Be the first to know about breaking news, articles, and updates.
The Coast | News, events, restaurants, concerts and Burger Week for Halifax, Nova Scotia
Home of the Best of Halifax Reader's Choice Awards, the award-winning independent newspaper covers the Halifax news, politics, events, concerts, movies, restaurants, and nightlife scene.
Why do people who live in condos always talk about their condos?? “we’re having people over to our condo tonight”, “i forgot we were having a party at the condo tonight” Great, you own a condo, congrats, no one gives a fuck.
—Garth Vader
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2010.
66 Comments
Hilarious part about it OP is that it never actually pays off.
The value of the Condo either slightly increases, stays the same or in most cases, if own for a long time, decreases!
Not to mention you keep paying every month a condo fee, which is pretty much rent, in addition to your insurance and property tax!.. all in all, if probably ads up to almost $800 a month.
isn’t that how much most 2 bedroom apartments cost to rent.. or a bit more?!
Sure condo freaks, have fun with your condo and giving your monthly fees to someone for absolutely nothing!
That may be true in the relativel stagnant Halifax market, Randomness (although I doubt it)…but I know folks in Vancouver who’s condo doubled in 7 years…
Anyway, you’re right that people that have recently bought a house or condo (which is conspicously NOT a house – another part of the syndrome) tend to preattle on about it.
In booming markets they tend to bang on excessively about it’s new “value”….In bust markets they talk about what a “great deal” they got on it, lol..
The only thing more annoying than now home-owners are new parents…
Hey, parents, guess what? Your kid looks just like any other baby to me…a tiny Winston Churchill
There is an argument for them Randomness. In that condo fee, you’re allowed maintenance typically, and eventually, you do own the unit. You do gain equity, and to some, such as older, more wealthy people, they’re usually able to buy the condo outright and have that equity up front plus a a tidy some left over if they sold a property.
For a young person, it’s a poor investment. But for the older set, it makes sense.
But BMF, my mom claims that I was JUST SOO CUTE when I was a baby.
I live in a condo in the south end, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. There’s cracks and holes in the wall and it’s a bit of a dump.
they’re in the same annoying league as the : my boyfriend/girl this my boy that…. your all so ” do you have a boy/girl friend cause you didn’t mention it enough” would you like a badge saying you have a significant other to save time?
No, as much as they are both annoying, those that brag about their boyfriends (cause it’s ALWAYS the girl or guy talking about their boyfriend) are in a league of their own. There used to be this one chick on the bus (the #2 actually) who would go on and on and on about her boyfriend to whoever she sat with. And of course she was ugly. I am sure her boyfriend was a real catch.
Randomness, I’d love to know where I can own a two bedroom condo for $800 with all that in…. I think your figures are skewed. My one bedroom to rent is more than that and comparable everywhere around me.
I laugh at those people in condos. They are throwing away money monthly and get nothing in return for it. When someone’s going on about their condo, I ask “So what’s it like living in an apartment?” They get royally pissed…but that’s what it is….a pay to own apartment.
I lived in a condo several years ago. It was an older building, but very well maintained. I did some renovations to my unit, and actually made a nice little profit when I sold it 4.5 years later. And I definitely know of other people who have sold units for more than they purchased it.
(For the record, I never used “condo” in my everyday vernacular. I would invited people to a party at my “house”, or my “place”, not my “condo”.)
Halifax seems to have a real hate-on for condos, and I don’t really understand it. Condos and apartments are very effective ways of housing people in downtown areas. For me, owning a less expensive condo was a great stepping stone to eventually purchasing a house.
(And yes – new parents are the WORST! We get it, we get it – you had a baby. Life will never be the same. Blah blah blah)
I think the hate-on is because every condo downtown around and newly being built is a ‘luxury unit’ and starts at $350 000 for the crappiest one on the 1st floor + monthly condo fee.
who in the sweet flying fuck wants to pay that to be near the young, bar scene???
the downtown condo’s should be smaller, medium priced places for the 20-35 year olds…
why the fuck do you think it takes 7 years to get half the units sold so you can START construction? no-one can afford the fuckers.
unless you’ve got a silverware set hanging out of your mouth, you’re renting downtown with friends or renting outside and commuting in.
Who really cares what someone else (or their bank) owns? What a waste of energy! Bragging is such a negative behaviour that just turns others off, hence the OP’s post.
