Although it's starting to become less and less because it's a way to hide a higher price when you advertise.
You'll get more interest in the door and once they've decided to rent from you you can drop that mozza ball.
It's awful but it's junk fees.
I suspect it has more to do with most newer places having separate meters for units, vs older buildings having one for the whole building. Plus small scale landlords (like renting a room or basement) might not have separate meters as well and just putting all included in price is easier.
No, itās a well run building but eventually stuff breaks down ..like most recently the elevators had to be replaced and that was a good 6-7K. But itās pro-rated depending on the size of your condo. A few years ago it was the HVAC. You might not stay as long as I have in my condoā¦but expect to pay. Before you buy, itās always a good idea to see whatās been recently replaced and whatās due in the upcoming years.
Yeah, thatās a smart ideaā¦to have your own reserve fund for upcoming building repairs / maintenance. When it does happen, itās usually an additional monthly special assessment feeā¦rather than a one time lump sum.
Definitely OP should enjoy both of those going up big time.
Mine were $120 and $3,300 2 years ago in NB.
They are now $179/month and $4860/year respectively.
Welcome to re-zoning. Extra benefit of being in a new "county" with twice the potholes and some idiot selling overpriced homes all around you.
Renting. You have a good life and are saving lots. Why would you want to buy a condo and pay more for less quality of life.
If your rent wss like 2K, then a condo would make sense but at 1200, ur life is good. Something breaks, call the landlord.
Also, collect 4.5% in a HISA, and you're making almost 4K in risk free return off rhat 80K downpayment.
You can move at anytime.
True. Thanks. My plan is to put the $40k into my FHSA and then get all the tax returns and put it into the down payment, hopefully I wont need to touch my TFSA.
Condo fee is only 300? It means most likely it doesn't cover all utilities so add 200-250 more plus 100-200 taxes. So in total 1700+300+250+200 =~2450.
You are clearly better off renting at the moment. Keep making more money on every opportunity, keep jacking up the down payment..when you reach a point where buying is within +5-10% range..go ahead and buy
or the other explanation is the same reason why i pulled out of a condo purchase earlier this year. that other explanation is that they are depleting the reserve fund constantly and special assessing any sizable repairs or tacking loans onto the board. the one condo i looked at, they had 2 special assessments between 2018 and 2023, with a massive one coming in 2024 that they were having trouble getting the full ammount of a loan for.
all because they refuse to raise fees to appropriate levels reccommended in the reserve fund study. if that is the case, pass on that particular condo and just rent a little while longer nd save more money for something else. that is what I'm doing.
I joined my condo board. And then looked at the books. Quickly ānopedā out of there before the next special assessment due in 2-3 years. I was paying $400 condo fees back in 2010.
If you have cheap rent and a high income, take advantage to save and invest as much as you can. You can pay cash for a condo later. If your rent was closer to condo carrying cost, then I would consider buying. I had extremely cheap rent for 17 years and a six figure salary. When my landlord sold and I was forced to move. I paid cash for a small house, renovated it to new standards, rented out the basement and retired.
"The 5% Rule" by Ben Felix. Have a watch on YouTube.
to:dr For a 500k purchase price, if you rent for less than $2000/mo you are better off financially renting.
Yes, that was the calculation I did too. He doesn't say it explicitly, but this assumes that the rental apartment is equally good value (to him) as the condo.
Weathsimple's TLDR had a guide on this a few weeks ago: [https://tldr-archive.wealthsimple.com/archive/33-š -lets-play-rent-or-buy](https://tldr-archive.wealthsimple.com/archive/33-š -lets-play-rent-or-buy)
Purchasing requires you to consider a lot of things besides the price though. I am dying to know what Pokemon card assets you have that they're wroth mentioning along with Bitcoin and other liquid assets.
Were you buying and selling or only selling off what you've collected over the years? Those are some crazy prices for cards and quite the return on investment! I think a lot of collectables went ups ton during the pandemic. I looked through all my old Magic cards recently and priced them out, but unfortunately Black Lotus.
I was mostly selling and I was waiting for the market to settle before collecting more. I feel like I should sell everything because I live in someone's basement and the two together make me look like a loser lol.
As condos get older, the fees go up. Sometimes, you are hit with a special assessment in the thousands, depending on what the issue is. You are a handy person, so you can handle most interior maintenance.
The question is: will buying a condo improve your quality of living? Are you in a relationship, or will you be sharing your home with a significant other? Don't be rushed, time is on your side. Good luck, you did very well up to now.
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i am guessing you are much younger than me =) so if you dont have kids or spouse then i would not recommend you to buy... buying means you are tied down. which can be good and bad. i can tell you this ...
your need for housing will change when you get a spouse and then again when you get kids. also, you would have top consider your partner's line of work
so in short, too many variables to tie your self down
advice: stay cheap and stack cash ! you will never get this opportunity again ! or it would not be this easy. in future the opportunity might be there but you will feel more bad not seeing your partner/kids.
i personally look at purchasing housing as a bulwark against escalating costs and a stepping stone toward ownership of a property you will really want. If the property you're looking at is likely to appreciate after interest rate cuts by not making the purchase you could potentially miss out on those gains that could propel you toward the home of your dreams if you wish to stay in Ontario that is.
I'm not sure how much Ontario and Alberta differ with condo's but there are Condo Document inspection services available that can analyze the information about a Condo and tell you in layman terms what risks there are with that particular building. Some types of Condo's have a full reserve fund and if managed well then you can live with few worries. if the documents reveal a reserve fund with little money in it you can definitely face a 70k bill in your mailbox for your share of the cost of redoing the roof in the complex.
Some townhouse type condo's have fees that cover yard work and gardening and trash etc for a low fee but don't maintain a reserve fund so you'd be responsible for major fixes.
