Before You Buy outlines pleasures and pitfalls of settling in Aurora

January 13, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

Some might fall in love with a property backing onto a picturesque creek or woodlot without considering some of the restrictions on the property lines.

Others might be attracted to the hustle, bustle and convenience of living on a busy traffic corridor without fully appreciating everything that entails.

Buying a house, condo, or investment property is never a decision that is made lightly, but the municipality is hoping to make the decision to settle in Aurora just a little bit easier with their new “Before You Buy” guide.

The eight page guide, which is now available online and in hard copy at Town Hall, is intended to answer many questions about the community and outline some of the common issues that might not be given full consideration at the point of purchase.

“This is an attempt to be a little more proactive and work with potential new residents in Town and give them some thoughts around issues and some considerations they might want to think about before they move forward with their purchase,” says Anthony Ierullo, Aurora’s Manager of Corporate Communications. “It tries to get people informed and ahead of the game with respect to understanding the implications of various parts of purchasing a new home, either resale or a new home from the purchaser.

“It is just about education and trying to get people really clear in their understanding of what to expect in this scenario versus something slightly different. If you back onto a park, what can you expect with the use that is going on and what might you be dealing with on a day to day life perspective? If you back onto a natural open space, here are some of the things you can and should consider and what you can and can’t do in that space. It touches on a lot of the questions we get from people coming in after they have purchased the property and it tries to get ahead and educate people at the front end, again, being proactive.”

Launched at the very end of 2015, the Before You Buy guide is expected to come into its own this year. While copies are available at municipal facilities, Mr. Ierullo says it is his hope the guide becomes more widely available later this year, including being put in the hands of realtors and made available at sales centres which now dot the landscape on Aurora’s east side.

“Our plan is, and we have actually begun this process, is getting a more robust print and circulating it with some of the real estate offices and sales centres that are selling new homes in Town so the distribution is a little bit more widespread,” he says. “So far, there has been a little bit of feedback and it has generally been quite positive. People seem to really like the tool and we have received a lot of positive feedback from Council as well.

“There has always been a link between the quality of life in Town and business attraction. The quality of life is one of your best investment attraction tools and there are often similar considerations. This type of guide could also be helpful in terms of helping people transition and potentially make a decision on investment.”

To download the Before You Buy guide, visit www.aurora.ca/buyersguide.