Reconsidering the Condos

Posted on November 4, 2007
Filed Under Personal |

All day, I’ve been thinking about the condos I viewed on Friday. I’m not sure why, but I’ve been thinking a lot more about the unit at 119 Avenue and 81 Street that I mentioned in my last post.

Even though the place didn’t initially strike me as particularly noteworthy, I’m starting to really feel like it could be a great place. While it isn’t particularly special as it currently is, I’m starting to see it for what it could be.

Other than removing the hilarious mirrored-wall in the living room, it wouldn’t take much work to make the place great. A bit of paint, and the right furniture could turn it into an awesome home.

There are a few things that could be done on top of that, to make it even better—like replacing the ceramic tiles with laminate flooring, and putting newer appliances in the kitchen—but it’s actually a pretty cool place.

While I still think the place downtown might be a better unit, and will likely see a greater increase in value, in a shorter period of time than this unit, it’s pretty pricey, and the condo fees are higher than any of the other places I’ve looked at.

But, I’ve been thinking, and the place on 119 actually has a lot going for it.

Location, location, location…

The location of the unit is actually pretty great. It’s not quite as central as I’d like, but it’s still pretty close to downtown. It’s also just off the Yellowhead, which means that I could get to anywhere on the northside within a few minutes.

It’s also pretty close to the Coliseum, so I’d actually be able to walk to concerts and other events pretty easily, if I wanted to. It would also mean I’d be able to get to football games easily too (i.e.: walk to Coliseum Station and take the LRT to the Stadium).

Hell, being relatively close to the LRT line would mean I could take transit into downtown, if I wanted, and not have to worry about parking when I went to visit my friends who live in the Core.

The place is also across the street from a grocery store, which is pretty convenient. It’s also right by the cop shop, which would probably be a bit of a crime deterrent.

Size Matters

One of the other advantages of this place—probably its greatest advantage—is the fact that it’s huge. At more than 700 square feet, it’s definitely the largest unit I’ve looked at. It also has a fairly open floor plan, which makes it seem even larger than it really is.

The living room is massive. The kitchen is fairly large. The bedroom is gigantic.

There is a good amount of storage in the unit, and it has a separate storage room on the same floor, which is very large. I’d never run out of storage space with this unit, that much is certain.

The unit doesn’t have in-suite laundry, but it’s big enough that I could put it in, and not really lose much space. Because of how the plumbing is setup, I would probably have to put the hookups either in the dining area of the kitchen, or in the bedroom.

While putting laundry machines in the bedroom might seem a bit odd, the bedroom is so huge that it wouldn’t be impractical to do, and it would be easy to throw a room divider in front of the machines to hide them when they’re not in use.

This unit also has a fairly large balcony. It’s not as large as the one at the place downtown, but I’m pretty sure that it’s bigger than the balcony at my apartment right now.

Basically, the place has a ton of space, and I really, really like that about it.

The Price is Right

One thing that this unit definitely has going for it, when compared to the downtown unit, is the price. The asking price is about $15,000 less, and it’s likely that I could get it for less than asking.

The condo fees are also cheaper than the downtown unit, by almost $30 a month. That might not seem like a lot, but that’s a tank of gas, or about 80% of my average power bill.

Additionally, while I can afford the downtown unit, even at the current asking price, it does start to become a little bit of a stretch once the condo fees are added into the mix. It’s not a huge stretch, but things could definitely be a little bit tight some months, if I were to buy that place.

This place, even at it’s current asking price and including condo fees, wouldn’t be much more than what my rent is going to be if i stay in my apartment past December.

Tough Decision

While I’m starting to really feel like I like this place, I’m definitely still very fond of the place downtown. Each unit has its own appeal, and it’ll be tough to decide which one I really want the most.

I’ll think about it over the weekend, and talk to my parents, as well. Hopefully, I’ll come to a decision soon. When I do, I’ll let you know.

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