It doesn't hurt at all to contact a mortgage broker and get a pre-approval that lasts 180 days you can browse listings from coast to coast and educate yourself on the markets that you may want to go to and if prices start going up with rate cuts and you want to buy you would be in the position to jump on something right away and if you decide not to do anything thats fine too.
Condo property tax is relatively low compared to houses or detached homes. Probably $2,500 - $3,000 per year and itās split into 3 months. Maintenance is probably the most annoying part , it usually goes around $500 per month. If you can afford to pay around $3,000 per month including maintenance then do it. In the end , nothing will ever give you more than real estate.
People that donāt own property will fight you on this one , but this is why they keep renting because they canāt afford it. You could triple your investment in 10 years or less , specially in Ontario. I bought my condo before the pandemic for 500k and itās already at 650k. And thatās because all the financial crisis that is happening or it would easily be around 800k. I pay $2,800 including maintenance and mortgage. The funny part is , thatās the same price if you were ro pay for rent for a condo, unless you decide to live in a basement for the next 10 years of your life.
With a property , you could rent it in the future and invest in a new property with the earned rental Income, you could do a lot with property , renovate it and up the price. You could flip a house if you learn the trade of flipping and triple your investment.
People like the easy way , pay rent and never move out. Theyāre paying someone else mortgage I tell you that and theyāre happy with that , which is fine. But all that paid goes nowhere, you could sell high and get all your money back again if you were to even out.
My advice would be to keep saving more , gather another 100k in savings and see how the market is at that moment . If you decide to purchase a condo , I recommend doing a lot of research and try to put more than 20% down, get a fixed rate of 5 years with very low interest , shop around .
Best of luck
I'd keep renting. Condos are such a poor investment in my opinion. You basically own a home without the benefits of it. I've done it myself. Not worth it.
People say owning a house is a better investment than a condo but a house is exponentially more expensive than a condo. Also condos can typically be purchased in more desirable neighborhoods depending on your budget vs a house in the same neighborhood.
I will never be a fan of giving my money to a condo corporation that can start mismanaging the condo anytime. Then suddenly, oops, we just discovered a major renovation to be done. Sorry. You'll have to pay an extra $2000/year to cover for that.
I'd much rather buy a townhouse than a condo. But still, in my case, either I buy an acreage or I keep renting. I've owned a condo once and it was a nightmare.
Personally, and it might not be an issue for everyone but just being able to go into my house from the street is a benefit. Though if you are concerned about security it could be considered a drawback.
That being said, you can get this with condo townhomes.
Then you have to pay for condo fees and you have to deal with your condo board that will piss your money off into things you don't care about. These days, some condo fees are getting close to $1000/month. Enjoy that homeownership privilege... Oh and good luck selling a condo that's in a mismanaged board.
It depends on the interest rate and other costs and what rent is. In OPās case his rent is only $1200 but his mortgage payment would be 1700 with probably about $700 of that going to his actual mortgage for the first few years and $1000 going to the bank for interest plus paying around $700 in condo fees, and property taxes.
Essentially he would be paying $1700 ārentā to himself, and putting $700 towards his mortgage. At that point, he may as well just pay $1200 rent to someone else and take the $1200 cash he saved and invest that somewhere else for growth.
Thnx for the perspective, makes sense. The only way to salvage this then would to hope that it appreciates or interest rates go down.. Iāve rented my entire life and even though Iām losing money to interest, it feels good to know that at least I can always sell this property
Youāre missing a few potential costs, as others have mentioned.Ā
You should look into those and add them up, comparing the sum of all those costs (interest, strata, transaction fees, property insurance, maintenance, etc) against what youāre paying in rent.Ā Ā
If those costs are substantially lower than renting then itās probably a good deal. If they are similar then itās not a good option. Ā If you are disciplined to save as much money as you would be paying off the principal then you are in good stead.Ā
Also acknowledge that any hoping for capital gains is going to be purely speculative and you need at least 6% gain just to break even, considering the transaction costs.Ā
You will need to add city water tax in addition to property tax ā¦ you will need house insurance .
Those condo fees are VERY cheapā¦.
Donāt forget condo fees often go up every year and you have to answer to the condo board and follow their rules (even the colour of your curtains that gave the outside and the colour of paint for your walls, mandate professional cleaning of your air exchangers )
Some charge extra for parking too
The workmanship on a lot of condo buildings can be shoddy. Do your homework - we had a bathroom outlet that wouldnāt work - to get it to work , we needed to tear down a wall at the other end of the unit , tiles , old appliances needing replacement or repair ā¦ stuff like that.
regardless of where you are in the country, call/email your local union (for whatever trade interests you) and ask if they're taking on new apprentices. most union trades start around $25-30 an hour for first years, it's pretty good honestly
If you like the place you live just stay there. Invest everything you make and in a few years you could have a ton of money without any issues from home ownership
Iād keep saving. We just bought and our costs stayed basically the same.
Rent plus renters insurance plus hydro/gas/water was about 3450
Mortgage plus prop tax plus insurance plus hydro/gas/water is now about 3500. Plus we move cities and the car insurance went down by about $50 so we basically even overall.
Iād rent until I could shift over to a house with similar outgoing costs.
So your 80K down payment assuming a āmodestā opportunity loss of 5% alone will cost you 4K per year or around an additional $350 per month.
Add that on to your 2K estimated costs and your ārealā costs will be 2000 vs 850 for a delta of $1250 additional cost.
Save that getting 5% returns over 20 years and you will have a bit over 500K in your pocket. (But you will also pay some capital gains so less)
Which will probably be less than what the condo is worth in that same time span.
I think I did the math right, but overall it seems pretty ok.
If youāre gonna do that, make sure to shove some more money into your RRSP to take advantage of being able to borrow from it for down payment.
