real estate

Toronto homeowners know that they live in a hot real estate market. The natural question then is: what is best – renovating their existing home or selling to buy a property with more of the features they want?

Evaluate options

One way to help you decide is to list the pros and cons of your current home. Some questions to help you make this list are:

• Do you like your home? 
• Is it in a good location?
• Do you have a big backyard? 
• Is there room to expand its footprint?
• Are bones good?
• What is it missing to make it perfect for you?
• What can you live with?
• What do you absolutely want?

If you have a long commute to work, or there is more work to be done than you realistically want to take on, then it might be worth selling. However, if you like your neighbourhood and are basically happy with your property, then it is worth renovating. 

Budget

Renovations are always more expensive than you realize. And, often the 10% contingency that is worked into the budget is not enough – whether it is due to an unexpected issue or because you change your mind along the way. It is better to budget anywhere from 20-35% extra for contingencies.  

Create a realistic budget for your renovations. Price out the materials, the fixtures, the contractors so that you are aware of what you can expect. If you don’t have a realistic budget then you can find yourself in a very stressful situation financially.  

Time

Renovations take time. And, they typically take more time than you anticipated. You will be living in dust, dirt and confusion for whatever time it takes for your home to be ready. You will have to prepare mentally to put up with the chaos for the duration of the renovations. 

If you are well prepared for a reno, then it can  be very rewarding. Transforming a property you already love into exactly what you’ve always wanted is exciting. However, if there are major aspects of the home that you dislike and which cannot be changed, then you are probably better off using your renovation money to fund the purchase of a new home.

Toronto driveways are built for toughness, but even so, they can and do get damaged. Driveways can develop cracks, suffer from an oil leak, and be scratched by snow removal equipment. Even the harshness of Toronto winters, water and tree roots can add to the stress your driveway faces and result in a damaged surface. Here we look at a few of the most common culprits for damaged driveways and offer you ways to protect your hardtop for the long run. 

Bad installation

The number one reason for a damaged driveway is that it was poorly installed. For a solid driveway you need at least six inches of gravel topped by another four inches of asphalt. If there is less gravel or asphalt, if the layers haven’t been compacted properly or if the base isn’t level, then you will see problems developing almost immediately. 

The best way to avoid this situation is to get referrals from family and friends for trusted installers. Or, read the reviews of the installers in your neighbourhood to ensure you’re hiring a trusted company. 

Oil leaks

Oil leaks are very bad for driveways. If not addressed immediately, in time the oil will soften and break down the asphalt making it more susceptible to water and to freezing/thawing cycles.

The minute you see a leak, clean it up and stop parking the leaky vehicle on your driveway until it is repaired. You can buy commercial cleaners at any hardware store that will work to get the grease out as long as it hasn’t penetrated the surface too deeply. 

Salt

In Toronto people tend to salt their driveways. While great for melting ice, it is very damaging to asphalt and concrete surfaces. The increased thaw/freeze cycles will increase the amount of water on your driveway and if there are any minute cracks, they will be exacerbated. 

Instead of salt there are many driveway friendly alternatives: sand, kitty litter, coffee grinds and calcium chloride, to name a few. Look into the option that would best suit your needs and budget. 

Water

Water can easily wear down a driveway. It is very good at getting into cracks and thereby washing away the sand and gravel in your base. 

To avoid water damage, make sure water drains properly. If there are areas of standing water, either brush the water away immediately, or hire an expert to even out your driveway so that it drains correctly. 

Heavy loads

Driveways are built for strength, but there is a limit to how much prolonged weight they can bear. In time heavier loads will cause a driveway to lose its shape. To avoid this, only park the recommended number of cars on your driveway. 

Lastly, driveways will tend to oxidize over time. This is a normal process where the asphalt starts hardending when exposed to air. When a driveway is oxidized it turns grey and becomes hard. Oxidation can be bad because when the surface hardens and loses its flexibility, it becomes more susceptible to cracks. To keep your driveway supple, it is a good idea to reseal it every few years.

Hardwood floors are a beautiful asset that add value to your Toronto home. While hardwood floors were the standard in older homes, they are not as common now with engineered hardwoods and floating floors replacing the classic standard flooring. 

If you want to preserve your home’s hardwood flooring for as long as possible, you should take the time to do the following simple yet effective maintenance. With a little effort your floors can look as good as new for the life of your home. 

Clean spills

Although wood floors are always sealed, cleaning up any spills immediately is very important. Liquids have an insidious way of finding their way in through the tiniest cracks. Any liquid has the potential to severely damage hardwood floors. So, be sure to mop up any spills immediately!

