[hawc]

Let's say you're married with no intention of having kids. You want to buy the place you're going to live in for the next 20 years. You work downtown. You also want something that's a good investment. You're buying within the borders of Lawrence, DVP, Bathurst and the Gardiner.

Which would you buy a condo or a house?

If you're going to say 'depends' then explain the pros an cons and then which way you'd decide.

Curious what UrbanToronto would do.

 

[JayBee]

House...house....house

Here's why:

House Pros
A) Condo Maintenance fees on a $750K condo would be very high.
B) No Board, Neighbours or security to answer to
C) No noise issues
D) house provides more room
E) Can grow your own fruits and veggies in your backyard
F) No hassle of having to wait for elevators
G) Not having to worry about strangers in your house for seasonal suite entry
H) You can perform more extensive renovations (extension, pot lights, adding a window or door)
I) Possibility of extra income by way of basement apartment.
J) A lot more room.
K) More sense of a community.
L) Better for pets
M) House has better value. Condos eventually start to decrease when the fees get too high.
O) No need to pay for things you don't use (pool, gym, billiards room)
P) Don't have to clean cigarette butts that have been dropped on your balcony

Condo Pros
A) Typically no structural issues like you may find in a house (poor foundation, roof, rotting studs, etc)
B) Security
C) underground parking/autoshare
D) large windows
E) Nice views (higher floors)
F) convenient use of amenities
G) No maintenance

I live in a condo because I have to right now. The minute I can afford a house in the $700K range, I'm moving.

 

[700KingWest]

Definitely house.

This is us exactly right now (work downtown, married but won't be having kids) - except our borders are a bit different. We have been living in a downtown loft for the last five years. It's been great - but now we're house hunting. We love the downtown life. So the house will be something relatively small (row house or semi) and still downtown-ish. Plus it's just the two of us - so we're not looking for a ton of space (just more than what we have now).

Main pros of a house for us:
1) Real outdoor space
2) More room (would like a third bedroom for nephew/niece sleepovers - and more storage)
3) Basement for gym equipment and man cave

What I will miss about condo life:
1) Not having to shovel
2) Security
3) The gym (sometimes)
4) Garbage day is every day

What I will NOT miss about condo life:
1) Maintenance fees
2) The gym (sometimes)
3) Limited space in general
4) Man cave stuff in my living room

We rarely have to wait for the elevator (since it's an office building conversion, there are technically too many elevators for the number of units). Our unit is also dead quiet and we hear almost nothing from our neighbours. So some of the typical condo complaints don't apply to us right now.

 

[hawc]

Yeah the noise thing is the only thing I might not necessarily see as a plus moving from a condo to a house. In my condo if a neighbour is partying to loud or playing booming music I just call the concierge and there's a knock on their door 5 minutes later and it stops. In a house you've got to go talk to the neighbours yourself who might just tell you to screw off. Plus barking dogs in a neighbour's backyard are much harder to deal with then in a condo. But I agree with many of the other points. I do like the view of a condo though. There's something fun about being 40 floors up.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I've never lived in a tower (condo or apartment building), but I know I love my house in Cabbagetown.

 

[700KingWest]

Security is also a big difference for me since my husband and I like to travel (and both of us sometimes travel for business - although almost never at the same time). We'll definitely be getting a security system if/when we get the house...

 

[taal]

People always cite maintenance fees as the best benefit of a house ... but how true is that really ?

I'm afraid the comparison most make is something like $500 a month VS $0 a month for a house. When that's far from reality.

You pay quite a bit for a house, so the question is, how much less / more do you pay ?

 

[andrrea]

I think it depends on how much space you want - indoor and outdoor.

In terms of long-term investment though, I would go with a house.

 

[hawc]

People always cite maintenance fees as the best benefit of a house ... but how true is that really ?

I'm afraid the comparison most make is something like $500 a month VS $0 a month for a house. When that's far from reality.

You pay quite a bit for a house, so the question is, how much less / more do you pay ?

It's an interesting question. If you spend $500 per month in condo fees that's $6,000 per year. I guess the question is over a given 10 year period would you do $60,000 worth of maintanence to a house? A roof (if it needs replacing) is aproximately $25,000. A furnace could be $7,000. That's $32,000 with the two biggest things going. Would other maintanence (not renovations) total another $30,000 in 10 years on a house? Don't know. Home owners?

 

[js97]

There are definate costs to home ownership that do not get reflected in month to month costs, but come all at once...

Basement leaks can cost a min 10k.

Items to consider

Windows - 20-25 years
Decks - 15-20 years
Shingles -20years
Landscaping - (seeding, lawnmower mantenance, fertilizer etc) anually
Hvac (Furnace/AC) - every 20 years

Then there is cost of water, garbage disposal/sewer connection, home insurnace - all that is currently covered under condo fees

So there are costs - The only difference is that you're able to control it the short term costs.

Condos have the benefit of concierge receiving your packages if you do a lot of online shopping...


It really depends on the lifestyle you want.

You do need to have a little more 'reserve' if owning a house, for those capital projects that can come at once.

But it seems like very few stay at their homes for 15+ years anymore...

 

[hawc]

There are definate costs to home ownership that do not get reflected in month to month costs, but come all at once...

Windows - 20-25 years
Decks - 15-20 years

How much do windows and decks cost just out of curiosity?

 

[taal]

Not just that some people tend to leave out things like utilities and the like ...

If you're paying 500 for a condo of say 700 square feet. Your most definitely larger house will have higher electricity / water / gas charges too !

That'll surely add up to a couple hundred a month, moreover you have home insurance which tends to be more then condo insurance ...

So it's probably more like a 200 (if not more) vs 500 difference before you even talk about saving up for home repairs.

 

[js97]

How much do windows and decks cost just out of curiosity?

Doors installed will run you 1200-2000... more if you get a real fancy/custom door

Windows can vary alot depending on size and type of window (casement/hung) colour/inside finish.

I would budget 600 dollars per window (base) on average. I had my windows done in my old place i think 8 windows + 1 door came up to 4500. It was all basic white and double hung...

 

[JayBee]

There are definate costs to home ownership that do not get reflected in month to month costs, but come all at once...

Basement leaks can cost a min 10k.

Items to consider

Windows - 20-25 years
Decks - 15-20 years
Shingles -20years
Landscaping - (seeding, lawnmower mantenance, fertilizer etc) anually
Hvac (Furnace/AC) - every 20 years

Then there is cost of water, garbage disposal/sewer connection, home insurnace - all that is currently covered under condo fees

So there are costs - The only difference is that you're able to control it the short term costs.

Condos have the benefit of concierge receiving your packages if you do a lot of online shopping...


It really depends on the lifestyle you want.

You do need to have a little more 'reserve' if owning a house, for those capital projects that can come at once.

But it seems like very few stay at their homes for 15+ years anymore...

If you move into a house that has all of this done, you're fine. At $750K you should be able to find a house with new windows, doors, furnace, roof, etc.

 

[JayBee]

Not just that some people tend to leave out things like utilities and the like ...

If you're paying 500 for a condo of say 700 square feet. Your most definitely larger house will have higher electricity / water / gas charges too !

That'll surely add up to a couple hundred a month, moreover you have home insurance which tends to be more then condo insurance ...

So it's probably more like a 200 (if not more) vs 500 difference before you even talk about saving up for home repairs.

You have to compare apples to apples here. You can't compare a 700 sqft condo to a 2000 sqft house. The mainentance fees on a 1300 sqft condo are much higher than $500.