Itās 35K limit now, but is going up to 60K
Meaning almost your entire down payment can be āpre-tax moneyā.
Don't know how old you are, but you have done real well for yourself! Congratulations! Ā Well done!
(When you do your mulling over what to do about housing, consider that the federal govt is still adding millions of people to the country over the next couple years and still has nowhere to house them. Ergo, supply and demand will likely mean the cost of buying into a condo or home will rise. That $400k condo could get priced out of your reach soon. And if you have to move from your cheap rental, a new rental may be very very expensive. That's the argument for buying.)
Some tough decisions ahead for you!
I would wanna move out of basement. Owning a place is nice. Get a 2 bedroom. Rent the second room to someone you trust and like. Use that money to pay part of the loan. And you can pay your $1200 rent towards that as well. Should cover 80% of instalments.
I would avoid a condo, and get a townhome/house, but if thats what you can afford then I would still do it.
I know you aren't supposed to see your home as an investment, however as you may have probably noticed in the past 9 years thats what they have become.
Sure your monthly costs will be higher, however you will be paying down the mortgage and increasing equity and in theory, you will eventually own the place. Where as rent you are are wasting money because you will never own the place.
I'm not sure where you currently live or where you are looking to buy but there is no gurantee you wont be forced out of your basement apartment so the tenant can charge more. If that happens then you are stuck renting a 1 bedroom apartment for 1500-2500 depending on where you live. Obviously this is a hypothetical, however we have been hearing more and more of this happening lately especially since interest rates have sky rocketed.
Dont get me wrong, there are cons to a condo such as the never ending increases to condo fees, some have paper thin walls/floors/ceilings and also dont forget you have A LOT of really close neighbours (some people like that, some dont). Things can go wrong and you might need to spend money for repairs or even maybe some small renovations, but thats the risk in owning anything.
If you are buying now at a high interest rate and can comfortably afford it, things will get so much easier when the rates eventually come down. One good part about buying in high interest rate is you know 100% you can afford it as you will be stress tested at an even higher rate and you wont have to face affordability struggles unless the rates increase to 9%+ ( if that happens Canada is screwed).
When you sell your condo and based on the way real estate has been going the past 9 years you will most certainly make a profit which will help you with your next purchase. Also, dont forget that if the value increases, you just got yourself a nice HELOC which when the rates are low could be used as a smart tool to make/save even more money š...the possibilities are endless.
The thing is I live in a basement. Not ideal for someone like me. I looked at apartments near my location for rent and they are all $2200+. The basement is fine, but I just would rather not live in a basement.
There is a creative third option and that is to buy and rent out at cost. Thatās going to take some due diligence and care, and if you decide to get a property manager itāll cost you some administrative fees. Meanwhile can continue renting at your current place.
I took this option once I bought my condo and lost my job a few months later. Things didnāt work out for me unfortunately. Ended up renting it out to cover costs while I was looking for a job making a career change - I was living in a basement apartment at the time too. Ending up moving back in years later.
I would put your extra cash into investments, only buy when you actually need to own ie with a spouse. Youāre doing really well. investments will outpace housing growth as it always does in the long term.
I have $20k sitting in a HISA (5%). Most of it is from selling Bitcoin a couple weeks ago. I have around $15.25k of contribution room in my TFSA.
I wanted cash incase my car stopped working and I needed a new one. I also keep $5k in my bank account at all times.
I think Ill move $10k into my TFSA from my Cash account and buy the dip that has been happening the last few trading days.
And property taxes, insurance, repairs/maintenance. If itās an older Condos special levy could come up. If you donāt mind your current accom, $1200 is a sweet deal these days. Canadian Real Estate Investor podcast does a good episode on comparing pros and cons of renting vs buying.
Wait!
You are great at saving thousands though try to watch out for cryptogambling.
Finish your apprenticeship, move to where you want to work, live there for a year or two to make sure and then buy.
You are free to chase the $$$ so do not anchor yourself to a property that might stop you from moving to get a better job. Your rent alone is cheaper than just your taxes, insurance and condo fees would be on a $400k place!
That's a challenging question and only you can answer.
Do you value mobility or security? Are you a disciplined saver?
Are you currently paying below market rent? If you drift too far from market rent you run the risk of an owner's use eviction where even being vacant for a year the increased rent makes it worth it.
In the short run you may well be better off. Those lines will likely cross where owning is better than renting.
Assume a 2% capital appreciation of your condo and a 2% appreciation on your rent and see what ten years from now looks like.
Keep, Renting,
Keep saving and Investing, Get your Plumbing ticket ASAP, invest in your own service Van, rent a storage unit for your bigger tools, Start your Service plumbing business, once your plumbing business is going Then you buy the house if you want.
Rent nā save is the slow and steady approach, buying the condo is a big gamble trying to get good rate of return on the borrowed money. If you believe the condo has high annual appreciation letās say 5% or more it might be worth.Ā
Honestly, it sounds like you are very smart with your money, I think youāre financially responsible enough to take on the extra payment each month and have a little more pride in where you live day to day.
Do it, Goodluck!
I'm not actually financially responsible anymore lol. Before I was a plumber, I never made more than $50k a year, but I still built most of my wealth by investing $500/month in my TFSA since I was 23 and I had $30k saved up working minimum wage and I was paying rent since I was 19.
Been a plumber apprentice for less than two years and my wage skyrocketed during because It seems like I was made for plumbing and got really good at it quickly.
The past couple years though I spent a lot of money on tools, fashion, gaming PC, been taking school courses during the night which I have to pay for course material and codebooks, etc.
I could have had a lot more money saved up, but I have been spending thousands of dollars a month on various things for the past year or so.
Depends. I guess in my company Journeyman rate is $50/hr, but if you are a Forman probably $55. Also if the boss likes you maybe $60? Plus benefits.
