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Why I see homes differently
More space is easy to find. The right space isn’t.
My career started here in Toronto, customizing and pricing detached homes, semis, townhomes and condos for a developer. On projects like St. Gabriel in North York, I worked on every unit and sat with each buyer to learn what they wanted. That work took me to projects with some of the biggest developers in the Middle East, Africa and India: prestigious homes, each made for a very specific group of people. I guided the agents who sold them on which homes fit which buyers. Through all of it, Toronto stayed home.
It taught me one thing. A home isn’t a good sale on closing day. It’s a good sale when the family still loves it years later.
Listings count every square foot. I count the ones you’ll actually live in.
Midtown Toronto, my neighbourhood for 26 years.
Pay for what you can’t change.
Lily
“Lily saw what we would have discovered only after moving in. Her eye for layout and how our family actually lives saved us so much time, money, and regret. We’re grateful every day that we listened.”
Fran Shiraz · Midtown Toronto
A small confession
My daughter’s toys live in my bedroom.
Yes, mine. And I think about layouts all day long.
I’m telling you because it happens in a lot of homes. Families move to a bigger place, and a year later the toys are back in the living room. Same problem. Bigger mortgage.
A bigger home doesn’t fix a layout that doesn’t work.
So before you look at a single listing, this guide asks you a different question. Not “how big?” but “how do you live on a normal Tuesday?” Your answer shows you which home will work for you.
Inside the guide
Eleven simple steps. Here’s a taste.
✦Forget your dream home. Describe your Tuesday.
✦The Toronto surprise: land transfer tax, twice
✦What a small renovation can fix, and what you’re stuck with
✦Why the garbage chute should never be behind your bed
✦When a house is too big, and what it really costs you
✦The showing sheet to bring to every home you see
Commercial too
Homes or commercial? Both.
The developers I worked with built shopping centres, restaurants and hospitality spaces as well as homes, so I learned both sides early. I look at both with the same eye. A home is where your family lives. A business space is where you spend most of your working hours. Either way, the space has to fit the people in it.
The difference is the math. A home has to hold its value and grow over time. A commercial space has to do that and earn: the right location, the right layout, the right lease, so the business makes more there.
“Four locations together, and now working on our fifth. Lily has been hugely instrumental in our business growth. She found prime spaces in Yorkville and North York that weren’t even on MLS and approached the landlords directly. She understands our clientele, finds the right fit, and negotiates fiercely for us. Personally invested in every detail. We wouldn’t be where we are without her.”
SoreFit Boutique Training · Toronto
Home or business, I start the same way. I listen first.
Growing family, growing business, or investing? Call me for any of them.
Why Forest Hill Village
Surrounded by people who have seen it all.
I work out of Forest Hill Real Estate’s office in Forest Hill Village, where the brokerage has been since 1985. Some of the REALTORS® around me have been there since the beginning. They have seen every kind of market. They understand the heartbeat of buying and selling, for families and investors alike, and nothing they say is a cliché.
Sitting with them is a breath of fresh air. They get me, and I get them.
Found a home?
Send it to me before you fall in love.
I’ll tell you what I see, including the things the photos leave out. Call, text, email or DM, whichever is easiest for you.
