Home + Rental Revenue + Office/Studio = A Mile-Ex Duplex for You

Amy Barratt and I have just listed a pretty special duplex in Mile-Ex (more about that name and neighborhood in a bit.)

7022-7024 Clark St. is a typical turn-of-the-century Montreal duplex. The upper unit, which will be available to the buyer, features three bedrooms, a large living room at the front and a big eat-in kitchen.

The bathroom is large, with a skylight, old-fashioned tub and has washer and dryer hook-ups.

 All in all, this is a a big comfortable place with plenty of light and apleasing old soul.

Off the back balcony, the secret world of old Italian vegetable gardens, riotous flowers, trees and low-slung rooftops. A pocket of green in the heart of the city.

The downstairs unit is currently rented at $1100 a month. The tenant shares the fenced backyard and has a vegetable garden. 

What sets this property apart form others in the neighborhood is the detached two-storey building in the back yard. Probably once used as a shed, this concrete block on slab construction has been converted into a 225-square-foot completely insulated, fully wired and entirely finished studio space. With its original wood floors, new windows and skylights, the space is sunny and inviting. Accessible by a catwalk from the second floor or by an exterior winding staircase from the yard, this haven of creativity is something special.

The ground floor of the studio space is raw - concrete block walls with high ceilings and plenty of potential. It is currently used for storage but has been used as a carpentry shop, ceramic- and paint studios. The space is waiting for you and your projects.

The current owner purchased the place in 2001 and has spent good money on renovations. The main roof and the roof of the studio building were both redone. New skylights were installed. Windows were changed. Bricks have been repointed, plumbing and electrical brought into the 21st century.

The current owner purchased the place in 2001 and has spent good money on renovations. The main roof and the roof of the studio building were both redone. New skylights were installed. Windows were changed. Bricks have been repointed, plumbing and electrical brought into the 21st century.

The last time I wrote about Mile-Ex, a reader nearly took my head off. He insisted that Mile-Ex was a made-up name invented by invading hipsters. Maybe, if so blame La Presse which first publicized the name back in 2010. To some it is and  will remain Little Italy, though that name doesn't quite capture the 'hood's adventurous new spirit.

 To others, secteur Alexandra-Marconi sounds best. I even like WeLiTa, for West of Little Italy. Call it whatever you will, this is one lively neighborhood, a mix of old industrial buildings that increasingly house film and TV production houses, architects and designers, small manufcaturers and importers. There are early 20th century duplexes and triplexes and a number of new condo developments, either fresh built or sprung from the hulks of long gone factories.

Throw in Jean-Talon market, the nightlife and grocery shopping of the Upper Main and the many cool little restos in the area - I'm looking at you Depanneur Le Pick Up, Dinette Triple Crown, Manitoba, Café Guerrero and drinkeries like Alexanderplatz and the spanking new Brasserie Harricana and you've got the makings of a vibrant and engaging neighborhood. 

Asking price $560,000. 

Who wants in?

What Were They Thinking, Sooooey! Edition

This property is a work in progress. The photos show no ceilings, roughed in plywood and drywall in most rooms. The bathroom, however, is quite something.

December Housing Sales Up vs 2012 & 2013

 

Montreal's resale market ended 2014 with a bang, recording its best December for housing sales in three years.

A total of 2,203 homes were sold in the final month of '14, a 9-per-cent increase over the same month in 2013, which, if we're being honest, was a pretty crappy year for the local housing scene. (I am looking at you Pauline Marois and your trio of ill-behaved frat boys, Drainville, Peladeau and Lisée.)

It is no secret that the housing market took a dive during the Parti Québeois' 18-month chair-warming tenure as government. That took care of the final quarter of 2012, all of 2013 and the first bit of 2014. Happily, sales began to regain equilibrium in the second half of last year.

The North Shore and Laval led the charge, registering an eye-popping  26 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Sales were up on the island by 8 per cent and 4 per cent on the South Shore.

Somewhat surprisingly, sales of both single-family homes and condominiums rose by 9 per cent and plex sales rose by 10 per cent. This despite an abundance of new and resale condos available. The median home prices remained unchanged at $284,000, while condo prices inched up by two per cent.

The number of active listings also rose December over December by 8 per cent. More choice for everyone!

Two Bedrooms, Elegant Architecture and an Oasis of Green, Facing Jeanne-Mance Park

The courtyard, an oasis in the city.

 If you've ever walked past the tennis courts in Jeanne Mance Park, chances are you've noticed Chateau Esplanade, the yellow brick complex directly across Esplanade Ave.  The Chateau, built circa 1915, makes a statement with its dark-stained and arched wood windows and doors, elaborate exterior staircases and elegant courtyards. These are not cookie-cutter condos.

View from the courtyard towards the street and beyond that Jeanne-Mance Park.

 Amy Barratt and I have just listed  Apt. 3 at 4433 av de l'Esplande, a two-bedroom condo with a balcony onto the lovely courtyard. The asking price is $325,000. The monthly condo fees are $158 . Taxes, combined are $2576.

The combined living and dining room.

 There are only two condos per floor in 4433 Esplanade. This unit has two good-sized bedrooms at opposite ends of the apartment, for maximum privacy. The master bedroom is on the courtyard side of the building, with a balcony overlooking the trees and flowers. The second bedroom has a window on St. Urban St.

Second bedroom, now used as an office.

Master bedroom with balcony.

The kitchen is an enclosed galley style, with a pass-through and breakfast bar. The refrigerator, stove, washer and dryer are included.

