BRIAN'S BLOG
Latest Toronto Condo Listing: An Interesting Story
November 7, 2017
My most recent listing has an unusual story. Several years ago, I listed three condos in a heritage building on Pembroke. Well guess what, this is #4!… it’s actually Unit #1 though. The home was featured in a 2012 Urbantoronto.ca article.
Clients of mine purchased the house, a beautiful old gothic revival Victorian, in 2005 with the intention of converting it into condos. It was then being used as a rental property. There were originally approximately 8 apartments in the home and since the conversion to condos, there are now four equal size units (roughly 1400 square feet) with beautiful high-end finishes… in three of them. The fourth one remained un-renovated as there was a long-term tenant who loved the place so much, he didn’t want to give it up. My clients (the developer) didn’t want to go through the expense of renovating the apartment to the same level of finish since the tenant was moving back in.
The space itself is amazing – the unit is 1400 square feet over two floors with parking, ornamental fireplace, exposed brick and a lovely terrace and with a listing price of $549,000, the cost per square foot is under $400.
So you may be wondering – what’s the catch? The catch is that the tenant is grandfathered in under the rules of residential property. He couldn’t be removed just because the owner of the building wanted to convert it to condos so he has a right by law to be there in perpetuity and that means forever… or at least for as long as they want to. Regardless, it’s a great investment considering average price per square foot of new condo builds is now hovering around $1000.
A buyer would have to know that they couldn’t move in any time soon – if at all – and when the tenant does choose to leave, some renovation might be necessary depending on the tastes of the buyer.
For sure, this would be a good long-term investment opportunity – two bedroom, two bath units with this much indoor space, outdoor space and parking, not to mention it’s in a century old home, do not come available that often and with the listing price so low, it’s a steal.
Click here for the full listing
If you’d like to know more about this great property, please give me a call!
Nice price for a townhouse condo near Ryerson. $1000 a square foot is normal now! With Trudeau’s new plan to bring in 1 million more immigrants, investors should be all over this listing!