148 STEPHEN ST - RENTED! 

It’s Mark here. Slipping in a bit of personal business. I bought a house while Cheri was on holiday. As if it wasn’t busy enough anyway, with her gone.

The thing is, I’m not getting any younger. And there isn’t much in the way of savings and it would nice to retire at some point (much as I do enjoy the work). Real estate seems to offer the opportunity to pull that off (and what a crappy realtor I’d be if I didn’t believe that). And so when one of the lovely brick homes along Stephen St came up in the summer, I jumped at it. It would make a lovely rental property, I thought. A good family home.

Even at that moment I didn’t give much thought to whether it was a smart investment. Sam and I bought the place because we think it’s beautiful. The whitewashed and enclosed back porch and deck belong in a magazine (or even better, on the back of our own home). We’d be out there half the year with a book, or a glass of wine, looking out at the deep landscaped garden, with its elaborate flower beds, its resident cardinals at the stained glass feeder. The crown moulding inside the house is elegant and expertly installed. The pine floors in the living and dining rooms are immaculate and have taken on all the colours of a warm honey. The gas fireplace doesn’t hurt either. The kitchen is small but decently organized and there is a good gas stove for the more daring chefs. There is good, fresh berber carpeting throughout the second floor, and in the depths of winter we happen to think a warm carpet underfoot is a good thing. 

The windows are recent too and there are California shutters giving more privacy. The utility costs have averaged $200 per month over the last year, which is eminently reasonable, but we had the attic re-insulated this week (R60, and we’ve just finished upgrading the electrical and the plumbing. We want this house to be perfect in its bright, modest way.

Stephen St is busy, there’s no denying it, but the good windows, and the gorgeous garden, mean you can’t hear the street when you’re inside, and don’t care about it when you’re out back.

I think you can probably tell that it’s important to me that we find the right tenants for 148 Stephen St. And if you think that might be you, Sam and I would love to hear from you with a bit of your own story.

The rent we’re asking is $1900, by the way. That’s important, I know. We think the quality of the house and its location along with the garden, and the fact that it’s got parking, and good mechanicals, good insulation, make that a reasonable ask.

 Any questions just give me a call or drop me a line.

*The seller and the listing agent were nice enough to let me use their pictures. The house is vacant and ready for your treasures now.