# Move far away in a house or stay closer in a condo?



## Mulak (Feb 7, 2017)

I'm trying to decide which one is more beneficial to buy. My family and friends live in oakville/sauga/toronto area. I currently live in oakville with my mother

It either a house in waterdown which is 20-50mins drive away or a condo in oakville which is 0-30 mins drive away for the same monthly payments

Waterdown is a bit country, it not developed like oakville, no mall, currently one transit bus, no GO station to toronto so I have to go to aldershot GO in order to go to toronto. They have a lot of greenery which means they have a lot of hiking trails around and can get a dog in the future. There arent alot ot businesses around but it slowly building up.

Oakville is basically the opposite of waterdown, got a mall, no greenery, decent infrastructure, congested, nice looking town, better shopping choices.

What do u guys think?


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

It's totally a matter of personal taste. What features are most important to you?


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

If you buy the house in Waterdown you will be spending a lot more time in your car, with increased commuting costs and stress. Hiking on the weekend requires far less frequent driving. 

Of course it all depends on how you see your life and the community developing over the next 10 years (which I think you need to live in a home to make the purchase worthwhile). If you are planning to marry, have three kids, and the dog, a house in Waterdown may be the right choice. But if you plan to stay single and enjoy clubbing, going to the gym, etc, the Oakville condo may be a better idea. Only you have enough information to lay out the pros and cons.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

I'd rethink the dog if there is no one home all day.


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## Mulak (Feb 7, 2017)

Userkare said:


> It's totally a matter of personal taste. What features are most important to you?


Hmm ... pay no maintenance fee lol since my current rented out 1 bed 1 den condo got $409/month , do whatever I want to the property, able to walk out of the property, have friends come over, hangout and watch sports or BBQ during the summer

Basically it look like I want the house in waterdown and move it to Oakville lol



heyjude said:


> If you buy the house in Waterdown you will be spending a lot more time in your car, with increased commuting costs and stress. Hiking on the weekend requires far less frequent driving.
> 
> Of course it all depends on how you see your life and the community developing over the next 10 years (which I think you need to live in a home to make the purchase worthwhile). If you are planning to marry, have three kids, and the dog, a house in Waterdown may be the right choice. But if you plan to stay single and enjoy clubbing, going to the gym, etc, the Oakville condo may be a better idea. Only you have enough information to lay out the pros and cons.


I'm currently single ... actually going to be 30 on march 28

Who knows how much waterdown community will develop over 10 years ... maybe a lot or not at all and would suck if I got stuck in a undeveloped community 10 years later

I don't want to gamble my life if I find a wife soon and don't know if I really want kids (shh my mom doesn't know ) ... I rather be financially successful because that is something I can control now



OnlyMyOpinion said:


> I'd rethink the dog if there is no one home all day.


The dog is later in the future... not now


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Houses require maintenance too! I was surprised how much work it was. I used to spend my weekends pruning and weeding, or my mornings shovelling snow to get to work, and then little things and big things would break, and my car would be off to Home Depot for supplies, and then the roof leaked and it needed replacement ($$$$) and there was an ice dam, and, and, and....

For me it has been much cheaper to live in a new condo than an old house, from the point of view of operating costs.


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## Mulak (Feb 7, 2017)

heyjude said:


> Houses require maintenance too! I was surprised how much work it was. I used to spend my weekends pruning and weeding, or my mornings shovelling snow to get to work, and then little things and big things would break, and my car would be off to Home Depot for supplies, and then the roof leaked and it needed replacement ($$$$) and there was an ice dam, and, and, and....
> 
> For me it has been much cheaper to live in a new condo than an old house, from the point of view of operating costs.


If I pick the condo in Oakville... would you kick out the tenant out of your rented condo and live in it which is an almost 10 years old building or sell it and buy a preconstruction new condo instead


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Mulak said:


> If I pick the condo in Oakville... would you kick out the tenant out of your rented condo and live in it which is an almost 10 years old building or sell it and buy a preconstruction new condo instead


You already own a condo in Oakville? For me it would be a no-brainer to ask my tenant to leave at the end of their lease (or if the lease has expired, with the requisite notice period, in order to move in. I woudn't be kicking anyone out. People need to be treated with respect. 

