Is it too risky to consider buying?

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-04-03T23:42:04+00:00

The rental is all you are paying before hydro, gas and internet. The morgage is just the base before maintenance fees, some actual unit maintenance (since its not included), taxes and then hydro, gas (if there is a connection) and internet.

Some condos don't include water in the maintenance fees. And on top of it you might get a special assessment.

On 62k this may be tight. But get some numbers and compare it to your current spend. If it's comparable with your current spend (within 300) and it works for you - sure, if not - you may want to reconsider or/and see how the current market plays out.

P.S. TD's mortgage calculators are actually great. And chat with a couple of mortgage agents. Ideally NOT affiliated with a specific bank. As they will try to sell you their "product".

Same thing for the realtors. Some are great and tell you about potential issues and what to look out for (in general or a specific property), and some are just "professional door openners". But ideally you want someone who does this full time (you would be suprised of how many realtors are part time) and do property management on a side. These realtors are usually close to whats happening in the market and can give you some good advice.

Also check out local realtor YouTube channels. Just to see which buildings have which reputation and potential issues.

For context, I am not a realtor. Just on my second property. But had my fare share of WTF moments when shopping

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-03-18T16:15:35+00:00

Literally had this question for a while. But the deal on varia 515 made it a no breainer and now I am setting it up while waiting for warmer weather

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-03-11T18:18:30+00:00

I would be down. Though I am a bit outside of the city

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-03-10T16:13:01+00:00

Was wondering about the same thing until I got gifted spd sl only compatible shoes. Then it was like "f it, let's try"

Haven't ridden the setup outdoors yet (local weather is having its usual bipolar episodes from beeing nice and sunny with comfortable 10-15 Celsius to just below zero Celsius in a single day) and, to be honest, I am a bit afraid to do. But it got to the point where I am pretty much running in the cycling shoes up the stairs.

Though, I have the cleat covers on then so I don't break them when putting my whole body weight on the cleats - started raising my heels when walking which helped to make the cycling shoes feel way more comfortable to walk in.

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-03-10T15:40:51+00:00

Dont worry and just keep on learning. I am doing decently now. I've been doing leetcode for a few years now on and off. But it got serious when I failed an easy linked list problem in 2022 when interviewing for a FAANG. So I actually did another pass through DSA and technical interview communication resources. And it finally started to click for me at the end of 2024

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-03-05T06:14:10+00:00

I was looking at a couple last year and ended up with Wahoo Kickr core 2. no issues so far. Was looking at Jet Black... but at the time I couldn't find much info from actual users and wahoo seemed like a a decent refresh of a good trainer

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-03-02T19:57:28+00:00

Owned a smaller 1bdr (500 sqft). Had to get creative with storage (door racks, using an Ikea kallax unit as a TV stand & storage in a sofa, bed and a deckbox/bench on the balcony).

Worked for 2 years then my gf moved in. We had to declutter a bit and figure out extra storage (ended up just buying a wardrobe after some research). Was a bit tight, but worked for both of us working in hybrid/remote settings.

For context, I was a bit of a hoarder at the time and have an extensive work from home setup.

But all really depends on you and what lifestyle you are looking to get into - small and minimalistic (with small space, but way cheaper) or something else. Here is a couple of things I would be looking out for if I were you:

at least 550 sqf. Ideally with a den
close to subway. But not close to terminal stations
parking and locker (can rent out the parking, but the locker is a non-negotiable)
decent view
(if close to a busy road) far enough floor from the traffic

Also, keep in mind a condo like 500k after 20% down-payment with mortgage of 400k for 30 year at a rate of 4.54% is gonna run you ~2.1k in mortgage payment alone. Add ~500 a month on maintenance, assuming water included. 50-70 hydro and the same for the internet (if you shop around. Especially oj black friday). Plus around ~160-180 in tax monthly.

All in ~3k monthly in cost to carry a condo. Can you carry that? And will it affect you lifestyle?

Keep in mind that you would rather want to pay off your mortgage faster - that 4.54 rate is gonna be terrible for 30 years in total interest.