Kitchen with pass-through and breakfast bar.

Among the features of the Chateau Esplanade, are a communal bike storage room, very large individual lockers, a building sauna and a party or meeting room.

Esplanade and Mont-Royal is an ideal Plateau location. Jeanne-Mance Park, with its tennis courts, soccer fields and open spaces, is directly across the street. The mountain is just beyond that. Every shop and service one could need - grocery store, pharmacy, SAQ, coffee shop, bakery or bank, is located within a three-uminte walk. 

Public transit could not be more simple, with buses on the corners of Park Ave., St. Urban, St. Laurent and Mont-Royal. The Mont-Royal metro station is a short bus ride or 10-minute walk away.

All in all, this condo has everything an urban sophisticate could want - including a little oasis of green when it is time to retreat from the hubbub of Montreal's most vibrant neighborhood.

Call or text me to arrange a visit. Or check the listing on my website: marylamey.com

Come and Gone and Gone Again

The story of the little house on Newmarch St. has another chapter. As it turned out, my young buyer was up against a contractor when he put in his winning bid. He had ambitious plans to expand the little house by building a mostly glass addition in the front yard and connecting it to the old house by covered walkway.

The contractor didn't give up easily. After the sale was finalized, his agent contacted me and asked whether my buyer would be willing to sign over his accepted promise to purchase in return for a financial consideration. As it turns out, my buyer was willing to do that. The original vendors also agreed to allow the buyer with whom they had struck the deal to cede his rights to the new guy. Everything was done on the up and up.

The contractor offered to allow my vendors to stay in the house rent free for an extra month. As for the young buyer, he made a little somethin' somethin' selling the house before he even owned it.

Turns out the contractor bought a similar property next door to our dollhouse. Sadly, he will be tearing both properties down in order to build a condo complex.

There's no doubt that the project will make more efficient use of the land but I'm sad knowing that a little bit of Verdun's small-town past, a few trees and the birds who lived in them will be disappearing from the landscape.

Progress.

Come and Gone!

I sold a couple a cute little house on Newmarch St. in Verdun five years ago. It was a dollhouse, barely more than 900 square feet on two floors, as rustic as a country cottage and with a big fenced yard out front with a vegetable garden. It was perfect for a young couple just starting out.

Next time I saw them, they had two little ones, aged 3 and 16 months, and the little house was as cute as ever but now bursting at the seams with toys and baby paraphenalia.

The little house on Newmarch went back on the market and, with just s few weeks, caught the eye of another buyer who fell for its rustic charm, quiet yet central location and the big fenced yard.

Listed at $298,000. Sold at $280,000 in no time flat!

What Were They Thinking?

. and sometimes I'm convinced my fellow agents are just being whimsical. This photo for a very nice Plateau cottage, was labelled on the listing as "kitchen".

Making Space Count

I visited a condo on the top floor of a Plateau triplex with a client today. It was a fascinating experience. The condo was a good 1,100 square feet of living space, not at all shabby by Plateau standards. It had good light, two good balconies and up to date plumbing, electrical and a new roof.

And yet...

There was something definitely off about this particular condo. The space was weirdly used. The owner, who had lived there for 25 years, had converted it from a three-bedroom into a two-bedroom but she'd done it in such a way that the place seemed cramped. How do you knock out a bedroom and make a place feel smaller?

The owner, une dame d'un certain age, was European and she'd done some peculiar things to the place, like adding a sauna where part of the south-facing kitchen should have been. Instead of a nice eat-in kitchen with windows on two sides, she had a  narrow galley kitchen. Oh yeah, there was no oven. Correction, there was an oven, the kind that is usually set into the wall, but it was sitting on the floor and was being used as a makeshift table, with a tablecloth draped over it.

Instead of yer basic Whirpool or Kenmore, she had a Super Wave Oven, a gizmo that looked like a popcorn popper or inverted crockpot. You will be surprised to learn that it is sold on TV and in the kind of catalog you find on long-haul international flights. Check out the video:

She assured us that she could cook an entire meal for a dinner party without a stove or oven. I was skeptical. More to the point, buyers are skeptical, too. Her condo has been on and off the market for three years. That tells me I'm not the only visitor who found the space weird and poorly concieved.

What Were They Thinking?

No but seriously. I have a condo for sale and was taking a look at what else is available for sale in the building. This is what I found.

To be fair, bathrooms are notoriously hard to photograph. The smallest room in the house does not lend itself easily to the horizontal photo layout requirements of the GMREB. But still...

Seriously. Could one take a worse, more thoughtless and careless photo of a loo?

Verdun's Histroic May St. a Casualty of the new Champlain Bridge

Here's an update from the March of Progress file. The design of the "new" Champlain Bridge was released this week. It looks like a beauty and anyone who lives in Verdun or travels from southwest Montreal or the South Shore by car is no doubt excited about the relief a new and not decrepit bridge will bring.

Sadly, La Presse reports this morning that 16 homes on May St. will be demolished as part of the project.

Amy Barratt and I have spent more than a little time on May St., having sold two big and solid Victorian homes on the street in recent years. I have to say, it makes me a little sad to think of all that history being lost to the bulldozers.

Here's a previous post about the street's history.  And another.

It is true, the elevated part of the approach to the Champlain Bridge now cuts right past the second floor of these beauties, creating a steady rumble of traffic noise and a constant fine sifting of dust. Still, people learned to live with their front windows closed and to enjoy the quiet and cool that two-foot thick stone walls afford.