2-8 Liszt Gate: 1974 Family Townhouses at Leslie and Finch

2-8 Liszt Gate is the kind of complex buyers drive past without noticing: a short row of 1974 brick townhouses on a quiet side street off Leslie and Finch. What it offers is simple and hard to find at this price in North York, which is a multi-level family home with a basement and a parking spot. What it asks of you is homework, because a 50-year-old corporation is only as good as its reserve fund. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A 1974 complex on the even side of Liszt Gate

Liszt Gate and Rameau Drive belong to a cluster of 1970s streets named after composers, laid out when North York filled the land between Finch and Steeles with townhouse complexes. This complex takes the even-numbered addresses, 2 through 8. Across the street, the odd numbers on Liszt Gate belong to The Evergreens, which condos.ca treats as a separate complex with a different property manager.

That distinction matters more than it sounds. Two complexes on one street can have very different fees, reserve funds and rules. If you are comparing a home here with one across the road, compare the two corporations, not just the two houses.

Condos.ca gives 1974 as both the build year and the registration year. It does not name a developer or a corporation number, which is common for complexes this age. Your lawyer will confirm the corporation from the status certificate, and that is also where you will find the declaration and the budget.

The homes: more space than the address suggests

Listing records for homes here describe brick townhouses with gas forced-air heating, central air, a fireplace and a basement. One recent listing describes a three-storey plan with four bedrooms plus a lower-level room and about 1,600 to 1,800 square feet. Another MLS record for the complex shows a two-storey plan of roughly 1,200 to 1,400 square feet. Plans appear to vary, so check which one you are looking at.

Laundry in the listings is in the basement, which is typical for this era. Basement finish also varies from home to home: some are partially finished, others more complete. That one detail can change how a home lives for a family, and how it should be priced.

If you plan to renovate, ask before you firm up. Condo townhouses usually need board approval for changes that touch exterior walls, windows, doors or plumbing stacks, and the declaration sets out which parts of the home are yours to maintain and which belong to the corporation.

The appeal is obvious. You get several bedrooms, a lower level for a family room or home office, and your own front door, for less than a detached house in the area. The trade is stairs, older mechanical systems and a corporation that is now five decades old.

Parking, pets and what the records show

MLS records show one parking space for a recent listing, and another record for the complex shows two owned spaces. Parking is not consistent across homes, so confirm how many spaces come with the home you are buying and whether they are owned or exclusive-use.

Pets are marked on MLS as allowed with restrictions. I have not seen the actual rules, so read the declaration and by-laws in the status certificate before you assume your dog is welcome. The same goes for rentals: if you plan to lease the home, check the rules first.

Building insurance is recorded as included in the fee. Condos.ca does not list the rest, so ask for the full breakdown. In many townhouse complexes from this era, owners pay their own heat, hydro and water, which changes the real monthly cost when you compare with an apartment condo.

Daily life at Leslie and Finch

This corner of North York is residential and quiet. Hillcrest Village runs from Finch up to Steeles and from Leslie east to Victoria Park, with the Don Valley and Duncan Creek giving the east side its ravines and green space. Seneca College’s Newnham campus is within the neighbourhood.

Most errands here are done by car or bus. Highway 404 and the 401 are a short drive, and the TTC runs buses along Finch and Leslie. The panel on this page shows the nearest stations, parks and schools with walking times, so I will not repeat them here.

What you get in return is a short side street with little through traffic and mature trees. For a family that drives, that is a sensible trade.

Pricing: compare corporations, not just homes

There was one home for sale here when I prepared this review, so there is no meaningful range of active asking prices to share, and condos.ca does not publish a building average per square foot for the complex. With a complex this small, recent sales are few, and each one says a lot about the market.

Multi-bedroom condo townhouses in this part of North York generally trade well below detached houses on surrounding streets, which is the main reason buyers look here. Because renovation, basement finish and parking vary so much, the right comparison is recent sales in this complex and in the neighbouring Liszt Gate and Rameau Drive complexes, adjusted for those differences.

Then work out the real monthly cost: the condo fee plus your own utilities and property tax. A lower fee is not cheaper if it leaves out things another complex includes. For recent sold figures here and nearby, request a building sold report and I will send them to you.

Building specifications

Amenities at 2-8 Liszt Gate Townhouses

There is no amenity package here in the condo-tower sense: no gym, concierge or party room is listed. What you pay for is the home itself, a quiet internal setting and a manager handling the common elements, which keeps the fee focused on the buildings and grounds.

Jatin’s honest take on 2-8 Liszt Gate Townhouses

2-8 Liszt Gate Townhouses — frequently asked questions

Looking at Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.