This home was build in 1990 at the beginning of the plateau years. Prices didn’t rise significantly during the 10 years period. After that prices took off in 2000 when interest rates went down to historic lows. What suggests this house was built 20 years ago?
The first tip that this is an early infill is the simple roof lines and the sunken garage floor. The use of old railway ties as retaining wall material was typical of the period. Today there are concrete brick and block products that do an excellent job of retaining earth without the soil contamination and wood rot problems. Designers and architects were experimenting with the placement of the garage in relationship to the house. Instead of putting it behind with a side lane it was placed inside the house because the lots were narrow and didn’t allow a side lane and the depth of the house increased due to the narrowness.
The attached inside entry became the new norm. This garage is partially submerged in the basement which is a good feature and above the living room, dining room and Kitchen are one great open living space. Very nice feature. Today that garage is on the main floor taking up taking up 244 square feet of living space. It makes for a narrow entry hall and frequently there is a powder 1.5 bathroom adjacent to the narrow hall.
The roof was replaced using superior shingles and underlay. Grace water shield was just introduced in the 1990s and it has proved very good at preventing damage to ceilings and walls due to ice daming on the exterior lower portion of roofs.
Other significant upgrades include new gas furnace and tank less Rennai hot water system. With three bedrooms three bathrooms, family room and great room this is good value for an updated home in centre Westboro at $614,000. 372 Whitby Ave