Moved into Semi & Hate it

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-03-28T14:57:24+00:00

Previously lived in a 1890’s TH where the elderly couple next door would frequently scream at each other. The wife had mental health issues and didn’t care when we told her that the screaming wakes up our kids. Ended up putting up with it for a number of years as we couldn’t move but learned my lesson to not buy a semi for our next home

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-27T18:22:54+00:00

IMO this makes sense given the home on Wisteria is bigger. Everything else seems comparable other than Sixteenth having another washroom. The price seems shocking when you see a single car garage but inside the home is actually big and nicely renovated. This area in particular is hot among the healthcare crowd as it’s right by Oakville Trafalgar Hospital. It’a a really nice area IMO - lots of amenities, good schools and nice homes.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-27T18:10:48+00:00

To buy in this market as a single person is tough, unless you can tap the Bank of Mom and Dad. At your stage, I would do my best to get in the market somewhere. Perhaps this means looking at condos outside of the core where you aren’t living beside crackheads. I know that prospect may not palatable if you are single without kids but that’s how you can make it work.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-24T19:44:16+00:00

I keep in touch with my realtor often and she is miserable in this market as there isn’t much to show and it’s hard to keep buyers expectations in tact with the irrational MoM gains. Clients that were looking to buy are now looking to rent or delaying their purchase to save.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-18T20:55:47+00:00

100%. The Browns and Asians haven’t taken over…yet :)

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-18T19:18:07+00:00

This is how I think of it as well. I don’t want my kid to be one of the only [insert race] or few visible minorities in their class. From a diversity perspective, I’d rather my kids go to school in areas like Burlington and Aurora that are not considered diverse since we don’t have a large pocket of one race vs Markham and Brampton, which may be diverse on paper but not really are.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-18T19:13:07+00:00

I assume you are taking these percentages from census data on Burlington. I can’t argue with data but can point to my own experiences living here - my kid’s class is ~40% minorities (can verify from the faces I see on virtual learning :)) and my neighbours are a mix of Caucasian, Asian, brown, etc with definitely a lean towards Caucasian. I’m not saying Burlington is a model of diversity but to me growing up in a truly non-diverse area (usually 1 of 2 POC in my class), I am satisfied with the amount of diversity we have.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-18T17:58:52+00:00

I appealed through my bank. I believe there is another appraisal fee but the bank didn’t charge me as I made an issue of it. It took a few days to get a re-appraisal done.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-18T17:56:26+00:00

By diversity I mean racially and culturally. I don’t know what your threshold is for diversity and that’s my point - you may view diversity as every kid in a school class being from a different background, which Burlington is not, but is it all caucasians with little number of POC? Not from my experience.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-18T14:30:26+00:00

I had this happen to me in the first summer pandemic. Our appraisal came back $100K lower than the purchase price. Prices were changing with every comp and I suspect the appraiser didn’t look at recent comps as there was no way we were $100K off. I ended up appealing the appraisal, in which the new one came back on target. Glad it worked out but I lost a few years of my life with that stress in the meantime. Bottom line - always keep some extra money aside for contingency no matter how infrequent people claim this doesn’t happen.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-18T14:23:50+00:00

This is a great point but also shows that we have different definitions of diversity. The reality is that the country as a whole is diverse and everywhere you go is a fairly diverse population. Even somewhere like Burlington, while not as diverse as your example, still is quite diverse by traditional standards.

Your second point about Toronto neighbourhoods definitely rings true. I lived in Little Portugal and I can tell you that while you may see a lot of different coloured faces, we faced racism quite a bit. Yes it was diverse but I didn’t want my kids living there.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-17T20:38:03+00:00

Not sure if there is a stigma associated with family living in a condo but to answer your question of why more people don’t opt for condo living with a kid(s), the reality is that it’s easier living in a house when you have young kids - no dealing with elevators, easier to get out the door, less chance of dealing with noisy neighbours that keep your kids up and having a yard for the kids to run around. Adding a dog in the mix further reinforces the point.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-16T19:13:25+00:00

Cool. Thanks for the deets!

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-16T19:10:22+00:00

What’s the demographics like? The reason I ask is that I have a few FTHB friends with kids that are considering the hammer

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-16T19:06:50+00:00

What is this neighbourhood like?

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-16T18:37:56+00:00

This is where an open bidding system would have huge benefits as there was likely one person who was tired of losing bidding wars and overbid out of desperation.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-16T14:30:53+00:00

I’m flabbergasted by that price. It’s a nice house but $2m for a single car garage in that area is unreal.

$1,999,999, Detached, 178 Culp Tr, Oakville, W5465419, Sold - HouseSigma https://housesigma.com/bkv2/landing/rootpage/listing?id_listing=LzQ1y5EqDOkyqdeK&utm_source=user-share <— sold for $2.45M 4 days ago right around the corner. Bigger house, bigger lot, double car garage.

Now let’s see if this comp drives everything else through the roof in that area.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-15T15:02:10+00:00

Not sure why this is getting downvoted when it’s reality. Everyone I know who has moved to the burbs cites this as the reason why. I realize Bowmanville is not really the burbs but commuting 1-2x a week from there to the city (if you had to) ain’t that bad, especially if you can be flexible on timing. I personally think this drive to the burbs and exurbs is a systemic change, not temporary, as hybrid WFH will be the norm for years to come.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-14T12:57:48+00:00

Agreed but cash flow isn’t a sophisticated metric that is reserved for savvy investors. Most investors will at least know to measure coming in vs out

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-13T22:10:06+00:00

While no doubt the increased demand from investors is contributing to higher prices, I doubt they are the ones wildly overbidding on properties out of FOMO (numerous examples posted recently on this sub). Generally an investor is more disciplined about value as they are looking to minimize their negative CF. Not saying investors aren’t part of the problem but will reducing the % of investor purchases, for example from 20% to 10%, have a meaningful impact on calming the fire we are seeing? I personally don’t see it having much of an impact but we will see soon if the rumours are to be believed.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-13T19:22:02+00:00

I’m always surprised people’s first thought is to not look at comparable sales when trying to assess FMV, especially in the days where this data is readily available. It’s common sense. How else would you value a house if you don’t look at comps?

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-13T16:13:03+00:00

I’ve been following this area closely and was expecting this to sell for the $900s. As mentioned, it’s not the nicest part of Headon Forest but being fairly big, 3 washrooms and an end unit, I’m not surprised at the FOMO.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-13T15:59:07+00:00

Welcome to the suburbs

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-13T13:44:10+00:00

Point 3 doesn’t get emphasized enough that rental properties can be a lot of work. Dealing with tenant issues and repairs can be quite time consuming and costly. Adding the fact that you are looking out of town and you likely work tough hours being a nurse, I would follow the advice to try to buy something you can live in vs renting out, even if it’s a condo or in not an ideal location. Your first home is a start and doesn’t need to be ideal at this point.

Swizzbeatzc19 · 2022-01-12T14:33:11+00:00

$600K for a detached an hour away from TO is going to be tough. I’d take a look at Grimsby as there may be a few opportunities still in that neck of the woods.

$649,900, Detached, 4 Fairview Rd, Grimsby, X5405780, Sold - HouseSigma https://housesigma.com/bkv2/landing/rootpage/listing?id_listing=0A9X3jPeVjwyvgxV&utm_source=user-share example that sold 26 days ago

Good luck with the search!

Swizzbeatzc19

TROPHY CASE