Where to buy detached house? Keswick, Stouffville?

[Gino]

I'd like to buy a detached house and need some suggestions on which areas to look at. I work in Markham (hwy 7 and warden area) and can't afford a house there. As far as I can tell the closest place where I can afford a house would be Keswick, but I was wondering if anyone might have other suggestions. I'm a single guy, no wife/kids, no debt, currently renting, currently make 65k a year, have about 80k in savings (mostly in stocks and index funds), but would prefer not to use more than half of that as a downpayment, in an attempt to keep a balanced asset allocation rather than having it 100% in real estate. I currently save about 2k a month.

Things that are important to me:
-detached house, ideally new build but would consider something a few years old
-nice quiet low crime area
-reasonably quick commute to work
-double car garage would be highly preferable but I'll settle for a single if I have to

Things that are not important to me:
-proximity to schools
-proximity to any stores, bars, parks, etc
-public transit
-luxury items such as granite, etc

So will I have to move as far as Keswick, or are there homes being built anywhere closer to my office that might be within my capability to buy, perhaps Stouffville?

[ChrisCanucks]

Originally Posted by Gino

I'd like to buy a detached house and need some suggestions on which areas to look at. I work in Markham (hwy 7 and warden area) and can't afford a house there. As far as I can tell the closest place where I can afford a house would be Keswick, but I was wondering if anyone might have other suggestions. I'm a single guy, no wife/kids, no debt, currently renting, currently make 65k a year, have about 80k in savings (mostly in stocks and index funds), but would prefer not to use more than half of that as a downpayment, in an attempt to keep a balanced asset allocation rather than having it 100% in real estate. I currently save about 2k a month.

Things that are important to me:
-detached house, ideally new build but would consider something a few years old
-nice quiet low crime area
-reasonably quick commute to work
-double car garage would be highly preferable but I'll settle for a single if I have to

Things that are not important to me:
-proximity to schools
-proximity to any stores, bars, parks, etc
-public transit
-luxury items such as granite, etc

So will I have to move as far as Keswick, or are there homes being built anywhere closer to my office that might be within my capability to buy, perhaps Stouffville?

Continue to rent. As renting is much cheaper than owning and if we have a correction, you would be glad you didn't buy.

Read this blog...http://www.greaterfool.ca/

[Selvi]

I don't know about the previous post but,

buy DO NOT rent, why pay someone elses mortgage, u buy a house u dont pay someone else and u gain equity after you gained equity you might be able to afford a home in the warden / hwy 7 area

Good Luck On Your House Purchase!

[Dsquared]

Definately Keswick. The highway 400 extension will skyrocket home values in that area ultimaately. However, a big however too, make sure you crunch your numbers well. I think with your income, you will be stretched, especially with the type of house you are looking for. There are hidden costs in home ownership that u need to consider. If you are single, you may not need a big house. JMHO.

[ChrisCanucks]

Originally Posted by Selvi

I don't know about the previous post but,

buy DO NOT rent, why pay someone elses mortgage, u buy a house u dont pay someone else and u gain equity after you gained equity you might be able to afford a home in the warden / hwy 7 area

Good Luck On Your House Purchase!

hmmmm. let me see.

Rent in an area that is close to work... $1300 per month.

or

pay a mortgage (renting from the bank), utilities, property tax, maintenance....which will probably be a lot more ($1600 and up), unless you have a sizeable down payment.

Plus if we do have a correction... 10% and you made a down payment of 10%, all your equity is wiped out.

Judging by your finance, you would probably be looking at a mortgage of 200K and up...

Who says we have to work 25-30 years of our life just to own a house?!?!? How dump is that.

[Mark & Lynda]

Originally Posted by ChrisCanucks

hmmmm. let me see.

Rent in an area that is close to work... $1300 per month.

Where is he going to rent for $1300 per month? He said close to work which is Markham.

To rent a townhouse 20min north of Markham is $1600/month.

[Selvi]

Originally Posted by Mark & Lynda

Where is he going to rent for $1300 per month? He said close to work which is Markham.

To rent a townhouse 20min north of Markham is $1600/month.

Exactly! $1300 lol!!, you don't know how hot the housing market is in markham.

The OP could get a home with a finished basement and rent it out and could/might cut his mortgage in half

[ChrisCanucks]

Originally Posted by Mark & Lynda

Where is he going to rent for $1300 per month? He said close to work which is Markham.

To rent a townhouse 20min north of Markham is $1600/month.

You can rent a condo for that amount or a basement apartment for much lesser. He's single, why does he need the extra space for?

The market is indeed hot and like everything in this world, prices will come back down.

Don't expect these high prices to last forever.

Just look at Vancouver, prices are down 10% from a year ago. Even people are walking away from their deposits.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...rticle2433053/

[Selvi]

If he owns he can build up equity & each monthly payment goes toward his mortgage and pays it off little by little who knows if he/she owns they could make 100k in one year of owning, but $0 if they rent . . . , if you rent all your doing is giving your hard earned money to someone else's mortgage and making them earn equity.

[Juglans]

Did you end up buying ?
:S