Life is not about WHAT one has in it. It’s about WHO one has in it!
Life is not about what one HAS. It is about what one DOES!
Whoa, not sure who is paying 800 in condo fees, but you are getting supremely ripped off. Normally if your condo fee is high it is because 1) it includes a lot: ie – rec facilities(workout room, pool, sauna, games room etc) , heat, power, water, parking, reserve fund, exterior maintence + snow removal, etc.
Or 2) the condo is not in a good financial state – ie funds were needed from reserve fund for emergency repairs etc.
Condo value can go up depending on when you buy, and if you do a review of condo docs and make sure the board is up to speed before buying in.
Having said all that, I don’t own a condo, but if I did, I wouldn’t refer to It as my condo, I would probably refer to it as my place.
2 reasons,because they can, and because they are idiots.
my girlfriend and i live in a condo but never refer to is as that. we’re also engaged and never say the word fiance/fiancee. those are annoying things to say and talk about.
i won’t knock the condo. it’s worth 35% more than it was the day we moved in and it’s in a convenient area for both of us. good stepping stone for a house when we decide that a family unit larger than three is in the future.
we are not those “my condo”, “at our condo” people though.
Condo/apartment. One conjures up images of marble and solariums, the other a tagged neglected tenement.
It’s the same thing. When you rent it, it’s an apartment, when you buy it, it’s a condo.
But zZz what you’re referring to occurs in every single city in the world. People pay a premium to live in the downtown core. It’s always been that way, and I suspect it always will be. It’s also no secret that downtown dwellings are usually much smaller.
If you want the convenience of living downtown, whether it’s in a condo, apartment, our house, you’re going to have to make a few sacrifices – i.e. less space, higher costs, etc.
HGL, sadly the convenience isn’t living ‘downtown’ (which is dying a slow, horrible death btw)…. it’s just for walking to work.
I suppose that’s still a convenience…
though why the fuck is everything ‘luxury’ downtown?
it already costs a fuck load just to get by on a menial spot let alone selling a kidney for a down payment.
It’s not just being able to walk to work – it’s being able to walk to the movie theatre, restaurants, bars, shops, library, Pete’s, Neptune, etc. etc. etc. People pay top dollar for that in every city in the world. Halifax isn’t any different.
I also think you’re reading too much into the “luxury” label being attached to these developments. It’s just another adjective used in advertising. Obviously it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
uh, I don’t take ‘advantage’ of all that crap… I’ve been to 3 movies in well over a year, only gatsby’s maybe 4 times, shop in bayers mostly, what the fuck is a library for when you have the net?, and never buy from Over-priced Pete…..I just don’t want to be stuck and not able to get to work… not to mention the 70 bucks a month I save in a bus pass.
why move outside and get that when if you factor that into rent, you’re paying nearly the same and wasting an hour a day watching kitty spin and twirl all over the place.
and I’ve seen some of the luxury places… nice looking, smart, and big but who the fuck puts electric heaters right under the entire wall of glass???
people with money to burn… that’s who.
Whatever zZz, you’re coming across as nothing but bitter.
Oh, and some of us go to libraries because – gasp – we like to read books! Staring into a laptop or Kindle is just not the same as curling up with a good book.
Condo fees, what a rip! When you own a house you don’t have to pay for heat, hot water, any maintance, any insurance, lawn mowers, shovels, roof repairs, new windows, … they are all free! Opps… sarcasm. Condo fees pay for the same things you’d be paying if you owned a house. Some things might cost less, some more. (Might want to avoid the condos with pools as they can really drive up the condo fees, much like living in a house with a pool would drive up your annual costs.)
In a large condo building, there are economies of scale, so you’ll pay less roof repairs since the entire building only has 1 among 100 units instead of 100 houses maintaining and replacing their roofing tiles every 20 years. With other things, you’ll pay more since you pay to have snow removal, but then it’s spread over 100 units instead of a 100 units buying shovels, snow removers, etc. (Plus you don’t have to shovel. How much is your time worth? Nothing?)
bmf is correct babies do look like winston churchill…mine did too
Randomness, where’d you get that crystal ball? Why didn’t it work in Calgary? My ex bought a condo for about $80k. Today it lists for well over $500k. Maybe your crystal ball works only in Nova Scotia, eh?
Fever, your condo fee is not related to your mortgage. Paying condo fees does NOTHING to improve your equity just your quality of life.