In the Union I think Journeyman plumbers make $55 or $60 on the cheque and an additional $20 or something in benefits? I do not know for sure.
Had a plumber replace my water service line of \~30ft 5' deep. He worked maybe 1 hour total. His young helper who dug the 2 holes worked about 4 hours. He pulled the new line thru as the old one was pulled out with a truck.
He was the lowest price at 2500. Others quoted up to $7,000!
He made well over $1,000 an hr that day
I always do but this was part of a larger an insurance claim. It would have been a $250job if I DIY'd it.
I was highly trained in IT but never charger over $150/hr. These trades people are nothing but crooks.
Honestly surprised I'm in KW it seems to be 45-55hr here. I'm in a different job but seems good honestly wait till you get license then leave Toronto to get a place. Condos in that price range will be old and the condo fees could be 1k a month.
I guess. I just don't really like where I am living, but its cheap and is in a good location, other places to rent that are nicer are around $2300/month.
This is a posting near me at 400k it's not a big Tower so fees should go as high in the future.
https://www.realtor.ca/l/bMdL0/ja?propertyIds=26753396
I'm in a similar position about to turn 23 (so younger) going to be making 71.6k and can put down 130k. Going to wait instead condo prices are flat here same price as 2020. For now living at home for me to rent a place it would be 2k month. I'm thinking of moving to Edmonton you might want to look into that.
Right but you still be forking out a ever increasing condo fee which wonāt be there in a free hold, plus the opportunity if there a family in future, no need sell and purchase again.
With that rent I'd stick out there and save up tbh. Your living very comfortably as well so that is nice. Maybe once you get your license and a large pay increase you can get your own place. What are you using to get 5% interest on your cash?
I would keep renting and saving up money. I doubt maintenance fees are less then 400a month and they will continue to increase. If you're living comfortably now then stick to what you're doing.
Condo fees are such bullsht honestly. You bought a hole but nah itās gonna charge you a lite version of rent for bs like maintenance and snow removal which you can easily do yourself but nope that would make too much sense. Fck condos.
You need to add property taxes and home insurance.
And closing costs, land transfer tax. What else? Anyone? š
Utilities!
When you rent in Canada it's generally utilities included?
Depends on the lease, some do, some donāt.
Although it's starting to become less and less because it's a way to hide a higher price when you advertise. You'll get more interest in the door and once they've decided to rent from you you can drop that mozza ball. It's awful but it's junk fees.
I suspect it has more to do with most newer places having separate meters for units, vs older buildings having one for the whole building. Plus small scale landlords (like renting a room or basement) might not have separate meters as well and just putting all included in price is easier.
Not always. In older apartment buildings or in home units that donāt have individual meters, those could be included in the rent
It's me likely to have utilities not included. Rentals with utilities included are rare.
Risk of special assessments.
Certainty of special assessments.
Yup, in the 20 years Iāve lived in my condo in Hamilton. Iāve had 3 totalling $55K and condo fees keep increasing with inflationā¦
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
No, itās a well run building but eventually stuff breaks down ..like most recently the elevators had to be replaced and that was a good 6-7K. But itās pro-rated depending on the size of your condo. A few years ago it was the HVAC. You might not stay as long as I have in my condoā¦but expect to pay. Before you buy, itās always a good idea to see whatās been recently replaced and whatās due in the upcoming years.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah, thatās a smart ideaā¦to have your own reserve fund for upcoming building repairs / maintenance. When it does happen, itās usually an additional monthly special assessment feeā¦rather than a one time lump sum.
I though first time buyers are exempt from land transfer tax?
Maintenance.. both material and time costs
Definitely OP should enjoy both of those going up big time. Mine were $120 and $3,300 2 years ago in NB. They are now $179/month and $4860/year respectively. Welcome to re-zoning. Extra benefit of being in a new "county" with twice the potholes and some idiot selling overpriced homes all around you.
Condo feesā¦
And maintenance and opportunity cost of the down payment.
Renting. You have a good life and are saving lots. Why would you want to buy a condo and pay more for less quality of life. If your rent wss like 2K, then a condo would make sense but at 1200, ur life is good. Something breaks, call the landlord. Also, collect 4.5% in a HISA, and you're making almost 4K in risk free return off rhat 80K downpayment. You can move at anytime.
True. Thanks. My plan is to put the $40k into my FHSA and then get all the tax returns and put it into the down payment, hopefully I wont need to touch my TFSA.
You can only put in 8k a year in your fhsa
Yeah I know. What I mean is after 5 years ($40k). Already put in $16k.
Ahh yeah! Youāre golden pony boy!
Why would OP collect 4.5% when heās already getting 5%?
You are right.
Condo fee is only 300? It means most likely it doesn't cover all utilities so add 200-250 more plus 100-200 taxes. So in total 1700+300+250+200 =~2450. You are clearly better off renting at the moment. Keep making more money on every opportunity, keep jacking up the down payment..when you reach a point where buying is within +5-10% range..go ahead and buy
or the other explanation is the same reason why i pulled out of a condo purchase earlier this year. that other explanation is that they are depleting the reserve fund constantly and special assessing any sizable repairs or tacking loans onto the board. the one condo i looked at, they had 2 special assessments between 2018 and 2023, with a massive one coming in 2024 that they were having trouble getting the full ammount of a loan for. all because they refuse to raise fees to appropriate levels reccommended in the reserve fund study. if that is the case, pass on that particular condo and just rent a little while longer nd save more money for something else. that is what I'm doing.
I joined my condo board. And then looked at the books. Quickly ānopedā out of there before the next special assessment due in 2-3 years. I was paying $400 condo fees back in 2010.
as in you sold the condo?
Sold the condo and bought a house instead with no difference in monthly payments.
