Detached house in Newmarket for sale ($353K)

Detached two storey house for sale in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.

Location
Address: 132 Lowe Blvd, Newmarket, Ontario
The major intersection - Davis Dr / Leslie St, Newmarket, ON.
MLS area - N07.


Price
$353,000.

Footage
Approximately 2200 sq.feet (220 sq.metres), plus finished basement.

The House Age
Near 15-20 years I guess.

Property Type
Detached 2 storey house in residential area.
2 cars Garage.
Central vacuum and central air conditioner, so everything is ready for a comfortable living.


Lot Size
50 x 100 feet (15 х 30 metres).
Slightly bigger than average (I would even say wider than average)

Kitchen and Appliances
The kitchen is spacious,
walls here are covered by brick fake but the colors are a bit heavy as for me...


But anyway the kitchen looks better than an average one.
There is a central air conditioner in the house.

Main Rooms
The rooms are big enough,
not sure if they are light and sunny enough but my claustrophobia was sleeping there.
Besides the kitchen there was a big dining/living room.

You can find another room (with a TV set and gas fireplace) at the opposite side of the house.

I must say 2200 sq.feet house is much better than let's say 1500.


Bedrooms
There are 4 bedrooms on the second floor.

Non-for-Lilliputians.
That's enough even for children,
much more space and comfort comparing to some average house.

Basement
The basement is walkout and partially finished.

A dog lives here (a huge cage is located in the basement), that might be not a problem but wooden stairs are a bit gnawed away.


Driveway and Garage
Standard 4 car driveway ends with a standard 2 car garage.

Backyard
Backyard has disappointed a bit.
Not so big as expected taking a look at the house.

Don't be fooled by the picture taken probably by a professional using a fisheye lenses :)

Area
Comparing to Toronto we can talk about Newmarket as a balance between being close enough to all amenities (including jobs) and being far enough from noise and dirt of a big city. Most of the people living here are born in Canada and civilization (I mean immigrants from around the world :) ) is not here yet.
This particular house is situated in "old Newmarket" area.
10 minutes of walking to one of the biggest hospitals in York region (Southlake Health Centre), 20-30 minutes of walking (5 minutes drive) to historic center of Newmarket (Main Street).

Schools
Very near by (few minutes of walking).

Parks
Charles Van Vant Park within few minutes of walking.
The neighborhood is very quiet and family-oriented.

Shopping
Busy plaza with supermarkets, restaurants and small shops is located on Davis Dr / Leslie St (5 minutes of driving, or 10-15 minutes walking).
Yonge St is withing 2-3 kilometers, and everything is there - Canadian Tire, Wal*mart, Costco, Brick and big Upper Canada Mall.

Public Transit
YRT (York Region Transit) buses - on Davis Dr (5 minutes of walking).
Newmarket GO Train station - in approximately one kilometer, it may take up to an hour to be on Toronto downtown, however there are 5 trains southbound (to Toronto) every morning (weekday), and all of them return back on evening, no trains on weekend.

Property Tax
Near $3500 per year.


Pros
Quiet area,
relatively big house (definitely bigger than average),
the house in good condition.


Cons
A bit far from Toronto (if you are going to commute every day).

Resume
If you are tired about multiculturalism then consider small remote towns like Oakville, Oshawa, Newmarket where the situation is still close to that being here before mass immigration of the last decades. GO train however can bring you back to life.
Real estate prices are noticeably lower than in Toronto, or you can afford definitely bigger/newer/better house for the same price.
So you can consider that if you are not scared by distance from Toronto.
My personal opinion - 7 out of 10.


Technical Details / Dimensions
Kitchen: 4.20 m x 3.70 m
Living/Dining room: 7.80 m x 3.50 m
Family room: 5.80 m x 3.50 m
Master bedroom: 5.80 m x 3.60 m
Bedroom 2: 3.90 m x 3.20 m
Bedroom 3: 4.10 m x 3.20 m
Bedroom 4: 4.30 m x 3 m

Detached house for sale in Mount Albert ($400K)

Detached two-storey house for sale in Mt.Albert, Ontario.

