Canada's smallest condos in Surrey

[quasi]

Originally Posted by CharlesInCharge

If one was going to buy this place as a temporary apartment in life, why not save yourself years of work... including the monthly strata fees and taxes, and buy a cheap used school bus for 10k for the same space and convert it to an RV.

That's a great fucking idea, you could drive it up to Yellowstone and do a radio show from there.

[dinosaur]

Well, not everyone can live at home forever and these places will appeal to single people wanting to get into the market but don't want to be house poor.

Not everyone wants to live in Vancouver or Richmond because the majority of people don't work in Vancouver or Richmond. If I was young, single, and only making $20\hour...this would be a good opportunity.

[Great68]

Hamster cages!

Where's the running wheel?

[Hondaracer]

Ill live in one of these before I think of moving to Richmond.
Posted via RS Mobile

[Gridlock]

Originally Posted by El Bastardo

I think this will absolutely be bought out by investors, especially young investors who are looking for a low-cost initial real-estate investment. Their inexperience will lead them to rent to the first person who comes along (to ensure that they immediately defer their out of pocket costs) or have a rental service who really doesn't care find a tenant.

This building will become an armpit

This would be my fear. I would like to see something like this as being rental restricted right from the start. Keeping it owner occupied avoids a LOT of problems. Keeps it affordable too.

I have come into partial ownership of a rental restricted condo and it fucking sucks that I can't rent it out.

[Gridlock]

Originally Posted by CharlesInCharge

If one was going to buy this place as a temporary apartment in life, why not save yourself years of work... including the monthly strata fees and taxes, and buy a cheap used school bus for 10k for the same space and convert it to an RV.

Another winning post.

Are we looking for a fancier answer than, "I don't want to shit in the woods and shower in a stream"?

[Razor Ramon HG]

Seems similar to the "one room" housing concept here in Korea.

Just one giant ass room with a bathroom and laundry room.

I could definitely live like that in Surrey, but like AAnthony said, at this price.. "I can't help but think what kind of hoodrats would live next to me."

[4444]

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

Better than renting, if it's THAT cheap.
Posted via RS Mobile

sorry to have to fail you and dinosour, as you two usually give some really good commentary, but i would suggest these are not a good buy

their so niche, they will never be an easy sell, when interest rates go up, that mortgage payment will go up too - rent will not, it will go up with inflation (there abouts)

these units will trap people who perhaps need to be mobile to find work if they are unskilled and lose their jobs - owning a place ties you down, that is not always a good thing.

there are a million reasons why i hate the idea of these condos - if they were rentals at super cheap rates, i would be all for them, instead it is allowing people who cannot afford to tie themselves to a significant amount of debt to do just that. i fear people will be financially hurt by buying these kinds of properties.

[falcon]

Lets be real. They aren't exactly going after the type of people on this site who blow silly money on $5000 Honda Civics. They're going after people who want to build equity each month instead of paying into someone elses, while staying at/near the same monthly price. The location is great, Skytrain/Surrey Central bus loop close by, Putullo, soon to be finished South Fraser perimeter road etc. Surrey Central mall is very nice these days as well.

Unless you've actually LIVED in a place like this, your arguments are invalid. Mine was 25 square meters with half of the room having a slanted roof. I did not have a murphy bed (queen) and never really felt cramped. If anything it taught me how to live within my means more and not put so much value on "stuff." Since coming home back to my parents place I have a lot less clothing (but wear each thing more regularly), am much cleaner and value space much more. Most of my time is spent at home watching TV for a bit, making dinner or sleeping. The rest of the time I am out with friends or at school/work.

And lastly, again... if you live west of the Fraser your comments and opinions on Surrey/Whalley don't matter. Surrey is a great place to live, I've been here all my life. The Surrey debate will never end, this I know.. but there are many places worse than here in other areas of the Lower Mainland where I wouldn't feel safe walking around at night alone. And I'm 25, 6' 190lbs and can hold my own (heck I did grow up in "Surrey" afterall :P)

[4444]

Originally Posted by falcon

Lets be real. They aren't exactly going after the type of people on this site who blow silly money on $5000 Honda Civics. They're going after people who want to build equity each month instead of paying into someone elses, while staying at/near the same monthly price. The location is great, Skytrain/Surrey Central bus loop close by, Putullo, soon to be finished South Fraser perimeter road etc. Surrey Central mall is very nice these days as well.

