Choosing the street, not just the house
In the newer subdivisions the houses repeat, so the lot decides value. A pie-shaped or ravine lot backing onto the Soper Creek valley along Bowmanville's east side, the Bowmanville Creek valley on the west, or Farewell Creek and Black Creek in Courtice carries a premium and often a walk-out. A lot facing a school, a park or a future arterial behaves differently at resale, and the municipality's secondary plans show where roads and the future GO stations are meant to go. Inside, check the fourth bedroom is a real room rather than a loft with a door added, count the bathrooms upstairs, and inspect the basement for finishing done without permits. Recent builds may still carry Tarion coverage on the structure; the seller should be able to produce the Tarion enrolment number. On rural properties, the septic capacity, the well and the moraine designation come first.