The Chase: twin sisters take a chance on a bargain-basement fixer-upper
The buyers: 29-year-old twins Jennifer Carroll, a health-care product reviewer, and Krista Carroll, a municipal project manager for Peel Region.
The story: In the fall of 2013, Krista moved home to Toronto from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she’d been working for an NGO. Unsure about her next steps, she crashed at her twin sister’s condo, a 900-square-foot two-bedroom at Sherbourne and Wellesley. Jennifer was renting out the second bedroom, so Krista took the couch. It was a tight fit for three, but the twins loved living together. Determined to find a place they could comfortably share, they pooled their resources, set a budget of $500,000 and started hunting for the perfect house. Their wish list was ambitious—two bedrooms, a big kitchen, a lush backyard and a basement rental unit—so they focused their search on the northwest corner of the city, hoping to land a well-maintained home in an up-and-coming area.
Option 1
Rogers Road (near Caledonia).
Listed at $584,900, sold for $550,000.
This roomy semi looked pretty great on paper—the eat-in kitchen had recently been upgraded and the basement was set up as a rental—but the backyard was an interlocking brick slab, and the house sat on a busy thoroughfare. It also exceeded the twins’ budget, so they moved on.
Option 2
Sorlyn Avenue (near Black Creek Drive and Lawrence).
Listed at $519,900, sold for $495,000.
Jennifer and Krista were charmed by this raised bungalow with bright rooms, a basement apartment and a grassy backyard. However, it backed onto a noisy schoolyard—a downside for Jennifer, who works from home two days a week. The twins balked on bidding and continued the search.
The Buy
Yore Road (near Eglinton and Keele).
Listed at $489,900, sold for $438,000.
There was only one grainy photo attached to the listing for this semi, so the twins weren’t sure what to expect. Surprisingly, they loved it. The basement wasn’t rental-ready and the main floor washroom was tiny, but the below-budget list price meant they could overhaul the parts that weren’t perfect. They bid $435,000, then upped the offer to $443,000 when the sellers signed it back. After an inspection revealed some electrical work that wasn’t up to code, they landed on a sale price of $438,000—leaving $62,000 to put toward the reno of their dreams.
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The buyers: 29-year-old twins Jennifer Carroll, a health-care product reviewer, and Krista Carroll, a municipal project manager for Peel Region.
The story: In the fall of 2013, Krista moved home to Toronto from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she’d been working for an NGO. Unsure about her next steps, she crashed at her twin sister’s condo, a 900-square-foot two-bedroom at Sherbourne and Wellesley. Jennifer was renting out the second bedroom, so Krista took the couch. It was a tight fit for three, but the twins loved living together. Determined to find a place they could comfortably share, they pooled their resources, set a budget of $500,000 and started hunting for the perfect house. Their wish list was ambitious—two bedrooms, a big kitchen, a lush backyard and a basement rental unit—so they focused their search on the northwest corner of the city, hoping to land a well-maintained home in an up-and-coming area.
Option 1
Rogers Road (near Caledonia).
Listed at $584,900, sold for $550,000.
This roomy semi looked pretty great on paper—the eat-in kitchen had recently been upgraded and the basement was set up as a rental—but the backyard was an interlocking brick slab, and the house sat on a busy thoroughfare. It also exceeded the twins’ budget, so they moved on.
Option 2
Sorlyn Avenue (near Black Creek Drive and Lawrence).
Listed at $519,900, sold for $495,000.
Jennifer and Krista were charmed by this raised bungalow with bright rooms, a basement apartment and a grassy backyard. However, it backed onto a noisy schoolyard—a downside for Jennifer, who works from home two days a week. The twins balked on bidding and continued the search.
The Buy
Yore Road (near Eglinton and Keele).
Listed at $489,900, sold for $438,000.
There was only one grainy photo attached to the listing for this semi, so the twins weren’t sure what to expect. Surprisingly, they loved it. The basement wasn’t rental-ready and the main floor washroom was tiny, but the below-budget list price meant they could overhaul the parts that weren’t perfect. They bid $435,000, then upped the offer to $443,000 when the sellers signed it back. After an inspection revealed some electrical work that wasn’t up to code, they landed on a sale price of $438,000—leaving $62,000 to put toward the reno of their dreams.
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After they are finished with lawyers, moving expenses and other assorted closing costs, they won’t have anywhere close to $62,000 left to spend on renovations.
That’s a lot of money for a renovation for a house that size.
Wow..I’m constantly amazed at what sheer stupidity lurks in Toronto! Why,oh why would anyone want to pay the unbelievably disgusting and outrageous prices for real estate in that rat hole city??!! It’s actually like paying to play daily Russian roulette. Does nobody watch the news? People..it’s dangerous and filthy as hell!! Must move outt@ t.o!!