Posted on: 01-09-06 12:48:10
My wife & I own four Condos for us and our children, and the fees for each one dependes on what you receive in services and the age of the properties.
1) Lawrence / Don Valley condo size 1020 sq ft fees: $160/monthly
services provided: outside main., water supply and Liab. ins.
2) Warden/finch 4 bedroom townhouse 1400 sq foot fees: 268/monthly
services; outside maintanance, water supply & liability ins.
3) 33 Harbour front size: 520 sq ft condo fees: $249/monthly
services: all of the above + gym, sauna, swimming pool, library, security, meeting room, sports bar & Rest (subsidised), unlimited guest parking, shuttle bus to and from work in the areas of Downtown and China town (west to bathurst and east to Donvalley)
4) 99 Harbour Front Size: 1000sq ft condo fees: $508/monthly
Services: same as item#3
Salim J Kanji BA AMP
CIBC Mortgages Inc./HLC Mortgages Inc.
1 800 265 2694
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S. kanji
I may not agree with your opinions, but I will fight to death for you be able to air your views.
Guys ,
Sorry for going slightly off the topic but since BL has suggested to post related questions here and assuming this thread will grow with time .Kindly anser the following questions in brief with respect to new people like me .
1. Whats the difference b/w a Town House , apartment and Condo . I understand Townhouse is an independent house unlike condos / apartment which are milti storeyed . Are there any other differences?
2. Which is cheaper and why ? - considering a requirement of 3 berooms ?
3. Are apartments / condos better in this aspect that they the snow doesnt need to be ploughed away in winters in the case of a town house ? Is this a major issue ?
4. Assuming 1 to 1 for sake of comparision how much would be the rent for a 3 bedroom condo , apartment or similar Townhouse ?
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Fido.
Quote:
Originally posted by Fido
Sorry for going slightly off the topic but since BL has suggested to post related questions here and assuming this thread will grow with time .Kindly anser the following questions in brief with respect to new people like me .
1. Whats the difference b/w a Town House , apartment and Condo . I understand Townhouse is an independent house unlike condos / apartment which are milti storeyed . Are there any other differences?
2. Which is cheaper and why ? - considering a requirement of 3 berooms ?
3. Are apartments / condos better in this aspect that they the snow doesnt need to be ploughed away in winters in the case of a town house ? Is this a major issue ?
4. Assuming 1 to 1 for sake of comparision how much would be the rent for a 3 bedroom condo , apartment or similar Townhouse ?
1. Whats the difference b/w a Town House , apartment and Condo . I understand Townhouse is an independent house unlike condos / apartment which are milti storeyed . Are there any other differences?
Townhouse: Home attached together with each other, also called row houses. They can be either freehold or condominiums.
Condominium is an apartment house or a unit in an apartment house in which the units are individually owned. The condo unit may be in the form of a townhouse, apartment flat, detached structure. Condo owners share common elements like-landscapings, parking, swimming pool, security, health club, gym etc. Read more http://realestate-ontario.com/condominium.htm
2. Which is cheaper and why ? - considering a requirement of 3 bedrooms ?
Cost is relative term. If all the other factors like neighbourhood, size of property etc. are same then condominiums can be lesser expensive than freehold property to buy but might work out to be more expensive after adding monthly condo fee payments. Condo fees cover utilities (only in apartments and not in townhouses) common element expenses, building insurance and reserve fund of future repairs etc. The benefit of condominiums is the ease of living and use of many amenities, where applicable.
3. Are apartments / condos better in this aspect that they the snow doesnt need to be ploughed away in winters in the case of a town house ? Is this a major issue ?
Yes.
4. Assuming 1 to 1 for sake of comparision how much would be the rent for a 3 bedroom condo , apartment or similar Townhouse ?
In GTA a decent 2-3 bedroom apartment can be rented out of $ 1500-1600 including all the amenties. The cost for a larger size 3 bedroom townhouse -freehold/condo works out to be the same, however the tenants pay extra for the utilities-heat, hydro, water bills (depends upon usage, say approx. 200 per month)
Regards,
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Amit Kalia, Broker, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Real Estate Centre., Brokerage
independently owned & operated
100 City Centre Dr, Unit 1-702
Mississauga, ON L5B 2C9
Phone No.: 905-339-5111
Website: https://www.realestate-ontario.com/
Condo Blog: https://condopundit.com/blog/
Thanks a lot Amit . I appreciate your reply.
More so , since I was wondering that 3 top-of-the-CD-board consultants had replied when they smelled a probable house deal. But no1 bothered to reply to some basic questions I had posted .
