Townhouse/Condo living?

[nzwasp]

I don't expect many answers to this but do any beyonders live with their family (not just husband and wife) inside a strata? How do you find it.

With the economy we are thinking of downsizing to a townhouse (not in calgary prob) with our 2 young kids.

We currently live in a 2000 square foot house.

[Manhattan]

Downsizing is the opposite of what you should be doing in a downturn. Assuming you own your house this is the worst time to sell. Upsize during a downturn and downsize during a boom.

[nzwasp]

I would agree with you unless you dont have a job/s. I for one would prefer to not have 550k of mortgage debt. If I can downsize to a condo and have a less than 275k mortgage my life would be much less stressful.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Depends on your tolerances. I have a 1000sqft townhouse with my fiancee, and we're upsizing (partially due to more space for future kids, partially because I want a goddamn garage). It's enough space for us, but it wouldn't be with 2 kids.

[speedog]

Exactly why do people need all this space with two kids? Our first home was 690 square feet and we only move because we were planning on having a third child. Even our current bungalow at under 1400 square feet has been more than adequate for us as a family of five for the past 20 years.

[Manhattan]

Originally posted by nzwasp
I would agree with you unless you dont have a job/s. I for one would prefer to not have 550k of mortgage debt. If I can downsize to a condo and have a less than 275k mortgage my life would be much less stressful.

Ouch sorry to hear that. If anything I'd still recommend holding on to the home you already have rather than downsizing in this market. There will be substantial costs to downsizing (realtor fees, moving costs, etc.) not to mention you'll be selling at a loss. Plus there is the risk you won't like townhouse/condo living. Try to ride it out and hopefully things will turn around sooner rather than later.

[pheoxs]

I bought my house because at that point in my life the intention of settling down n starting a family was very close, that plan went out the window and being a single person its way too much space (1400+700basement). Part of me really wants to downsize but between realtor fees and mortgage penalties I question if its even worth it or better to just wait it out.

[nzwasp]

Luckily for me my mortgage comes up in about a year so the penalty wouldn't be that high. Mainly I just don't want to maintain a mortgage that costs me $2.6k per month, maybe we bought more house than we needed, when we bought our house 4 years ago the bank told us we could of gotten a 1 million dollar house instead of (600k) so Im glad we didnt take that option. Looking at other comparables in our area I think we could sell for the same that we bought which was around 625k. Im super glad that I bought on a corner, with a larger backyard, and have a view though.

[max_boost]

Go the townhouse route. You will still have enough space and should be a sufficient compromise. A high rise condo just doesn't quite work IMO if you have a growing family.

Good call on getting out and living a more comfortable life. :thumbsup:

[jwslam]

Originally posted by nzwasp
Mainly I just don't want to maintain a mortgage that costs me $2.6k per month, maybe we bought more house than we needed, when we bought our house 4 years ago the bank told us we could of gotten a 1 million dollar house instead of (600k)
If you're paying $2.6k per month on a $600k house, maybe you could refinance for a longer term and make smaller payments until you both get some income again? :dunno:

[A790]

My townhouse in McKenzie Lake is 1,350 sq ft. Two master bedrooms up, developed basement. 1.5 bath.

Families on both sides seemed to do fine. Lots of noise, though. Drove us insane, hence why we moved.

I'd look for a half duplex. You can find them in Auburn Bay/McKenzie Towne/Prestwick/etc. for the low-mid 300's, and you only share one wall. The sound deadening is also usually better, and you get a yard.

Also, no condo fees.

https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/Map.aspx#CultureId=1&ApplicationId=1&RecordsPerPage=9&MaximumResults=9&PropertySearchTypeId=1&PriceMax=350000&TransactionTypeId=2&StoreyRange=0-0&BuildingTypeId=2&BedRange=0-0&BathRange=0-0&LongitudeMin=-114.00363564491262&LongitudeMax=-113.86776566505422&LatitudeMin=50.88910919001833&LatitudeMax=50.93510885632148&SortOrder=A&SortBy=1&viewState=m&Longitude=-113.982810974121&Latitude=50.9304161071777&CurrentPage=1

[Perfect Dark]

I have lived in a 4 plex with my 2 daughters (half the time, the other half they are with their mother) for just over two years now. It's 1200 sq ft with 2 bedrooms and a den that I converted into a playroom for them. It's tight but only recently has space really been an issue so I'll be moving into something bigger sometime this year.

Younger kids don't really need the extra room like older kids, and since mine share a room I knew it was only a matter of time before that would have to change. Winter is also a pain as when it's bitterly cold out the girls are cooped up but in the summer they are pretty much free range haha.

[littledan]

i currently live in ~950 sqft high rise condo with my wife. 2 br / 2br with heated parkade stall and 2 balconies...

We find that it is not enough room even for just the 2 of us. It sounds fine in theory, however, with our layout there is almost no storage. hockey, golf, motorcycle, kickboxing gear etc gets crammed into every closet and wardrobe we have. plus you have no ability to have a toolbox in the garage etc.

when you factor in things like condo fees, random special assessments, the annoyance of shitty neighbours, the restaurant in the podium pumping fried fish smells throughout the whole building etc... its not really worth it to live in a condo IMO

[JamMan23]

You can find townhomes without condos fees that have a backyard as well. Usually builders will call them "street towns" or "fee simple".

