subject: You and Your Toronto Home - Some Helpful Advice [print this page] I've been told I may need a building permit for some renovations I am doing on my house.
A building permit is explicit consent from the City of Toronto to begin construction, demolition, addition or renovation on your property. The Ontario Building Code, local Zoning By-laws and many other laws must be studied by Toronto Building staff before a permit can be awarded. Here's when you need the building permit: Construct a new building or put on an extension, make structural alterations, some reno's, demolish or remove all or a portion of a building, alter a building's use, install, change, or remove partitions and load bearing walls, make new openings for, or change the size of, doors and windows, construct a garage, balcony or deck, excavate a basement or construct a foundation, install or change heating, plumbing or air-conditioning systems, install or reconstruct chimneys or fireplaces or wood burning stoves, create a new basement entrance or second suite the list goes on.
My insurance organization is asking a ton of questions about the house I bought, can my realtor help?
If your home has been renovated in any way, the amount of land the property sits on, when the property was put up are some of the questions asked. One of the things we can do for you is contact the listing agent looking after the sellers of the house, who will know the answers to most of these questions. Most insurance companies appreciate that the the original details are not always available, therefore they normally accept approximate details.
Which is the better investment, a house or a condominium?
I orient on Toronto houses for sale but I believe that when making these kinds of decisions you need to look at your long term objectives and how you want to reach them. When looking at average Toronto rental prices for a decent condominium it pays for itself, sadly the value doesn't go up very much, but part of a house can be rented out while you are still living in it. One of the services we offer to our clients is unique advice based on your own situation.
The units in the condominium building are the same, so why is there a price disparity?
There are many explanations for why there could be a price difference and most are down to the extras provided such as kitchen upgrades or parking. Also, the higher the floor within the building, the bigger the price (ie penthouse suites can sell for considerably more than ground floor suites). One last point, keep in mind that list price - asking price - is not always the same as what the units will actually sell for!
