The buyers: Richard Carlisle, the 46-year-old managing director of International Conference Services, and Curtis Boyechko, a 46-year-old pharmaceutical professional.
The story: Seven years ago, Carlisle and Boyechko left their Winnipeg home and squeezed their lives into a Vancouver condo. Six years later, they decided to move to Toronto—on a whim—to take advantage of its arts and culture. The couple flew across the country, moved into a rental, and began house hunting that very weekend, with a budget of $650,000. They were flexible about neighbourhoods, but had a few musts: two-car parking, two home offices and a spacious kitchen for entertaining. But they weren’t prepared for how quickly Toronto houses sold, or how tight the available housing stock was. Over a 13-month search, they increased their budget by more than $100,000, chewed through two agents and saw over 300 houses before they found the perfect place.
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Caroline Aksich, a National Magazine Award recipient, is an ex-Montrealer who writes about Toronto’s ever-evolving food scene, real estate and culture for Toronto Life, Fodor’s, Designlines, Canadian Business, Glory Media and Post City. Her work ranges from features on octopus-hunting in the Adriatic to celebrity profiles.