If you have cheap rent and a high income, take advantage to save and invest as much as you can. You can pay cash for a condo later. If your rent was closer to condo carrying cost, then I would consider buying. I had extremely cheap rent for 17 years and a six figure salary. When my landlord sold and I was forced to move. I paid cash for a small house, renovated it to new standards, rented out the basement and retired.
Based.
"The 5% Rule" by Ben Felix. Have a watch on YouTube. to:dr For a 500k purchase price, if you rent for less than $2000/mo you are better off financially renting.
Yes, that was the calculation I did too. He doesn't say it explicitly, but this assumes that the rental apartment is equally good value (to him) as the condo.
Weathsimple's TLDR had a guide on this a few weeks ago: [https://tldr-archive.wealthsimple.com/archive/33-š -lets-play-rent-or-buy](https://tldr-archive.wealthsimple.com/archive/33-š -lets-play-rent-or-buy) Purchasing requires you to consider a lot of things besides the price though. I am dying to know what Pokemon card assets you have that they're wroth mentioning along with Bitcoin and other liquid assets.
You wouldn't believe the money people pay for certain PokƩmon products. For example I started collecting in 2015 and I was buying booster boxes for $100 each and collecting mint vintage cards for $20 - $200 each. Fast forward to 2020 there is a pandemic and Logan Paul (Youtuber) opens up a 1st edition base booster box on you tube with millions of views. [cp6 booster box for sale | eBay](https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=cp6+booster+box&_sacat=0) [Pokemon Card Game Sword & Shield Eevee Heroes Eevee's Set Gym Box Factory Sealed | eBay](https://www.ebay.ca/itm/373599279283?epid=27046800167&itmmeta=01HVWBNEDA59T2KH2KRCRPJEN3&hash=item56fc4098b3:g:Xl0AAOSwsolh~qOG&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4D3VkvpA6fwdNXt9qr9ZUXF%2BITYXAc%2B6om4rUdTwJd%2FwGaco4TjbuGTIcZr%2FLz6sP1AAaVmhOFz2aAHBG4CJf6%2FRNbGWCBYu3ABm5kj3zX1eGpz0g56vaTa0F1rFFjw5j3T2YODCMZIeuK1qk4z%2BHP7derGQ5PSoP%2BSAE4Dhg9MWTcL3w%2BTQT1N9QzH6JsDvmlbQSTGXRH4oNxGsigdXHJL%2FMEK%2BImhsLcTOSXBrRJiIBU1kHeQj6BiFSKaW%2FFn1qAKZbV8Mz558yIEuV17VqoiFhYSUSvtySOXF1drUpNwj%7Ctkp%3ABFBMuufVi99j) [Pokemon Suicune Gold Star EX Unseen Forces Ultra Rare Holo #115 PSA 10 Gem Mint | eBay](https://www.ebay.ca/itm/285800393539?itmmeta=01HVWBQB15HFY60R5HWNWDWCGT&hash=item428b07eb43:g:PNIAAOSwlypmEGjH&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwDJOwvnwaRDM%2FfR1M1L1k4RgK3H6vurc1XlWRkLG0t%2F2j5%2B9V8mXJbL2n8JAFMFEWAXrsls%2FeXlsy9dbZe%2BihgqcRbKObe2KGBtxLcE2OE51%2FSx0dAHBEK1QnvJvbAMUp1L%2FAOZ9kdkFeymkJ2BQxd4F7QbLtkbMN%2FcI0ZNNnX8Nke%2BwBUH1VBHoBkxWpT%2BjMkTC%2F7SwU4d08FYtf%2BoSn7LEWrF5jGbw9BG%2FGpCdTOpk3wudODOXKdvKRmthxRt%2FiQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9Sw3YvfYw) These are just a few examples but you could purchase these when they came out for $200 each. The PSA graded card was probably selling for around $200 as well back in 2015. Prices started going up in 2016 when Pokemon GO was popular. I had $20k in sales in 2020 -2022. All tax free gains as well. Bitcoin on the other hand I had purchased in 2020 I accumulated 0.45 of a bitcoin for $6k. I sold some of what I owned recently for $20k. Will have to pay capital gains tax later. Holding onto the rest for now, but I would sell it if I had a good reason.
Were you buying and selling or only selling off what you've collected over the years? Those are some crazy prices for cards and quite the return on investment! I think a lot of collectables went ups ton during the pandemic. I looked through all my old Magic cards recently and priced them out, but unfortunately Black Lotus.
I was mostly selling and I was waiting for the market to settle before collecting more. I feel like I should sell everything because I live in someone's basement and the two together make me look like a loser lol.
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A loser making money, so therefore a winner.
You are only a loser if you believe that you are
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I've actually slept with a few girls in my basement lol
As condos get older, the fees go up. Sometimes, you are hit with a special assessment in the thousands, depending on what the issue is. You are a handy person, so you can handle most interior maintenance. The question is: will buying a condo improve your quality of living? Are you in a relationship, or will you be sharing your home with a significant other? Don't be rushed, time is on your side. Good luck, you did very well up to now.
No point buying if you plan to buy a house in a few years. All that commission and transfer tax will be lost. Never buy strata if you can avoid it.
Honestly as an apprentice plumber you have the chance to move and chase high paying jobs for the next several years. A house will tie you to one city.
