A recent Toronto Star column by Toronto real estate lawyer Bob Aaron shines some light on a somewhat gray area for downtown Toronto homeowners with neighbours in close proximity, which is an extremely common situation due to how homes are built in the city.

It's not unusual for Toronto real estate to be close together downtown.

Aaron tells the story of a client whose new neighbour next door had dug up the area between the homes to repair the foundation on their own home, but in the process caused damage to the client’s home by removing the weeping tiles and waterproofing from his foundation walls. The client became understandably concerned that the hole between the homes might eventually be filled without his foundation being repaired properly.

When a neighbour must access adjoining property for the purposes of making repairs, building fences or other reasonable situations, they have a right to if the neighbour consents to this or they get a permit from the Municipal Licensing and Standards department, according to Toronto Bylaw. As well, damages caused by accessing the land or whatever is done on the land is the responsibility of the neighbour, who must provide compensation. A permit, on the other hand, needs liability insurance and a security deposit.

The wording of the bylaw, in particular, does not say that permission or a permit are the only ways for someone to enter their neighbour’s property in order to do repairs, so if the neighbour skirts the rules and just goes ahead, the city can’t do anything about it and the matter becomes private. The only recourse the homeowner with the affected property has is taking the neighbour to civil court for trespassing and damaging the property.

If you are not overly friendly with your neighbours, keeping an eye on any work that begins near your property, especially if your neighbour has hired a company to do it, is wise. Toronto real estate is often built quite close to other homes, and there’s a good chance that if a neighbour has a lackadaisical roofing crew doing some re-shingling that roofing nails will wind up in your driveway. There’s also a good chance that if they need to redo their foundation, you’ll be shaken awake every morning at 7 a.m. This is why it’s prudent to either get along with your neighbours or keep an eye on their construction. Each day when work ends, do a quick inspection of the outside of your property for any damage or issues that might arise in the coming days, and bring them up then and there with your neighbour and the construction crew before it gets out of hand and you have to resort to legal unpleasantries.

Avoiding Home Damage From Neighbours’ Construction In Toronto is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

Some Toronto real estate owners as well as those who own recreational real estate in smaller cottage communities may have their wastewater treated by a septic tank, or if you want to get fancy, an onsite wastewater system. When buying Toronto real estate with a septic tank, you should ask the sellers when the septic tank was pumped last, and whether there have ever been tank or water quality problems.

A diagram of a septic tank and its proximity to the leaching bed and home from the University of Guelph's Ontario Rural Wastewater Centre.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a septic tank needs to be pumped every three to five years or when it is 1/3 full with solid waste, but this timeline may fluctuate depending on frequency of use or the size of your family. Additionally, new septic tanks are made of concrete or fiberglass, but home or property owners with an older septic tank may find that it’s actually made of wood or steel and could need replacing due to rot or rust.

Septic tank problems can be serious and difficult to spot. Some signs include spongy land near the septic tank, water-using appliances taking a longer time to drain, sewage odours after heavy rainfall or dangerous bacteria in well water.

When it comes time to pump or inspect a septic tank, finding the access hatches – which are buried underground – can be difficult. Approximately 25 per cent of Canadian homeowners have a septic tank on their property, but if you’re a new homeowner, finding out where on the property the access hatch is located may have slipped your mind. Some homeowners might go the “dig until you find it” route, which isn’t great if you want to entertain in your backyard or enjoy it at all during what little summer we Canadians get.

Things to look for when finding your Toronto or cottage septic tank

The weeping bed is a special, layered area of earth next to the septic tank that helps treat and filter liquid waste. This weeping or leaching bed appears as a large, raised patch of grass on most properties. In other cases, the tank itself can create a raised area of about four feet by eight feet in the backyard. A smaller depression in the soil can also indicate the access hatch if it has previously been dug for. In the winter, snow may melt oddly to create a depression just over the septic tank. A small, round vent on the side of a home on the foundation may be the plumbing waste vent, which is also directly lined up with the septic tank on the property.

