Grace's Places

A sincere apology This week I had an apartment become available on short notice. It is generally believed that Christmas week is the worst week of the year to be marketing apartments as many tenants are celebrating holidays or taking advantage of school breaks to travel, and are unlikely to be interested in contemplating a move. Accordingly I posted the availability on a couple of websites on Christmas Eve and proceeded to carry on with my own holiday plans, never imagining t...hat the posting would attract almost 250 requests for showings. Part of the problem, of course, is that I pay little attention to "the market" when setting rents, and was astonished to discover that this was the most affordable self-contained apartment being offered in the entire GTA (all the way up to Newmarket and over to Oshawa). Complicating matters, I have twice deleted the apartment from Kijiji, but Kijiji just won't let it go. I have tried to answer everyone's queries but I can't keep up and I have other responsibilities. Some of you poured out your hearts and I sincerely wish I had more apartments to offer. Several years ago I wrote a blog which provided advice for those who were apartment-hunting. I’ve updated it a few times over the years and feel that in today’s very competitive market it is more relevant today than it ever was. Perhaps you will find it helpful. http://www.gracesplaces.ca/tips.html I thank everyone and wish you luck in your searches.

In my younger days we'd cross-border shop for cartons of Camels and half-gallon bottles of bourbon. Now it's stocking up on ice-melt at the Home Depot in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Rarely offered http://www.gracesplaces.ca/44-1.html Showings Sunday, April 22nd

https://www.thestar.com//in-a-world-of-rising-rents-one-ma

Yes, it really is ugly out there. I scribbled this a few years ago, but it's perhaps more relevant today than ever., http://www.gracesplaces.ca/tips.html... https://www.thestar.com//as-toronto-rents-near-brooklyn-le

It's the end of Grace's Places' fiscal year and I faced the difficult challenge of determining which of thousands of worthy causes would get a share of last year's haul. Thanks to tenants Kim H and Mindaugas for their suggestions, and as a result two more charities were added to the list. This year was our most generous, with $18,000 being shared by the Fred Victor, the Canadian Women's Foundation, Ernestine's Shelter and the Daily Bread Food Bank. I really want to thank Grace's Places' tenants for their support and enthusiasm.

I had the pleasure last week of visiting 20 Palace Street for the first anniversary of the opening of Fred Victor's PanAm Legacy Housing, a ten-storey apartment building originally constructed for the PanAm Games and now renovated and repurposed to provide affordable housing to 300 tenants. http://www.fredvictor.org/pan_am_housing The luncheon was an opportunity to see the newly-installed donor recognition wall, where Grace's Places has a plaque in recognition of last year's... donation of $10,800 to the "Help Fill A Home" campaign, for the purchase of furnishings and appliances. And no, I was not offended that Grace's Places' name was singularized on the plaque.

WHOOT!!!! I just received an email from Google acknowledging that the inflammatory posts on the Bedbug Registry were bogus and promising to block them from search results in the future!

Flashback to 2011, when I used to post on the internet forum of an association for small landlords. Many of the landlords looking for help were new to the business, and I was distressed that most of the advice provided was... just. so. wrong. The moderator of the forum keep his identity a secret, but his agenda was to elect a Conservative government in Ontario, with the hope that they would roll back all (and I mean ALL) of the tenant protections now in place (protections whi...ch I feel are... for the most part... needed and entirely appropriate). There was also a forum for tenants with questions, and I'd advised a tenant that before renting an apartment they should check with the Bedbug Registry. Moreover, at the time an MPP was proposing a private member's bill which would require landlords to disclose if they had a bedbug issue... a bill which I publicly supported. My posts were entirely unwelcome by the moderator. Subsequently I was banned from the forum, and following day these three postings appeared... apparently in the space of twenty minutes... covering all three of Grace's Places' buildings. I have attempted to contact the Bedbug Registry several times over the years, but there has been no response... although apparently they have moved their operations out of North America to distance themselves from lawsuits. In any case, it seems the site has been inactive for a year or more. Trying to get Google to remove the search results (without an expensive court order) seems to be impossible. Of course, many (actually, most) of my apartments are rented as the result of word of mouth, so it's not been a big issue (and whenever I advertise on Kijiji or craigslist I get a hundred or more requests for showings). Nonetheless, it's frustrating. It's also offensive to me that aside from claiming that my building have bedbugs, the poster states that... "The landlord likes to act like some sort of Jesus figure/Socialist landlord when you meet him. The problem is when you complain he screams and hollers and won't spend a penny to deal with the problems!" In the case of Dalton he wrote that.. "I rented there after being assured it was safe and it looked clean. Only after I signed the lease and paid first and last did I find out the place is full of bedbugs! This landlord has a habit of this. He acts nice to get you to sign the lease and pay, then you getting bitten when you sleep and he won't pay to fix the problem! Perhaps I'm being a bit too sensitive...

Another kitchen makeover. Yes, it's the same kitchen as at the top of the page, however due to some water damage to two of the doors we had to replace the entire kitchen. It seems that Ikea changed the cabinet dimensions ever so slightly, and no longer stocks those doors, so all of the cabinets had to go to landfill. Sadly, I've installed 21 of their kitchens.

