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Condo Fees vs. Home Ownership

I've known a few people who have lived at Manulife and all of them highly recommend it.

Condo living is definitely a lifestyle, whether it's the financial aspect or the community (communal?) living aspect. You can't pick your neighbours when you buy a house either, but at least you're not quite as up close and personal with them.

At this point in my life, while I miss some things about owning a house, condo living makes sense for me. Will it still in 5 or 10 years? Who knows? But for now I'm enjoying not having to mow or shovel, and the purging of 25 years worth of stuff to downsize was a good thing :)
 
It's not even about having a bad neighbor. You can live in a condo and have a decent neighbor and still hate living next/below/under them. I had a neighbor a few years back whom I never spoke to because I never saw him. Never heard him except for every 7AM when his alarm would sound off. Is it his fault? No. But it drove me nuts because I woke up later. I think with condos, you have to hope and pray your neighbor is not only good, but that they're insanely good. You don't really need that with a house. Just hope your neighbor isn't an unbearable clown and you'll be fine. Condos are not really suited to handle the average daily living. Whether it's music, simply walking, talking, etc...a lot of condos fail at nullifying that sound. There are benefits and drawbacks for each but I think house>condo and it's really not close. If we're talking about a properly built condo then the answer isn't as easy (for me).

Just my ramble...
 
We seldom hear "neighbour noise", but you're right, if I did, I'd probably think differently :) Sometimes I can hear a neighbour's music when I'm in the hall coming home/going out, but once I'm in my place, I don't hear anything.

This is the second condo we've lived in, and it wasn't an issue at the first place either -- although, the first building was older so a lot of people were renovating. I have a home office, and the constant sound of drilling and power tools all day could drive me mental.

Hmmm, the building I'm in now is about 3 years old. Lots of people like to reno around the 10 year mark. Maybe that will be my timeline, lol.
 
PinkLucy said:
I've known a few people who have lived at Manulife and all of them highly recommend it.

Condo living is definitely a lifestyle, whether it's the financial aspect or the community (communal?) living aspect. You can't pick your neighbours when you buy a house either, but at least you're not quite as up close and personal with them.
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Regarding Manulife: Agreed. Although I would definitely miss having no access to the outside via a balcony. One friend practically never goes out all winter, relying on the tunnels for almost all her daily needs.

With respect to picking your neighbours, with so many semis and shared driveways in "old Toronto," you can get real up close and personal -- and there's nobody to mediate if your mutual drive or fence becomes a problem.

TheKingEast said:
If we're talking about a properly built condo then the answer isn't as easy (for me).
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Fortunately, aside from the reno noise and building repair that Pink Lucy mentioned, I hear nothing. This is an older building with a lot of concrete between floors and suites. Just for the helluva it, I called my downstairs neighbour while stomping on the floor and blasting music and it took a lot of him to hear a peep.

As for renting, it's not the granite counter or whatever upgrades I care about. It's more about matters like storage. For example, I am a cook and we gutted the condo kitchen when we moved in. Yeah, we did the granite-stainless thing but I went for a lot of kitchen porn...all kinds of pricey pimping out of the cabinets (custom built deeper and taller than the standard) with pull-outs and such for maxing out space. Same with the bathrooms. Bedroom closets were also custom designed, as was the laundry "room." I could not, would not, invest that in a rental unit.
 
TheKingEast said:
It's not even about having a bad neighbor. You can live in a condo and have a decent neighbor and still hate living next/below/under them. I had a neighbor a few years back whom I never spoke to because I never saw him. Never heard him except for every 7AM when his alarm would sound off. Is it his fault? No. But it drove me nuts because I woke up later. I think with condos, you have to hope and pray your neighbor is not only good, but that they're insanely good. You don't really need that with a house. Just hope your neighbor isn't an unbearable clown and you'll be fine. Condos are not really suited to handle the average daily living. Whether it's music, simply walking, talking, etc...a lot of condos fail at nullifying that sound. There are benefits and drawbacks for each but I think house>condo and it's really not close. If we're talking about a properly built condo then the answer isn't as easy (for me).

Just my ramble...
Click to expand...
I couldn't hear anything like that in either my condo townhouse or my wife's condo. I couldn't hear that in my apt. either. In fact, for the latter I had a big stereo system and specifically told my neighbours to knock on my door if it got too loud. They never did for years until I bought a strong subwoofer. It was loud enough to make my windows rattle and of course that bothered them, so I got rid of the sub. There wouldn't be a chance in hell of hearing a neighbour's alarm clock though.

Obviously, quality of soundproofing varies greatly.
 
Our condo was built around 2000-2001, and we hardly hear anything. Maybe the odd sounds of water in pipes or the thump of something being dropped. Once in a while you will hear some power tools, but very little of what I call "inconsiderate ignorant fool" noise.

