LIFELONG RENTERS
Couple have given up on trying to find their perfect home
Barbi Lazarus and Rob Mcwhinnie are both 27, and like so many of their peers, they completed post-secondary studies and are several years into their careers. And like many people their age, they thought that owning a home would be the fulfilment of a dream. But, says Lazarus, their focus has shifted and they will most likely be “lifelong renters for the simple reason that we can’t seem to find any property that has absolutely everything that (our rental) place does.”
One day I received an email from a reader that piqued my interest. “I’m a big fan of the Lifelong Renter column,” wrote Barbi Lazarus. “We rent in High Park Village going on about three years in this property. I have always been interested in real estate and always thought buying a home was a dream of mine.”
But, Lazarus continued, since moving to Minto Group Inc.’s High Park Village, she had modified her views.
“We’ve now shifted our focus and most likely plan to be lifelong renters for the simple reason that, regardless of budget, we can’t seem to find any property that has absolutely everything that this place does. To me, my home will always be a home first, not an investment first and a home second.”
So one evening I met Lazarus and her partner, Rob Mcwhinnie, in their 865-square-foot, 15th floor two-bedroom with a wall of windows providing a commanding view of sunsets over the west end of the city.
It’s been nicely renovated with new appliances, a gleaming parquet hardwood floor and a new balcony. In a corner of the living room sits an elaborate cat tree that Mcwhinnie made for Booker, a handsome tortie, and Nala, a graceful orange tabby.
Lazarus and Mcwhinnie are both 27. Like so many of their peers, they completed post-secondary studies and are several years into their respective careers.
Lazarus, who grew up in Thorn- hill, has an undergrad degree in geography, went to teacher’s college, discovered the classroom wasn’t for her and is now the donor and volunteer resources coordinator for a local non-profit, the Toronto Vegetarian Association. (A petite, outgoing brunette, she’s wearing a tshirt that reads, “Go vegan and nobody gets hurt.”)
Mcwhinnie, who is from Scarborough, met Lazarus through mutual friends while they were both at separate high schools. He studied computer science at the University of Toronto and today works as a software developer for a large computer games firm.
Many of their friends have already bought their first homes and Lazarus and Mcwhinnie were heading in that direction, too. Describing what she calls her real estate “hobby,” Lazarus says, “I love checking online real estate sites and going to open houses.” Mcwhinnie adds, “We’re curious about what people are getting for their money.” In the meantime, the couple had moved into a one-bedroom in one of High Park Village’s seven towers, which sit on 13 acres of parkland a short walk from the High Park subway station. One building has a 12-seat theatre with a 60-inch screen and an adjacent meeting room equipped with wireless internet. In another building there is a fitness centre offering various classes, an indoor pool (there are also two outdoor pools) and tennis courts. (There is a membership fee but tenants get a reduced rate.) A patio with four gas barbecues seats 30 and there are two on-site convenience stores. When they decided to move into a larger unit, they began calling the rental office every month. When their current two-bedroom became available, they immediately took it. “We decided renting was really a better balance between what we wanted to spend and the location we wanted to live in,” says Mcwhinnie. “And the condos we saw were half the size of this.”
Lazarus: “We looked at a two-bedroom penthouse and I couldn’t figure out where I’d put my clothes.”
Mcwhinnie: “We wouldn’t have had a kitchen table. The second bedroom was so small it didn’t look like it would hold a desk let alone a bed.”
Lazarus: “We went to an open house in a condo . . . near the lake. It had a tiny closet in the bedroom and another one at the front door. There wasn’t enough space for clothes and coats. I asked the real estate agent where people put their housecleaning stuff? She said, ‘oh, most people hire cleaners.’ ”
One day, the couple went to look at a townhouse that was part of an eight-unit condo conversion project in the former Annette Street Baptist Church at Annette and High Park Blvd. As interesting as it was, they decided that it would mean an extra 10-minute walk to the subway and there was no pool, a feature which Lazarus, in particular, loves about High Park Village. “We left thinking, if we bought one would our lives be any better than they are now?”
After looking at most of the condos in the High Park area, from Keele to Jane Sts., Lazarus and Mcwhinnie came away even more committed to renting in High Park Village — and contributing to a personal investment plan — than they were before.
“For us, not buying at this time isn’t so much a conscious financial decision,” says Lazarus. “It’s based on quality of life. The No. 1 factor when I think about where I’m going to live, is whether it will make me happy. We know of people who move away to the suburbs just so they can own property, but we would never do that.”