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Owning versus renting

ChazYEG

ChazYEG

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IanO said:
A very good thing given the amount of dated rental units in the area. The time is nigh for buildings from the 60s-80s to renovate and reinvest in themselves.
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Don't disagree, but I'm frustrated we're not getting enough condos In areas I'd like to buy... I hate wasting money on rent...
My wife works at the U of A, so this would've been perfect, hahaha.

But it is great fot the city, nonetheless, and I am just as positively surprised as everyone here.
 
'I hate wasting money on rent'

Always an interesting discussion on building equity versus net costs over a period of time.
 
If you want to build equity I'd suggest buying a single-family home, duplex or something, and renting that out while you yourself rent an apartment in the desired community you want to live.

I'm sure this has its own headaches it comes with but in my short experience of owning a condo, I believe it gives even more headaches. I will never buy a condo again, too many issues that are simply out of your control. Whether big or small, the fact that you have limited control, or that you aren't even the reason for the issue, really sucks. Just my opinion.
 
crisp said:
If you want to build equity I'd suggest buying a single-family home, duplex or something, and renting that out while you yourself rent an apartment in the desired community you want to live.

I'm sure this has its own headaches it comes with but in my short experience of owning a condo, I believe it gives even more headaches. I will never buy a condo again, too many issues that are simply out of your control. Whether big or small, the fact that you have limited control, or that you aren't even the reason for the issue, really sucks. Just my opinion.
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I agree, I despise paying condo fees and having control of the building managed by a group of individuals that make their own decisions. I happily take care of my own maintenance at the duplex I purchased (in itself a condo, technically, as there are two units on a single lot).
 
crisp said:
If you want to build equity I'd suggest buying a single-family home, duplex or something, and renting that out while you yourself rent an apartment in the desired community you want to live.

I'm sure this has its own headaches it comes with but in my short experience of owning a condo, I believe it gives even more headaches. I will never buy a condo again, too many issues that are simply out of your control. Whether big or small, the fact that you have limited control, or that you aren't even the reason for the issue, really sucks. Just my opinion.
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Avenuer said:
I agree, I despise paying condo fees and having control of the building managed by a group of individuals that make their own decisions. I happily take care of my own maintenance at the duplex I purchased (in itself a condo, technically, as there are two units on a single lot).
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I'll gladly forfeit control to have the maintenance taken care of. I can't stand the idea of having to take care of it myself.
My whole thing with owning a condo has a lot more to do with this convenience, over having to take care of maintenance AND having a tenant to deal with...
(I'd NEVER live in a house unless I was under coercion)
 
To each their own! I totally get that some would not want to do any maintenance while others, such as myself, don't mind fixing the odd thing here and there. I would just hate to hear the term 'special assessment' if I owned a condo and found out I was required to pay tens of thousands to reskin a building, replace windows, repair balconies, etc.
 
Do you have to live in a hotel room for a couple of weeks because a pipe burst in the unit above you when you own a house?

I am grateful it has not happened to me yet but in the 4 years in my condo, I've seen trades in the building cleaning up flooded floors a handful of times and it always scares me that my time will come. I have a friend that's still dealing with repairs in his unit months after a resident above him had a pipe burst. Also know a guy who had pipes burst in his unit and caused residents three floors down to have to deal with repairs. These are all different buildings, built in the past 5 years.

@IanO you also bring up a good point about dealing with upgrades 'after 25 years'. My purchase was brand new unbuilt, have already had a minor special assessment, and now dealing with another possible assessment that is being worked on to be put through an increase in condo fees instead.

As I said, headaches that I just feel would be less annoying when you have more control over.
 
Awaiting moderator thread split.

Sh!t happens and can happen to SFHs and multi-fam.

You give up some control, yes, but also headache of dealing with a lot of things as well.

Six of one...
 
Avenuer said:
To each their own! I totally get that some would not want to do any maintenance while others, such as myself, don't mind fixing the odd thing here and there. I would just hate to hear the term 'special assessment' if I owned a condo and found out I was required to pay tens of thousands to reskin a building, replace windows, repair balconies, etc.
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Also waiting for the split, but in the meantime...

Exactly! I loathe doing any sort of manual work, so I'll eat condo fees up and be happy that I have a little bit more freedom than I'd have in a rental, without the headache of a house.

It also has a lot to do with personal comfort zones. I was born and raised in condos, in very big and dense cities, so I am so used to it that fixing things myself is just not in my DNA, and I don't want it to be, because it means getting out of my comfort zone. In 30 years of condo living, I've never had any of these problems you guys mentioned, whereas I've heard some really bad feedback from SFH owners, so there's that, too...

As for building equity, I am building mine in other stuff, as I don't believe real estate, as an investment, is the best use of my money.
 
ChazYEG said:
I do like the idea... I'll create one later. My comment was much more about venting a little... I want nice condos where I'd like to live....
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Maybe we could move the above off-topic discussion to the sub-thread Edmonton Real Estate Market?

Was just waiting for @ChazYEG to create another more specific sub-thread. Then the applicable posts above could be moved there and that would better suit the topic than the aforementioned sub-thread, no?

It's a very good topic (condo fees or no fees, maintenance costs comparison, renting vs owning & the timing there-of) Many have considered the pros/cons and personally, I think it comes down to your needs and abilities. I've never had a condo partly because of the fees and I've always rented or owned and took care of maintenance myself. Each choice has its pros/cons. I honestly could convert to the condo lifestyle and think there would be many benefits, plus I'd love to live in the core again.

Now back to that Garneau Tower :) This one will be fun to watch!
 
IanO said:
Awaiting moderator thread split.

Sh!t happens and can happen to SFHs and multi-fam.

You give up some control, yes, but also headache of dealing with a lot of things as well.

Six of one...
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I'd rather be in control of the headache then have a board of inexperienced people deciding what they do for the whole complex.

So glad I got out of owing a townhouse. What a mess it was.
 
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