Welcome to urbaneer.com’s Home Of The Month. This feature provides a snap shot of what urbaneer.com’s Buyers are purchasing in the City of Toronto.

If one were to ask us what one of the most critical skills a realtor should have to be successful, our answer would be the ‘art of listening’. Without a doubt, a top producing realtor achieves his sterling reputation, and a paycheque, when he has cultivated the skill to concisely distill all the threads of information his clients articulate about their ‘Dream Home’ and subsequently personifies it into domestic bliss. In other words, if you can listen and deliver a Buyers’ Dream, you’ve likely made clients for life.

Such was the case in this circumstance. Nearly a year earlier, over the course of a few dinner engagements our Buyer shared with us his ideal. Having long coveted Playter Estates, and having grown weary of his attached neighbours who had quite rudely constructed an extension on their house without permits or his permission (thereby blocking all the sun from his garden), our down-to-earth professional acknowledged a move was in his future. It wasn’t urgent by any means, nor did he necessarily have much time to devote to looking given his time-intensive job. Yet, as his career-path underwent a meteoric rise over the next twelve months, upgrading into a more comfortable detached dwelling became tangible, realistic and inevitable.

That he met a fine fellow with a warm heart may have also accelerated a move. But it wasn’t out of our Buyer’s volition. It was urbaneer’s, who took a cue from the universe, having already distilled the following information:

Our former bachelor had expressed his disdain for sharing a party wall with unsavory neighbours. His ‘dream home’ would be a detached, renovated well-proportioned residence that has distinct zones of living. He loves cozy spaces for reading, writing and lounging, yet covets gathering his loved ones around an island or dining table when entertaining. He’s recognized he may have to renovate to suit as his needs are so specific, yet his busy schedule makes the prospect of this daunting. He loves the ‘character’ and ‘patina’ that encompass a vintage century dwelling, yet he appreciates the low-maintenance benefits which accompany a contemporary turn-key residence. And while he enjoys Riverdale, the understated elegance, charm and convenience of Playter Estates is his ultimate neighbourhood. The budget? It wasn’t set in stone. It was more about the property being the ‘right fit’.

Having digested this, urbaneer subsequently witnessed the joyful bloom of love. Adorable guy meets cute boy…they date, become deeply connected, and after a magical courtship said couple co-habitate. For this always-a-bridesmaid curmudgeon idealist, what could be better than beginning their new chapter together in a new space of domestic bliss?

Call it serendipity or, if you’re jaded (which we’re not), a fluke. But within months of the cute boy moving under adorable guy’s roof, urbaneer emailed a property which checked off all the boxes to our Buyer. Listed at $1,299,000, this detached three bedroom, two and a half bath home with family room addition and dug-down basement had been substantially renovated and rebuilt by the current Sellers just two and half years earlier. Having originally paid $900,000 the Sellers, who had relocated, had priced it fairly – if not below – market value. This was evident both by the recent sales on the street, and the fact it would cost nearly $300,000 to renovate it to the same standard today.

However, our Buyer, as it would turn out was jetting out of town and couldn’t look at the property. Given there was no urgency, we let it pass, and just a few weeks later the price was reduced to $1,275,000.

Here are some photos of the formal living room, open dining / family room and indulgent kitchen:

Along with two well-proportioned bedrooms on the second level, the master suite is formerly two bedrooms combined into one with a walk-in closet, a generous sundeck and an oversized spa washroom seen below:

The lower level had been dug-down to create a stylish media room. The landscaped lot includes a semi-detached one car garage, deck and lush city-garden.

It was a surprise to our Buyers, and to urbaneer, that they would walk in and be transfixed, and that uber-critical urbaneer would give it our ‘thumbs up’. But it was love at first sight. Just like our two ‘newlyweds’ falling head over heels, here was a place they could call ‘Home’ and begin a new chapter in their lives. After a second visit the following day, an offer was drafted, submitted and negotiated to a purchase price of $1,250,000.

Cue champagne glasses clinking.

At urbaneer.com, we’re in the business of making your dream of Home a reality. Our objective is to help you refine your needs, wants and desires, into a single property within your budget. While we can’t promise you’ll only view one house, we can assure you that the final property you choose will be the perfect place for you. How do we know? Because we have a twenty-two year track records of Happy Ever Afters.

If you, or someone you know, require a realtor who has perfected the art of listening, please know we’re here to help!

~ Steven and the urbaneer team

we’re here to earn your trust, then your business

Home Of The Month