Mary Ellen Pennal

For most of us, our house is the most important investment we own. This fact is especially significant because, in Canada, any increase in value of our principal residence is not subject to capital gains tax. This fundamental is at the forefront of how I try and help my clients buy or sell a home.

After graduating from Trinity College at the University of Toronto, I began my professional career teaching high school English. At the same time, my husband and I bought our first property – which was a four-plex on Avenue Rd. in Toronto. All four units in the building needed updating and, given the generous vacation time teaching offered, I undertook to do most of the simpler renovations myself. Soldering copper pipe, replacing electrical fixtures, rehanging sash windows, painting, wallpapering, tiling were some of the jobs I learned to do. Over several years, we bought, transformed and sold other properties and I learned additional construction skills and developed an understanding of building infrastructure and design. It followed naturally that I pursue a second career in the real estate profession.

For several decades I have guided countless clients through the process of buying and selling properties in the Toronto area. To me, along with location, of course, the fundamental good bones of a house are what we should always put first in any real estate transaction.