When you’re buying an $800,000 house, the $500 you drop on a home inspection is a relatively small price to pay to ensure that everything is as it should be.

But bear in mind that that a home inspector doesn’t have x-ray vision. So often they may miss the fact that the basement leaks during heavy downpours especially if their assessment takes place on a clear day. Let’s face it, given that the examination is based on what you can see, even the best inspector is bound to miss potential problems.

For my money, I prefer a Seller Property Information Statement. Simply put, this is a disclosure from the seller that spells out all the issues – both good and bad – that they know to happen in their home. If you think about it, doesn’t it make more sense to have someone who’s lived in the house for years disclose problems or potential problems as opposed to someone who’s looked at it for two or three hours?

The Seller Property Information Statement, otherwise known as SPIS, is optional. It’s been said buyers love them, sellers fear them and lawyers say no to them. In Canada, since the inception of the SPIS form practice in 1997, there have been over 230 court cases.

Sellers are not required to fill them out, but I encourage my clients to do so in most instances. My thinking is it protects vendors from down-the-road lawsuits if they’re being honest and forthright. After a property sells and changes hands, the SPIS protects the seller should something occur at that point that the new owner might try to pin on the seller. By filling out a SPIS it also demonstrates to buyers that the seller has integrity and nothing to hide as they are willing to disclose defects or issues.

The SPIS is a two-page document that covers questions regarding zoning, taxes and encroachments. Queries are asked about soil contamination, flooding, oil tanks and grow houses. Other questions focus on moisture problems, types of insulation and renovations or addition made to the house.

I’m not saying to disregard home inspections. But if you know houses and have bought and sold a few in your time, you can probably uncover the same that a home inspector would so save the $400 to $600 inspection fee for a rainy day.

Home inspectors are especially useful for first-time home buyers, who know little about the process. A home inspection can help calm the nerves of a buyer who has no idea what shape the roof is in, where the water shutoff is or how to replace a furnace filter.

A true love of visual arts led Shawn Freeman to pursue a career in architecture and today he’s hoping to use that passion to change neighbourhoods for the better.

The Toronto architect, who lives and works in Seaton Village, is spearheading a move that could ultimately transform how the city uses its alleys and laneways. The residents’ group he co-founded with architect and office mate Andrew Morrison is known affectionately as Victory Lane because members plan to win over city hall in their push to rezone the space behind peoples’ homes for live-work use.

The concept behind Victory Lane is quite simple. Not everyone wants to move out of the city and away from their homes, neighbours and family members as they age. But many are forced to thanks to escalating housing and living expenses and reduced incomes or limited pensions. Shawn’s plan would allow more leeway in the development of garages to generate income. A homeowner could potentially convert their garage into an apartment or perhaps a studio space that would be rented out to a photographer. The possibilities are virtually endless.

The move is motivated in part by recent vertical housing intensification taking place along Dupont and Bathurst. Homes are being overshadowed by six-storey buildings and residents are feeling a loss of privacy. Proponents of alley development believe that two to two-and-a-half storey buildings built adjacent to laneways won’t result in a loss of privacy.

Given recent studies and anecdotal evidence that indicate how much better it is for seniors to remain in their own homes as they age and Toronto’s housing density and affordability issues, his idea may just be perfectly timed. It’s also believed that laneway development would heighten the safety of the area behind people’s homes.

And while the plan is not a new concept and is used widely in pricey housing centres such as Vancouver, Shawn realizes Toronto city hall can be a tough nut to crack, although he expects Adam Vaughan, the city councillor for Seaton Village, to come on board.

A practicing architect for nearly two decades, Shawn has valuable, hands-on experience and has actually designed and built a home recently that would exemplify this concept off of a laneway behind Bathurst Street.

Shawn, whose Bathurst Street practice is just down the block from Freeman Real Estate, where his two brothers and parents own and operate an independent real estate business, lives with his wife and three school-aged children in Seaton Village, a neighbourhood he’s called home since 1992. He walks or bikes to work often toting his 70-pound Hungarian hound named Big Boy.

His architecture specialty is custom-designed homes and cottages in addition to alterations and additions to living spaces. Heritage homes are another speciality he enjoys and has done work on designated homes in Rosedale and Forest Hill.