My only gripe is hallway noise. Seriously folks -- shut yer yappers, or at least make an effort to pipe down, when you are in the hall or waiting for the elevator.

Back in Halifax, in our suburban home, we had a "Jon and Kate plus 8" family living next door. Trust me -- that was much more annoying than a few floor thumps. :)
 
I've never lived in a highrise, having gone from my parents' house, to university low rise residence, to basement rental apartment on the Danforth to semi downtown. From my position of ignorance, I want to ask some questions on condo living. For starters, isn't there a mad rush for elevators every morning and evening? Do you know or even see your neighbours? I've got some more, but need to get back to work......
 
Our condo tries to develop a sense of community so we have regular social events. I often chat with my neighbours and even dog sit for one of them. I know lots of people in the building by name. People generally chat on the elevator. We have committees and invite residents (owners and tenants alike) to get involved. Hang out in the lobby for a while -- you will get a sense of how "friendly" the building is.

There are busier times for the elevator, as you say, but it depends on the building. Our elevators are quick, and we have four for just over 300 units. When looking to buy, elevator wait time was one of our considerations. There were some buildings we took off our list simply because of it. In another building I visit regularly, there are only two elevators for about 500 units, and it's ridiculous.
 
In my building, I know all of the people on my floor, and lots of other people too. The only time I've ever noticed a mad rush for the elevator is when someone is moving on a weekday, but even then, you can't book the elevator before 9 I think. People tend to leave and come home at different hours. It's rare to have more than two stops for one of our elevators.
 
I tend not to use our elevators during rush hours but, on the rare occasions that I do, I never experience problems. We have three elevators for 198 units and many of our residents are retired or work from home so there's not much of a rush hour. We also never put an elevator into service except 9-5 so that avoids rush hours.

Not only do we see our neighbours but, like Pink Lucy's building, we have clubs, committees, social events, a newsletter, a lively website and a general friendly atmosphere. Dog owners quickly get to know each other as well. Our building is 95% owner-occupied and turnover is not that great. I think that helps.

Also, we are on the older side of the demographic scale. It's not like we're all young professionals who rush off to meet friends in local bars and restaurants. That said, there's both an old-fashioned diner and a pub within easy walking distance and we often encounter neighbours there, as well as at the nearby 24/7 supermarket.
 
A close friend of mine bought a newly built condo at Yonge and Eglinton, across the street from Canadian Tire head office. I think it's been perhaps five years since construction completed, or however long it would be for any warranty to have expired. He's now been told he must pay $10,000 to replace all the water pipes in his unit. The entire building is having new water pipes installed, with some of the larger units having to pay over $30,000.

That's a major difference between condo vs. home ownership. If I buy a new build single family home, it is very unlikely that you would need to replace the water pipes,.
 
Admiral Beez said:
A close friend of mine bought a newly built condo at Yonge and Eglinton, across the street from Canadian Tire head office. I think it's been perhaps five years since construction completed, or however long it would be for any warranty to have expired. He's now been told he must pay $10,000 to replace all the water pipes in his unit. The entire building is having new water pipes installed, with some of the larger units having to pay over $30,000.

That's a major difference between condo vs. home ownership. If I buy a new build single family home, it is very unlikely that you would need to replace the water pipes,.
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I wonder which building it is. It's a travesty that a 5 year old condo needs that kind of work.
 
TheKingEast said:
I wonder which building it is. It's a travesty that a 5 year old condo needs that kind of work.
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Admiral Beez said:
A close friend of mine bought a newly built condo at Yonge and Eglinton, across the street from Canadian Tire head office. I think it's been perhaps five years since construction completed, or however long it would be for any warranty to have expired. He's now been told he must pay $10,000 to replace all the water pipes in his unit. The entire building is having new water pipes installed, with some of the larger units having to pay over $30,000.

That's a major difference between condo vs. home ownership. If I buy a new build single family home, it is very unlikely that you would need to replace the water pipes,.
Click to expand...


isn't quantum across the street from Canadian Tire head office on Yonge/Eglinton?
why in the world do they have to replace all the water pipes and how long is the Tarion warranty?
 
TheKingEast said:
Well, well, well. What do we have here?

http://www.quantum2north.com/Admin/...627401000400&search=&grps=FFFFFF&Date=__ALL__

Looks like you're right, CDR.
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That's the one, thanks. How many other condo towers in Toronto will be facing similar repairs? And then the floor to ceiling windows will begin to fail. http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/features/condos/seals.html Lemons in the sky.

I'd say an old, well maintained condo is best, with copper water pipes and traditional windows that are not wall substitutes.
 
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