50 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Title says it all. How long did you/have you lived/live in a purchased condo or townhome, and why (if you have) did you move out? Did you move to a house or a much larger living space than what you had before?

 

This issue was raised in a recent thread where the decision to buy or rent came up. One of the points was buying over renting made sense if you intended to reside in a condo or townhome for an extended period, although for many people what they plan doesn't necessarily pan out.

[VicHockeyFan]

14 years.  Just got a little bored of it.  Sold it.  Decided to rent for a while.

[Nparker]

Combined with my previous townhouse purchase, I have actually owned 2 units in the same multi-family dwelling development for over 15 years; quite happily I might add. I have no desire to own an SFD, even if it were given to me free of charge.

[lanforod]

I moved from an owned condo in New West, to a Victoria suite rental before buying my current single family house. Why? Cheaper houses here (compared to greater Vancouver), and a growing family. If I couldn't afford a house, I would have gotten a townhouse or large condo likely. I love having space and privacy, and don't intend to go back to a condo or townhouse until I'm retired.

[Szeven]

A SFH was the first purchase I made. Rented condos before that for ~6 years. What I didnt realized until I purchased the house, was that living in a SFH split up/down is essentially just living in a poorly sound proofed less convenient condo.  I sold quite quickly and took a loss on it. Rented for a few more years, then purchased a house with no suite.

[Matt R.]

We've had our townhouse in Parkside Place for about 6 years. Good size for a family of four, cheap, ultra low interest makes it cheaper than renting something comparable. With our move to salt spring we are actually renting two of the three rooms and it more than covers the mortgage.

We won't be selling anytime soon, interest rates are just too low.

We moved for work and will eventually buy a piece of land over here, but will do our best to keep the townhouse in Victoria.

Matt.

[sebberry]

Been living at the old folk's home for a little over 13 years. My dream home is a fairly modest 2 story SFH.  One day...

[VicHockeyFan]

Been living at the old folk's home for a little over 13 years. My dream home is a fairly modest 2 story SFH.  One day...

 

Most people never move out of "the old folks home", except horizontal.

[Mike K.]

Combined with my previous townhouse purchase, I have actually owned 2 units in the same multi-family dwelling development for over 15 years; quite happily I might add. I have no desire to own an SFD, even if it were given to me free of charge.

Why did you move between units, if you wouldn't mind elaborating?

[jklymak]

We have been in our unit 7 years this Mar.  We are looking to move in the next couple of years because we are in a 2 bedroom, and there are now four of us.  Otherwise, we'd stay here a lot longer - our place is great.  We may even try to make it work for four, but the kids'll have to get along in one room.

[sebberry]

We have been in our unit 7 years this Mar.  We are looking to move in the next couple of years because we are in a 2 bedroom, and there are now four of us.  

 

Do you have any bylaws that regulate the number of people who may reside in a 2br unit? 

[Nparker]

Why did you move between units, if you wouldn't mind elaborating?

No where; I moved directly from the townhouse to the condo. I moved due to a change in relationship status; otherwise I would likely still be living in the townhouse (although admittedly I don't really need that much space as a single person).

Edited by Nparker, 19 December 2013 - 01:08 PM.

[Danma]

We have a 3 bedroom townhouse in Langford. Quite nice and decent size.

 

Prices were less than houses in the same area with the same features, and the strata fees balance out lower heating bills and no outside maintenance for me to do (goodbye lawn mower!). 

 

jklymak: we have both kids in a single room still, with our third bedroom being used for toy storage and guests. Give it a try, but you might find it constricting...

[Baro]

Never lived in either and barring a major price "correction" never will be able to afford either.  Would love to see more townhouses though, or proper free-hold row houses.  Just take a residential block,  set the setbacks to 0, and cut all the lots in half.

[KAS]

5 years, so far.  Just renegotiated the mortgage on a 2 bed/2 bath condo in Vic West.  When we were shopping, any houses we could afford were either in the Western Communities or in town and would require more work than we were prepared to do to make them liveable.  There's nothing wrong with the Western Communities - I just had no interest in the commute.  Where we are now is a 20 minute walk to work, which is just fine.  We have no real plans to move - we like the area, the neighbours, and the view.  

 

We do, occasionally, discuss moving so we could have a little more space, and maybe a garage, but my interest in yard work wanes easily.    

[VicHockeyFan]

Never lived in either and barring a major price "correction" never will be able to afford either.  

 

You have set your lifelong financial prospects so low?  Are you a monk that has taken a vow of poverty?

[VicHockeyFan]

 

We do, occasionally, discuss moving so we could have a little more space, and maybe a garage, but my interest in yard work wanes easily.    

 

Ha ha, for sure!

[KAS]

You have set your lifelong financial prospects so low?  Are you a monk that has taken a vow of poverty?

 

Myself, I hadn't thought that we would ever be able to afford a reasonable down payment on property and maintain our lifestyle, and had decided that continued renting was the cost of living in Victoria - even with two incomes.  But, we came into some money and investing in property seemed the thing we should do.  It was enough that we could get a space we actually liked (without the renos) and the mortgage payments are comparable with rent for a similar-sized apartment.  But, without the inheritance?  Probably still renting.  Sure, we could have saved up the money, but we had both spent many years in university living off of KD or beans, and both were pretty tired of that.

[jklymak]

 

jklymak: we have both kids in a single room still, with our third bedroom being used for toy storage and guests. Give it a try, but you might find it constricting...

 

Yes, with a third bedroom, we might do that too.  But all we have is an 8x8 "den".  Plus, they are a boy and a girl, and eventually they will need their own spaces.

 

That said, we are a 5 minute stroll to just about anything we are interested in going to, so what we sacrifice in space, we make up for in location.  We could pretty easily afford a bigger place, even in the core, but there are almost no three bedroom units right downtown.  We would kind of be in a townhouse after this, but then we'd lose our (partially obstructed!) view.

 

Do you have any bylaws that regulate the number of people who may reside in a 2br unit? 

 

No.  Even if we did, I think a strata corporation would have a heck of a time trying to enforce such a bylaw on a growing family. 

[D.L.]

This is an interesting issue. Lately I've been thinking about buying my first condo and realised it means making a commitment to living in a place for a certain length of time. Five years would be okay