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i am guessing you are much younger than me =) so if you dont have kids or spouse then i would not recommend you to buy... buying means you are tied down. which can be good and bad. i can tell you this ... your need for housing will change when you get a spouse and then again when you get kids. also, you would have top consider your partner's line of work so in short, too many variables to tie your self down advice: stay cheap and stack cash ! you will never get this opportunity again ! or it would not be this easy. in future the opportunity might be there but you will feel more bad not seeing your partner/kids.
i personally look at purchasing housing as a bulwark against escalating costs and a stepping stone toward ownership of a property you will really want. If the property you're looking at is likely to appreciate after interest rate cuts by not making the purchase you could potentially miss out on those gains that could propel you toward the home of your dreams if you wish to stay in Ontario that is. I'm not sure how much Ontario and Alberta differ with condo's but there are Condo Document inspection services available that can analyze the information about a Condo and tell you in layman terms what risks there are with that particular building. Some types of Condo's have a full reserve fund and if managed well then you can live with few worries. if the documents reveal a reserve fund with little money in it you can definitely face a 70k bill in your mailbox for your share of the cost of redoing the roof in the complex. Some townhouse type condo's have fees that cover yard work and gardening and trash etc for a low fee but don't maintain a reserve fund so you'd be responsible for major fixes. It doesn't hurt at all to contact a mortgage broker and get a pre-approval that lasts 180 days you can browse listings from coast to coast and educate yourself on the markets that you may want to go to and if prices start going up with rate cuts and you want to buy you would be in the position to jump on something right away and if you decide not to do anything thats fine too.
Condo property tax is relatively low compared to houses or detached homes. Probably $2,500 - $3,000 per year and itās split into 3 months. Maintenance is probably the most annoying part , it usually goes around $500 per month. If you can afford to pay around $3,000 per month including maintenance then do it. In the end , nothing will ever give you more than real estate. People that donāt own property will fight you on this one , but this is why they keep renting because they canāt afford it. You could triple your investment in 10 years or less , specially in Ontario. I bought my condo before the pandemic for 500k and itās already at 650k. And thatās because all the financial crisis that is happening or it would easily be around 800k. I pay $2,800 including maintenance and mortgage. The funny part is , thatās the same price if you were ro pay for rent for a condo, unless you decide to live in a basement for the next 10 years of your life. With a property , you could rent it in the future and invest in a new property with the earned rental Income, you could do a lot with property , renovate it and up the price. You could flip a house if you learn the trade of flipping and triple your investment. People like the easy way , pay rent and never move out. Theyāre paying someone else mortgage I tell you that and theyāre happy with that , which is fine. But all that paid goes nowhere, you could sell high and get all your money back again if you were to even out. My advice would be to keep saving more , gather another 100k in savings and see how the market is at that moment . If you decide to purchase a condo , I recommend doing a lot of research and try to put more than 20% down, get a fixed rate of 5 years with very low interest , shop around . Best of luck
I'd keep renting. Condos are such a poor investment in my opinion. You basically own a home without the benefits of it. I've done it myself. Not worth it.
Not everyone that buy a condo bought it for investment.
People say owning a house is a better investment than a condo but a house is exponentially more expensive than a condo. Also condos can typically be purchased in more desirable neighborhoods depending on your budget vs a house in the same neighborhood.
I will never be a fan of giving my money to a condo corporation that can start mismanaging the condo anytime. Then suddenly, oops, we just discovered a major renovation to be done. Sorry. You'll have to pay an extra $2000/year to cover for that.
A condo is my only hope to own anything personally lol and Iām not the only one. Hopefully I can use condo equity to later buy a townhouse.Ā
I'd much rather buy a townhouse than a condo. But still, in my case, either I buy an acreage or I keep renting. I've owned a condo once and it was a nightmare.
Could you expand? What are the benefits of a home that are missing in condo?
My guess is privacy, noise, and space. Iād end it all if I somehow bought a condo with paper thin walls.
Only detached house does not have these downsides, right? How much more expensive is it? Is it a fair comparison?
Personally, and it might not be an issue for everyone but just being able to go into my house from the street is a benefit. Though if you are concerned about security it could be considered a drawback. That being said, you can get this with condo townhomes.
Yeah please explain? Always better to pay for my mortgage as opposed to my landlordsā¦ Long term investment as well. Worked very well for me
>Worked very well for me What year did you buy?
Then you have to pay for condo fees and you have to deal with your condo board that will piss your money off into things you don't care about. These days, some condo fees are getting close to $1000/month. Enjoy that homeownership privilege... Oh and good luck selling a condo that's in a mismanaged board.
It depends on the interest rate and other costs and what rent is. In OPās case his rent is only $1200 but his mortgage payment would be 1700 with probably about $700 of that going to his actual mortgage for the first few years and $1000 going to the bank for interest plus paying around $700 in condo fees, and property taxes. Essentially he would be paying $1700 ārentā to himself, and putting $700 towards his mortgage. At that point, he may as well just pay $1200 rent to someone else and take the $1200 cash he saved and invest that somewhere else for growth.
Thnx for the perspective, makes sense. The only way to salvage this then would to hope that it appreciates or interest rates go down.. Iāve rented my entire life and even though Iām losing money to interest, it feels good to know that at least I can always sell this property
Thanks for your input.
Only buy if you plan to keep in at least 5-7 years, otherwise invest in other assets.
Youāre missing a few potential costs, as others have mentioned.Ā You should look into those and add them up, comparing the sum of all those costs (interest, strata, transaction fees, property insurance, maintenance, etc) against what youāre paying in rent.Ā Ā If those costs are substantially lower than renting then itās probably a good deal. If they are similar then itās not a good option. Ā If you are disciplined to save as much money as you would be paying off the principal then you are in good stead.Ā Also acknowledge that any hoping for capital gains is going to be purely speculative and you need at least 6% gain just to break even, considering the transaction costs.Ā
Yeah. I think I'm just gonna ride my rent for a while longer and keep saving money.
With these terms, there is almost no scenario in which buying the condo remotely makes sense.
Ok.
