97 replies to this topic

[LJ]

Unfortunately, my job, friends, and family are in Victoria, so I'm not looking to leave!

Then get used to renting. Thousands of people do it all their lifetimes. A few years ago there were advocates on this forum (they are still here but have changed their tune) that stated renting was much more financially savvy then buying. Oh and house prices were going to plummet 40-50%,

[Nparker]

...One I just watched had a single lady, whose mom was putting up the cash, decided against a pretty luxurious condo because the toilet wasn't separate from the rest of the bathroom. You're the only one in the place lady, why does that matter?...

I love when the single people on those shows insist on 2 sinks in their master bathroom. Also, if I never hear the expressions "open concept" or "man cave" again it will still be too soon.

[FirstTimeHomeCrier]

Then get used to renting. Thousands of people do it all their lifetimes. A few years ago there were advocates on this forum (they are still here but have changed their tune) that stated renting was much more financially savvy then buying. Oh and house prices were going to plummet 40-50%,

 

I've had a bad experience with renting that has reminded me why I don't want to rent forever. Last summer, the owner of the condo I was renting decided she wanted to move back in and didn't want to renew my lease. I had a month to try and find a place to live at a time with a vacancy rate of less than 1%. There were so many applicants for the places we were looking at, one owner chose a name out of a hat. The only reason we got a place is because someone I knew had a family member working for a property management company and we were able to see a condo before it was posted anywhere. 

 

I could be called entitled. I guess I do feel entitled to have a place to live in the town I work in that is larger than 450 square feet and where I won't be forced to move at someone else's whim. And depending on your world view, you might disagree. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. But I still feel cranky about it.

[LJ]

I've had a bad experience with renting that has reminded me why I don't want to rent forever. Last summer, the owner of the condo I was renting decided she wanted to move back in and didn't want to renew my lease. I had a month to try and find a place to live at a time with a vacancy rate of less than 1%. There were so many applicants for the places we were looking at, one owner chose a name out of a hat. The only reason we got a place is because someone I knew had a family member working for a property management company and we were able to see a condo before it was posted anywhere. 

 

I could be called entitled. I guess I do feel entitled to have a place to live in the town I work in that is larger than 450 square feet and where I won't be forced to move at someone else's whim. And depending on your world view, you might disagree. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. But I still feel cranky about it.

Yeah you can have bad experiences renting a place. You can also have bad experiences owning a place. Ask Seebeery?

There are only a couple of ways to get what you want. You have to determine whether your desire to live in the downtown core is more important to you than owning your own house. If it is then you will probably be renting. If you want to sacrifice the downtown core you can probably afford a condo not too far out of the core, or a SFH well outside the core. 

Things are not going to get cheaper just because you can't afford them, you have to make sacrifices either with your time(earn more money) or with your location. You're not the first one to go through this.

[jonny]

And your 20's is far too early to be discouraged. There's nothing wrong with buying a one bedroom or even a well designed studio condo to live in for a medium term plan, say 5 years, and then reevaluating then whether to sell, rent or continue to live there at that point. A lot can change in 5 years.

[sebberry]

Yeah you can have bad experiences renting a place. You can also have bad experiences owning a place. Ask Seebeery?

 

The upside to renting is that it's a lot easier and cheaper to move when you need a change. (Unless the vacancy rate is 1%)

[MarkoJ]

And your 20's is far too early to be discouraged. There's nothing wrong with buying a one bedroom or even a well designed studio condo to live in for a medium term plan, say 5 years, and then reevaluating then whether to sell, rent or continue to live there at that point. A lot can change in 5 years.

 

This isn't a bad idea. My first condo was 533 sq/ft with no parking on Johnson Street. I still own that condo and rent it out but it was a great start and I was very happy living there. I also have equity in it I could access if I needed to at any point.

[sebberry]

This isn't a bad idea. My first condo was 533 sq/ft with no parking on Johnson Street.

 

Unfortunately for a lot of people, that ends up being their forever home. 

[MarkoJ]

Unfortunately for a lot of people, that ends up being their forever home. 

 

I was very happy living in 533 sq/ft. Given I was never home before 6 pm due to work the no parking wasn't an issue either, I just parked on the street after 6 pm.  

 

We then rented as tenants a 785 sq/ft condo and rented out our 533 sq/ft condo. I thought 785 sq/ft was quite spacious.  We were there for almost three years and I could have stayed another 10 years.

 

Problem with our society in North America is people aquire a lot of stuff such as pets and then it's like "we need a back yard for our dog Bo and a huge garage to store all our kayaking gear and crap."  Expectations are high.