Kay I think Dr. Fever meant that buying a condo builds equity, not that paying a condo fee contributes to equity.
fuck you Crappy go lucky I’ve got plenty more things to be bitter about than this….
I’d just like an affordable place where I need to be rather than continuing to build the over-priced and undersold buildings.
I wish my job moved out behind bayers like it was supposed to a few years back.
would have made me a lot happier.
not while actually AT work, but in my spare time anyways.
Thanks HGL, kay can’t read so well. That’s why she makes reactionary comments like that one above, without fully reading the comment.
Fever, “In that condo fee, you’re allowed maintenance typically, and eventually, you do own the unit. You do gain equity…”
This time do your very best to confirm you’re not illiterate while you explain why you try so hard to be obtuse.
I think he’s more acute….
eventually you pay off the mortgage on the condo and own it as you would anything else…. hence equity you can use against any further loans, etc…
“You do own the unit. You do gain equity.”
Exactly – Fever meant that buying the unit builds equity. Why is that so difficult for you to get? And why the attack??? I’m neither illiterate nor obtuse, thanks.
I don’t know how you can say there are no affordable condos near downtown, zZz. I’ve got two buildings going up right around the corner from me, one with units starting at $139,000, the other starting at $199,000. Both look pretty nice and are in an area where property values have consistently risen in recent years, not to mention being a 5 min walk to the heart of downtown.
Okay, fine, I’ll fully explain myself because you’re having one of your trollish, fucking twat days.
WHAT I MEANT WAS THAT WHEN YOU BUY A REAL PROPERTY, YOU GAIN EQUITY. BY PURCHASING A CONDO, WHICH IS A REAL PROPERTY, EQUITY IS GAINED. THE EQUITY IS THEN CONSIDERED AN INVESTMENT. YOU CAN THEN BORROW AGAINST THE EQUITY IF YOU PLAN TO KEEP THE PROPERTY, OR SELL THE PROPERTY, WHICH WOULD GIVE YOU A RETURN, MUCH LIKE MANY OTHER INVESTMENTS.
Sorry folks, I didn’t mean to be a dick, I just needed to ensure that kay read each word so that she didn’t have the opportunity to take them out of context, or interpret them.
Who needs Midol now?
“YOU CAN THEN BORROW AGAINST THE EQUITY…” to pay condo fees! LOL
good job Fever doing it with 3 syllable words or less… may work this time.
me0w, please do divulge… I’m dying to know and am not sarcastic for a change.
these two bedroom? one large one? any sites you can point me to?
Spice (Barrington Street) has units starting at $199,000. Not sure how many bedrooms.
http://www.polycorp.ca/spice/
No, actually condo fees are usually in the affordable range, if you’re paying 800 in condo fees, you’re getting boned. Seriously.
Let’s look at the key demographic for people that usually purchase condos (in HRM that is). They’re typically affluent older people (sorry zZz. I see why they’d be perfect for the younger set) who either have a minimal mortgage or no mortgage at all. Those condo fees usually go towards maintenance or other amenities, which can be quite expensive if you’re on a fixed income (like most older people are).
They can make a perfect place for people who had a good retirement plan, have sold the house because the kids are gone, but want the security of a real property. The equity can be used as a foil, either to put a secured, fixed loan amount if you’re looking to consolidate debt, or just to have a PLC and secure the against the equity to allow for extremely cheap borrowing.
Apartments don’t allow for that. Need I go on? Or are you going to try to play financial planner some more?
those god-aweful ugly ones in north end….
ug… oh well, I suppose if it’s afforable….
shame though, the building couldn’t be any more hideous if it were designed by a blind porn star…
zZz, as Happy Go Lucky mentioned, there’s Spice, which has 1 bedrooms available, and Theatre Lofts, which has 1 and 2 bedroom units available. There’s also another building going up on the corner of Cunard and Agricola by the Common, but I’m not sure what the name is or how they’ll be priced.
Actually a buddy of mine bought in that complex. Not too bad inside, yes, they’re ugly as shit on the outside though. Actually, when construction went past the completion date, they were paying him dividends on the equity he was gaining to offset not being able to live in the property. His property value’s increased by about 10% in the past 2 years, considering this “stagnant” market.
zZz, I know, Spice isn’t most attractive building, but you can’t beat the location. Theatre Lofts look nice though.