Once the hatch is located, a marker such as a stake or custom-made lid that is flush with the ground (for easy lawn mowing) can make accessing a septic tank much less disruptive and difficult.

Toronto Homeowner’s Guide To Finding Your Septic Tank is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

Toronto Homeowners Should Never Pay For Work Upfront

Some recent news out of the United States has shone light on two important and financially dangerous aspects of having work done around or on your home. One issue is that if a company is paid upfront for all of the work, there is little recourse for homeowners if the company goes out of business before the work is completed. The other is that contractors usually pick up materials on credit with companies and use your home as collateral. This way when they don’t pay their tab, the supplier can come after homeowners, and sometimes to the tune of thousands of dollars.

When working with contractors, Toronto homeowners should do their research.

One roofing company shut down in the middle of several projects after completing only half of the work but getting all of the pay, while a swimming pool installer did the same, but now homeowners are being targeted by subcontractors looking for payment for services rendered, even though the homeowners already paid the company in full. They’ve also received letters from concrete companies saying there’s a pending lien on their home for supplies, despite the fact that they also paid for those very same supplies already.

Never pay for a full contracting or renovation job completely up front. A deposit is usually necessary, but avoid any company or individual that requires a complete payment upfront. Do your research on companies before you hire them, and ask for references. Most importantly, follow up on those references and ask the company’s other clients how well the project went, what the workers were like and whether there were any unexpected problems or fees and how those issues were resolved.

How Can Toronto Homeowners Protect Themselves From Being Pulled Under With A Sinking Contracting Company? is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

In the first two weeks of August, there was a 29 per cent difference from the same time last year as well for Toronto existing home sales.

Home sales across Toronto are down, but it was to be expected.

In July, existing home sales across Canada fell 30 per cent when compared to July 2009, with Ontario and British Columbia pulling down averages across the board and taking the blame almost entirely according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Home buyers seem to be sitting on the fence with slightly higher expectations because of the booming market and lower prices earlier in the year and all of the current uncertainty is leading to hesitation for sellers when putting their homes on the market.

Even the Bank of Montreal recently released a statement in response to the latest numbers saying that it seems anyone who was going to buy a home this year had simply done it already.

While the decline is a bit more than was expected, sales in 2009 were high above the expected trend, leading to a larger-looking decline than reality would suggest. The ups and downs are a normal sign of a healthy market.

Regardless, the ebb and flow of the real estate market doesn’t change how people move, be it for a new job, lifestyle changes or any other reason. Your Toronto real estate agent watches the markets carefully and can help you determine the best course of action with regards to pricing your home so it sells.

Current Toronto Real Estate Cooling Is Just Inevitable Due To Earlier Boom is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

If you’re lucky enough to own a piece of downtown Toronto real estate, you can just sit back and watch the waterfront area grow.

A Waterfront Toronto conceptual drawing of Queens Quay, looking east.

Toronto’s new Sugar Beach is just one part of the city’s waterfront revitalization projects. Plenty of thought has gone into it: Pink umbrellas, imported sugar-like sand and well-thought out landscaping.

However, next to Sugar Beach and marring the picturesque landscape is a boxy, uninspired building – the Corus Entertainment headquarters, a generic green glass office building.  While the design is sustainable, it doesn’t quite suit the beachy atmosphere. Locals have been quite critical of the area’s architecture and the fact that it already has the whole no swimming thing going for it, being completely fenced in from the water itself. It’s not a place where Toronto residents can beat the heat unless they want to head towards the giant fountain. Still, the area used to be a parking lot.

Sugar beach is the second urban beach in the city. The Queen’s Quay streetcar line still needs to be extended to get the average biped there, but if you’re on a bike you can get there relatively easily. It’s just one more element in Toronto’s growth as a waterfront destination.

Along with selecting Hines as the real estate company to develop the next great Toronto neighbourhood, Waterfront Toronto has several projects on the go including the Lower Don Lands, the West Don Lands, East Bayfront, Port Lands, the Central Waterfront and the Gardiner area.

