Family is the answer to practicality?

[Springsummer]

Looking to buy myself a place. I would love a single house with backyard and near all amenities, better yet has some acrage.

 

but all the houses have at least 3 bedrooms. How one person can make use of all those rooms? even townhouse has 3 bedrooms.

 

so my only option is condo/apartment? went look at a couple. the common corridor of inexpensive ones just look so cheap and horrible. apartments feel like dungeon. Expensive ones look better, but I don't think I get my money's worth, and still don't feel belonging and like home living among strangers.

 

For a lot of practical reasons, it is indeed important to find a partner. but it looks like mission impossible for me. I have to like/love that person, right? but there is no love...

[No_Go]

Nah you can get a house for yourself. I got mine by myself and made use of all three bedrooms - one for me, one is an office, one is for guests (and my pets if they’re too intrusive:D). 4th one downstairs for rent if need be since it has separate entrance and shower.

 

I’m soooo glad I got single family not a condo , just fits my life style much better. Price of an upscale condo would have been the same or worse.

 

Also MUCH better buy alone even if you get a partner later it’s an insurance for you (takes all the pressure from future relationship, commingling assets can be a recipe for disaster).

 

Go get your house yourself and enjoy it!!!

 

 

Looking to buy myself a place. I would love a single house with backyard and near all amenities, better yet has some acrage.

 

but all the houses have at least 3 bedrooms. How one person can make use of all those rooms? even townhouse has 3 bedrooms.

 

so my only option is condo/apartment? went look at a couple. the common corridor of inexpensive ones just look so cheap and horrible. apartments feel like dungeon. Expensive ones look better, but I don't think I get my money's worth, and still don't feel belonging and like home living among strangers.

 

For a lot of practical reasons, it is indeed important to find a partner. but it looks like mission impossible for me. I have to like/love that person, right? but there is no love...

[carhill]

I'm downsizing now but used to sleep in a different bedroom as the mood struck me. My country place is 3BR 3BA and pretty good sized on large acreage. For decades I ran my ag business out of the shop on the property. Lived there all alone until I got married after 15 years or so. Been there 30 years. Now it's just a big empty house to sell. That brings up another point, resale. More bedrooms and more space sells better and for more money. Families still dominate and like space.

 

I've long liked the country (and now forest at new digs) because of autonomy, lack of neighbors, peace and quiet. No pesky government or HOA's bugging me. Throw a switch and I'm back in the 1800's if I want. Some folks can't imagine. I like it.

[d0nnivain]

Buy the house you like. A 3 bedroom place will be easier to sell.

 

If it's too big for you, close the vents in one of the unused rooms & shut the door to save on heat / AC but otherwise it should not be a problem.

[Chilli]

Yep if your even thinking you want acreage don't even consider apartment, can even tell the way you described it you'd be miserable in 6mths.

If your not worried about reselling later surely there must be some smaller houses on acreage or you hold out until one comes along you like.

 

Here new property comes along every few days or weeks , changes all the time and different things come along, could be anything next or in a few mths time.

[PegNosePete]

How one person can make use of all those rooms?

Well 1 is your bedroom of course.

 

Guest room

Office

Computer room

Art room

Storage room

Hobby room

Chill out room

Sauna

Dressing room

Music room

 

There are as many uses for room as you can think of!

[Gaeta]

I'd have no problem finding use for 3 bedrooms. I live in a 2 bedroom condo and I am struggling for spaces. I'd love a home office, a sewing room, an extra guest room. I miss some much having a clothes-line!! and a yard!

[BaileyB]

I live in a beautiful two bedroom, two bathroom townhouse condo and I love it! I have a garage and a little backyard where I can plant flowers... I don't have yard maintenance and I don't really have to worry about neighbours (no more so than if I owned a home).

 

I consider myself quite lucky, I live own a beautiful home and it's perfect for me. I have several single friends who own their own home... small two and three bedroom homes that are very cute and they have no problem finding use for the extra bedrooms. I'm not sure that I see your problem...

Edited August 17, 2018 by BaileyB

[bathtub-row]

Most people don’t think about this when buying real estate but you need to think about re-sale value. Believe me, when you’re ready to sell, the last thing you want to contend with is a piece of property you can’t dump. Any home with less than 3 bdrms will be hard to sell and, trust me, you’ll find a way to fill those rooms.

 

There are the now popular “tiny homes” and you could put it on some land. I’ve never figured out how the plumbing works in those houses but I’ve never really looked into it either.

 

Buy what you like and, I agree, I’m not a fan of apartments. Not crazy about townhomes or condos either but they beat apartments most of the time. Get a single family dwelling if you can. It’s your best bet. But buy in a nice, established neighborhood. Think re-sell.

[carhill]

Tiny home plumbing/utilities is pretty much like mobile home plumbing/utilities, designed to hook up to site improvements. Water, waste, power have simple connections, no biggie. If everything is stubbed out with a temp power panel in place, either can be up and running in an hour or two after the home is sited. ETA, some tiny homes are designed to be hauled around like RV's so their hookups are similar. All the ones I've seen rely completely on site utilities, meaning they don't have fresh water or waste tanks/systems in the home itself like an RV does.

 

Either are also an option if the OP likes acreage. Easy to quickly site a domicile then build something larger and more permanent later. Happens a lot in rural/mountain areas. Depending on zoning, some folks leave the old place hooked up as a rental or guest cottage.

Edited August 17, 2018 by carhill

[Springsummer]

I'd have no problem finding use for 3 bedrooms. I live in a 2 bedroom condo and I am struggling for spaces. I'd love a home office, a sewing room, an extra guest room. I miss some much having a clothes-line!! and a yard!

 

Housing is so much more affordable in your city than the other major cities in the country.