One of those days when I enjoy being a landlord. I stumbled upon this card from a departed tenant while going through some old papers this morning....

This is one of those days when I hate being a landlord. I did not expect to have any difficulty finding a tenant for Apartment 3 at the Cabbagetown building, however I will ill-equipped to deal with 135 requests for showings, with many prospective tenants sharing with me their compelling reasons for needing a place. As a result I now face the challenge of selecting a tenant from several terrific applicants. And, of course, I feel that I really ought to provide thoughtful rep...lies (apologies) to the 125 prospective candidates who were not even offered a showing. In some cases requests were arriving with such rapidity that I did not even see them, and in many cases prospective tenants were not offered showings in spite of being extremely well-qualified, simply because I realized that it would make selecting a finalist that much more difficult. Many people (including many landlords) assume that dealing with difficult tenants is the hardest part of being a landlord. Of course for me (given that I already have terrific tenants) the hardest part is dealing with all of the excellent candidates who I would like to have as tenants. See more

Sorry, totally swamped with requests for showings. I may not be able to reply to everyone.... http://www.gracesplaces.ca/seaton-3.html

Thanks to the tenants who chipped in to raise $700 for yesterday's Move For Gen 1 event.

The worst part of being a landlord? So many (200) requests for showings that I couldn't read them all. Only enough time to offer a few showings and now I have three splendid candidates waiting for me to make a decision. I so wish that I had three apartments to offer!

In keeping with Grace's Places' commitment to supporting worthy non-profit organizations I am pleased to renew our sponsorship of the Canadian Women's Foundation "Move for GEN1". Move for GEN1 is an energizing one-hour workout led by a professional instructor for all fitness levels to raise funds for the Foundation’s Campaign to End Violence, with funds raised supporting more than 450 shelters for abused women and violence prevention. In addition to participating in the spons...orship of the event Grace's Places will match the contributions of any tenant wishing to participate. The event takes place north courtyard of the TD Centre (77 King St. West) between 11:00 am to noon on Saturday, May 28th. http://www.canadianwomen.org/moveforgen1/toronto

Available April 1st. This apartment is located on the main floor at the rear of the building, with a private entrance, and overlooks a shady patio. The well-equipped communal laundry room (coin) is steps away. In spite of its modest size the apartment has many redeeming features, and represents excellent value for what is arguably one of Toronto's most desirable neighbourhoods. Visit www.gracesplaces.ca for more information.

HELPING FRED FILL A HOME I am pleased to see that Fred Victor will be providing 108 affordable apartments in the Pan-Am Village beginning this spring. Grace's Places' relationship with Fred Victor goes back to 2012 when I met Mark Aston, Fred Victor's Executive Director, in my capacity as a Star photographer... covering the story of low-income tenants displaced from their Fred Victor apartments due to a burst water pipe. There were repair workers scurrying everywhere and I w...as very impressed... not just with the manner with which the repairs were being handled, but with the respect which was shown to the tenants by the Fred Victor staff and by Mark himself, who was there to discuss matters with the tenants one-on-one. Since its beginnings in 1995 Grace's Places has directed a significant portion of earnings to community initiatives which hopefully resonate with tenants, and since meeting Mark in 2012 the Fred Victor organization has been the primary beneficiary of Grace's Places' charitable efforts. This continues this year with a donation which will cover the cost of the 108 sofas needed for the Pan-Am project (or cover the cost of furnishing two apartments). There's still a need for more... microwaves ($50 each), tables ($60 each), dressers ($100 each), etc. If you're a current or former Grace's Places tenant and would like to make a contribution Grace's Places will match your contributions dollar for dollar (to a maximum of $5,000). http://helpfredfillahome.ca/

HAPPY DAYS MOTEL, HOLLYWOOD FLORIDA. Like many 1960's era motels the Happy Days Motel has seen happier days, as have many of its guests. Of course, those guests are more likely to be locals renting by the week rather than tourists. One who I spoke to has been living at the Happy Days since being evicted... with three days notice... from the affordable apartment that he'd lived in for years after the building fell into foreclosure. He told me that the rental market is so tight... that most landlords won't return his calls, and the ones who do won't take him because he has a dog (a Chihuahua). For now he pays $250 per week for his room at the Happy Days and $250 per month to store his furniture. (That's $1,860 per month in Canadian dollarettes). Thankfully Ontario's tenants enjoy greater security of tenancy, but even here low-income tenants often pay more for rental accommodations than their well-heeled neighbours. Happy days indeed... See more

Twenty years of Grace's Places It was February 7th, 1995, when I was handed the keys to my first apartment property. It was a few hours later that a tenant called to tell me that his pipes were frozen. http://www.gracesplaces.ca/bl/twenty-years-of-graces-places

Anyone looking for one-bedroom in the Annex for October 1st? http://www.gracesplaces.ca/44-2.html

Anyone searching for a cozy bachelor (apartment) for March 1st? http://www.gracesplaces.ca/seaton-3.html

Anyone in need of a furnished bachelor for four months? http://www.gracesplaces.ca/seaton-1.html