They were looking for their ‘forever home.’ What would it take to find it?
The Hanifs outgrew their townhouse and looked for a home in good family neighbourhood, close to their kid’s schools. First, they had to sell their place
Nov. 23, 2024
By Carola Vyhnak Special to the Star
Amanda Hanif and her husband, Khalid, with their three children: Junior, 11; Zack, four; and Sienna, 15 months. The Hanif family looked at more than 40 homes before zeroing in on the one they bought.
Nick LachanceToronto Star
The buyers: Amanda and Khalid Hanif
What they wanted: Detached, two-storey, four-bedroom home of up to $2.3 million
Their agent: Kenneth Yim, real estate broker with the Broadview Avenue Group at Keller Williams Referred Urban Realty.
With three children aged 11, four and 15 months, the family had outgrown their townhouse in midtown Toronto. Lacking time for renovations, the busy couple wanted a place that was move-in ready in a good family neighbourhood, close to their children’s schools.
And they were adamant their new home would be suitable for years to come because “we don’t want to go through this process again,” says Amanda, citing the stress of decluttering, repairing and staging their home for listing.
The search: Both spouses agreed on must-haves, including four bedrooms on one level. In their three-storey townhouse they had to “run up and down stairs in the middle of the night” to tend to their children, Khalid points out.
A main-floor bathroom and private driveway with room for two cars were also important, along with home office space for the couple, who work in management consulting.
While prepping their home for sale, they looked at a lot of houses that failed to hit the mark. Some needed too much work, others were priced too high and a few they simply did not like.
After scouring North York, Leaside and other areas, they honed in on East York where several new builds caught their eye. Amanda remembers thinking: “Wow! This is probably the neighbourhood.”
What they bought: They found what they were looking for in an attractive modern house that had been on the market for months.
“From the moment I stepped in, I saw everything that met our needs as a family,” starting with the generous entryway and ample storage space, Amanda recalls.
At first Khalid, who admits to being “very picky” about minor details, was “a bit skeptical.” Among the targets of his criticisms were the size of the main bedroom’s closet and lack of tub in the kids’ bathroom. But the house offered their key non-negotiables, along with easy access to the DVP and downtown, which helped clinch it for him.
They made a lowball offer, conditional on selling their home. The offer was rejected, but after they sold their home for $1.25 million in August, their subsequent offer of $2.12 million for the new place was accepted.
What their agent says: Ken Yim, who believes they got the house for “a really good price,” says a comparable home on the same street sold for $2.58 million five months earlier. During the pandemic, similar homes were going for around $2.8 million, he notes.
During the Hanifs’ house hunt last summer, GTA market conditions were in their favour, with prices down about 20 per cent from previous highs and available houses outnumbering buyers, explains Yim. He adds their money went further in East York — another plus.
His clients looked at a total of 40 houses, which he calls typical “in this market when you have good buying power.” Plus, the Hanifs were looking for their “forever home” and wanted to get it right, says Yim, who’s logged almost 20 years in the business.
To assist his “detail-oriented, analytical” clients, he drew up spreadsheets for showings and financial details.
“Before we even started looking, I had to come up with an illustration of what this would all cost them, and the projected mortgage payments,” he explains. The couple also talked money with a mortgage professional.
Yim says he cautioned them against buying before selling and tempered their expectations about the value of their property.
The verdict: Since moving in in mid-October, the family has been enjoying their new home’s abundant sunlight, “amazing backyard” and friendly neighbourhood, says Khalid. Amanda appreciates its “breathing space,” added privacy and proximity to nature.
Reflecting on their agent’s role in their search, the couple describes Yim as patient, supportive and insightful.
Amanda notes that the father of three was familiar with the needs of a growing family so “we didn’t have to teach him about us.” (Yim says he empathized with the parents when they had to cancel a showing due to a child’s “meltdown.”)
“Ken is one of the best professionals I’ve ever worked with,” says Khalid while Amanda goes one better: “We couldn’t have done it without him.”