For more about Shawn and his work visit www. shawnfreemanarchitect.com. Or if you’d like to join Victory Lane or want more information about the group, email him at Shawn.freeman@sympatico.ca.

When you’re buying an $800,000 house, the $500 you drop on a home inspection is a relatively small price to pay to ensure that everything is as it should be.

But bear in mind that that a home inspector doesn’t have x-ray vision. So often they may miss the fact that the basement leaks during heavy downpours especially if their assessment takes place on a clear day. Let’s face it, given that the examination is based on what you can see, even the best inspector is bound to miss potential problems.

For my money, I prefer a Seller Property Information Statement. Simply put, this is a disclosure from the seller that spells out all the issues – both good and bad – that they know to happen in their home. If you think about it, doesn’t it make more sense to have someone who’s lived in the house for years disclose problems or potential problems as opposed to someone who’s looked at it for two or three hours?

The Seller Property Information Statement, otherwise known as SPIS, is optional. It’s been said buyers love them, sellers fear them and lawyers say no to them. In Canada, since the inception of the SPIS form practice in 1997, there have been over 230 court cases.

Sellers are not required to fill them out, but I encourage my clients to do so in most instances. My thinking is it protects vendors from down-the-road lawsuits if they’re being honest and forthright. After a property sells and changes hands, the SPIS protects the seller should something occur at that point that the new owner might try to pin on the seller. By filling out a SPIS it also demonstrates to buyers that the seller has integrity and nothing to hide as they are willing to disclose defects or issues.

The SPIS is a two-page document that covers questions regarding zoning, taxes and encroachments. Queries are asked about soil contamination, flooding, oil tanks and grow houses. Other questions focus on moisture problems, types of insulation and renovations or addition made to the house.

I’m not saying to disregard home inspections. But if you know houses and have bought and sold a few in your time, you can probably uncover the same that a home inspector would so save the $400 to $600 inspection fee for a rainy day.

Home inspectors are especially useful for first-time home buyers, who know little about the process. A home inspection can help calm the nerves of a buyer who has no idea what shape the roof is in, where the water shutoff is or how to replace a furnace filter.

In a city that serves up some of the best food in the country why would it not also deliver when it comes to events that honour the diverse cultural mosaic we call Toronto? It could be argued that that the city’s top notch culinary scene would not be so fabulously flavourful without the ethnic groups that keep it going.

With that in mind, why not consider a visit to some of the finest outdoor celebrations that pay tribute to our diversity. September and October are prime festival-going months with neighbourhoods taking turns as they present a head-turning, sensory surplus of food, music, arts and culture.

Let’s begin our tour:

The Ukrainian Festival is a lot more than cabbage rolls and borsht.  Marking its 17^th year along Bloor Street West, the event plays host to top Ukrainian artists and performers in addition to Ukrainian dance companies, bands and visual arts. Attracting more than 500,000 visitors, the festival runs September 13 to 15.

Not be outdone,  the Roncesvalles Polish Festival stages its eighth annual event September 14 and 15 and features the ‘Dance Under the Stars’ polka party on Saturday. Kielbasa, anyone?

If South American and the Caribbean is more your thing, you won’t want to miss the Pan American Food Festival September 20 to 22. This free event takes place at Harbourfront Centre. Don’t miss culinary historian Maricel Presilla, one of the world’s leading authorities on the Latin American kitchen.

Industry awards as well as fare from about 50 food truck vendors will be on hand at the second annual Food Truck Festival on September 21. The nosh fest at Fort York runs from 2 to 8 p.m. at 100 Garrison Road.

What’s a Sweets and Treats Festival without a midway, a beer and wine garden and various buskers performing their melodies throughout the September 21 and 22 events? Starting each day at noon at Sugar Beach, this inaugural party invites you to indulge your sweet tooth in support of the SickKids Foundation.

Ever wondered why garlic is so good for you? Head down to the Toronto Garlic Festival on September 22 to find out why. Chefs, garlic experts, farmers will be on hand at the Evergreen Brick Works from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Toronto Chocolate Festival rolls out its three-week long, city-wide event October 12 in which chocolatiers, pastry shops and restaurants gear up to please chocolate-loving palettes. The King Edward Hotel offers a high tea with chocolates and chocolate pastries during the festival. Its signature event is the 8^th annual Chocolate Ball on October 17 at the Eglinton Grand.