Dust regularly

Dust can abrade and dull hardwood floors if left unchecked. Be sure to dust your floors as often as you can – daily is best, but if you aren’t able to swing a daily sweep, then every other day is essential to keeping that high gloss and shine. In fact, vacuuming your floors is the best option if you have the attachment that can be used on hardwood floors. 

Wood cleaner

If you really want to keep your floor looking its best, then buy some wood cleaner and use it every month. It will help keep the shine intact.

Protect your floors!

Cleaning your floors properly is only one part of preserving the life of your floors. A crucial element is protecting them from furniture. The easiest way to do this is to invest in good pads that will disperse the weight of your furniture and prevent the feet from scratching up your floors. 

Lastly, it is best to refinish your floors periodically. However, there is a limit to how often this can be done as refinishing requires the light sanding off of layers. Once you’ve sanded down as much as you can go, it will be time to replace the floors. However, that can be decades in the future if you’ve cared for them properly.

Toronto homeowners have looked to escape the city in larger numbers than ever during the pandemic. The increased interest in cottage country has brought with it an increase in the number of people buying land and building their own country get-away. 

Rising costs

With cottage country house prices expected to rise 17% in 2021, it is easy to understand why building could be an attractive alternative. However, before building you must take into account all of the peripheral costs that could make building just as costly as buying. Add to that the rising costs of lumber and materials in the province, and the only incentive left in building is the customization that you will get versus buying already built.

What to budget for

Among the more obvious costs of building your own cottage are the cost of land and the physical structure itself. What many people forget to include in their calculations are the costs of:

• Architect to design your house
• Preparing the land
• Excavation
• Pouring a foundation
• Creating a path or driveway up to your property
• Installing a septic tank (if not being hooked up to the city)
• Drilling a well
• Electricity/plumbing hook-ups
• Electrical systems (if off-grid)
• City permits
• Gutters/installation
• Paint
• Flooring
• Project manager (unless you plan on doing this yourself)
• Furniture/appliances
• Window coverings
• Landscaping 
• Closing costs

Kit houses

Prefabricated houses are a very good option for country homes. They are built in a factory and assembled on site. The interesting part of a kit home is that you can choose what state of completion you want for your project. You can order just the kit and find your own contractor to put it together. Or, if you are handy you can put it together yourself, which would save a lot of money. You could also have them install it but get your own supplier for the excavation and finishes. You could also choose the turnkey option where everything is done for you.

Online calculators

If you choose to do the work yourself, there are online calculators that will help you cost out the total expenditure to budget for your project. Although you will have to pay for the full version of these calculators, they will list every element of your project down to how many screws you will need, giving you a very clear idea of how much you need to budget.

Building your own cottage can be exciting. Planning carefully and having a contingency fund are crucial to a successful project.

Toronto homeowners discovered that renovating their homes to better suit lockdown-living makes surviving a pandemic much easier. With nowhere to go and being cloistered in their homes for the better part of the past year-and-a-half gave Toronto homeowners a better appreciation for their properties. Whether in a condo, a townhouse or a single-family-dwelling, the rise in home renovations is clear indicator that people put their money where they slept.

Let there be light!

One of the biggest Toronto renovation trends is adding windows to let in more natural light. Inadequate natural light can affect a person’s mental health and quality of life. So, it is no surprise that enlarging and adding windows became a trend in Toronto and elsewhere. If you want to add windows to your home, remember to consult an architect or engineer to make sure that no supporting beams are affected and that you place new windows in the optimum spot for maximizing the amount of sunlight you get per day.

Creating separate spaces

With so many people working from home, there was a sudden need for dedicated spaces for living and working. Given the popularity of open-layouts, people were forced to get creative. Rooms had to be set-up to provide maximum efficiency. The need for distinct working/living space created a demand for innovative solutions to address these dilemmas. Now finding furniture or built-ins that serve double purposes is much easier. And, homes with these solutions have become much smarter as a result. Another trend is turning open-layouts into more closed off spaces where someone working from home can have privacy and quiet.

Sprucing up the outdoors

Whether people have a terrace, a balcony or an acre of land, the need to get outside during the lockdowns have made people appreciate their outdoor space more than they ever have. There has been an explosion of swimming pools being installed and landscapers have been busy from early spring late into fall trying to meet the demands for manicured yards. It’s not hard to understand why – people need an escape from their homes and using the space available to them is the best way to do so.

If you are thinking of renovating your home to suit lockdown living, then you are not alone and any money spent upgrading your surroundings will certainly raise the value of your home.