144 Dusay Place Townhouses: 104 Homes from 1976 in L’Amoreaux West

144 Dusay Place Townhouses is the kind of complex I show buyers who have been priced out of a semi but still want stairs, a backyard and a basement. It is a 1976 condominium of 104 homes tucked off Finch Avenue East, and its value depends almost entirely on how well a 50-year-old corporation has looked after its roofs, windows and paving. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A large 1970s townhouse corporation, not a tower

This is a ground-oriented complex: 104 homes spread across Dusay Place and one address on Chester Le Boulevard, all under one corporation, YCC-264. The York Condominium Corporation prefix tells you its age. YCC numbers were issued before amalgamation, and this one was registered in June 1976.

At 104 homes, the corporation is big enough to spread the cost of a roof or paving program across many owners, but small enough that a handful of engaged owners can shape the board. That middle size is usually a good thing in a townhouse complex.

Condos.ca does not record a builder, and I could not find one in public sources. That is common for complexes of this vintage, and it matters less than the maintenance record. After 50 years, almost everything you can see from the outside has been replaced at least once, or should have been.

Because Dusay Place has more than one condominium on it, check that the listing you are sent shows corporation YCC-264. Neighbouring complexes on the same street can carry different fees and reserve funds.

What the homes are actually like

Condos.ca records the complex as one storey, but that is how the database classifies townhouse corporations, not how the homes are built. A current lease listing describes a multi-level home with three bedrooms plus a basement room, two and a half bathrooms, a finished basement and a fully fenced backyard, in the 1,000 to 1,199 sq ft band.

That layout is the appeal. A fenced yard and a finished lower level give a family the two things a condo apartment can never offer: somewhere for children to play outside and a separate space for an office, a guest room or a teenager. Square footage bands on MLS usually exclude the basement, so the usable area is larger than the number suggests.

Expect variety from home to home. In a complex this age, some homes still have original kitchens and bathrooms and some have been fully redone. Some owners will have replaced windows or furnaces at their own cost, depending on what the declaration makes the owner’s responsibility. Ask which items belong to the home and which to the corporation.

Life off Finch Avenue East

L’Amoreaux is a suburban neighbourhood of single-family houses and townhouses dating from the late 1950s, with some mid- and high-rise buildings mixed in. This complex sits at its western edge, near the North York line, which is why some listings describe the location as Finch and Victoria Park and others as Finch and Pharmacy.

Daily life here is practical. Finch Avenue East carries frequent buses, and listings for the complex point to quick access to Highway 404 and Highway 401. Bridlewood Mall, the largest retail building in L’Amoreaux, is east along Finch at Warden Avenue.

The streets inside the complex are the quiet part. Homes that face the internal roads feel very different from any that back onto a main road, so walk the site at rush hour before you choose a home. The panel on this page shows the exact transit, schools and Walk Score for this address.

Who pays for what

Condos.ca does not list what the monthly fee covers here, so I will not guess. In many Scarborough townhouse corporations of this era, each home has its own furnace and utilities, and the fee pays for building insurance, the common grounds, snow removal and the reserve fund. Confirm the exact list on the status certificate and in the declaration.

The more important question in an older complex is the split of repairs. Roofs, windows, doors, fences and decks can sit with the corporation, the owner, or be shared, and the split varies from complex to complex. That one detail can change your real cost of ownership by thousands of dollars over ten years.

Make your offer conditional on a lawyer’s review of the status certificate. Under Ontario rules, the corporation must provide it within 10 days of a request, for up to $100. In a 1976 complex, read it alongside the reserve fund study and the last two years of board minutes, because together they tell you what is coming, not just what has been paid.

How to price a home here

When I checked, there were no homes for sale and one for lease, so there is no current asking range I can give you. Sales in a 104-home complex come up a few times a year at most, and condition varies so much that any one sale is a poor guide.

Price these homes against two benchmarks. The first is other 1970s condominium townhouses along Finch and Sheppard in north Scarborough, which share the same age and format. The second is the cheapest freehold semis and bungalows nearby, which set the ceiling. A condo townhouse should sit well below that ceiling, because you pay a monthly fee and share decisions with a board.

For what has actually sold, use the data panel on this page, or ask me for a building sold report covering the last few years of sales.

Building specifications

Jatin’s honest take on 144 Dusay Place Townhouses

144 Dusay Place Townhouses — frequently asked questions

Looking at Agincourt, L’Amoreaux, Milliken, Dorset Park and Wexford in Scarborough more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.