This was what I myself did on my last move. While the condo was empty I had it repainted. Of course you will want to get an appraisal to have a baseline value for the date it becomes your principal residence. For tax purposes. 

YMMV.


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## Mulak (Feb 7, 2017)

heyjude said:


> You already own a condo in Oakville? For me it would be a no-brainer to ask my tenant to leave at the end of their lease (or if the lease has expired, with the requisite notice period, in order to move in. I woudn't be kicking anyone out. People need to be treated with respect.
> 
> This was what I myself did on my last move. While the condo was empty I had it repainted. Of course you will want to get an appraisal to have a baseline value for the date it becomes your principal residence. For tax purposes.
> 
> YMMV.


Yeah I already own a condo... Tenant already living there since august 2015, so we did the mandatory 1 year lease which is over now and just doing month to month now.

Nah of course ... don't mean in abrasive way, the tenant is nice. She is a flight attendant and she is not there most of the time so there is less wear and tear.

Bought the condo at 285k with 20% down and now it worth 310-330k depending on the features and my features are on the high end side and my fee personally is one of the lowest in the building because I have seen similar condo going $100-125 more than my $409/month. 

I saved up 50k, so I thought I would sell the condo and buy a preconstruction condo with a bigger down payment since I can't put 50k at one time for the repayment since they only allow 10% max of the leftover principal amount a year. Also the preconstruction will look new and modern comparing to my 10 years old condo or put 50k toward something investing type


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

Since you live at home right now you could also just wait for your tenant to give notice and then move in in her place. You could invest your 50K in retirement funds instead of putting it down on real estate in a bubble market.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

I don't understand this impulse to buy a preconstruction condo in a bubbly market. If the market tanks, the developer may go bankrupt, may not finish the project, or may skimp on the construction, while the prices go down. 

About 9 years ago I was looking at preconstruction condos, but knew the market was overblown. I waited until the construction was complete and after the drop to buy a condo at a significant discount, and still watched its value fall over the subsequent two years. (It's up now, but the recovery took at least 5 years). But there were owners who bought at the peak, and spent $150,000 more than I did. Some of them were speculators who thought they could sell at a profit when the condos were finished. Instead they had to become reluctant landlords. Meanwhile, the developer had declared bankruptcy and walked away. We are doing fine and are on a good financial footing, but the first few years were challenging, especially dealing with warranties unsupported by the developer and troublesome tenants of reluctant landlords.

There are condo complexes of similar vintage in my area that were abandoned by the developer after one phase; no clubhouse, just a block of apartments really, with structural deficiencies and no significant reserve fund. Owners are cleaning the common areas themselves.

I think you have to determine whether you want a nice home at a reasonable cost, or want to speculate on property.


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## CalgaryPotato (Mar 7, 2015)

Are you hoping for different answers than when you asked the similar question last week?

Anyway even if you are set on buying something, if you aren't sure where you want to live, then I'd recommend renting until you are sure.

It's a huge trade-off between a house and a condo, and it's a huge trade-off between adding another 30 minutes to your commute.

Here are some questions to think about: A lot of people don't like to travel and stay in their community. If you are like that, will you be miserably with your family friends, and by the sounds of it most entertainment far from you?

You are single correct? Will having a whole house be overwhelming? Will you feel obligated to "fill" up rooms that you have no need for with furniture. Will cleaning and maintaining a whole house by yourself be worth the effort? 

Will condo living hamper your lifestyle? If you for example host large functions regularly a condo can make that difficult, depending on parking situations, space, etc.

I'm assuming you know how to research a condo properly, find out if it's properly funded in case of necessary repairs?

This is a total non answer, but really these are life decisions you need to make for yourself. And if you aren't sure I'm not sure why you are so desperate to take on the overhead of ownership.


