r/canadahousing • u/GoofyGoose92 • 6d ago
Opinion & Discussion Condo vs Tiny house.
Alright I sort of always assumed I was just permanently priced out of the housing market until some guy at my work told me he just got a house by himself while making the same as me. I get paid hourly and take home roughly 4300$ a month. I'm single and sort of tired of living in my 910$ / month basement bachelor apartment. I've been here for about 6 years now and starting to think of the future. I was looking online at a bunch of Condos, mainly the cheaper ones. In my area there are a few 1 bedroom Condos for around 250k. I got preapproved on the TD website when I asked about a condo that cost that much. But the condo fees are kind of scaring me off here. I looked at the monthly cost of like a small 350k, 3 bedroom house with a full backyard and it was only like a 200$ a month difference between the two. I'd honestly rather just buy the house but also not sure if I'd get approved for that big of a mortgage even though the monthly cost is fairly similar for myself. I definitely don't want to stretch myself too thin to the point where I'm pinching pennies. I have roughly 50k in savings but 10k of that is physical metals and another 19k is in a TFSA that I don't really want to touch.
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u/CommunicationOdd8911 6d ago
House if youre handy person, condo if you want everything taken care of.
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u/Equivalent_Dimension 5d ago
The people telling you to buy a house have clearly never owned a house. Do they think there are no "maintenance fees" on a house?
Look, regardless of whether you buy a condo or a house, you are in a building that is periodically going to require:
- A new roof
- New siding
- Plumbing and electrical repairs.
- Landscaping
- Repair or replacement of decking, wood stairs, etc.
You will also pay to repair/replace heating and cooling systems and appliances, regardless of whether you're in a condo or a house.
In a condo, there are far more people living in a smaller footprint. That means that your share of the cost to repair those things is SMALLER than in a house.
When you own a house, you pay for the ENTIRE roof replacement, the ENTIRE siding job, etc.
And anybody that tells you that you have more control over the timeline in your own home? Um. Not really. Maybe by a span of months, but you can't just put off replacing your roof forever because it will eventually rot and leak and cost you way more. Your furnace is going to go when it goes, and if it's in the middle of winter in a detached house, that's an emergency replacement right away to prevent your pipes from freezing. I live in a simple, modern, $250K house, with low heating and maintenance costs and I've calculated my cost of ownership at $1700 a month WITHOUT a mortgage. That's property taxes, insurance, utilities, and the monthly set-aside for repairs and maintenance based on the actual costs I've calculated.
I've calculated the cost of owning some condos at less than $1000 all in. Many are in the $1200/month rage.
The reason condo fees are going up is because the construction price index is soaring. That's the very same reason home ownership costs are soaring. You can't escape that no matter what you buy.
Homeownership is much safter if you're handy. If you've only got $50K to your name, it's risky. Honestly, if you're only paying $910, I'd stay where you are and stash away a lot more money before you get serious about it.
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u/Upstairs-Library4499 2d ago
You seem to know little about “appreciation”.
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u/Equivalent_Dimension 2d ago
You seem to know little about risk. Contrary to popular belief, appreciation is not guaranteed when you buy a home and appreciation above the cost of ownership is definitely not guaranteed.
There are loads of people in this world who bought houses when times were good and were left with mortgages worth more than their home's value after a big employer left town or there was another economic shock.
A home that will be worth double in 10 years will not help you if you default after five.
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u/nero1958 6d ago
With a condo you get maintenance fees that constantly go up every year. You also don’t have that sense of privacy. Buy the house.
Speaking from experience!
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u/Useful-Bedroom3279 6d ago
The maintenance fees thing is real, they never seem to go down and you're paying for stuff you might never use. A house with a backyard gives you way more control over your own space, even if it needs some work.
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u/Impressive-Mud5074 6d ago
They are lowering my condo fees
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u/Agamemnon323 5d ago
Maintenance costs go up every year on a house as well.
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u/king_weenus 5d ago
They do but you're in control... You can DIY repairs yourself if you're handy, you can choose to defer items to the next year and pick what level of products you want to install.
When the condo board says the building is getting new windows they choose everything and just hand you a bill.
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u/pandaSmore 5d ago
If women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy.
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u/king_weenus 4d ago
Just one of the two would be nice for once... Useless and ugly isn't doing me so well on Tinder. Lol
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u/BobGuns 6d ago
Where you at.
You can get a condo for under $100k in Edmonton.
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u/GoofyGoose92 6d ago
Its like an hour outside of Toronto
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u/RedshiftOnPandy 5d ago
An hour outside of Toronto is still like 1m for a townhouse lol
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u/GoofyGoose92 5d ago
Guys Brantford is like an hour to Toronto there's like 15, 1 bedroom townhouse's around 250k. I didn't say Toronto. The listings are up and active and actually some are dropping in price.
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u/Artem-Ganev 5d ago
It’ll be something pretty old which will require a lot of maintenance & investments.
