They drew the line at getting into a bidding war and found what they wanted in a condo townhouse

The buyers: Anima Hossain and Prateek Madhikar
What they wanted: Two-bedroom townhouse; budget $750,000 to $900,000
Their agent: Dakwan Henry 
Hossain, 27, and Madhikar, 30, had been saving separately for a home for several years. Combined, they had about $200,000 for a down-payment.
When they started house-hunting in April, she was living with her family in Scarborough and he was renting an apartment in Kitchener.
“We were ready to have a home we could call ours,” explains Madhikar.
The search: While neither one knew much about the process, they say Henry prepared them well, explaining the steps and market realities, while providing advice and insight on listings.
“The biggest thing for us was location,” Madhikar says. They wanted to be close to downtown, but not too close. They also wanted access to nature and green space and to live in a neighbourhood where they could walk places.
The right home would have two good-sized bedrooms; a decent kitchen with an island and gas stove, so they could do a lot of cooking; and “good sunlight” and central air-conditioning.
Their must-have list grew partly out of Madhikar’s experience with apartment life, when he spent hot days without a cooling system and developed a “passionate dislike” of small condo kitchens.
Space for them to work at home was a non-negotiable for both Madhikar, a software engineer, and Hossain, a marketing technology consultant.
Initially, they set their sights on a semi or detached home, but reality kicked in when an $800,000-, two-storey, brick semi in south Scarborough sold for $200,000 more.
“We were honestly shocked,” says Madhikar, who noted they were intrigued initially by what it offered for just $800k. But they drew the line at bidding on a property strategically priced low to generate multiple offers.
“That was a fairly good lesson to have gone through,” he says. He adds that they crossed semis and detached houses off their list to avoid “(what) was effectively an auction.”
Over five or six weeks, Henry showed them about a dozen homes outside the city core, culled from 50 listings.
“It felt like he was in there to buy a house with us … but he wasn’t pushy,” Madhikar says in a nod to their realtor’s support.
What they bought: They found what they wanted in an upper-unit, stacked condo townhouse in Etobicoke. It has two generous bedrooms, a private terrace, quality kitchen and almost 1,300 square feet of living space. Close to the lake, parks and Long Branch GO station, it’s a 10-minute walk to everything they need.
With competition from another offer, the couple triumphed after boosting theirs to the original asking price of $900,000, conditional on financing.
“It always felt like there was something missing” at other showings, observes Madhikar. “This was the best fit for us.”
But, while they could imagine themselves living in the unit, which was less than 10 years old, making such a big commitment “was still not an easy decision,” he admits.
What their agent says: With Hossain and Madhikar being “super new” to the buying process, Henry filled in the gaps in their knowledge, particularly on the financial side.
Many clients are unaware of all the costs associated with buying and paying for a home — things such as land transfer tax, property tax and monthly carrying costs, he says.
And, Henry adds, having pre-approval for a mortgage, as this couple did, “doesn’t mean much, honestly,” because of banks’ strict lending policy.
“It is a very stressful process, especially with first-timers.”
He sees his other role as that of managing clients’ expectations in the market. In the spring, prices were down, sales were picking up and interest rates were holding, he recalls. Semis and detached homes were selling “faster and hotter,” while condo towns were moving more slowly, making them an attractive alternative.
Henry pointed out to Hossain and Madhikar that their lifestyle might suit a newer condo townhome better than an older, freehold property.
“Do you want a house that you have to take care of, or a condo that doesn’t need work and where someone else does the maintenance?” he asked them.
The verdict: After moving into their townhouse in early July, the owners are still furnishing their freshly painted space, and have ideas for future projects, such as replacing the carpeting with vinyl flooring.
“It feels a bit surreal … to have our home now,” says Madhikar.
“We’re having fun.”
Hossain adds they can’t wait to see their home-improvement “visions come to life” in a year or two. But for now, their space is “really nice.”
Combined with the views, neighbourhood and no need for a car, their new house checks everything on their wish list, she adds.
“I feel like we got both our worlds combined with this place.”