This uninhabitable Toronto home is on the market for almost $800,000

Feb 22 2021, 3:30 pm

Anyone looking for a house to flip — or a house to just tear down and build a new one altogether — will want to take a look at this currently uninhabitable Toronto home.

The house, located at 627a Durie Street in the Bloor West Village, is definitely in need of some TLC but could be a great project property for the right person. It hit the market last month and is currently listed for $799,000.

uninhabitable Toronto home

Courtesy of Zoocasa

As of right now, the house that’s on the property has no kitchen or heating source, so it’s not exactly inhabitable at the moment. And sure, it may not look like much, but with a 50-foot frontage, this property is twice as wide as most laneway lots in the area.

“This property could make sense for a builder with deep enough pockets to purchase the property outright and design and build something unique which could turn this into a great new home,” said Zoocasa agent Carlos Moniz

There are, however, some drawbacks to the property, Moniz notes.

“You’re on a laneway and squeezing in parking and some outdoor space would be a real challenge,” he said. “This could be a great condo alternative for someone but the buyer pool for a unique property like this would likely be much smaller than for a traditional home.”

toronto fixer-upper

Courtesy of Zoocasa

Anyone looking to buy this property would need to do their research first, Moniz said, and understand the risks that can come with buying a fixer-upper like this.

“You would need to ensure that you’re able to get permits to actually build and design what you are dreaming up,” Moniz said. “You also have to figure out how you are going to finance this property as traditional lenders may steer clear of a property that may have issues with resale in the case they needed to take it over.”

Moniz also says that getting insurance on the property could be a challenge, and insurance is a requirement for getting mortgage approval.

“If you cannot get a loan from a traditional lender you may need to consider private financing which can cost five to ten times as much as a standard mortgage,” he said.

uninhabitable Toronto home

Courtesy of Zoocasa

The neighbourhood that this Toronto fixer-upper is in, though, is great, with nearby amenities along Bloor, and it’s not too far from High Park and The Junction. But the price, even for the area, might still be a bit too high.

“Pricing something as unique as this is also challenging as there aren’t direct comparable sales to reference,” he said. “The lowest sales in the past year for any type of traditional freehold home were between $800,000- $850,000 without facing any of the challenges listed above. The price was recently dropped $50,000 on this property but I think that it would need to drop further in order for this to make sense for someone, as the square footage you can build on this lot size would be limited.”

So if you’re looking to put in some work and don’t need a big home, this property could be perfect for you.

Laura HanrahanLaura Hanrahan

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