Episode 2

Trying to find the best home for your family? Not sure what neighbourhood best suits your needs. Meet Kelly from Koven Lifestyle Real Estate. She has a few tips for how to find the perfect home in Kingston.

Video Transcription:

Are you looking for the perfect house or neighbourhood for your family? I want you to meet Kelly. 

How do you go about looking for the right neighbourhood? 

Well, you explore, you look around, Kingston's got an amazing amount of pockets and neighbourhoods and options. You've got public schools and private schools, Catholic, French, English, tons of possibilities. You also have the proximity to downtown and to the water. It just depends on your family and their lifestyle. There are lots of options, so the first thing I would do is I would get somebody who knows the city and I would do a lot of exploring because there's a lot here!

Any creative ways to making money while buying a house?

Well, I mean, Kingston's got the lowest vacancy rate in Ontario, huge rental demand. There are creative ways of using space in your home that people don't always think about. Things are opening up in terms of allowance. There are mortgage helpers there, like Airbnb. There are ways to make your home more affordable and to make it possibly work for you a little bit. 

Kingston is currently and very soon going to be much more open to suites, which is great. What is happening is the zoning is shifting, and hasn't been done fully yet. There are pockets in the east and the west that allow it automatically, as long as it fits certain criteria. Those are things to explore. Your house is your home, but it's also a huge investment, so you have to be creative!

When families move to Kingston, what are some things they really don't know about Kingston?

For a city it's size, it's incredible. Kingston has its own symphony. It’s got the beautiful waterfront, It's got the Thousand Islands, we've got amazing hiking and biking. Really close of course, we can get to Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa really quickly, which is awesome. It's a great place to be and I love it! It's a great size and got a small-town feel, but a lot of stuff going on, great arts, great culture. It's a great community, it's just a good place to be and it's rated as one of the top places to raise your children and retire. So, you know, we've got a lot!

Number 1:
Take your time and explore the neighbourhoods. 

Number 2:
Educate yourself on creative ways to make homeownership happen.

Kingston is a great place, a lot of opportunities, and a great place for a family. If you are ready to settle down in the Limestone city, give us a call: 613-539-0000.