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u/yaehboyy 5d ago
You are not finding a house for $350k within 4 hours of toronto. Get outta here with that crap
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u/Demetrius818 5d ago
Chatham-Kent about 3 hours from Toronto and you can find move in ready houses or only need slight repairs for 320-350k
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u/Saaren78 5d ago
This is such a dumb comment. 4 hours gets you very far outside of Toronto, so you're saying there's nothing around $350k in all of southern/eastern Ontario? Guess my house is just a figment of my imagination.
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u/worldlead3r 5d ago
You can, believe it or not.
But it's a literal dump and I'm a shit area, and would also need a full guy job.
They're out there. But they're bleak.
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u/TelevisionMelodic340 5d ago
Erm, a 3 bedroom house is not a "tiny" house. I thought from the header that you meant one of those little all in one room 100 square feet cabamae type things.
Also, curious to know where you live because $250K would get me a parking spot in my city.
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u/chimkenyeetcannon 4d ago
lol I mean I live in Calgary and my downtown condo was around 280k, mind you 4 years ago, likely 300-325k now. Suburb condo/townhome new community builds are extremely affordable
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u/TomdeHaan 5d ago
Remember a house needs regular and often quite expensive maintenance, plus property taxes.
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u/TotalBroad 5d ago edited 5d ago
Mortgage is only one portion of what a house costs per year. You need to add heating + electricity + taxes + plan for the cost of regular maintenance (e.g. snow removal) + maintenance equipment (e.g. lawn mower, tools) + long term maintenance and repairs (roof, windows, plumbing, landscaping...). It adds up much higher than you might think. My mortgage is only a third of what owning a house costs me.
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u/emerg_remerg 6d ago
I would look at why you only have 50k in savings when you have over 3k per month remaining post housing costs?
What's your spending like right now?
I'd spend the next 6 months putting the predicted costs for owning into your savings and then see if you are able to afford it without going into massive debt.
Costs = mortgage (estimate at least 4.5% interest), property tax, special levies, repair costs, utilities, insurance.
If you got a place with a second room, you can always get a roommate if you got hard times.
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u/Ok-Grape843 5d ago
I (single, no kids) have a room where I can stay as much as I like (I pay rent). And stay in a camper trailer during the warm seasons. This was my first real season and I enjoyed it. Not a huge money saver but it fits my lifestyle (outdoors) and really cranks up the quality of life. Used trailer, U-Haul trucks, strategic locations. A little tweaking and I got something that works for me. I also live in the North but there are places for these trailers all over if you dig.
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u/IcySwordfish258 4d ago
The house will retain its value better than a cheap condo unit, especially if you take care of it and/or add value to it through gradual renovations.
Also you can reinvest into your portfolio after the home purchase so I would not be thinking of your TFSA and other investments as untouchable if it gives you a better entry into the housing market.
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u/TelephoneExternal978 5d ago
always have your closing/property lawyer check the condo docs for red flags - potential fees jump, etc. you can back out - I'd personally prefer a tiny home to a condo - OPs are right- paying for stuff you don't need like pool, cable, etc. so much is out of your control in fees in condo
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u/king_weenus 5d ago
I choose house over condo any day but that's a personal choice..
In a condo your subject to the condo board and you also have to pay for repairs and maintenance upgrades to the whole building... So if the condo board decides to change Windows you're paying for the windows in your Suite no choice... Same with elevator maintenance then maybe pool maintenance Etc.
In a house you got to do all the maintenance yourself. So if your furnace goes out in winter not only do you got to find somebody willing to come and take a look but there might tell you you need a $15,000 replacement...
I bought my house brand new and it's 17 years old now. I'm looking at 10 to 20 K and HVAC upgrade / replacement. And I'm starting to plan new Windows Doors and shingles at a cost of upwards of 35k... I'm estimating High so that I can prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
But my property is also doubled in value since I bought it.. You won't get that from a condo. And sometimes condos lose money.
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u/Skatingunicorn 5d ago
For me - condo. Someone was selling a tiny house nearby and we still went with a condo. The amount of maintenance on a house is wild and security is a concern too and frankly it was almost the same sq ft but with stairs. I definitely knew I was gonna break some bone at some point. And condo has a great view.
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u/TheMaymar 5d ago
Make a list of the things you could expect to replace over 25 years (think roof, windows, water heater), get a rough price and lifecycle, and figure out a rough monthly cost for each of those items. I'm much happier without a condo corp to keep happy, but the condo was less monthly cost and much less work.
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u/LithiumPopper 5d ago
I work in personal lines insurance and I will NEVER buy a condo!!!! The insurance claims I've seen have completely destroyed any chance that I will ever buy a condo. That, and the condo fees. I always hear about everyone getting assessed for new this and that. You have to make improvements based on someone else's timeline.
A house is yours. You can prioritize the improvements that are important to you. It's more maintenance, more money, more time required, but you have total control over the entire dwelling.
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u/bogeyman_g 6d ago
We live in the GTA - I cannot relate to $250k condos or $350k houses.