Thanks a lot Amit. I have a clearer understanding now.
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Fido.
It could be better if Real estate agent or the our buddy who are living in Townhouse can Provide actual cost an average (like Three BR town house with 2+2 family size ) cost for Heat, Hydro, Water, A/C, in winter and summer. That will help for new comer who is buying Condo or Town house.
As we know most of Maintenance fee at Town house @ 100-150 $, In Condo this is killing and increasing almost every year.
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"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win" - Mahatma Gandhi
Though Amit has given a clarification regarding condos and townhouses, there seems to be some confusion about the concepts. It may be useful to repeat them:
Types of buildings (This is not an exhaustive list) :
SINGLE FAMILY (Detached)
a. House
i.Ranch
ii.Bungalow
iii.Semi-Bungalow
iv.Colonial
v. Split Level
vi.Back-Split
vii. Side-Split
viii.One and half storey
ix. Two-storey
x. Three storey
xi. House on strata
b. House with acreage
c. Country Residential
d. Gated Community
SEMI-DETACHED HOUSES
(Two houses stuck in the middle.)
TOWNHOUSES / ROWHOUSES
a. Rowhouse (houses in a row, having left and right walls common)
b. End Unit (end house of a row, with only one wall common)
c. Stacked Townhouses
d. Garden homes
e. Patio Homes
f. Carriage Homes
g. Villa Luxury Attached
APARTMENT BUILDINGS
a. Low Rise
b. High-Rise (Single Level)
c. High-Rise (Multi Level)
MULTI-FAMILY
a. Duplex
b. Triplex
c. Fourplex
d. Eight-plex
e. Ten-plex
f. Low-Rise
g. High-Rise
MOBILE HOMES
etc.
OWNERSHIP PATTERN:
Now all above properties can be owned in different ways.
1. FREEHOLD:
You own the property freehold. It may be free and clear or under mortgage.
This maybe owned:
a. In a person's single name
b. Jointly with wife or a friend or business partner
c. In name of an entity (Company/C/S Corporation/LLC etc)
You pay the property and other taxes.
2. LEASEHOLD:
You hold the lease and possession and can enjoy the property, title belongs to someone else (who is actually the owner). But if it is a long lease, say 99 years, you are good for your lifetime. You pay lease money which maybe weekly/monthly/quarterly/yearly. It is governed by lease agreement. Owner is liable to pay property taxes (though the lease agreement may say you have also to pay these taxes.)
3. CONDOMINIUM:
Here you own the the title of your part of property, which maybe an apartment/townhouse/semi-detached/detached single family house.
But the common areas are owned jointly by all condominium members. They may form an association to manage the common areas and functions and/or assign it to a managing company for a fee. The main advantage here is that someone else clears snow from the pavement in front of your home, though at your cost. (Very useful for busy/lazy/aged/disabled people! 
)
4. CO-OP (CO-OPERATIVE):
Here co-operative society owns the title of the property. The property maybe of any of the above types viz. apartment/townhouse/semi-detached/detached single family house. You just own a share of the co-op society and in having a share you are entitled to live in a unit owned by the co-op society (which is the unit you have "purchased" ). All the common areas are owned and controlled / managed by the co-op society through a Board of Directors. Board can regulate what kind of people can buy a membership/unit. Therefore it is difficult to buy/rent/sell/let out a residential unit in a co-operative, as it is closely monitored and controlled by Board. For the management / maintenance of common areas you have to pay the co-op fee.
Thus a condo can be an apartment, a townhouse or a single family house and an apartment may not be a condo (it maybe a freehold or a co-op property).
May I request our experts to correct / add to the above to make it more useful for everyone.
Quote:
Originally posted by LD
Though Amit has given a clarification regarding condos and townhouses, there seems to be some confusion about the concepts. It may be useful to repeat them:
Thus a condo can be an apartment, a townhouse or a single family house and an apartment may not be a condo (it maybe a freehold or a co-op property).
May I request our experts to correct / add to the above to make it more useful for everyone.
Let me correct the above: You are right that a condo can be- townhouse, single family house or an apartment. However I do not think that an apartment can be freehold. Multi-storey apartments can be either condominiums or co-operatives.
Did you know that even some hotel suites can be condominiums these days?
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Amit Kalia, Broker, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Real Estate Centre., Brokerage
independently owned & operated
100 City Centre Dr, Unit 1-702
Mississauga, ON L5B 2C9
Phone No.: 905-339-5111
Website: https://www.realestate-ontario.com/
Condo Blog: https://condopundit.com/blog/