[MarkoJ]

Let's face it a single person doesn't really need any more than 500-600 sq/ft.  A couple 600-800 sq/ft.  A three member family 1,000 sq/ft two bed and four member family 1,200 sq/ft three bed condo or townhome.  Everything beyond that is pure luxury.  I just look at the stupidity of my personal house.  We've used the dining room twice in the last year.  I have a 10x12 19' ceiling entrance to take off my shoes, wtf.  My master is 19'x17'....I use to get the exact same quality of sleep in my 9x10' condo bedroom.  If I went bankrupt and had to move into a 500 sq/ft condo I honestly don't think there is much I would miss from the house.

 

If I could get a three bedroom condo at the Bayview for the same monthly cashflow as my house I would make the switch right away.  Problem is house is way cheaper (no strata fees, $1,500 from the suite, etc.).  Throw is much better appreciation and literally the only reason I live in a house is finances.  Finances removed I would live in a condo.

Edited by MarkoJ, 08 February 2017 - 08:55 PM.

[sebberry]

Problem with our society in North America is people aquire a lot of stuff such as pets and then it's like "we need a back yard for our dog Bo and a huge garage to store all our kayaking gear and crap."  Expectations are high.

 

I think that's called having a life? Since when was a dog (and a place for it to poop) a luxury reserved only for the wealthy?

[MarkoJ]

I think that's called having a life? Since when was a dog (and a place for it to poop) a luxury reserved only for the wealthy?

 

A dog isn't a basic necessity of life (unless for medical reasons).  Buy a dog but please don't complain that you can't find a rental because of the dog or you can't afford a SFH in the core and you can only consider SFH because the dog needs a yard to play around.

[Nparker]

...I just look at the stupidity of my personal house.  We've used the dining room twice in the last year.  I have a 10x12 19' ceiling entrance to take off my shoes, wtf.  My master is 19'x17'....I use to get the exact same quality of sleep in my 9x10' condo bedroom.  If I went bankrupt and had to move into a 500 sq/ft condo I honestly don't think there is much I would miss from the house...

I don't mean to be rude, but since you had your house custom built, why did you choose to build it so large? Why not a 1000 sq/ft rancher?

[sebberry]

I don't mean to be rude, but since you had your house custom built, why did you choose to build it so large? Why not a 1000 sq/ft rancher?

 

Because despite comments to the contrary, people do actually like having room to have a life  

[sebberry]

A dog isn't a basic necessity of life

 

You're helping to reinforce my position that you can't have much of a life while stuffed in a little condo.

[jonny]

A good friend of mine has two large dogs in a Harris Green condo...We have one dog and no yard. She goes for two walks per day, one of which usually includes 15 or 20 minutes at a dog park. Easy peasy unless you're a couch potato.

[sebberry]

^Just wait until the dogs are old an incontinent. Been there, done that. You don't want it happening in an apartment.

 

Sorry, I'm grumpy tonight.  It's the apartment-living induced sleep deprivation. 

[LeoVictoria]

Yeah you're arguing from a bit of a weak position here. "I was perfectly happy in a condo driving a Lada I don't know why everyone wants so much stuff". - drives a tesla and lives in a ludicrously large custom built house.

I agree with you, if you don't own, don't buy a dog and other useless crap. Our house is good but it's 4 of us in the upstairs which is just over 1000sqft. It could just as well be a condo we almost never use the backyard. Haven't been out there since the summer. Only reason we have one is so the mother in law can live in the suite and the arrangement is cheaper and better than most anything else.

[sebberry]

I agree with you, if you don't own, don't buy a dog and other useless crap.

 

Some see useless crap, others see it as the instruments of a fulfilling life.  (I'm talking about stuff you can use, not a box of dusty old blenders you can't be bothered to take to recycle)

 

If your idea of adventure is downtown nightlife all the time, then perhaps a 400sq-ft coat rack is just fine. 

 

I could probably sell my place for $227/sq-ft.  I can't see 4x the improvement to lifestyle quality by spending 4x the money on what is effectively still just a smaller box within a larger one.

[MarkoJ]

Yeah you're arguing from a bit of a weak position here. "I was perfectly happy in a condo driving a Lada I don't know why everyone wants so much stuff". - drives a tesla and lives in a ludicrously large custom built house.

I agree with you, if you don't own, don't buy a dog and other useless crap. Our house is good but it's 4 of us in the upstairs which is just over 1000sqft. It could just as well be a condo we almost never use the backyard. Haven't been out there since the summer. Only reason we have one is so the mother in law can live in the suite and the arrangement is cheaper and better than most anything else.

 

I think if you flew a drone in the middle of August you wouldn't find too many people in their backyards.  My parents have a west facing flat backyard backing onto a park in the Oakland's area and it has been used maybe like twice a year on average for the last 22-23 years.  

 

For the most part my house is long term financial planning more than anything else. 

 

- I was able to do my own general contracting saving 15-20% and building equity right of the bat.  This is not something I can do with a condo.

- No strata fees (huge on larger condos).

- Rental suite that has the potential to generate over $15,000 in income per year.

- Will see much better appreciation than similarly priced condo over 20 years.

- etc.

 

You take all of that away and I am living in a condo for sure.