I’ll bet an $800 condo fee includes parking. What a neat modern invention.. selling the parking separate from the condo.
Like many apartments in the HRM, by the way. See? It’s parking people can use to not get ticketed under the winter parking ban! What a novel idea!
I’m looking to move this summer… but wanting a 2 bdroom. spice doesn’t seem to have any of those. will check out the cunard agricola place though some time on my way by.
thanks for the help bitches. anything to keep me from moving to dartmouth…
zZz— hey hey hey. Watch it with the Dartmouth comments. I used to make those same comments till I was proven wrong.
Now I can Force Choke people. Good Times.
At the end of the day I will return to The City Of Lakes…Dartmouth rocks!
only make them because I don’t want to have to tack on bridge/ferry fare twice a day…
will if I have to, but begrudgingly.
I think pinecrest is about to have a slot open up…
it’s been about 3 weeks since we’ve seen a shooting there…
bet the place is gonna be real cheap too.
Matt Mayes oceangilf good one !! Dirty Dartmouth is and always will be where i come back too and call home !
The *”Dark$ide” is not all bad as long as you stay away from the North End, and can ignore the petty bullshit the kids give you where ever you go
*And I called it Dark$ide, cause I know it annoys people :p
Spice, is that the place across from one of Halifax biggest failures?
Mind Snap…as someone who lived in several places there, over the years…don’t forget to warn them about the top of Gaston Rd. The Woodside area, let us also not forget everywhere downtown Darkside, then there’s Caledonia,Churchilll, Kennedy Drive area…the lovely area off Victoria road…Scotia ct.,Fundy Ln, Canso Ln & Boland Dr. Let us also not forget the low rental area of Penhorn especially around Regent Drive & Prince Albert Rd by the Superstore !
heh heh… “prince albert”
More; I’ve lived on Gaston for 20 years… It really isn’t bad since the crack building on Regency went away. Now it’s jus the annoying wanna-be-kiddie-gangsta’s runnin around, and even they’re no where to be seen since the Gaston Rd Variety Store got busted in winter 2008, and the owner sold it summer 2009
Theatre Lofts are awesome! if you can afford the 300k ones…
the 150-200k are all 500 and 600 square feet with no balcony! that’s basically a bachelor with a wall.
bloody rediculous.
“I’ll bet an $800 condo fee includes parking. What a neat modern invention.. selling the parking separate from the condo. “
Depends on if your parking is titled or assigned. If its titled, then yes, they are selling you your spot, it is not part of the common property just being assigned to you.
(To put it into baby terms for kay, title is like your pink slip. Homes have titles, condos have titles, and parking and storage units can also have titles, if they are “titled” and not “assigned).
Your unit factor “UF” determines how many “shares” of the whole condo you own, and that is used to derive your condo fee. That % of ownership also determines what % of condo contributions you are responsible for aka condo fee.
Ps most condos we’ve sold with parking average condo fees of approx 350ish…
Why kay, because work with one of calgary’s top realtors, and even the condos here don’t have condo fees as high as you say?
and how high did I say? I didn’t. Fuck off, sheep.
Problem, kay? You’re pulling out the sheep tough talk a little early.
They learn it from you, Fever. Careful or I’ll have you apologizing for your sheep-like behavior twice in one day!
Where the fuck is the fees 800 bucks around HRM?
I’ll gladly apologize again, because I’m not afraid to admit that I’m wrong. You, on the other hand…..
I, on the other hand, didn’t invent the condo fees cited on this page.
Would you then agree with THIS statement halicowton?
“”For a young person, it’s a poor investment. But for the older set, it makes sense.”‘
Because I thought that was contrary to my experience….meaning most of the folks I know that have invested in a condo have BEEN young(ish) (and often without a brood of kids)…and I know several that did quite well over the years…mind you, like any property, you’ve only profited on paper until you sell….and then you have to buy something else, unless you are headed to Africa to start a missionary, (or, as in the case of many christians, a child trafficking ring).
Personally I don’t see why this poster would state so firmly that it’s a “poor investment” for younger folks…
…compared to what? Handing your money to a landlord for the first 10 years of your life like many folks do? Good thing HE didn’t have bad advice to start, eh?
Furthermore, most retired folks I know that bought condos did it for one or two reasons….they no longer were able, or willing, to do the work of maintaining a house…or “commuting” to town for theatre/restaurants etc….NOT as an investment (!?)