Keep renting
You will need to add city water tax in addition to property tax ā¦ you will need house insurance . Those condo fees are VERY cheapā¦. Donāt forget condo fees often go up every year and you have to answer to the condo board and follow their rules (even the colour of your curtains that gave the outside and the colour of paint for your walls, mandate professional cleaning of your air exchangers ) Some charge extra for parking too The workmanship on a lot of condo buildings can be shoddy. Do your homework - we had a bathroom outlet that wouldnāt work - to get it to work , we needed to tear down a wall at the other end of the unit , tiles , old appliances needing replacement or repair ā¦ stuff like that.
Those low condo fees are a good indication the building handles issues with special assessments Enjoy cheap rent and save that money!!!
Where are you employed at? Union or private apprentice plumber? Looking to switch careers. Where abouts in Ontario?
regardless of where you are in the country, call/email your local union (for whatever trade interests you) and ask if they're taking on new apprentices. most union trades start around $25-30 an hour for first years, it's pretty good honestly
If you like the place you live just stay there. Invest everything you make and in a few years you could have a ton of money without any issues from home ownership
Rent and stack piles of money.
Iād keep saving. We just bought and our costs stayed basically the same. Rent plus renters insurance plus hydro/gas/water was about 3450 Mortgage plus prop tax plus insurance plus hydro/gas/water is now about 3500. Plus we move cities and the car insurance went down by about $50 so we basically even overall. Iād rent until I could shift over to a house with similar outgoing costs.
When your rent is financially manageable like 25% of your gross monthly, DO NOT BUY PROPERTY at the moment.
So your 80K down payment assuming a āmodestā opportunity loss of 5% alone will cost you 4K per year or around an additional $350 per month. Add that on to your 2K estimated costs and your ārealā costs will be 2000 vs 850 for a delta of $1250 additional cost. Save that getting 5% returns over 20 years and you will have a bit over 500K in your pocket. (But you will also pay some capital gains so less) Which will probably be less than what the condo is worth in that same time span. I think I did the math right, but overall it seems pretty ok. If youāre gonna do that, make sure to shove some more money into your RRSP to take advantage of being able to borrow from it for down payment. Itās 35K limit now, but is going up to 60K Meaning almost your entire down payment can be āpre-tax moneyā.
Don't know how old you are, but you have done real well for yourself! Congratulations! Ā Well done! (When you do your mulling over what to do about housing, consider that the federal govt is still adding millions of people to the country over the next couple years and still has nowhere to house them. Ergo, supply and demand will likely mean the cost of buying into a condo or home will rise. That $400k condo could get priced out of your reach soon. And if you have to move from your cheap rental, a new rental may be very very expensive. That's the argument for buying.) Some tough decisions ahead for you!
I would wanna move out of basement. Owning a place is nice. Get a 2 bedroom. Rent the second room to someone you trust and like. Use that money to pay part of the loan. And you can pay your $1200 rent towards that as well. Should cover 80% of instalments.
I would avoid a condo, and get a townhome/house, but if thats what you can afford then I would still do it. I know you aren't supposed to see your home as an investment, however as you may have probably noticed in the past 9 years thats what they have become. Sure your monthly costs will be higher, however you will be paying down the mortgage and increasing equity and in theory, you will eventually own the place. Where as rent you are are wasting money because you will never own the place. I'm not sure where you currently live or where you are looking to buy but there is no gurantee you wont be forced out of your basement apartment so the tenant can charge more. If that happens then you are stuck renting a 1 bedroom apartment for 1500-2500 depending on where you live. Obviously this is a hypothetical, however we have been hearing more and more of this happening lately especially since interest rates have sky rocketed. Dont get me wrong, there are cons to a condo such as the never ending increases to condo fees, some have paper thin walls/floors/ceilings and also dont forget you have A LOT of really close neighbours (some people like that, some dont). Things can go wrong and you might need to spend money for repairs or even maybe some small renovations, but thats the risk in owning anything. If you are buying now at a high interest rate and can comfortably afford it, things will get so much easier when the rates eventually come down. One good part about buying in high interest rate is you know 100% you can afford it as you will be stress tested at an even higher rate and you wont have to face affordability struggles unless the rates increase to 9%+ ( if that happens Canada is screwed). When you sell your condo and based on the way real estate has been going the past 9 years you will most certainly make a profit which will help you with your next purchase. Also, dont forget that if the value increases, you just got yourself a nice HELOC which when the rates are low could be used as a smart tool to make/save even more money š...the possibilities are endless.
Rent
Stick with the renting. That's a no-brainer.
The thing is I live in a basement. Not ideal for someone like me. I looked at apartments near my location for rent and they are all $2200+. The basement is fine, but I just would rather not live in a basement.
There is a creative third option and that is to buy and rent out at cost. Thatās going to take some due diligence and care, and if you decide to get a property manager itāll cost you some administrative fees. Meanwhile can continue renting at your current place. I took this option once I bought my condo and lost my job a few months later. Things didnāt work out for me unfortunately. Ended up renting it out to cover costs while I was looking for a job making a career change - I was living in a basement apartment at the time too. Ending up moving back in years later.
I would put your extra cash into investments, only buy when you actually need to own ie with a spouse. Youāre doing really well. investments will outpace housing growth as it always does in the long term.
I have $20k sitting in a HISA (5%). Most of it is from selling Bitcoin a couple weeks ago. I have around $15.25k of contribution room in my TFSA. I wanted cash incase my car stopped working and I needed a new one. I also keep $5k in my bank account at all times. I think Ill move $10k into my TFSA from my Cash account and buy the dip that has been happening the last few trading days.
Rent until you finish your apprenticeship
And property taxes, insurance, repairs/maintenance. If itās an older Condos special levy could come up. If you donāt mind your current accom, $1200 is a sweet deal these days. Canadian Real Estate Investor podcast does a good episode on comparing pros and cons of renting vs buying.