Location
Address: 5832 Davis Dr, Mt.Albert, Ontario
Major intersection: Davis Dr / 9th Line, Mt.Albert, ON.
MLS area - N15.


Price
$399,900.

House Footage
Approx. 1000 sq.feet (100 sq.metres), the information is really approximate.

House Age
Don't be negative, don't tell me about this.
Persons with mental and psychical disorder, please don't read this.
Ready?
The house was built in 1870.
140 years old.


Property Type
"2-storey" house but really the second floor contains just a master bedroom and some strange lumber-room where you can hide something you prefer nobody would see.
Please be serious and don't ask me about CAC (central air conditioned), vacuum and other products of civilization.
There is a ceptic here.
Water comes from a personal well. The pump is in the basement.
I'm very impressed by the house, it looks like Black Creek Pioneer Village - I'm not sure how to live there but as an exhibition place it's very nice.


Lot Size
60 х 52 metres.

Kitchen and Appliances
There were something on the kitchen.

For sure it was something newer than a house but not so much.


Main Rooms
Kitchen and few other rooms are in grandma style.
The common impression is "this is our cottage for a while and when we are finally going home?"


Bedrooms
There are two bedrooms on the first floor and one more (which is actually master bedroom) on the second floor.
So you'll be able to spend a night somehow.


Basement
Basement looks like a screenshot taken from Doom2 computer game.
Mould dangling on the walls, smell of decay, rotten wood frame... wow...
Almost new water pipes look alien at this underground.

Driveway and Backyard
The yard (I cannot see a difference between a backyard and driveway - it's the same yard with the house in a corner) - so the yard is big enough.
There were a pool and a hot-tub with a heating... almost new...

Besides the house, the property includes three big sheds/barns where you can store some hardware, tractors, heavy tanks and elements of small aviation (just kidding... not enough room for an airplane).
The yard 60х60 metres is not a children playground.


Area
Country side.
The neighbors are those who live on country side as well.
The next house to West is a good farm where you can pick up your own strawberry.

Schools
The nearest school in Mount Albert, it's near 5 kilometres away.
School bus helps you to reach your goals.

Parks
We cannot talk about parks on the country side.
The closest neighbor is in a half a kilometer away.


Shopping
10-15 minutes of driving to Newmarket where you can find everything you may need - grocery stores, hospital, movie theatres, etc.

Public Transit
Not at all.
Transportation is yours.


Property Tax
~$2400.00 in 2007.
I guess government has to pay for this house instead.
I suppose the house can be included into the list of ancient objects by UNESCO.

Pros
The neighbors are far away.
The large yard can be nice for those who need to store/fix/maintain something (landscape contractors, cars/bikes parts, some agricultural hardware).


Cons
The house is relatively small.
The house is relatively old. "Old" is not correct word. The house is ancient and shabby. However you can consider demolition and raising a brand new building on the lot.

Life on Davis Drive is a life on highway. It's noisy, the cars are passin by every 15 seconds. Speed limit is 80 km/h here that means everyone drives 100-120 km/h that means you cannot leave your children alone for even a second.
A cemetery across the road.

Resume
If you are in construction/landscaping business you can consider this property.

The rest can see despondency in each detail.
The price (400K) on my opinion must be reduced twice because of the house is not supposed to shelter anyone. I would consider it as a cottage to spend a few nights at as a fun.
My personal opinion - 2 out of 10.

Dimensions
Family room: 4.90 m x 4.60 m
Living room: 5.20 m x 4 m
Kitchen: 4.20 m x 2.20 m
Dining room: 4.70 m x 4.70 m
Bedroom 2: 2.80 m x 2.64 m
Bedroom 3: 2.85 m x 2.55 m
Office: 5.84 m x 2.90 m
Master bedroom: 5.20 m x 4 m