Comments on: Anecdotes and Advice from a First Time Home Buyer Part 7 – A Close Call

By: Anecdotes and Advice from a First Time Home Buyer Part 8 - Success!

Anecdotes and Advice from a First Time Home Buyer Part 8 - Success! — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:02:52 +0000

[...] My friend Christine has kindly agreed to write a series of posts on her experiences with buying a home for the first time which will be posted occasionally. See Part 7 – A close call. [...]

By: Anecdotes and Advice from a First Time Home Buyer Part 8 - Condos and Taxes

Anecdotes and Advice from a First Time Home Buyer Part 8 - Condos and Taxes — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:02:51 +0000

[...] My friend Christine has kindly agreed to write a series of posts on her experiences with buying a home for the first time which will be posted occasionally. See Part 7 – A Close Call. [...]

By: Anecdotes and Advice from a First Time Home Buyer Part 6 - Week One With An Agent

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 02:02:52 +0000

[...] Read the next post in this series “A Close Call“. [...]

By: FourPillars

FourPillars — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 03:50:32 +0000

TMW – that sounds like a good idea. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of consistency between insurance companies regarding knob & tube. Some won’t insure it, others will.

Mike

By: thickenmywallet

thickenmywallet — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 03:13:36 +0000

When my brother went house-shopping for older homes with multiple bids, his real estate agent immediately found out whether the house was knob and tube wiring and called an insurance company to get rates. It was one less issue to worry about if you are bidding without conditions.

By: FourPillars

FourPillars — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:46:51 +0000

Definitely termites in T.O. – especially in the downtown areas.

When I was looking for houses I came across quite a number of houses that had been treated for termites – it didn’t seem to affect their sale price. I think buyers figured if the house had been treated then it might be better than a house that had never been treated.

I couldn’t agree more that tearing down an old house is the better way to go unless it has some great curb appeal. Obviously it would have to be detached. The only problem is that it’s generally quite a bit more expensive than gutting and renovating an existing house – but the final product will be worth more too.

Mike

By: Mr. Cheap

Mr. Cheap — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:04:34 +0000

I didn't even realize there were termites in Toronto (I figured they wouldn't like the cold weather). Good idea to check the area out before purchasing.

With termites the "recommended response" is to gas them before they do much damage?

The more I read/hear about older houses in Toronto, the more I think buying a lot, tearing down what's there and getting a modular home installed on it might make sense...