A bedroom, as most of us would imagine, is a place where one would ordinarily sleep, will have a door which can be shut so one can sleep in peace and quiet, will have a window for a daylight, and be large enough to have a bed. Ontario Building Code describes this in great detail, below are few excerpts: 9.5.7.1. Areas of Bedrooms (1) Except as provided in Articles 9.5.7.2. and 9.5.7.3., bedrooms in dwelling units shall have an area not less than 7 m² where built-in cabinets are not... [read more]

  Finding a rental property in today’s market of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) can be challenging. The rental market is very HOT! Vacancy rates are at all time low (around 1%) meaning that landlords (property owners) have their pick of who they want to rent to (and for what price). The housing market affects the rental rates. The more landlords pay for the property, the higher their mortgage, the higher the rent. And as it becomes harder to buy a home, with low market... [read more]

The below write up concentrates on Ontario rules but some elements and principals can be applied anywhere. What is a Status Certificate. Status certificate is a document that provides essential information regarding the financial status of the unit and the condo corporation. What’s included in the Status Certificate. Financial statements, budgets, special assessments, liens, arrears, lawsuits, condo declaration, by-laws, reserve fund study, insurance policy and claims,... [read more]

Real estate around GTA has been a great investment for many decades, the prices have appreciated over time, if anyone was unlucky and purchased at the peak prior to a correction, given enough time they were able to recover and show significant gains, most people who invested in rental properties have accumulated significant wealth, in reality owning real estate in GTA equals wealth. Why GTA? Why invest in GTA? The answer is actually very simple: the populations is growing, it attracts... [read more]

  GTA’s real estate market has been very expensive for many decades and it is often very difficult to get into the market, and as we wait to save more the price increases tend to outpace the savings. In the last 20 years the price corrections have been few and far between, with few hiccups along the way the prices are going from expensive to even more expensive. One way to get into the market is to find a place with a rental basement potential, yours truly have done it with our... [read more]