Buying House without a realtor?

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Iceman said:
These same houses sell for soooo much less in the Barrie area. I have no idea why people spend so much to live in Toronto.
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Uhm....so they don't spent an hour+ going each way every day? I'd pull what little hair I have left out if I did that every day...

Edit: Mind you if I could work hours like 6-3 or something then I'd definitely be more inclined to take a house further out. Just to beat the traffic. I wake up at 5am every day anyway....stupid year working rotating shifts....
 
Iceman said:
These same houses sell for soooo much less in the Barrie area. I have no idea why people spend so much to live in Toronto.
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Cause I couldn't handle the commute.
Luckily, I got in the market years ago. But back then I thought I paid too much.

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mimico_polak said:
So....you're not Italian....and you don't like ice cream? I knew GTAM personas were all bullcrap...at least mine is descriptive...a Polak in Mimico...New Toronto if you want to be specific.
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Love ice cream. Absolutely Italian. You couldn't tell my post? I 'havea' periogi...

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Joe Bass said:
Lova dat icea creama. Absolutahly Italiano. Youa coulden'ta tella meah poste? I 'havea' de periogi...

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Fixed?

Amore gelato. Assolutamente italiano. Non si poteva dire il mio post? I 'havea' periogi
 
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The reaction to your housing woes in the GTA is twofold in Kingston:

1. People have sold their homes in the GTA and made a tidy sum relocating to Kingston...that's driven up property prices all over the city a bit but nowhere near as nuts as the GTA. My home value has nearly doubled over what we paid for it 11 years ago.

2. Downside...go anywhere in the city when the students have gone and the predominant colour of hair is either blue rinse or grey...or none. Contractors are putting up so many houses the place is getting overfull. Rush hour is still sedate but worse than it used to be.
 
Iceman said:
These same houses sell for soooo much less in the Barrie area. I have no idea why people spend so much to live in Toronto.
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I have no idea why people that work in the GTA would move to Barrie!

I have a few coworkers that do that and they spend 5 hours plus commuting.. bananas

I had to commute from Brooklin to Toronto for 2 years and end up moving closer to the city
 
CruisnGrrl said:
What you save on moving to barrie you would spend on gas going to and from toronto...
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Gas isn't the only consideration. Quality of life also has to factor in. Now I know that Barrie is growing and prices are going up quickly as well....and I'd consider it if I lived / worked near a GO station on both ends of that trip. Hell I wouldn't even bother with a car at that stage for commuting. Bike on nice days / warm months, and GO on the cold months.
 
Yeah I guess the commute is worth it for me. My kids have a huge 1 acre yard, wife likes it. I pay the price. Wouldn't matter to me anyway, you couldn't ever convince me to live in Toronto. I hate big cities, I'd rather do my 200km/day commute.
 
ZX600 said:
I have no idea why people that work in the GTA would move to Barrie!

I have a few coworkers that do that and they spend 5 hours plus commuting.. bananas

I had to commute from Brooklin to Toronto for 2 years and end up moving closer to the city
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I made sacrifices in house size to live near my work. I have two kids and couldn't imagine spending all that time in a car stuck in traffic instead of spending time with them. Honestly our single family car stays parked during the week as we use transit or walk/cycle. Its a much healthier lifestyle but you have to sacrifice. I was fortunate with my property as I didn't have to sacrifice much other than interior space but thats less to clean anyway and its good to be out and about instead of inside.
 
Baggsy said:
Fixed?

Amore gelato. Assolutamente italiano. Non si poteva dire il mio post? I 'havea' periogi
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Lmfao ?

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In end the it comes down to what's most important to you (and your family if you have one). We don't have kids now, but I sure wouldn't want to be stuck in a car instead of being with them.

Where we are now we love it. The neighbourhood is great, the schools are good, the Lake is a 90 second walk, but just can't afford to buy here. I'm 18km from work straight up the 427/27 and my wife goes against traffic both to and from work...it's a great area, but I can't afford a ready to move in house for 500k, let alone a shack that needs 100k to make livable for 600k.
 
mimico_polak said:
In end the it comes down to what's most important to you (and your family if you have one). We don't have kids now, but I sure wouldn't want to be stuck in a car instead of being with them.

Where we are now we love it. The neighbourhood is great, the schools are good, the Lake is a 90 second walk, but just can't afford to buy here. I'm 18km from work straight up the 427/27 and my wife goes against traffic both to and from work...it's a great area, but I can't afford a ready to move in house for 500k, let alone a shack that needs 100k to make livable for 600k.
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Ah yes the market is insane. I was fortunate to be pushed towards a house when we were expecting our 2nd child 6 years ago. I thought the prices were high then. My house has doubled in value in those 6 years. Its crazy even though its not real money. Having two boys in a 1200sq foot house will be tough as teenagers. The next jump in size is over a million in my neighbourhood. It makes more sense to build a 3rd floor and save the 2x land transfer tax but this is also the reason that there are few starter homes available in the market. The previous wave (like myself) won't be moving out of our homes but expanding up in order to stay in the neighbourhood they were fortunate to buy into at a lower price.
 
AdRath said:
Ah yes the market is insane. I was fortunate to be pushed towards a house when we were expecting our 2nd child 6 years ago. I thought the prices were high then. My house has doubled in value in those 6 years. Its crazy even though its not real money. Having two boys in a 1200sq foot house will be tough as teenagers. The next jump in size is over a million in my neighbourhood. It makes more sense to build a 3rd floor and save the 2x land transfer tax but this is also the reason that there are few starter homes available in the market. The previous wave (like myself) won't be moving out of our homes but expanding up in order to stay in the neighbourhood they were fortunate to buy into at a lower price.
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Neighbour across the street did this. He said that he paid around 200-250k in order to extend his house about 10ft or so. Said it was cheaper than selling the house, and buying a bigger house in the neighbourhood considering he bought 6 years ago for around 300k.
 
mimico_polak said:
Neighbour across the street did this. He said that he paid around 200-250k in order to extend his house about 10ft or so. Said it was cheaper than selling the house, and buying a bigger house in the neighbourhood considering he bought 6 years ago for around 300k.
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This is my 5yr plan.
 
I end up with a smaller house but bigger backyard, a pool and many thousands of dollars in the bank. My commute went from 62 km each way to 30 each way. Sometimes downsizing and moving closer to the city is the best solution.
I remember that in the last few months before I moved, every time i got in my car to drive to work or home I would start feeling stressed out and drove stressed out the entire way, people drive like idiots out there. No doubt if I had a gun, I would be in jail by now.

AdRath said:
I made sacrifices in house size to live near my work. I have two kids and couldn't imagine spending all that time in a car stuck in traffic instead of spending time with them. Honestly our single family car stays parked during the week as we use transit or walk/cycle. Its a much healthier lifestyle but you have to sacrifice. I was fortunate with my property as I didn't have to sacrifice much other than interior space but thats less to clean anyway and its good to be out and about instead of inside.
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Yous guys are all insane living or commuting in the morass that is the greater Toronto area. Insane. The closest I'll go is post on a greater Toronto area website but that's it.
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