Anyone who suggests Toronto’s housing market is slowing as the holidays approach is surfing a different property ladder than they are, say Colin and Justin
From personal experience, the market remains buoyant. We’re entering the fray one again with expectant eyes set on several purchases to buoy our own portfolio. Some will be rental investments, others flips. The latter is a particular field of expertise, our training ground, in fact, long before moved into TV.
When still based in the UK, we flipped countless homes, and it would be this property ladder that lead to The Million Pound Property Experiment, a TV format which saw us flipping our way from an inauspicious hundred thousand pound starter house to a London des res which sold for 1.25 million pounds.
The figures, now, sound less exciting (based in Toronto, as we are, where even a tiny home can skin you a million bucks) but a decade and a half ago the word ‘million’ still had colossal resonance.
For anyone planning to sell up, we thought we’d impart a few C&J pointers to help achieve top dollar. Sure, doing so may nudge overall prices even higher (making it trickier for us to find quality stock at affordable prices, but hey — as we’ve always said — “someone else’s gain is not our loss.” This in mind, here’s a roundup of simple ideas to help get you moving…
Kitchens
If yours is dated, make sure it’s at least clean and dated. Buyers make decisions about the rest of your home based on what they see here, so reach for that cloth and go wild. Deep clean your fridge and freezer and don’t forget the oven — folk will have a peek inside: it’s human nature.
Get rid of soiled carpets. Kitchen Berbers (along with bathroom carpets, Satan’s own floor covering) are harbingers of grease and bodily ooze and should be banished. Roll out the lino’ or polish floorboards for a buyer-friendly look.
Update cabinets — try a foam roller and satinwood paint. But be realistic — if your kitchen is so bad buyers will probably rip it out when they move in, revert to our previous tip and simply clean to create a better impression.
If planning new appliances for your next house, buy them ahead of time and ‘dress’ into your current kitchen — their sparkle will help appeal, though make it clear they’re not included in the deal.
Bathrooms
If yours is in poor condition, you may well be battled down in price. Just like kitchens, these rooms are sold ‘fully furnished’, so lather up to load up on extra dollars.
Keep personal items like hemorrhoid treatments and athletes foot powders behind closed doors. Would you buy into a bathroom that smacked of piles and toe rot?
Co ordinate — towels and shower curtains can be tailored to match floor rugs, while jars of bath oil and soaps will set a fresher tone.
Viewings should never take place with washing draped over your radiators. Knickers and bras will distract buyers, who’ll spend more time looking at your smalls than eyeing up your home’s potential.
FULL STORY HERE