Pickering gives away heritage homes for free (actually!)

While Toronto buyers rage against rising real estate prices, the City of Pickering is giving away houses for free. Four heritage homes, currently slated for demolition by Transport Canada, are available gratis, with one teensy catch: the new owners would have to pay to haul the properties off the federal airport lands. Among the free goods are a stone house and a rare plank-on-plank house, but potential saviours of the historic buildings will have to move fast: the city is only accepting bids until Friday. Our pick: the Richardson-Will House, a one-and-half-storey stone farmhouse that was built in the 1850s and features original floorboards, wainscoting and a charming iron boot scraper outside. ’Cause who doesn’t need a boot scraper? [Pickering.ca]