Roncesvalles fixer-upper draws a crowd and a hefty $803,649 sale price

Torontos red-hot real estate market has turned an elderly homeowner into a wealthy woman with the simple stroke of a pen.

Her dilapidated Roncesvalles home sold Wednesday night for $803,649 more than $150,000 over the asking price after a flurry of more than a dozen offers from contractors and families looking to put down roots in one of Torontos most up-and-coming neighbourhoods.

Interest was so intense and competition so close for the Galley Ave. home that listing agent Chander Chaddah plotted all the offers on a simple spreadsheet so they would be easier to understand for the owner, who is in her 80s and currently in hospital.

Whenever youre selling a home for somebody, its a bittersweet experience, says Chaddah. Ive had moms break down in tears as were signing an offer because their children were born and grew up in that house.

You are saying goodbye to a big part of your life.

The buyer is a contractor who apparently plans to live in the home, which is just steps from Roncesvalles Ave., once the extensive renovations are done.

More than 300 people showed up for open houses at the five-bedroom, soot-smeared home where the owner, who inherited the detached house from her mother more than three decades ago, had been living with her daughter.

For years, they had relied on kerosene heaters to keep them warm in winter because the house had no working furnace.

It also had a badly leaking roof, is missing windows, has knob and tube wiring and needs a complete gutting, if for no other reason than to get rid of the insidious soot.

While its become a common ploy among Toronto realtors to list homes well below market value to drive up interest and spur on bidding wars in a market where demand continues to far outstrip listings, Chaddah insists he wasnt doing that here.

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Roncesvalles fixer-upper draws a crowd and a hefty $803,649 sale price