Homes by Avi builds them in Cochrane, Legacy, and Mahogany. I think Jayman does them in Legacy and Cochrane. Also I know Trico does them in Legacy. I think Shane does them in Nolan Hill too, they are all over nowadays.

[88CRX]

Originally posted by A790
I'd look for a half duplex. You can find them in Auburn Bay/McKenzie Towne/Prestwick/etc. for the low-mid 300's, and you only share one wall. The sound deadening is also usually better, and you get a yard.


The construction of the common wall in townhomes and duplex's is exactly the same and its done to code minimums 100% of the time in the cookie cutter product.

With that said Duplex > townhouse because no condo fees.

[nzwasp]

Originally posted by A790
My townhouse in McKenzie Lake is 1,350 sq ft. Two master bedrooms up, developed basement. 1.5 bath.

Families on both sides seemed to do fine. Lots of noise, though. Drove us insane, hence why we moved.

I'd look for a half duplex. You can find them in Auburn Bay/McKenzie Towne/Prestwick/etc. for the low-mid 300's, and you only share one wall. The sound deadening is also usually better, and you get a yard.

Also, no condo fees.

https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/Map.aspx#CultureId=1&ApplicationId=1&RecordsPerPage=9&MaximumResults=9&PropertySearchTypeId=1&PriceMax=350000&TransactionTypeId=2&StoreyRange=0-0&BuildingTypeId=2&BedRange=0-0&BathRange=0-0&LongitudeMin=-114.00363564491262&LongitudeMax=-113.86776566505422&LatitudeMin=50.88910919001833&LatitudeMax=50.93510885632148&SortOrder=A&SortBy=1&viewState=m&Longitude=-113.982810974121&Latitude=50.9304161071777&CurrentPage=1

Yeah my wife and I would only want the end unit where ever we end up. Seems like the newer units out there use better insulation on the party walls which I guess is the wall shared with the other unit.

We are looking in Greater Vancouver by the way. If we managed to keep her job (Eng with good salary) then we would just stay in Calgary.

[suntan]

Huh. I was thinking the same thing. It would wipe out my mortgage though.

[ee2k]

Originally posted by nzwasp
We are looking in Greater Vancouver by the way. If we managed to keep her job (Eng with good salary) then we would just stay in Calgary.

Then you're downsizing big time :poosie:

[max_boost]

Originally posted by littledan
i currently live in ~950 sqft high rise condo with my wife. 2 br / 2br with heated parkade stall and 2 balconies...

We find that it is not enough room even for just the 2 of us. It sounds fine in theory, however, with our layout there is almost no storage. hockey, golf, motorcycle, kickboxing gear etc gets crammed into every closet and wardrobe we have. plus you have no ability to have a toolbox in the garage etc.

when you factor in things like condo fees, random special assessments, the annoyance of shitty neighbours, the restaurant in the podium pumping fried fish smells throughout the whole building etc... its not really worth it to live in a condo IMO

I have to rent an extra parking stall and storage locker = 325/month +550 condo fees. Yea that adds up :nut: but happy wife happy life right. lol

[Swank]

I'd say a 3 bedroom townhouse with a basement would hit the spot. You might not have a garage though in case that's important. And if you're not a quadrantist you can likely get a decent 2000 sq ft house in the NE and cut your mortgage down considerably without giving up the house lifestyle.

[nzwasp]

Originally posted by Swank
I'd say a 3 bedroom townhouse with a basement would hit the spot. You might not have a garage though in case that's important. And if you're not a quadrantist you can likely get a decent 2000 sq ft house in the NE and cut your mortgage down considerably without giving up the house lifestyle.

All the ones we have been looking at were 3 or 4 bedroom with a flex room in the basement and a double garage at the basement level as well.

[muse017]

Currently staying in 1750 sqft townhouse with 3 bedrooms + developed basement.
After a year and half, my only concern is vibration from stairs on each unit. It is definitely noticeable when someone climbing up/down with heavy footsteps. As for the noises, I couldn't even hear next door's fire alarm when it kicked off. My neighbour sometimes hosts big family gathering and let us know ahead of time even then All I can feel/hear is just vibration from the stairs.

[nj2Type-S]

my wife and I lived in a duplex for 7 1/2 years. 1350sq/ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, single attached garage. it was plenty of space for the 2 of us. it is currently our rental property, and we've had tenants in there with 2 parents and 3 kids. it seems to be enough for them.

would I live in a duplex ever again? hell no. the noise of running footsteps and door slamming drove me insane! aside from the occasional noise, though, I didn't mind it, I guess. relatively low mortgage payments, utility costs, maintenance requirements. I just don't think I can ever go through that again lol.

it drove us to the point where we decided to just buy a single home (as well as future planning for kids). although with this downturn in the economy, I really wish we had stayed in that duplex..haha!

[A790]

Originally posted by nj2Type-S
would I live in a duplex ever again? hell no. the noise of running footsteps and door slamming drove me insane! aside from the occasional noise, though, I didn't mind it, I guess. relatively low mortgage payments, utility costs, maintenance requirements. I just don't think I can ever go through that again lol.
... mixed messages? ;)

[nj2Type-S]

sorry....that was confusing LOL!

let's put it this way, if i had known that the economy was going to tank, i would've toughed it out living in the duplex haha!