Condo or house: what’s right for you?

Making the decision to buy a home is just the first of many choices first time home buyers face. Assessing your lifestyle is the next step and that leads to one big question in particular: house or condo.

“There are benefits and pitfalls to both houses and condos – especially for first time home buyers’ budgets,” says Chris Wisniewski, Associate Vice President, Real Estate Secured Lending, TD Canada Trust.

Wisniewski recommends buyers weigh the pros and cons of houses and condos before making their choice. Some pros and cons include:

Houses

Pros:

• You don’t have to pay fees for amenities and services you don’t use.

• You can renovate more freely to personalize your home.

Cons:

• You have to maintain your home and property.

• Your expenses are not always predictable.

• Affordability often equals to a longer commute

Condos

Pros:

• Your building may feature some additional security features that you may appreciate such as a doorman or cameras and convenient amenities like a gym, a party room or a pool.

• Your monthly expenses are relatively predictable and usually cover your maintenance – from shovelling the driveway to mowing the lawn.

• Usually located in an urban environment meaning less of a commute.

Cons:

• In addition to your condo fees, you may face additional payments for expenses your condo corporation deems necessary such as roof repairs.

• You’re often living in much closer proximity to neighbours which can equate to more noise.

Making the decision to buy a home is just the first of many choices first time home buyers face. Assessing your lifestyle is the next step and that leads to one big question in particular: house or condo.

“There are benefits and pitfalls to both houses and condos – especially for first time home buyers’ budgets,” says Chris Wisniewski, Associate Vice President, Real Estate Secured Lending, TD Canada Trust.

Wisniewski recommends buyers weigh the pros and cons of houses and condos before making their choice. Some pros and cons include:

Houses

Pros:

• You don’t have to pay fees for amenities and services you don’t use.

• You can renovate more freely to personalize your home.

Cons:

• You have to maintain your home and property.

• Your expenses are not always predictable.

• Affordability often equals to a longer commute

Condos

Pros:

• Your building may feature some additional security features that you may appreciate such as a doorman or cameras and convenient amenities like a gym, a party room or a pool.

• Your monthly expenses are relatively predictable and usually cover your maintenance – from shovelling the driveway to mowing the lawn.

• Usually located in an urban environment meaning less of a commute.

Cons:

• In addition to your condo fees, you may face additional payments for expenses your condo corporation deems necessary such as roof repairs.

• You’re often living in much closer proximity to neighbours which can equate to more noise.

This looks at changes in social housing during the 1970’s in Toronto, with a little tour of some of Toronto’s better developments built at that time. (until 2000’s) It shows how the city developed a better way to house it’s people, by letting the residents have some input into the design and structure of these neighbourhoods. Some of the complexes in this video are 25 Elm Street, 111 Chestnut Street, 55 The Esplanade, 1 Church Street, 15 Scadding Ave, 21 & 35 Princess Street, 248 Simcoe Street, 176 The Esplanade, Crombie Park and Bathurst Quay apartment/town-homes. This video uses ROYALTY FREE MUSIC I got free of charge from www.Music4YourVids.co.uk The music is by Craig Bridwood (craigsons on Youtube) copyright=Craig Bridwood www.torontovibe.ning.com
Video Rating: 5 / 5

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