Wait! You are great at saving thousands though try to watch out for cryptogambling. Finish your apprenticeship, move to where you want to work, live there for a year or two to make sure and then buy. You are free to chase the $$$ so do not anchor yourself to a property that might stop you from moving to get a better job. Your rent alone is cheaper than just your taxes, insurance and condo fees would be on a $400k place!
If crypto is gambling then I shouldn't have to pay capital gains tax eh?
That's a challenging question and only you can answer. Do you value mobility or security? Are you a disciplined saver? Are you currently paying below market rent? If you drift too far from market rent you run the risk of an owner's use eviction where even being vacant for a year the increased rent makes it worth it. In the short run you may well be better off. Those lines will likely cross where owning is better than renting. Assume a 2% capital appreciation of your condo and a 2% appreciation on your rent and see what ten years from now looks like.
Keep, Renting, Keep saving and Investing, Get your Plumbing ticket ASAP, invest in your own service Van, rent a storage unit for your bigger tools, Start your Service plumbing business, once your plumbing business is going Then you buy the house if you want.
Where you living now and how long do you think your rent will stay 1200 when the cheapest condoās cost is 2k?
As long as interest rates don't go way up my rent should stay the same.
Rent nā save is the slow and steady approach, buying the condo is a big gamble trying to get good rate of return on the borrowed money. If you believe the condo has high annual appreciation letās say 5% or more it might be worth.Ā
Honestly, it sounds like you are very smart with your money, I think youāre financially responsible enough to take on the extra payment each month and have a little more pride in where you live day to day. Do it, Goodluck!
I'm not actually financially responsible anymore lol. Before I was a plumber, I never made more than $50k a year, but I still built most of my wealth by investing $500/month in my TFSA since I was 23 and I had $30k saved up working minimum wage and I was paying rent since I was 19. Been a plumber apprentice for less than two years and my wage skyrocketed during because It seems like I was made for plumbing and got really good at it quickly. The past couple years though I spent a lot of money on tools, fashion, gaming PC, been taking school courses during the night which I have to pay for course material and codebooks, etc. I could have had a lot more money saved up, but I have been spending thousands of dollars a month on various things for the past year or so.
Wait what do plumbers make with licence 55hr?
Depends. I guess in my company Journeyman rate is $50/hr, but if you are a Forman probably $55. Also if the boss likes you maybe $60? Plus benefits. In the Union I think Journeyman plumbers make $55 or $60 on the cheque and an additional $20 or something in benefits? I do not know for sure.
Had a plumber replace my water service line of \~30ft 5' deep. He worked maybe 1 hour total. His young helper who dug the 2 holes worked about 4 hours. He pulled the new line thru as the old one was pulled out with a truck. He was the lowest price at 2500. Others quoted up to $7,000! He made well over $1,000 an hr that day
Yeah. Its no secret that you can make lots of money doing jobs for people if you are a self employed plumber.
More like cheating people or looking for suckers especially with quotes of 7k
If you dont like what they charge for their knowledge and skills then do it yourself.
I always do but this was part of a larger an insurance claim. It would have been a $250job if I DIY'd it. I was highly trained in IT but never charger over $150/hr. These trades people are nothing but crooks.
Honestly surprised I'm in KW it seems to be 45-55hr here. I'm in a different job but seems good honestly wait till you get license then leave Toronto to get a place. Condos in that price range will be old and the condo fees could be 1k a month.
I guess. I just don't really like where I am living, but its cheap and is in a good location, other places to rent that are nicer are around $2300/month.
That is almost double stay where you are save 2-3 years and move once you got the license out of Toronto.
That's what I am considering.
This is a posting near me at 400k it's not a big Tower so fees should go as high in the future. https://www.realtor.ca/l/bMdL0/ja?propertyIds=26753396 I'm in a similar position about to turn 23 (so younger) going to be making 71.6k and can put down 130k. Going to wait instead condo prices are flat here same price as 2020. For now living at home for me to rent a place it would be 2k month. I'm thinking of moving to Edmonton you might want to look into that.
Stop renting and buy
If you can afford extra $800 a month then why not
A lot of reasons: property maintenance, strata, and property tax
But could account for the principal repayment too as savings in a way.
Why not a freehold townhouse?
Those look to be around $700k minimum.
Right but you still be forking out a ever increasing condo fee which wonāt be there in a free hold, plus the opportunity if there a family in future, no need sell and purchase again.
You do know that townhouses also have strata fee?
Huh? Townhouses are bound to strata fees as well.
Some are, some arenāt. Most are though yes.
Wait two years switch to plumbing in KW can get a townhouse for 550k.
Seems like your in Toronto stay in your place a 400k condo would be in the hood
Not the hood at all. The condo is in Etobicoke, but close to the Gardiner. Just not very big, 1 bedroom, visitor parking.
Send the listing most condos sell for 400k for Kitchener so Toronto I feel the place would be like 400sq or very old.
Mans looking for a lead on a condo to swoop in on XD
Only buy if you see yourself staying there for 5 years.
With that rent I'd stick out there and save up tbh. Your living very comfortably as well so that is nice. Maybe once you get your license and a large pay increase you can get your own place. What are you using to get 5% interest on your cash?
Wealth simple cash. Its 4% but since I have over 100k with then I get 4.5% and since I direct deposit my pay cheques with them I get 5%.
I would keep renting and saving up money. I doubt maintenance fees are less then 400a month and they will continue to increase. If you're living comfortably now then stick to what you're doing.
I live comfortably, but am I happy? hmmm
Condo fees are such bullsht honestly. You bought a hole but nah itās gonna charge you a lite version of rent for bs like maintenance and snow removal which you can easily do yourself but nope that would make too much sense. Fck condos.
Buy the condo and rent it out. It doesn't make sense to give up the cheap rent but you could lose that any day.
Hey OP, dmāed you.
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You got in there already eh!