Unless you've actually LIVED in a place like this, your arguments are invalid. Mine was 25 square meters with half of the room having a slanted roof. I did not have a murphy bed (queen) and never really felt cramped. If anything it taught me how to live within my means more and not put so much value on "stuff." Since coming home back to my parents place I have a lot less clothing (but wear each thing more regularly), am much cleaner and value space much more. Most of my time is spent at home watching TV for a bit, making dinner or sleeping. The rest of the time I am out with friends or at school/work.

And lastly, again... if you live west of the Fraser your comments and opinions on Surrey/Whalley don't matter. Surrey is a great place to live, I've been here all my life. The Surrey debate will never end, this I know.. but there are many places worse than here in other areas of the Lower Mainland where I wouldn't feel safe walking around at night alone. And I'm 25, 6' 190lbs and can hold my own (heck I did grow up in "Surrey" afterall :P)

great point on equity, EXCEPT that because these places are so small, i fear that the resale market will be almost non existent and thus if you spend $100-200K on one of these places (not sure how much a loaded one is with all the options, sounds like i am talking about a car), you will never be able to recoup that money.

buying a normal home or condo means you are buying into a market of proven size and demand - this is new and risky here.

in seoul, tokyo, new york, they have done these due to actual space and demand constraints. here i really do not think that applies.

also, and i know we have done this a million times, but when prices come down here (which they are doing now and will continue to do so) that $120K or whatever it ends up costing could have bought you a lot more in 5 years...

i just fear for the people who end up buying these, as they are making a brand new class of owner which has a market which could be very small and very erratic!

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by 4444

sorry to have to fail you and dinosour, as you two usually give some really good commentary, but i would suggest these are not a good buy

their so niche, they will never be an easy sell, when interest rates go up, that mortgage payment will go up too - rent will not, it will go up with inflation (there abouts)

these units will trap people who perhaps need to be mobile to find work if they are unskilled and lose their jobs - owning a place ties you down, that is not always a good thing.

there are a million reasons why i hate the idea of these condos - if they were rentals at super cheap rates, i would be all for them, instead it is allowing people who cannot afford to tie themselves to a significant amount of debt to do just that. i fear people will be financially hurt by buying these kinds of properties.

I understand what you are saying.

In reality, there is little to no difference between someone who makes $17\hour buying a $110k condo than someone who makes $25\hour buying a $250k condo.

From what I gather (from previous random posts) you are involved in real estate...do you think if these developments become more common would it, in the future, be easier to sell?

Condos have seem to become smaller and smaller. I lived in a privately owned 2 bedroom condo that was 1200 sq ft....was built in 1999-ish. Today, it seem most new 2 bedroom condos are around 800 sq feet. I have noticed the same with 1 beds (were 800 now 550 sq ft).

What do you think of buy a unit like this to use only as a rental property? (ie: the investor would not struggle to make the mortgage payment).

[falcon]

They didn't do it for space where I lived in Germany. My town was nestled in a little valley between with hundreds of KMS of land surrounding it. They built them because people don't NEED so much space.

Maybe they don't go up in value... maybe they do. Either way, you're putting money into something you own. I'm a big advocate of renting, but with these starting to pop up that might change my mind a bit. That being said, I'll never live in one because I need a workshop but there are many people these are perfect for. I'd rather live in one of these for $500 than a run down 20 year old basement suite that is only slightly bigger, dark and dank.

[4444]

Originally Posted by dinosaur

I understand what you are saying.

In reality, there is little to no difference between someone who makes $17\hour buying a $110k condo than someone who makes $25\hour buying a $250k condo.

From what I gather (from previous random posts) you are involved in real estate...do you think if these developments become more common would it, in the future, be easier to sell?

Condos have seem to become smaller and smaller. I lived in a privately owned 2 bedroom condo that was 1200 sq ft....was built in 1999-ish. Today, it seem most new 2 bedroom condos are around 800 sq feet. I have noticed the same with 1 beds (were 800 now 550 sq ft).

What do you think of buy a unit like this to use only as a rental property? (ie: the investor would not struggle to make the mortgage payment).

i could write a book on teh subject, but will try to keep it short

sizes have gone down so as to maximize profits, city taxes on new builds are ridiculous, construction companies are getting greedy - yes density is on the up to. i live downtown is a pretty big place, you would never catch me in anything smaller - most people do not have that problem, but there is a limit

also, lifestyles are getting more simple with respect to stuff - before we had desktops, now we have ipads... we are a more efficient race now than 20 years ago, but again, there is a limit... again, in 2000 a condo could be had for $200K, now that same condo is $500k - huge incentive for buyers to buy small, and builders to build more (each smaller) in the same space - we will go back down to that $200K-$250K level (inflation adjusted)

if supply of micro condos goes up, my arguement on lack of market decreases - but do you really want to be a first adopter and take all that risk

as for renting out, well, maybe you could, but renting out for $400 or $500 probably wouldnt net you much income and your risk is through the roof. to me there is a minimum rent i would want to charge in any of my places to avoid douche bags tenants - as such as a real estate investor i wouldnt want that risk

it always comes down to the question of whether my money is being put to work as best it possibly can be - with these micro condos, i think you could do a lot better.

i would also never buy a new condo, i would actually never buy a condo, but that is a different story...

