Joey and Derick Ma perfectly illustrate one of the latest trends in real estate.
The lifelong Torontonians, a married couple with a 2-year-old daughter, sold their home in the city and will be full-time residents of Guelph by the end of the summer. Like many other city dwellers, they are leaving the GTA behind and embracing country life.
They sold their century home in Harbord Village, near the University of Toronto, for over asking (in just 5 days) and purchased a beautiful farmhouse in Guelph/Eramosa.
The couple has no connection to Guelph, no friends or family here. “It’s a bit nerve-wracking making new friends, meeting new people and getting to know our neighbours,” admits Joey, but that hasn’t dampened her excitement in the least.
Both Joey and her husband, Derick, work in offices in downtown Toronto. Before COVID-19 hit, neither had work-from-home arrangements, so when they began their search for a new home the plan was to stay as close to the city as possible.
A move this far out of town would probably not have been in the cards had the pandemic not altered the work landscape so dramatically, because all of a sudden remote work was an option. The couple foresees commuting into work two to three times a week, and they are grateful to have such flexibility.
Joey and Derick both love the outdoors, especially camping and hiking. They had been finding it more of an effort to get out of Toronto to do these things.
“We’ve always been interested in potentially having a hobby farm, but we thought we would have to move out of province to make that happen,” says Joey. “When we realized we could start working from home we thought about just looking further outside of Toronto, then we stumbled onto this particular house.”
And what a house it is. The two-storey, five-bedroom, century brick farmhouse they’ve purchased is just under 2,000 square feet. It sits on a 10-acre property that features mature maple trees, gardens, a circular driveway and a large pond you can swim in. It’s just 15-20 minutes away from downtown Guelph.
It is also the only house they looked at. “Obviously during the pandemic people weren’t doing a ton of showings or any open houses at all. We did our research online and looked at over a hundred properties on MLS. We found this one ourselves and just loved it,” Joey explains.
But they didn’t know anyone in Guelph, least of all a realtor. She reached out to someone she follows on Instagram who she knew was based in Guelph, told them she was interested in moving into the area and asked if they would they have a real estate agent they might recommend.
Local agent Nick FitzGibbon just happened to be a good friend.
FitzGibbon lives on a 30-acre property himself and was very knowledgeable throughout the whole process. “Again, we’re city people, we don’t know anything about well or septic or zoning,” says Joey. The couple started talking to Nick, told him they were looking for more land, and this house was among the first listings he sent them. The rest quickly fell into place.
The Mas are renovating the home with Mezcon Construction, to add their own touch. Changes will be minimal. “When we were searching for a home, we wanted something with character, beautiful woodwork, the details old houses used to have. The farmhouse was built in 1881 and we’re preserving the original part of the house as much as possible,” Joey explains.
The Mas are also working with interior designer, Ashley Montgomery Design on their project.
The previous owners put in an addition in the 70s and it’s this space they’re upgrading, making the kitchen a little bit larger. “We’re really trying to preserve the character and the integrity of the house as much as possible.”
The couple hopes to be able to grow a lot of their own fruits and vegetables and, down the road, maybe have some small animals. “We both grew up in Toronto, so we don’t know a whole ton about hobby farming, but we want to learn. We’ve been doing a lot of research and reading and want to give it a try,” says Joey.
No doubt it will be a big change for the Ma family and an exciting one. Their daughter will have a lot more space to grow up in. The couple’s families think the property is beautiful and look forward to visiting.
For more on the GTA to Guelph trend, check out Nick FitzGibbon, Let’s Talk Real Estate or call 519-821-3600.