Cool & Interesting Real Estate Stuff

Oct. 10, 2024

House with Log Floor Joists

I was showing a property recently, that had been built in 1900, and it had these beautiful log floor joists!

 

Oct. 3, 2024

Fake House in London

Here's another fake house, this one owned by London Hydro, and located on Central Ave, just West of Adelaide

Sept. 26, 2024

What are these anchors on balconies for?

Have you ever seen these on an apartment balcony and wondered what they were? They're actually anchors for window washing platforms to attach to. 😃

Posted in Balcony Views
Sept. 19, 2024

Fake House in Stratford

Many cities and towns in Ontario have properties that look like real houses, but in fact are not houses at all.
They are typically owned by a public utility company, most commonly the local Hydro provider, and are designed this way to disguise infrastructure and equipment that might be considered unattractive in residential neighbourhoods.
Here are photos I took of one in Stratford, owned by Festival Hydro:
Sept. 12, 2024

Shipping Container House

This home on Arkledun Ave in Hamilton is built with shipping containers - I quite like its unique look.
The lots on this part of Arkledun go all the way to neighbouring St. Joseph's Drive, so it's possible to see both the front and back of the house by just walking around the corner.

Sept. 5, 2024

The Little House

I stopped by to see the "Little House" when I was in Toronto last weekend, I've been wanting to see this one for awhile. Built in 1912, it's the smallest house in the whole city!

Aug. 29, 2024

SentriLock lockboxes

This is a SentriLock lockbox - they aren't seen often in the London area (we use Supra lockboxes here), but are the main type of lockbox used in places like Oxford County (Woodstock, Ingersoll, etc.)

With Supra lockboxes, an out of area Realtor needs to signup for lockbox access with our real estate board before being able to open one.

SentriLock lockboxes are a bit different - they allow out of area Realtors to open them, with some required conditions: 1) The agent must have the SentriConnect app installed on their phone and either 2) the listing agent supplies the showing agent with a one day code or 3) the showing agent has their email address added by the listing agent to the lockbox settings to allow them to open it during the scheduled showing time.

Aug. 22, 2024

London Hydro Bill from 1996

This was a strange find - a London Hydro bill from 1996! It was on the ground outside a property I'll be listing in the near future, and it didn't have any weather damage. Even odder is that it was for an address several kilometers away!

Aug. 15, 2024

Mansard Roofs

Here are a few examples of houses with a mansard roof. Mansard roofs are characterized by each side having 2 slopes, with the lower slope being much steeper than the upper slope. I've even seen mansard roofs where the upper part is flat, or nearly flat.

Aug. 8, 2024

Clinker Bricks

I saw these unusual looking bricks when visiting Toronto's Riverdale Farm - a great place to visit by the way, it's centrally located, has lots of animals to see, and best of all, is free!
I had never seen these types of bricks before, but did some research, and found that they're called clinker bricks. Clinker bricks are often misshapen and have a burnt appearance.
They were created back when brick kilns didn't heat as evenly as modern kilns do, and those bricks closest to the heat source would overheat, making those bricks look like this.