The Chase: a newlywed searches for a $1.5-million waterfront home to remind her of the Caribbean
A newlywed in a long-distance marriage searches for a waterfront home to remind her of the Caribbean
THE BUYERS: Avis Glaze, an international education consultant, and her new husband, Peter Bailey, a retired IBM sales executive.
THE STORY: For three years, Glaze, a Unionville resident, had been casually looking for a Toronto waterfront home to remind her of Jamaica, where she was born. Then, mid-search, she married Bailey. One glitch: he lives in Vancouver. They devised a plan to live separately until Glaze found the perfect new home for them in Toronto. In a few years, they would relocate to B.C. together. Her budget was roughly $1.5 million, and she wanted something low-maintenance. When her Unionville house sold this past June, she had until the end of July to find a place.
HOUSE 1
The Waterford (near Lake Shore and the South Kingsway). Listed at and sold for $1.65 million.
At first, this 2,700-square-foot condo seemed perfect. “It was absolutely elegant and luxuriously done,” Glaze says. She adored the wraparound windows and the long veranda facing the lake, but the fees were nearly $2,000 a month.
HOUSE 2
Lake Shore Drive (near Royal York). Listed at $1.1 million, sale price not available.
This beachfront house doesn’t impress from the driveway, but Glaze loved the massive façade of windows and spectacular lake view. Then she called in a builder friend for an inspection, who told her it would cost $300,000 to replace the deteriorating windows, plus another $100,000 for the reno upgrades she wanted.
THE BUY
Nautical Lane (near Royal York). Listed at $1.5 million, sold for $1.4 million.
Glaze’s agent, Lynn Tribbling, showed her a waterfront freehold condominium townhouse (with fees of just $400 a month) next door to
the place she had seen on Lake Shore. Glaze made an offer but then rescinded after finding out about Toronto’s land transfer tax. She also had second thoughts about her bicoastal lifestyle. “I was thinking, What am I doing buying in Toronto? The taxes are nearly prohibitive. Why don’t we just move to B.C. now?” She mulled it over for two weeks. Ten days before her Unionville closing, she re-offered, contingent on the seller repainting everything white. One day and a series of signbacks later, she got the house. Her favourite spot is the balcony overlooking the lake: “At the end of a crazy day,” she says, “I love to sit and count the swans gathering below.”
(Images: Glaze by Jaime Hogge)
. Listed at and sold for $1.65 million.
At first, this 2,700-square-foot condo seemed perfect. “It was absolutely elegant and luxuriously done,” Glaze says. She adored the wraparound windows and the long veranda facing the lake, but the fees were nearly $2,000 a month.
HOUSE 2
Lake Shore Drive (near Royal York). Listed at $1.1 million, sale price not available.
This beachfront house doesn’t impress from the driveway, but Glaze loved the massive façade of windows and spectacular lake view. Then she called in a builder friend for an inspection, who told her it would cost $300,000 to replace the deteriorating windows, plus another $100,000 for the reno upgrades she wanted.
THE BUY
Nautical Lane (near Royal York). Listed at $1.5 million, sold for $1.4 million.
Glaze’s agent, Lynn Tribbling, showed her a waterfront freehold condominium townhouse (with fees of just $400 a month) next door to
the place she had seen on Lake Shore. Glaze made an offer but then rescinded after finding out about Toronto’s land transfer tax. She also had second thoughts about her bicoastal lifestyle. “I was thinking, What am I doing buying in Toronto? The taxes are nearly prohibitive. Why don’t we just move to B.C. now?” She mulled it over for two weeks. Ten days before her Unionville closing, she re-offered, contingent on the seller repainting everything white. One day and a series of signbacks later, she got the house. Her favourite spot is the balcony overlooking the lake: “At the end of a crazy day,” she says, “I love to sit and count the swans gathering below.”
(Images: Glaze by Jaime Hogge)){kind=link}
Sounds really crazy indeed. I would be so curious to see the inside of this house $mil townhouse (freehold but still has a $400 onthly fee, strange eh?). These are the kind of clients realtors love – fulfilling crazy dreams in Toronto where she can only see the lake & swans 3 month of the year.Bizarre indeed but eh – Good luck!!
Is the picture of house #2 supposed to be some kind of joke?
If she waits six more months, she can lower the budget to $1M and get the same.