[nabs]

I was actually looking into these, in an investment point of view.

[vitaminG]

Balance buyers will need incomes of at least $22,000; people making $17 an hour and up

am i the only one who doesnt think this makes sense? $17/hr is over 35k annually pretax, and you dont pay much tax at $17/hr

[LiquidTurbo]

Originally Posted by 4444

sorry to have to fail you and dinosour, as you two usually give some really good commentary, but i would suggest these are not a good buy

their so niche, they will never be an easy sell, when interest rates go up, that mortgage payment will go up too - rent will not, it will go up with inflation (there abouts)

these units will trap people who perhaps need to be mobile to find work if they are unskilled and lose their jobs - owning a place ties you down, that is not always a good thing.

there are a million reasons why i hate the idea of these condos - if they were rentals at super cheap rates, i would be all for them, instead it is allowing people who cannot afford to tie themselves to a significant amount of debt to do just that. i fear people will be financially hurt by buying these kinds of properties.

Perhaps. You don't think building equity is possible for these units?

For example, yuppies picks up the place, lives in it, the kind of person who's rarely at home and just needs a place to sleep. etc.

[punkwax]

Man.. my home theatre project is 289 sq ft... could not image trying to squeeze a home into that space..

[LiquidTurbo]

Can't be as bad as hong kong..



Christ.

[Excelsis]

Originally Posted by dinosaur

Owners of these condos need to stop renting to people on social assistance. To do this, they need to charge $800+month. This is how New West is slowly getting rid of the less than desirables.

From what I understand through dealing with this, welfare\disability\ministry of housing, etc will not give fund people where rent is $800 or more\month.

As soon as we brought our rents to $800+ we automatically cut all those people out. Works for me.


Or, for those bitching about the cheap prices...you can go ahead and spend $400k + $400 strata for a condo and live house-poor for the rest of your life.

you can get decent houses for a lower price in the us, investment properties there are more worthwhile..

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by Alpha v2

you can get decent houses for a lower price in the us, investment properties there are more worthwhile..

I'd rather keep a closer eye on my investment. Too many variables for me to invest in american property at this time.

Gridlock and I live in a very different situation than most...we are able to keep our overall living cost very low which can allow us to buy properties and rent them out. I found these apartments intriguing...

[drunkrussian]

lol all u ppl saying "don't judge" whalley and this and that and failing people for dissing surrey

-high crime rate
-shitty suburb
-far away from everything
-highest % of douchebag gangsters
-highest % of white trash crackheads and hobos

if u work in surrey, great location for you. Otherwise whether you're single or trying to start a family, surrey is shit. people who live there live there for the lower cost housing, which is due to the fact that it's a shithole. People don't plan on getting rich and staying in surrey.

Let's be real people...if you're from surrey and proud, that's fine - i'm from russia, we're proud of a shithole too.

[LiquidTurbo]

Originally Posted by drunkrussian

lol all u ppl saying "don't judge" whalley and this and that

-highest crime rate
-shitty suburb
-far away from everything
-highest % of douchebag gangsters
-highest % of white trash crackheads and hobos

if u live in surrey, great. If you work for the government great. Otherwise whether you're single or trying to start a family, surrey is shit. get over it, you're entitled to like surrey or be proud of it if you want, but you're proud of a shithole. nothing wrong with that - i'm from russia, we're proud of a shithole too. Get over it.

Yeah, way to judge an entire municipality bc of one area.

Is Vancouver shit because of all the crackheads in the DTES? Grow up.

Plenty of nice areas, multimillion dollars home in Panorama Ridge, South Surrey, neighbourhoods nears Barnston Island, etc.

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by drunkrussian

-far away from everything

like?

[rsx]

It probably makes more sense to buy a piece of empty land with friends and build on that. just a huge rectangular cement building and have a minimalist style.

[Razor Ramon HG]

Although it's in Whalley, it's still fairly close to the skytrain.. I can't say how safe it is around there at night though, which I'm sure will put off many potential homeowners.

If they start to build some of these in the future, I'm definitely buying one when I move out. I don't require a lot of space, so places like these are perfect. Of course, once when you get married, that's a whole different story.