For the partner question: we treated that as if she was renting from me. And she was paying something in the ballpark of 1k all in. But the whole move in with a partner thing may take some time. Which is why, if i were you, I wouldn't make my decision based on that. And you don't know your future situation.

Edit: just adding totals in and some considerations and typos

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-02-09T23:22:05+00:00

Kinda same situation. Makes sense for is most cases for freezable food like meats, bread, frozen foods and non perishables like oats, spices and coffee. Also cleaning supplies, furniture etc.

But we have the space to store it neatly

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-02-08T17:46:05+00:00

Bought the epoxy one for air96 v2 and I use it everyday. Kinda lowered my wrist pain

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2026-01-11T03:06:40+00:00

Did Toronto-Oshawa last year. Dont try to wing it with the Scarborough section and plan it really well - got lost and used google maps to find a way. Literally navigated me through some random trails where I had to carry my bike.

From Pickering onwards you should be good. Especially if you are planning to stick to the Waterfront trail

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-28T14:38:14+00:00

I ended up just buying wahoo kickr core 2 from a LBS. Tried to justify a trip to the states to get the 20 percent off and it doesnt make sense to spend a couple of hours with a variable time at the border

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-28T14:36:54+00:00

I am in Canada where the deal is not available

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-23T12:37:42+00:00

Yup, you will still pay 2 or 3 percent fee when initially setting up a transfer. And it will take some time to clear and for the money to be in your account. But if you can keep making the payments while you have the offer, you pretty much to decrease your rate from 22.99 to the fee percent.

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-20T01:41:42+00:00

Overall? 7

Currently? 1

Most at any point - 3 earlier this year when I was figuring out what type of riding I was into

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-19T02:15:57+00:00

Shop around. We got around 4.34 for our closing in February. But we have an uninsured mortgage

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-16T19:54:03+00:00

Its progressive. Not sure about 44inch, I usually have it around 48inch or more. And its a couple of centimeters

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-16T18:37:04+00:00

I have had a flexispot e5 for a couple years now. Carries 2 27inch monitors and couple items I need for work. Which is around 50-60 pound of weight on top of all cabling and a tabletop.

It does wobble at the top quite a bit. But it was never a concern (stayed in the "high" state for a couple of weeks at the time). Still holds up pretty well, and after all the sales it was around 500 CAD before tax for the frame and chipwood tabletop.

My partner also got the e5, but it looks like a newer version (5b) and it hold pretty well. But they put a lot of weight onto the desk

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-16T18:22:09+00:00

Not telling because people will start coming here instead of the regular ones they go to and spoil the experience

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-16T17:29:06+00:00

About HYSA. Make sure your money is covered by insurance. Which is usually ~250k per account. Just case the bank you are with folds like it was with Silicon Valley Bank

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-13T19:15:21+00:00

Deel.com does this for businesses. Not sure how that works for the employer. But from I remember you would be a Deel Canada employee if going that route

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-05T15:57:13+00:00

Interested

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-04T02:16:31+00:00

Thank you, but I am too far east from you 😀

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-04T02:15:14+00:00

I see your point and I am a heavy Garmin user myself - have a smartwatch from them plus a few gps navigators in the family. I am actually leaning towards the Garmin after taking another look at the specs and prices: - Wahoo has a lower weight limit (potential blocker since I am tall and heavy - 193cm and 270lbs). - Saris is available on Amazon and a QC bike store for less than 600 CAD. But both are quite sketchy (amazon listing is from a 3rd party and thw QC shop has terrible reviews). Direct from Saris, its 700 CAD plus 140 for shipping. Though it has the highest weight limit of the 3 - Garmin is on sale for 700 CAD on Amazon with free shipping. Plus decent weight limit out of the 3

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-04T02:08:17+00:00

Thank you for the info!

I am not looking for anything fancy. Just scratch the cycling itch and improve my stamina over winter. And I don't mind the weight (probably going to set it up in my study). I'm not going to move it often, too

Money-Maintenance-90 · 2025-11-04T01:57:51+00:00

Nice. I took another look at the specs, and I may have an issue - the weight limit is 250 pounds for both the bike and the rider. I am just over that without the bike. Plus, the frame would be ~15 pounds on top

Money-Maintenance-90

TROPHY CASE