damage as possible
 
If your water system empties into the lake you will have to change the kind of soaps and cleansers you use inside your cabin. Direct draining into the lake of commercial cleanser can significantly raise the levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in the water, which in turn will contribute to the aging process and lead to the death of the lake. Even if your water system doesn’t drain into the lake, to minimize the effects of leaching into the lake it is best to use low-impact cleansers. It is also recommended to keep your septic system up-to-spec.
 
When looking for the right lakeside home in Toronto for your needs, it is best to consider the kind of lake you want to live near as well. Some lake allow motorized watercraft while others don’t. Motorized watercraft will come with noise and water disturbance. If this is not something you are into, then it is best to look for a lake where these are not permitted.
 
The right lakefront property is out there – as long as you know what you want and how to care for it, lakeside living is a dream that is definitely attainable!

Looking for a Toronto weekend getaway place? A little cottage by a lake where you can wile away your free time? You are not alone. Cottage country has become big business of late in the GTA fuelled mainly by the skyrocketing urban market and the unaffordable cost of owning property in the city. However, given the popularity of lakeside living, the prices of country places have also started to rise, and where you might have been able to find a great place for under $200K in the recent past, such deals are becoming fewer and much farther between – and those with attractive price tags are usually little more than shacks requiring extensive work to be viable.
 
If you want to find a good place and a good price, then knowing your cottage country and what you want are key. Do you want to be beside a lake? How rural do you want it? How many bedrooms? What state of completion? What is your budget? Will you use it as a short-term rental? How much land do you want? All of these are crucial questions that need answering. They will determine the location of where you will buy, the price point you can afford and the type of property your agent needs to find for you.
 
Finding a good realtor who is familiar with the cottage country real estate market is crucial to getting what you want. A good agent will be able to direct you to those gems that might not be most visible, but have the right elements for what you want/need. Next, securing financing is in order. Your financial institution will be able to walk you through the process of securing a loan for your cottage property. Just be aware that it might be a little tougher than it would be if you were buying in the city.
 
Once you have your questions answered, you’ve found your realtor and secured your financing, it is time to hit the market! And, the minute you find your place and sign on the dotted line, you will become part of an exclusive but growing club of people opting for the comforts of the country over the city for their property purchase

With Toronto home prices so high, cottage and country living has become one of the most viable alternatives to buying a house in the city. Owning a cottage is a great way to truly disconnect when you arrive home. Whether you choose to live in the country or have a cottage just for the weekends and holidays, there are advantages to living outside the city that greater numbers of people are discovering – especially millennials.
 
According to a Globe and Mail article, millennials are among the most likely to rent the place they live and own a country place well outside the city limits. Not only do they see the purchase of a country place as a way to enhance their lifestyle, they are more likely to use it as a short-term rental to boost their income.
 
However, before your decide to run out and buy a country place, it is important to run the numbers and to be sure that you will be able to recoup your investment. Firstly, it is harder to get a mortgage on a cottage. Despite having lower price tags, many cottages might not meet a bank’s investment standards. Banks are also skittish about financing second-homes and investment properties unless the buyers have a record of already owning property. So, getting a bank to sign off on a mortgage might be a little more difficult than if you were to buy a regular home.
 
Don’t forget that if you choose to buy a country place that you can also use for short term rentals, you will have to factor in the cost of the management company that you will likely have to hire to take care of getting your rental ready for new renters. In some cases, although you might get a higher income from short-term rentals, having a long-term renter is more beneficial as it requires less time and financial investment on your part.
 
Cottage living is a growing trend that really reflects that kind of work-life balance that the younger generation is demanding. It is a good way to have your city pad and a place where you can relax on the weekends.

Tiny homes in Toronto are a growing trend. While most people look to tiny homes as an alternative to traditional housing in a bid to build an inexpensive and affordable home, a large number of people are opting to make their tiny home finishes high-end and luxurious. While this may increase the cost of their tiny home, it also means getting finishes they would have otherwise had to forego – but now its luxury on a scale that they can afford.
 
Given the sustainable nature of tiny homes one of the most populars trends is to finish the interior using recycled or repurposed materials. For instance, the floor from an old bowling alley was used to create the stairs in one tiny home while the old copper pipes from a defunct factory was refashioned into a modernist light fixture for another home. Such innovations aim to use existing materials in a new way and this imparts a uniqueness to tiny homes that truly reflect the personalities and sensibilities of their owners. Such unique, created elements are sustainable, but come at a cost – they are definitely more expensive than traditional finishes, but they add immensely to the final product.
 
Then there are the more commonplace types of luxuries – such as granite, quartz, hardwoods – essentially natural materials – that become affordable in small doses.
 
Probably the most luxurious element of any tiny home is the customization that can be done to it. You can truly create the home that works for you. Whether it is the kind of storage you need or the space and light you require, tiny home designers are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and what’s can be done.
 
Investing in a tiny home is now a labor of love that will serve you for years to come.

Tiny homes are quite the rage right now. It is no wonder really; with the cost of real estate reaching record levels, young people and those who want to simplify their lives have started looking for an alternate way to enjoy the kind of lifestyle they want without severely impacting their budgets. However, before rushing out to join the Toronto tiny home craze, there are several questions that you need to answer.
 
The first and most obvious question you need to ask yourself is whether you will be able to live in a greatly reduced space. Tiny homes are typically less than 500 square feet. While this may sound like a lot of space, remember that it will be fitted up with everything you need – kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom. You will have to be able to live contentedly in a confined area.
 
The next question to answer is whether you are ready to give up your possessions. Naturally in a small space you will not have room for your book or record collection except for those items most precious to you. Are you willing to either give away or sell your “stuff” because you will definitely not be able to take it all with you. Then again, your wish for moving to a tiny house is probably to simplify your life – in which case you probably won’t want a whole lot of material items anyway.
 
The other very serious consideration you will have to take into account is the question of entertaining. Your ability to entertain at home will be greatly reduced simply due to a lack of space for hosting more than a couple of friends. If you are a very social person who enjoys having people over every evening or on the weekends, then you will have to alter either the way you entertain or save all of your entertaining for the summer when you can host your family and friends outside.
 
Despite the questions above, many people have successfully transferred their lives to a tiny home and have never looked back. If you are willing to give up the material accoutrements we take for granted, then you will certainly thrive in a tiny house.