The Chase: a professional couple ditches their downtown condo for a house in Leaside
The Buyers: Viet Nguyen, a 35-year-old lawyer with Devry Smith Frank LLP, and Donna Chui, a 32-year-old veterinarian at Laird Eglinton Pet Hospital.
The Story: Nguyen and Chui signed the lease on their tiny one-bedroom condo at Simcoe and Richmond soon after their wedding in 2008. They loved the nearby restaurants and taking nightly walks along Queen West, but three years on, the place was beginning to feel cramped. They decided it was time to buy a house. The couple wanted a detached home with three bedrooms, two baths and parking. Chui had grown up in the burbs and longed for the space she had enjoyed as a kid, but Nguyen couldn’t stomach the idea of a long commute. As a compromise, they focused their house-hunting efforts in Leaside—the neighbourhood was close to both of their jobs, and it offered lots of large houses, parks and walkable main streets with great shops and restaurants. They set their max (including reno budget) at $1 million and started a year-long, 70-house search.
OPTION 1
Overland Drive (near Lawrence and Leslie). Listed at $749,900, sold for $780,000.
Though outside their ideal neighbourhood, this three-bedroom, two-bath house was still within biking distance of work. But after living in an open-concept condo, the couple found the home’s narrow hallways confining. They also worried that the place had been deliberately priced low to attract a bidding war, which would eat into their renovating budget, so they walked.
OPTION 2
Broadway Avenue (at Laird). Listed at $547,000, sold for $625,000.
Nguyen and Chui noticed that most detached homes in Leaside sold for north of a million, so they relaxed their criteria to include semis. But at just under 1,000 square feet, this place wasn’t much bigger than their condo. Even with a low list price, the cost of adding a third bedroom and second bathroom seemed daunting. The couple decided not to bid.
THE BUY
Brentcliffe Road (at Eglinton). Listed at $699,000, sold for $736,888.
After missing the open house, the couple’s agent, Brandon Ware of Private Service Realty, arranged for a private viewing of this three-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot semi. While many of the homes they’d seen in the neighbourhood were shockingly outdated, this one had new hardwood floors, a reno’d kitchen and an open-concept layout. Nguyen and Chui were still skeptical about living in a semi, but the day after the viewing, Nguyen knocked on their potential neighbours’ door. They assured him that the shared wall was soundproof, the roof was new and previous owners had taken good care of the place. All initial offers were rejected; for the second round of bidding, the couple went in high at $736,888 (eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture), and the house was theirs.
(Image: Couple by John Cullen)
 at $1 million and started a year-long, 70-house search.
OPTION 1
Overland Drive (near Lawrence and Leslie). Listed at $749,900, sold for $780,000.
Though outside their ideal neighbourhood, this three-bedroom, two-bath house was still within biking distance of work. But after living in an open-concept condo, the couple found the home’s narrow hallways confining. They also worried that the place had been deliberately priced low to attract a bidding war, which would eat into their renovating budget, so they walked.
OPTION 2
Broadway Avenue (at Laird). Listed at $547,000, sold for $625,000.
Nguyen and Chui noticed that most detached homes in Leaside sold for north of a million, so they relaxed their criteria to include semis. But at just under 1,000 square feet, this place wasn’t much bigger than their condo. Even with a low list price, the cost of adding a third bedroom and second bathroom seemed daunting. The couple decided not to bid.
THE BUY
Brentcliffe Road (at Eglinton). Listed at $699,000, sold for $736,888.
After missing the open house, the couple’s agent, Brandon Ware of Private Service Realty, arranged for a private viewing of this three-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot semi. While many of the homes they’d seen in the neighbourhood were shockingly outdated, this one had new hardwood floors, a reno’d kitchen and an open-concept layout. Nguyen and Chui were still skeptical about living in a semi, but the day after the viewing, Nguyen knocked on their potential neighbours’ door. They assured him that the shared wall was soundproof, the roof was new and previous owners had taken good care of the place. All initial offers were rejected; for the second round of bidding, the couple went in high at $736,888 (eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture), and the house was theirs.
(Image: Couple by John Cullen)){kind=link}
Nice work on hitting *almost* all relevant Asian Real Estate stereotypes:
– Asian millionaires ($1M total budget)
– Buying in Leaside (or Lawrence Park, Yorkville, Richmond Hill, Bayview Village, etc.)
– Bidding war
– Lucky 8’s on the price
If only Toronto Life could have included some kind of story about lining up overnight to make the purchase, this piece would have scored 5/5.
I hope the lucky winners don’t mind a little noise. Their new house is right about where the new Eglinton LRT is supposed to emerge from its tunnel to cross over the Don Valley. The neighbourhood is going to be a construction zone for years.
House #1 would have been the best choice. Semi’s only have windows on 3 sides, there’s too much closeness with your neighbour, and (I think) that looks like a mutual drive with the house they purchased – that’s a major source of problems and I’d walk on that issue alone. I’m an old fart because I don’t understand this obsession with “open concept” that people have. I don’t want to see a sink full of dishes while sitting in the living room. Give me proper rooms! And I’d never get involved in a bidding war – that’s feeding someone’s greed. Nonetheless, hopefully they will enjoy their new home.
This is beautiful. You should do a full-length story on this couple. Anyone who can’t “stomach the idea of a long commute” is cool with me! Actually, I went against this dude in court one time. Let’s just say, he tore me a new one. He’s a brilliant litigator. Anyway, love the write-up!
Overland Drive is in Don Mills, not Leaside.
Yo bubble, where in the story does it say that the first house was in Leaside?
Dear Reality Check – wtf? Just because a couple of professionals have a budget of $1 million, how is that a racist stereotype? Or that there was a bidding war? And the neighbourhood choice is a problem too?!? Get a grip. Thare Asian Canadians living in every neighborhood in this city. I’d say the only one with a stereotyping problem is you…