Those curious about the waterfront projects can check out the Waterfront Toronto website, which has a listing of projects that are underdevelopment, in the planning stages and recently completed.

Watch the Toronto waterfront area grow! is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

The Globe and Mail published a great article this week for Toronto home buyers and what to ensure is included in any real estate contract. Of course, your Toronto real estate agent will know the terms and conditions that should be included in your contact, but it never hurts to know what to expect and what not to leave out during the home buying game.

What you shouldn't forget in your Toronto real estate contract.

Making an offer conditional on the sale of an existing home

If the money obtained from selling your current home is necessary to purchase the second home, make your offer on the home reflective of that, with an appropriate one- to two-month timeframe so the seller isn’t waiting around forever.

What’s staying or going

Even if it’s nailed down – unless it’s in writing – that stove or light fixture that the seller said he’d leave for you might not be there when you walk into your new home for the first time. Anything verbally agreed upon should still be in the contract.

Who’s paying for what

There are many different fees that are tacked onto the home buying process, among them: land transfer tax, title fees, notary fees and closing costs. The contract should state the amount the buyer wants from the seller to cover these things, if at all.

Home inspection clause

It’s not uncommon for a home buyer to make an offer conditional upon being satisfied with the results of a home inspection. This will allow the buyer to easily back out if there’s some serious hidden problems with the home that will necessitate an expensive repair, or the buyer can instead make an offer that is less the repair costs.

Toronto Real Estate Contract Basics For Home Buyers is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

It was announced yesterday that Waterfront Toronto has officially chosen the Hines Toronto real estate firm to develop the Next Great Waterfront Neighbourhood. The new neighbourhood will be on 10 acres of waterfront land between Parliament and Lower Sherbourne Streets, south of Queens Quay Boulevard.

The Toronto East Bayfront area currently.

The currently underutilized land will be turned into a mixed-use neighbourhood with 1,700 homes, retail and plenty of entertainment destinations for the East Bayfront area.

There was heated competition for designers and corporations bidding for bragging rights to help develop the land, which is the largest area ever developed by Waterfront Toronto. Hines won approval from the Toronto city council after putting together a design team that includes a leader who worked on the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lampur and the World Financial Center in Manhattan.

The revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront and putting the city on the map as a true waterfront destination continues! And not forgetting the cold winters, this waterfront area will have a winter garden and intimate nooks and crannies for visitors to escape the weather. Another architect working on the project also mentioned that they are aiming to make the area “the most walkable neighbourhood in all of Toronto.”

An artist's rendering of the future Toronto East Bayfront area.

The entire project is expected to be completed by 2021, but the project will be constructed in phases, with some buildings being ready for occupancy by 2014.

Waterfront Toronto Chooses Next Great Toronto Neighbourhood is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

Like all of the other Toronto real estate numbers and predictions, those of an economic variety that deal with rising and falling interest rates should be viewed on a long-term basis while basing a decision on many different reports, not just one.

Toronto real estate financial forecasts can help guide mortgage borrowers.

Economic forecasts are another set of numbers and predictions that anyone planning on getting involved in a Toronto real estate transaction can look into. Major economists from a variety of Canadian banks will often create predictions about the economy and interest rates that home buyers and home sellers can use to determine their real estate financing.

When reviewing interest rate predictions, prospective homebuyers should gain a general consensus of interest rate forecasts and not focus on just one report by one institution. Generally, several banks or lenders will conduct their own, separate research and some might have different numbers and opinions.

Canadian Mortgage Trends recently conducted an interview with one of Canada’s leading economic forecasters, Sal Guatieri, the senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. Guatieri suggested the same, that those looking to borrow should take the time to look at all of the interest rate forecasts across the board, and not just one.

