11 Livonia Condos: 71 Family-Size 1976 Townhouses Near Ellesmere and Neilson

11 Livonia is where I send buyers who need three bedrooms and a basement but whose budget will not reach a freehold house in Scarborough. These are 1976 condominium townhouses with real family space. The fee is the number you have to get comfortable with, and the reserve fund is the document that tells you whether that fee is enough. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Family space at a condo price

The homes listed here are all family-sized. Every current listing has at least three bedrooms, and one is marketed with four bedrooms plus two more rooms below. That tells you who this complex was built for in 1976 and who still buys here: households that have outgrown an apartment and want stairs, a basement and a door to the outside.

Compared with a freehold townhouse or semi nearby, you trade ownership of the land and full control over the exterior for a lower purchase price and a corporation that handles the shared work. For many first-time family buyers in Scarborough, that is the only way into a home of this size.

Plans in complexes of this era usually put the living and dining rooms on the main floor, bedrooms upstairs and a basement below. Check the basement carefully, including its height, whether it is finished, and whether it has a separate entrance, because that is where homes here differ most.

The fee is close to $1,000

Fees on the current listings run from about $975 to about $1,060 a month. That is high for a townhouse condo, and it is the first thing buyers notice. It is not automatically a bad sign. An older complex that collects enough to fund its roofs, windows and paving properly can be in better shape than one that has kept fees low for years.

What matters is what the fee buys. Condos.ca does not list the inclusions, so check the status certificate for whether water, building insurance, cable or parking are covered. In many townhouse condos of this age, owners pay their own heat and hydro, so add those to your monthly budget.

Then read the reserve fund study. If the fee is high and the reserve fund is still thin, ask the board why. If the fee is high and the major replacements are funded or done, you are paying for a complex that is looking after itself.

Two addresses, one corporation

The 71 homes are split between 11 and 21 Livonia Place, run as one corporation, YCC-291, managed by Kindle Property Management. Across the street, 10 and 20 Livonia Place form a separate complex with its own corporation, so make sure the documents you are reading belong to the right side of the road.

Condos.ca lists a parking garage and visitor parking. Ask whether each home has its own attached garage or whether parking is in a shared structure, and how many spaces come with each home. Visitor parking is often tight in older complexes, so ask about the rules for second cars.

With 71 owners, the costs of big projects are shared more widely than in a small complex, but the board still makes decisions that hit every household. I would read two years of board minutes to see how projects are planned and how owner concerns are handled.

Morningside today and what is coming

Livonia Place sits in a residential pocket of Morningside, close to Ellesmere Road. The panel on this page lists the nearest transit, schools, parks and shops.

The bigger change on the horizon is Scarborough East Rapid Transit, the future Line 7. The City and the TTC are planning an 18.6-kilometre line from Kennedy Station to Malvern Town Centre by way of the University of Toronto Scarborough. The proposed route runs along Morningside Avenue and Ellesmere Road through the campus. It is in planning and not yet funded, so treat it as a possible long-term benefit rather than something to pay for today.

How I would inspect a home here

In a 1976 townhouse, I want two inspections: a home inspector’s look at the unit and a careful read of the corporation’s documents. The inspector tells you about the furnace, electrical panel, plumbing and basement. The documents tell you what the corporation has replaced and what is still to come.

Inside the home, ask the age of the furnace, air conditioner and water heater, and whether the water heater is owned or rented. Check whether the electrical service has been updated, look for signs of past water in the basement, and ask for permits on any basement renovation, especially one with an extra bedroom or a separate entrance.

Outside, walk both 11 and 21 Livonia Place. Look at the roofs, siding, fences and paving across the whole site, not only the home you are viewing. If the complex looks well kept, that usually matches what the reserve fund study says. If it looks tired, the study will tell you how much catching up is ahead.

What homes here are asking

Three homes were listed for sale when I checked, asking from about $500,000 to about $695,000. The spread is wide, and it reflects size, basement finish and the level of renovation more than anything about the complex itself.

Townhouse condos rarely publish reliable square footage, so price per square foot is a weak tool here. A better comparison is total monthly cost: mortgage, fee, property tax, heat and hydro, set against a freehold home nearby with its own roof and repair costs.

Two homes in this complex can look similar on paper and differ by tens of thousands of dollars because of a renovated kitchen, a finished basement or an end-unit position. Compare like with like before deciding whether an asking price is fair.

If you want the recorded sales for this complex and similar townhouse condos nearby, I can pull them through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at 11 Livonia Condos

There are no shared recreation facilities here, so the fee is not paying for a pool or gym. What you get is a home with its own outdoor space, permission to barbecue, and parking for you and your visitors.

Jatin’s honest take on 11 Livonia Condos

11 Livonia Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Scarborough Bluffs, West Hill, Guildwood, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.