That’s what started this, not the amount of condo fees
Hey BMF –
Honestly it depends. If you have a decent downpayment, get a good mortgage rate, and are buying into a healthy condo corp, then yes, its a good investment.
What *isn’t* a good investment is when you see 20-somethings trying to buy into the luxury -style condos that are marketed empty-nester 40-somethings. These buildings have much higher condo fees, so less of what you are paying out every month is actually going towards the principal.
If I were to buy a condo, it wouldn’t be a conventional style condo, but rather, a townhouse style, where the condo fees covered reserve fund, management, and maybe exterior maintenance. I would NEVER buy any condo though without reviewing all condo documents and meeting notes for the past year though (including AGM). Get an idea of what shape the condo board is in. Is there talk of raising condo fees? Special assessments? (special assessment is when the condo board is behind for various reasons financially – damage, unforeseen costs, bad management, etc, and leaves all the owners with a lump sum bill, payable in installments, on top of their monthly condo fee.)
I’m not licensed in NS, so technically I can’t provide RE advice, but if it were me, and I wanted a condo and not a detached home, I would buy one with as much downpayment as I could manage, a shorter term mortgage, and most importantly, a condo with less frills so that my dollars are going towards my mortgage, and not a lifestyle image.
baaaa.
The reasoning behind my statement is as such Frosty:
Younger families aren’t typically capable of handling both a high mortgage payment as well as condo fees. Without getting into GDSR/TDSR calculations and such, a new family usually spends upward of 40% if their monthly income on a new property. That doesn’t give much room to save, pay bills, so on and so forth. This brings me to this point: Condos are less stable than houses. A slight movement in value on the downside could seriously effect your borrowing potential and net worth. Therefore, it can be considered a bad investment for a younger family. This is all considering that, like 70% of the population, you don’t understand the housing market in any depth. If you do understand the housing market, you’re able to make a better decision, and it can pay off.
The reason why it makes sense for older people is that they’re typically able to buy the property with little to no mortgage. This makes them less susceptible to those aforementioned shifts, because the extra equity becomes pointless when you can borrow against 200 K in equity already. Lower purchase prices than properties (typically, that is) allow you to pad the nest egg with the proceeds of a house sale, so you don’t dip into your RSPs or RIFs too soon and incur penalties. So to them, while it may not be a direct investment in a sense, it allows their current investments to perform better, and for longer.
All homes are essentially speculative in nature. Like all speculative investments, there’s an opportunity to make massive gains. You can also lose your shirt.
It’s important to note that I rent. I do so because my financial standing isn’t strong enough to allow for a mortgage and the responsibilities involved with a property. It’s not due to improper advice. Some people rent for the sheer fact that they have to; not because they want to. I’ve helped clients that have rented all their lives, and have found a balance that allows them to enrich their own lives while investing in their children, by renting, so it can be said that the converse is true as well.
Condos aren’t so different from houses conceptually. You have to be careful what you buy. For me personally, I wouldn’t want to pay for 24h conceirge, pool, or the the upkeep of an older building. All those things drive up fees. But, on the same hand, I wouldn’t buy an older home with high maintenance fees or a house that costs a fortune to heat or one with a pool.
To lump all condos into one category is no different than lumping all houses into one category. If I were young and just starting out, I’d want to build up capital, so I wouldn’t buy an older home (because I personally don’t like fixing things up) that required thousands of dollars a year to heat. I’d rather that money went to paying off my mortgage as early as possible. Ditto, I wouldn’t buy a condo with a conceirge or pool, but I would buy one with low condo fees that I saw as a good investment.
I’ve seen condos that have $200/mth including heat, hot water, most electrity, maintenance etc. I’ve seen others that cost $800/mth and include none of those things. (Depends on square footage and a hundred other things, just like the cost of heating and maintaining a house depends on hundreds of factors.)
Also, if I were into lots of toys, I wouldn’t buy a condo because then I’d have to rent a space to store my boats, ski doos, etc. But, if I didn’t like shovelling or mowing, I’d see tremendous value in having my weekeneds freed up for things I actually enjoyed. And, if I enjoyed lots of travel, I’d see tremendous savings in not having to pay someone to look after my place many months of the year.
I hate when people dumb things down like rent=bad, condo=stupid, house=brillant. Life is more complex and every situation is going to be different.