As an empty nester, new housing options open up to you like never before.

And while some will stay in the suburbs right into old age, many will abandon their mega houses, mega lawns and mega bills for smaller, lower-maintenance digs in hip and trendy city neighbourhoods.

That trend appears to be well on its way. According to census data from Statistics Canada, the country’s metropolitan areas grew by almost eight per cent since the previous census.

While you may need to forfeit certain features such as space and property to live in the city, the benefits you gain more than outweigh your losses. Besides, when you think about all the time you spend on the maintenance and care of your sprawling suburban house and property, don’t you find yourself thinking surely there’s more to life than this?

The benefits to city living are vast and varied. You’ll be able to give up that second car as you walk your neighbourhood or turn to the comprehensive transportation grid offered by streetcars, buses and subways. Are you into obscure post-modern art? You’ll find it in Toronto. Maybe theatre is your thing? Again, your options are greater in the city. Do you get your kicks from social activism or delving into community causes? There are plenty to choose from in the city. Heck, if quieter pastimes such as bird watching or yoga in the park appeal, there are plenty of spaces in which to indulge your Zen side. If gastronomy is more your thing, there are literally thousands of restaurants, snack bars and coffee shops in which to taste the latest culinary craze or ethnic food trend.

The opportunities to be a part of your surroundings are virtually limitless. And if you’re still working, as many Canadians are postponing retirement, you’re probably closer to the office than you were in the ‘burbs. You may also be physically closer to your grown children, many of whom have recently launched their own careers in the city.

Condo living may be the perfect antidote to decades of high-maintenance suburban living. In Toronto and Vancouver there are plenty to choose from. But if condos strike you as too restrictive, small or fee-laden, there are numerous options available. Smaller bungalows, semi-detached homes and townhouses are perfect for the empty nester who wants outdoor space but less of it.

Change rarely comes easily. And moving to the city may take some adjustment after decades in the relative peace and quiet of the suburbs. But I’m guessing the odds are you won’t look back.

It’s a tough call. You’ve never lived beyond the second floor of your bedroom so how are you supposed to know if you’ll like higher altitudes.

Perhaps you’re a single mother who’s married to a job that demands quick turnaround and flexibility. Or maybe you are a soon-to-retire social activist who enjoys the prospect of living downtown near the causes, projects and people you support. You might be a newly married couple, who is hoping to break into the housing market but wants to maintain digs downtown near your jobs and friends. Any which way, you’re all storybook condo dwellers.

Being close to restaurants, bars, museums, public transportation and your job are big pluses of condo living. So is their often affordable price point.

But if privacy and independence are big issues you might want to think long and hard about buying

a condo. Neighbours are close by and some have turned complaining about their neighbours’ itty-bitty infractions into a sport. There’s a level of small-mindedness among some condo residents that you either have to swallow or learn to tolerate.

Condo living can be difficult for people who don’t like rules and who are accustomed to doing what they want when they want to. Residents, for example, can’t simply park where they feel like parking or plant shrubs where they think they’ll look attractive. You need to have respect for your neighbours because you’re in closer proximity to them.

Be sure to check the condo’s financial situation. Pay attention to contingency funds for emergencies and make sure the complex or building is insured for replacement value. Talk to people who live in the condo and ask them probing questions about what it’s like to live there.

If you’re still not certain, consider this fun and, by no means official, condo quiz:

1. My privacy is:

___ Insignificant.
___ Somewhat important to me.
___ So critical I used to be a hermit.

2. Amenities such as swimming pools and tennis courts are:

___ What I dream about.
___ Not that important to me.
___ I’m no Michael Phelps or Martina Navratilova, that’s for sure.

3. How would you respond to the following statement, “I like mowing the lawn, landscaping, and gardening,”

___ Are you out of your mind?
___ It’s okay.
___ Make some iced tea. I’m digging a swimming pool today.

4. Living in an urban environment is:

___ What I thrive on.
___ Something I can take or leave.
___ Not my bag—I’ll take Green Acres any day.

Total all your points, giving yourself 1 point for each first answer, 2 points for each second answer, and 3 points for each third answer.

Evaluate your score as follows:

4 to 5 points: Future president of the condominium association

6 to 10 points: A good candidate for condo living

11 to 12 points:  Obviously, vertical living is not for you