 

I am actually consider buying an apartment in your province which is just across the river. On my side of the river the same apartment could cost 3 times more. yes, of course there is more income tax in your province, but could be avoided if I also have other property in my province.

[Springsummer]

Most people don’t think about this when buying real estate but you need to think about re-sale value. Believe me, when you’re ready to sell, the last thing you want to contend with is a piece of property you can’t dump. Any home with less than 3 bdrms will be hard to sell and, trust me, you’ll find a way to fill those rooms.

 

There are the now popular “tiny homes” and you could put it on some land. I’ve never figured out how the plumbing works in those houses but I’ve never really looked into it either.

 

Buy what you like and, I agree, I’m not a fan of apartments. Not crazy about townhomes or condos either but they beat apartments most of the time. Get a single family dwelling if you can. It’s your best bet. But buy in a nice, established neighborhood. Think re-sell.

 

It seems the housing market is freaking hot now. so reselling is not an issue at least that's what it seems now.

 

who knows if there is a bubble and if and when it will burst? that's my real concern of buying now.

[Springsummer]

Buy the house you like. A 3 bedroom place will be easier to sell.

 

If it's too big for you, close the vents in one of the unused rooms & shut the door to save on heat / AC but otherwise it should not be a problem.

 

yup, winter is long ..........here, so heating cost is a real concern with bigger spaces. I am not rich, that's the problem.

[Springsummer]

Well 1 is your bedroom of course.

 

Guest room

Office

Computer room

Art room

Storage room

Hobby room

Chill out room

Sauna

Dressing room

Music room

 

There are as many uses for room as you can think of!

 

lol...you give me the idea. Never been lived a life of luxury, so I had no idea.

[d0nnivain]

yup, winter is long ..........here, so heating cost is a real concern with bigger spaces. I am not rich, that's the problem.

 

It's not so much the number of rooms but the height of the ceilings that cause the big bills. Those great rooms with the beautiful high ceilings giving the grand open feel come with huge heating & cooling bills.

[preraph]

There should be some old two-bedrooms on the market in some neighborhood. You'll soon fill up three rooms though. I use my smallest bedroom for a junk room and clothes closet with a rotating clothing rack in there like they have in department stores. I have a library/music room that I am rarely in anymore. If I dropped a bed in there and fixed a window and got a window unit, it could be a guest bedroom.

 

I have an office that isn't a bedroom but more like a den and it's where I am most of the time during the day. Get yourself a house you can put a dog door on the back and get a dog.

[No_Go]

It's not so much the number of rooms but the height of the ceilings that cause the big bills. Those great rooms with the beautiful high ceilings giving the grand open feel come with huge heating & cooling bills.

 

Yeah , that^. Number of rooms doesn't mean much, it is the sqft, height of ceilings, insulation, window size etc. Actually more rooms is better for bills (than less bedrooms but bigger size) - you can leave some without heating/cooling, internal ones (less external walls) are warmer in the winter etc. I use my guest bedroom as my own in the winter because it is smaller and internal and usually few degrees warmer.

[Gaeta]

Housing is so much more affordable in your city than the other major cities in the country.

 

I am actually consider buying an apartment in your province which is just across the river. On my side of the river the same apartment could cost 3 times more. yes, of course there is more income tax in your province, but could be avoided if I also have other property in my province.

 

 

My Province is more affordable and my city is the most affordable city among all the big cities of Canada. You may pay more income taxes yes but you will save a lot on power bill as electrical power here is a fraction of what you pay in Ontario. Have a look in the difference in utility bills.

 

 

Also if you are looking to buy on the Island of Mtl it will be almost twice the price than buying right off the island on north shore or south sore. I live off the Island and the same condo I own is twice the price on the Island.

[Els]

yup, winter is long ..........here, so heating cost is a real concern with bigger spaces. I am not rich, that's the problem.

 

 

You don't have to heat all the extra rooms.

 

 

 

If you cannot afford heating, are you sure you are in a good place in life to buy? Buying typically costs much more than renting, especially as you will be paying all of the maintenance bills by yourself - if your water heater breaks down or your wall gets infested with mold, it will be YOU paying for it. I wouldn't buy unless I had a significant nest egg saved up.

[Sunlight72]

It seems the housing market is freaking hot now. so reselling is not an issue at least that's what it seems now.

 

who knows if there is a bubble and if and when it will burst? that's my real concern of buying now.

I don't have an opinion on the Canadian real estate market, but my feeling is that the US housing market is overdue for a major drop in the next 10 to 18 months. I think you are smart to consider this. We are almost at the apex of a huge bubble. If you are comfortable waiting one more year (+), I think you could do much better than now, if the two markets follow each other.

 

However, in reference to the size of the house, I bought a fixer upper (like with broken out windows, slightly leaking roof, some plumbing problems, and other non-structural issues) which was the most I could possibly afford 10 years ago. I spent part of the year most years improving it, and converted the back utility room/closet/storage area into a master bedroom bathroom.

 

Now it is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home of 1150 square feet. The kitchen is in the middle, neatly dividing the living areas. Parking in front, parking in back. I rent out the front bathroom & two bedrooms, and share the kitchen. My mortgage is almost completely paid by my renter - and it is a little below the rental rate locally, so we're both happy.

 

It allows me to build equity, 'own' my own home, which feels good to me, and yet I can travel as I please because I don't (now) have to pay to live anywhere.

 

So, if that might work for you, when you look at houses, look for one with a floor plan that would allow separation of living space.

 

A single renter won't pay the whole mortgage right away (I wouldn't think), but it will help. Within 7 to 10 years if you work at it, you could be living rent free. 5 years from that, you'll be getting paid to live in part of your house (if you keep it that long). These last 3 years when the equation has evened out for me, it has dropped my stress level immensely (Immensely!). I do not earn very much money - probably just above poverty line.