July 2015 RSS Feed

Chances are, if you’ve lived in your Lake Of Bays cottage or home for more than a few years, you can likely turn a tidy profit. That’s great news. But sealing the deal requires more than just a handshake. You’ll have to consider if now’s a good time to sell? What’s the best way to get the word out? How do you get top dollar for your property? These are just some of the questions that Andrew Bulloch can help you with.

1. Decide when to sell

In real estate, timing influences your Lake Of Bays cottage or home’s selling price. Working with Andrew Bulloch he can help make timing work for you.

A buyer’s versus a seller’s market?

When lots of people are looking for Lake Of Bays cottage or homes but not many are for sale, it’s a ‘seller’s market’, because…

At Harvey Kalles – Lake Of Bays / Muskoka we love all our creative minded and unique entrepreneurs!

Main Street in Huntsville, Ontario is a hub of activity come cottage season. With so many unique shops catering to the traffic that boats in from all the connecting bodies of water via the Muskoka River like Fairy Lake & Lake Vernon your afternoon of food and shopping is endless.

One of Huntsvilles’ and Muskokas’ success stories lies in or lathering in soap! Meet Darla Stipanovich.

Darla has created her own small empire in the world of suds. Her company Soapstones has grown in leaps and bounds over the years. Soapstones creates naturally hand-crafted soaps, lotions and cleansers – made in small batches in a shop full of smiles just…

It’s not out of normal to buy a cottage in Huntsville / Lake Of Bays that has been passed down through generations and many lighting fixtures need to be replaced. It’s not just about if the fixture is out of date, it might just not meet your taste for that perfect cottage in Lake Of Bays atmosphere.

In the early spring, my firm began working on an interior design project for a young family who had recently purchased a very large house that was built in the mid 1920s. It lies in a well-heeled, leafy enclave in the north end of the city. Although the layout, room sizes and style of the house are near perfection, some of the practical components of the house need immediate updating, particularly the electrical and lighting.

All the light…

Paradise Found!!

You don’t have to look far to find paradise in Lake Of Bays, this is literally one of the very few AAA rated lots on the lake if not the best.  Wrapped in glass and cedar the `Seabreeze` cottage takes styling from its famed designer Brian Gluckstein and blends harmoniously with the 9 plus acres and the southwestern exposure.

The lavish grounds begin at the rare flat level entry via municipal roads. This deep lot almost 990 ft creates the perfect buffer for extreme privacy.  Regulation tennis court and landscaped grounds that defy imagination.  The cottage is incredible and totally custom with 6 bedrooms and 4.5 baths featuring, air conditioning, incredible kitchen and dining area and great room with panoramic views of…

We love the colour white for many reasons. Its first impression evokes ethereal images, sensuality and purity; an all-white room provides an unmatchable sense of equanimity. It’s cool, serene and takes a certain level of confidence to pull it off. However, the reality of white is very different from the idea of it. It is an unforgiving colour and when it’s not done right, a room’s narrative can get blurred into one dimension or lost altogether. But when white is used in the best ways, there is nothing else like it.

FASHIONS FADE, STYLE IS ETERNAL

Recently, I was commissioned to design a gorgeous Rosedale home in an all-white scheme. It was a chance to create subtle elegance throughout the space, and the result was breathtaking. White…

At Harvey Kalles – Lake Of Bays / Muskoka we love all our creative minded and unique entrepreneurs!

When you buy a cottage in Lake Of Bays or Huntsville – you want to experience everything the area has to offer, and that includes finding services that you would normally use at home. Muskoka is known for being the home of many talented artists, craftspeople, and other creative types, Muskoka also has a variety of amazing people offering services in health and lifestyle, meet Julie Barnes.

Julie Barnes, from FLY Yoga on Fairy Lake in Huntsville, is an inspiring yoga teacher who shares her love for nature and well-being by practising her yoga lake-side on a dock in gorgeous Muskoka .

Surrounded by the beautiful scenery, her classes and…

Huntsville and much of Muskoka benefited from the G8 with new roads, parks and Huntsville found itself with a state of the art arena aptly named the Canadian Summit Centre. Huntsville, Ontario saw the benefits of hosting a major event much like Toronto is now…

By Courtney Boost, Heritage Toronto

The West Don Lands, recently rebranded as the Canary District, is an area that has been prone to change. Bordered by the Don River, King Street East, Parliament Street and the rail line adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway, the area is undeniably an up-and-coming neighbourhood. Like many neighbourhoods in the city’s core, the West Don Lands have experienced change to both its natural landscape and built environment, but on a scale and over a…

Closing costs are the legal, administrative and disbursement fees associated with buying a cottage or home in Muskoka. Understanding these fees will help you budget more accurately. Remember these are additional costs over and above the price of the home/cottage.

How much land transfer tax will you have to pay?
The land transfer tax is a one-time tax levied by your province when you purchase a property. The tax is based on a percentage of the purchase price of the property, and varies from province to province. Some municipalities also charge a land transfer tax (for example, Muskoka).

Have you budgeted for the associated legal costs?
Legal costs cover your lawyer’s fees or, in Quebec, your notary’s fees. These may include:

• Reviewing…

Toronto is hosting the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games this summer and some of the traffic delays will affect your trip upto the cottage in Huntsville / Lake od Bays. Below the article we have listed some of traffic delays you may run into on your way to Muskoka.

On a Wednesday morning this past April, impatient students from Toronto’s Hillcrest Community School could be seen boarding buses for a unique field trip. Their destination was 30 kilometres away in Scarborough at the CIBC Pan Am / Parapan Am Aquatics Center and Field House. One of several stunning new facilities built for the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, it was now open to the public. Inside the structure, top athletes from across Canada were kicking furiously in the pools,…

After seeing many different homes and cottages around Muskoka, you have finally found one worthy of an offer! What are the next steps?

What is an offer?
An offer is a formal, legal agreement to purchase a home and is legally binding once accepted by the seller. Offers to purchase a home can be made conditional on factors such as financing or a home inspection. If any of the conditions are not met, you can change or cancel the offer, even if the seller has already accepted it.

Do you have your money ready?
You will need to present a deposit along with your offer. The amount varies based on the home’s purchase price and the market.

Do you have up-to-date identification?
The federal Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist…