Agent spotlight: why Alex Patlavski celebrates Pride

Pride Month is almost over, but we didn't want to let it end without sharing the story of Property.ca real estate broker Alex Patlavski, who has three very big reasons to celebrate Pride: his husband and their two young sons. This is their story.

Alex and his husband Eugene met 25 years ago in their hometown of St. Petersburg, Russia, where they both worked as juniors at an IT company.

“It was love at first sight,” says Alex. “The kind of love where you figure you'll never win a lottery because you've already used all the luck given to you for one lifetime.”

But same-sex relationships aren’t widely accepted in Russia, and they had to hide that love from their families, friends and colleagues. Their life was full of fear and uncertainty. But they thought it would get better over time, so when they were both offered jobs in Moscow, they jumped at the chance to “start from scratch” and live together in a new, more cosmopolitan city.

“We rented a tiny condo downtown overlooking a busy eight-lane road,” he says. “It was never-ending noise, dust and flashing ad screens. But we were so happy. We made friends who accepted our relationship, and both progressed to high-level careers. We had a great lifestyle and started investing in real estate, moving from that tiny condo to bigger, better properties. We renovated two beautiful century-old apartments and even invested overseas.”

But despite their success, there was something missing: both Alex and Eugene wanted children. They decided to try surrogacy – just as Russia outlawed the practice for men not in heterosexual relationships. In 2013, their first son was born, and five months after that, their second son arrived.

“It was a miracle and we were in heaven,” he says. “But it was also a stressful period due to the new laws. We couldn't get birth certificates for our sons, but we went to court both times and won!”

As Alex and Eugene’s family grew, so did Russia’s anti-gay movement. When a law was passed prohibiting minors from being exposed to same-sex relationships, and another was proposed that would allow children to be taken away from gay families, they knew it was time to leave.

The family spent two years living in India and Thailand before emigrating to Canada. Within a year of moving here, Alex and Eugene got married, cross-adopted their boys and bought a house. When it came time to restart their IT careers, however, things didn't go as smoothly. They tried a few entrepreneurial ventures, but nothing felt like the right fit. But when they started renovating their house, it reminded them of their passion for real estate, and two new careers were born.

“My husband is really handy and I have an eye for design,” says Alex. “But most of all, we enjoy working together, and this gives us a chance to do that. With all our experience investing and flipping properties, real estate seemed like a no-brainer.”

Alex decided to join Property.ca because he was attracted to the condos.ca and property.ca websites. He thinks the company offers an ideal combination of IT and real estate, which makes it a great fit with their IT backgrounds.

Today, Alex and Eugene work as a team. With their combined knowledge, they can help buyers jump on great opportunities, and guide sellers in the best ways to improve/stage their homes for sale. They have built a niche catering to buyers and investors from out of town, providing services that include virtual viewings, property management, renovations and more. They have a lot of clients who are looking for downtown and North York properties for children attending college and university in the city, as well as investors from other Canadian cities looking to diversify their investments and buy in Toronto's lucrative real estate market.

“Coming to Canada has made so many things possible,” says Alex. “We celebrate Pride every year. This year, we didn't do much since it's all been virtual and the kids are sick of Zoom. But I thought I'd share our story as a different way of celebrating this year – it shows my joy and gratitude to be living with the people I love in a place that allows us to be ourselves.”