The financial situation of a homeowner is much more important than interest rates, as homeowners in a stronger position can navigate through the choppy waters of rising or falling interest rates more easily. Or, they can choose a fixed-rate mortgage, but all signs have historically pointed to variable-rate mortgages being cheaper in the long run.

For more information on Toronto Real Estate statistics, see our previous post.

What Do All Of These Toronto Real Estate Numbers Mean, Anyway? Part Two is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

We are continuously striving to provide up-to-the-minute statistics on Toronto’s real estate market as we see them. Statistics are regularly released on either a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly basis, so there’s lots of information for potential or current homeowners to pick through when researching the home buying or home selling process in Toronto.

Toronto real estate statistics can be confusing at times!

These statistics are released periodically by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Toronto Real Estate Board, various Canadian banks, Toronto condominium statistics companies like Urbanation, Statistics Canada and the Canadian Real Estate Association.

All of these numbers from so many different, authoritative sources can get confusing. Not to mention that media outlets are handed press releases for the majority of these Toronto real estate statistics containing ready-to-use quotes and basic information, which they pepper into their articles which they are free to put their own positive or gloomy headline on depending on how they spin the numbers. If an article has about two, solid and well-worded quotes, it’s most likely information just pulled from a press release. If the article reads like a conversation or contains various “so-and-so told our media outlet exclusively” bragging rights, there was some in-depth reporting involved.

Back to the numbers.

Monthly statistics are informative, but less important than the trends over several months in which we can see a clear decline or increase. If one month posts 3,000 new home sales and the next month records 2,800, the headlines may say that “New Home Sales are Declining!” and then lay blame somewhere. It does not take into account that the previous month had 4,200 new home sales, and the month before that had 2,700, just like the ebb and flow of anything that’s dependent on a number of external factors.

If monthly home prices go up, it’s better for investors as they’ll see a higher home value and an increase on the return on their investment. If home prices are down, first-time and prospective actual home buyers will be looking forward to taking advantage of lower prices.

When sorting through the jumble of statistics, take the numbers in context. If home sales are down now, it’s not all doom and gloom because the spring was a record-setting real estate boom in Toronto with the end of the recession and the pressure to snag a home before the new mortgage rules, rising interest rates and Harmonized Sales Tax were implemented. Look at the overall trends for several months at a time, and most reports will contain year-over-year comparisons to provide a better feel of how the market is doing.

What Do These Toronto Real Estate Numbers Mean, Anyway? is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

The Toronto Star recently announced that the bedbug infestation numbers in the city are rising. Bedbugs aren’t limited to low-income apartments or housing, but Toronto real estate that includes upscale houses and condominiums. However, in situations like these as well as in hotels, the problem is underreported because of the stigma attached.

Traveling is one way bedbugs can infiltrate your Toronto home or condo.

In 2003, Toronto Public Health received 46 reports of bedbug issues, while this year to date Toronto Public Health’s bedbug hotline has received over 1,300 calls.

Soon, the city of Toronto will be releasing information to property managers on how to deal with bedbugs properly in apartments and condominiums. Currently, they are not required to disclose anything to future tenants or residents and unless the infestation is extreme, the condo owner will have to pay for extermination himself.

However, homeowners have to deal with the issue themselves in every case. In most cases, someone can get bedbugs by bringing them into a home after visiting an infested hotel or a friend’s house, or if you are a tradesperson who regularly visits other people’s home and then brings them back to your own. Similarly, used clothing and furniture can contain bedbugs.

They can and do bite, leaving the victim with itchy red welts or even more serious allergic reactions. Aside from the bites, signs of bedbugs include rust-coloured specks on bed sheets, an offensive smell, shed skins as well as spotting the bugs in the crevices of your mattress or other parts of your home. They are visible to the naked eye and are about the size of an apple seed.

Bedbugs typically require professional attention, and a pest control company can go over your next steps with you. Clothes, furniture and any other soft surfaces that may be infested will also have to be quarantined, specially cleaned at a very high temperature or thrown away.

Bedbugs In Toronto Homes – What to do? is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates