Enough of COVID...what are you doing to the house?

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GreyGhost said:
When we were looking for more space, adding 200k in the same neighbourhood got us one more bedroom and one for garage. It was not good value for money imo. Moving north made a big difference. Obviously we are lucky and don't need to be in gta daily, that would be hell from up here.
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My friends also recommended Alliston for us as there's way more options up there compared to here...

But while we love them, we hate going up there as it's 1-1.5hrs for a visit. Plus the fact I'm so close to my parents now (10km) I wouldn't want to be far away from them in their older years as they're early 70s already.

Fun fact...my drive to work would be 10km closer from Alliston to Scarborough than Mississauga to Scarborough.
 
mimico_polak said:
This is the scary part about us looking for a newer place...besides the double mortgage, there's a considerable amount of work required.

We're still on the fence, and absolutely love the house...but this place is missing maybe 1 bedroom (girls are sharing a room currently) and not sure it's worth the jump to the much larger (1.5x) house, much larger mortgage (2x) and the upkeep / maintenance that comes with it.

We can afford the mortgage no problem, but...the maintenance, upkeep (pool!), and upgrades to normal standard (bathrooms are 1980-1990s and kitchen cabinets all need to be ripped up and replaced) is very daunting and keeping me up at night.

Maybe I should just build a garden suite for the MIL in the backyard instead. Will be much cheaper.

According to City of Mississauga budgetary calcs....320k for a 1 bedroom garden suite:

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We could have moved up a couple of notches in the same area for a couple of hundred thousand. Financing would be OK but our place has years of insulation and hidden upgrades. At my age I couldn't see the new place a DIY project and it would need a $300K in upgrades to match the existing. Then there would be additional taxes etc. Then there are fittings like window coverings, more furniture etc.

Are you up to another insulation job if the new place is solid masonry construction?

My daughter bought her place from a family that raised five kids in a three bedroom, one bath house. Think about it or move to India for a year and rethink it after.

The garden suite is OK if that's what M-I-L wants but doesn't sit well with me as family oriented. At $320K you could rent her an apartment for ten years.

Tough choices.
 
nobbie48 said:
We could have moved up a couple of notches in the same area for a couple of hundred thousand. Financing would be OK but our place has years of insulation and hidden upgrades. At my age I couldn't see the new place a DIY project and it would need a $300K in upgrades to match the existing. Then there would be additional taxes etc. Then there are fittings like window coverings, more furniture etc.

Are you up to another insulation job if the new place is solid masonry construction?

My daughter bought her place from a family that raised five kids in a three bedroom, one bath house. Think about it or move to India for a year and rethink it after.

The garden suite is OK if that's what M-I-L wants but doesn't sit well with me as family oriented. At $320K you could rent her an apartment for ten years.

Tough choices.
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These are 100% tough choices, and we can def make the current house work. I'd rather build up, or sideways on my house but at 400-500k quotes we were getting I'm better off just buying a bigger house.

Current house is about 1600sqft. Other house we're looking at is 2200-2500sqft with a full basement, oodles of space, pool, etc etc etc.

It also comes with higher property tax (4k more for 700m away from us), higher heating/cooling/maintenance, and a host of upgrades that are needed to make it more modern (not necessary but both bathrooms + kitchen in the next few years).

Lots of plusses, lots of minuses, and lots to think about.

Anyone got 400k they wanna spot me? Looking at you ballers!
 
mimico_polak said:
My friends also recommended Alliston for us as there's way more options up there compared to here...

But while we love them, we hate going up there as it's 1-1.5hrs for a visit. Plus the fact I'm so close to my parents now (10km) I wouldn't want to be far away from them in their older years as they're early 70s already.

Fun fact...my drive to work would be 10km closer from Alliston to Scarborough than Mississauga to Scarborough.
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I know AP place that has a garden suite for sale 40 k just needs placed and utilities hooked up brand new.

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Scuba Steve said:
I know AP place that has a garden suite for sale 40 k just needs placed and utilities hooked up brand new.