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## Mulak (Feb 7, 2017)

Spudd said:


> Since you live at home right now you could also just wait for your tenant to give notice and then move in in her place. You could invest your 50K in retirement funds instead of putting it down on real estate in a bubble market.


I have no idea when my tenant would give her notice because she is like 60 or 65 years old grandmother and a flight attendant ... she loves living in the building lol .. if she is not giving her notice then I ain't waiting until she croaked lol 

I was thinking about putting the 50k into retirement funds or TFSA



heyjude said:


> I don't understand this impulse to buy a preconstruction condo in a bubbly market. If the market tanks, the developer may go bankrupt, may not finish the project, or may skimp on the construction, while the prices go down.
> 
> About 9 years ago I was looking at preconstruction condos, but knew the market was overblown. I waited until the construction was complete and after the drop to buy a condo at a significant discount, and still watched its value fall over the subsequent two years. (It's up now, but the recovery took at least 5 years). But there were owners who bought at the peak, and spent $150,000 more than I did. Some of them were speculators who thought they could sell at a profit when the condos were finished. Instead they had to become reluctant landlords. Meanwhile, the developer had declared bankruptcy and walked away. We are doing fine and are on a good financial footing, but the first few years were challenging, especially dealing with warranties unsupported by the developer and troublesome tenants of reluctant landlords.
> 
> ...


oh wow ... I never knew condo developments could go sideway, thats crazy



CalgaryPotato said:


> Are you hoping for different answers than when you asked the similar question last week?
> 
> Anyway even if you are set on buying something, if you aren't sure where you want to live, then I'd recommend renting until you are sure.
> 
> ...


I just figured I would get more people with real estate personal experiences if I asked the question here regarding to "live far in a house or live close in a condo" question. The other topic was more toward real estate investment/money situation, not so much the actual living in condo and house and whats their experiences with each one.

not big on travelling personally lol ... my family is ridiculously big.. my mom's side of the family, I have 4 aunts, 2 uncles and 11 cousins (haven't even counted my aunts/uncles/cousins' spouses or cousins' kids) and on my dad's side of family, 2 older half brothers, 1 older half sister and 11 nieces/nephews ... lol too many talking at once 

Yes, I'm single... no idea if a house would be overwhelming for me.. don't think I would feel obligated to fill up rooms because I would probably get the two bedrooms townhouse based on phase 1 from the housing development in waterdown if it the same for phase 2 which I won't know until they release the information in spring. 1 bedroom is for me and could convert the 2nd bedroom into a guest/office space probably. http://www.countrygreenhomes.com/communities/uptowns-of-waterdown/

technically a large function for my family is a normal function for us based on the number of people i mentioned above lol ... maybe I can afford/find a townhouse condo or stacked condo in Oakville with 2 bedrooms because the maintenance fees would be a lot lower which can be contributed toward the increased mortgage payments

I'm not really desperate to take on the overhead of ownership. I bought the condo purely for investment/value increase because I knew the housing market will still go strong and the value of the condos will go higher over time which is selling 40k more now than what I paid for, less than two years ago. I thought I was going to sell it and use the combined money and buy a fixer upper, live in it and fix it over time and take my brother's advices because he is a contractor and can help me out on some fixing as well


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Mulak said:


> oh wow ... I never knew condo developments could go sideway, thats crazy


Then I'm glad to be able to enlighten you. It's not always rosy. Sounds like you got lucky with your first property. 

Excuse me while I go to our condo board meeting!


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## Mulak (Feb 7, 2017)

heyjude said:


> Then I'm glad to be able to enlighten you. It's not always rosy. Sounds like you got lucky with your first property.
> 
> Excuse me while I go to our condo board meeting!


Yeah seem so .. I bought the condo for 285k and put 20% down ... now it worth 310-330k depending on features and I'm on high side. Also I have one of the lowest fees which will be attractive to buyers.

Literally you have a condo board meeting now? lol funny coincidence ... do you know the topic(s) at your meeting?


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