HawthorneVillager.com

No. Fred put down "we love our neighbours and will miss them" on our ad. What a guy.

I was a bit scared that buyers would see the impending shortcut, but they did not or did not care, and bought the house -- first day on MLS.

I'm moving back to Montreal for a new job. I wouldn't say it's greener pastures, but you can buy a much better house for much cheaper there. Just a lot of crazy PQ.

This having been my first house sale, I was strongly amused by the charade of it all.

Really, the only thing missing from the MLS ad was "Flexible flooring". Why say squeaky when you can promote it was FLEXIBLE?

First time home buyer I gather. No kids. More of the Markham persuasion than the Brampton kind.

Some of the realtors here should know what the older homes are like in Milton but I wouldn't think they are much different (at least most of them) then those here in my nice pocket in Brampton. Btw, most of the homes they show on Love It or List It are homes built before the forties so totally different issues. For instance our home was built in mid sixties like most of my neighbourhood, certainly no knob & tube wiring and in our area no aluminum wiring though I do remember some subdivisions here in Brampton & Georgetown having them from that era, not sure about Milton. Biggest costs are furnace, windows & roofs. Though most homes are already renovated when up for resale in those regards, I know ours was, every window was new Pella high quality. Only windows not done still were the four basement ones we replaced for a cost of just over $1,000 perhaps? We also bought a home with totally renovated kitchen with high end cabinets (though I would of prefered maple) but they left the flooring throughout main floor vinyl. However we had a fantastic tiler come in three years later and do ceramic on the diagonal for an awesome price.

Older homes are great because you get to see what the streetscape & subdivision is already like plus you get the large lots, mature landscapes and large driveways for parking and lots of bungalows. On the negative the homes themselves are usually smaller though that really depends on the home model and there are usually less washrooms or master ensuites and no main floor laundryrooms unless during reno they have been added.

Again depends - because my home is slightly above average in size (four bedrooms, main floor family room) but some are on the more upscale perimeter streets with up to 4,000 plus sq. feet. Easy to look for homes that are already renovated or purchase one that you can renovate to your taste. This is our first older home & I'd have to agree that they are definitely better built then our brand new ones but certainly pros & cons either way.

Move to the West Island (not Pierrefonds or DDO...more like Beaconsfield or Kirkland). Stay away from St-Henri, Verdun, Lasalle, Lachine, Point St-Charles and certain areas of Laval.

_________________
Some people are like slinkies. They're really good for nothing but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.

How is Matane, Cap-Sante, St. Eustache, Notre-Dame-des-Pins and Dolbeau-Mistassini like? (I have no idea where in Quebec these cities are, I just see these addresses all the time in my job).

_________________
What is the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

St-Eustache is a just off the island of Laval on the north shore...kinda quiet...sorta middle class.
The rest are not near enough to commute to Montreal so I doubt he'd move there.

_________________
Some people are like slinkies. They're really good for nothing but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.

That's my hood! No pool though. Been here less than a year - moved after 7 years in new Milton.

Very friendly neighborhood. People who live or move here are here for the long term, so seem to put more effort into building relationships with other folks around. Majority of homes are owned by boomers or their parents, as you'd expect, but young families like my own seem to be flooding in from new Milton.

Large lots, huge trees (shade...), parks with trees, quiet streets. Love walking/biking with family. Central location with respect to rest of Milton - downtown, Home Depot and Crappy Tire, Superstore plaza, GO station, Milton Mall.

There can be some big ticket maintenance costs to deal with, depending on the house. Wiring in Dorset Park is aluminum, so a $2000 aluminum retrofit was in order. Some windows, AC, garage door, etc. Factor all that in to the price you pay for sure.

Pretty much all of this.

Our lot is 50x120. It is private. I have neighbours on all sides but it feels like no one is around.

Downside - not open concept (but that can be changed). Smaller room sizes, less bathrooms. I find all new houses have a lot of bathrooms. We only have 1.5 baths but we could add an extension and a master ensuite if we wanted to. But to us the bedroom sizes don't matter because we sleep in our bedroom not live, so for us having a bigger main floor is way better.

We had no issues with our home because the prior owners had really kept up with it. They did the energy audit, new roof, new heating and cooling, all new floors, granite, upgraded wiring and electrical panel. We scored actually and don't plan on moving for awhile.

We had a 1200 sq ft townhome that was built in 2003 (sundial) and our heating and cooling is less now that we are in our new 1900sq ft home with fully finished basement.