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Permits for these are many tens of thousands (and I won't be surprised if government collects six figures by the time you are done). DC's alone are $50k. Then you need to add building permits, zoning, garden suite permit, etc. I think there is HST on all that too.
 
Move away from the city , family / friends for an affordable house , then burn fifty K every five years on a commuter car .


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mimico_polak said:
Maybe I shouldn't be looking for a house at this point in time...

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The early 1990s train wreck was when I bought an industrial condo with a 12% mortgage. I paid about a third of what they were going for.

Six months later the developer auctioned off a bunch with some going for $19 a square foot. Original prices were $110 to $120 / SF

Industrial is different from residential in that if a company goes under they don't need space. However their unemployed workers still need a place to eat and sleep.

Crazy stuff happened. I met a guy that manufactured furniture and recessions are hard on them. He had sold his building and leased it back but as the recession deepened the buyer got into trouble and the building went into foreclosure.

Furniture buddy bought his old building back for a fraction of what he had sold it for earlier.

A marina owner I knew sold a brand new boat off his showroom floor for half price. He needed to make a bank payment or else.

Don't underestimate the power of a low ball.
 
My Arizona house was purchased for eighty Gs less than was owing to the bank. I offered one hundred under the ask , buyer accepted in two hours . Banks took a while to sort out who got burned , but I ended up with the house .
As @nobbie says , never underestimate the opportunity in a dropping market . Just make sure your parachute can get you to the ground .


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crankcall said:
My Arizona house was purchased for eighty Gs less than was owing to the bank. I offered one hundred under the ask , buyer accepted in two hours . Banks took a while to sort out who got burned , but I ended up with the house .
As @nobbie says , never underestimate the opportunity in a dropping market . Just make sure your parachute can get you to the ground .


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A friend sent a vehicle across the block at Barrett-Jackson this week. It was a good time for buyers.
 
@mimico_polak to move or not is always a tough choice IMO.

As for costs you highlighted the much higher ongoing expenses, the simple move itself will likely be a sunk 100K or close to it, land transfer tax on the buy, lawyer fees, moving costs, real estate fees on your sell, storage, etc.....

What can you do to your current house to make it better by lighting 100K on fire? Or, as noted, a nearby condo for the MIL taking advantage of the market conditions and that 100K as a down payment... In her name, no capital gains when it comes time to sell it...
 
crankcall said:
My Arizona house was purchased for eighty Gs less than was owing to the bank. I offered one hundred under the ask , buyer accepted in two hours . Banks took a while to sort out who got burned , but I ended up with the house .
As @nobbie says , never underestimate the opportunity in a dropping market . Just make sure your parachute can get you to the ground .


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
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Unfortunately the house we are VERY interested in is from friends...so low balling them just feels very very wrong.

I spoke with my wife last night 'would you buy this house for 1.6 if it was from anyone else?'

The answer was a resounding 'NO'

backmarkerducati said:
@mimico_polak to move or not is always a tough choice IMO.

As for costs you highlighted the much higher ongoing expenses, the simple move itself will likely be a sunk 100K or close to it, land transfer tax on the buy, lawyer fees, moving costs, real estate fees on your sell, storage, etc.....

What can you do to your current house to make it better by lighting 100K on fire? Or, as noted, a nearby condo for the MIL taking advantage of the market conditions and that 100K as a down payment... In her name, no capital gains when it comes time to sell it...
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It is expensive, and the MIL is around the house and with us until she isn't (unhealthy, heart issues) and her bedroom is literally all that we're missing.

I can do my own pool if that's what we want, but I can't magically add another 500-1000sqft without a 500k injection of cash and a 6-12 month move out. I wish I could, but it's just not in the cards.
 
mimico_polak said:
It is expensive, and the MIL is around the house and with us until she isn't (unhealthy, heart issues) and her bedroom is literally all that we're missing.

I can do my own pool if that's what we want, but I can't magically add another 500-1000sqft without a 500k injection of cash and a 6-12 month move out. I wish I could, but it's just not in the cards.
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I assume the basement is fully finished and fully utilized?
 
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