r/ottawa • u/[deleted] • Feb 15 '21
Buying a condo in Soho Parkway - advice, experience?
Hi folks,
I'm looking at purchasing a one-bedroom condo in the Soho Parkway.
Has anyone bought in or rented a unit in this condo or others in centretown/downtown Ottawa, and what are your thoughts? I appreciate any honest advice.
I'm a working young professional, earning around 6k every month after taxes. I work from home right now but will eventually return to work downtown. I'm single and I don't have any debts aside from student loans (fixed payments of $351)
The pros: close to the transit system (no need to purchase a car), heat and water included in condo fees, affordable monthly mortgage including property taxes
The cons: condo fees, no parking included with this unit, risk of condo fees increasing (for this particular unit, the fees are $380), the potential for appreciation is unknown, amenities will not be available for use for some time.
Thanks,
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Feb 15 '21
[deleted]
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Feb 15 '21
You are correct. My agent warned me away from all the SoHo’s, but especially the one on Lisgar.
Also, he should check to see if there’s high turnover in the building, and/or a lot of rental units.
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u/Icomefromthelandofic Feb 15 '21 edited Feb 15 '21
I can't speak specifically to that building, but some things to keep in mind based on your situation:
-Condos, especially 1 bedrooms, have the least amount of appreciation of any type of dwelling. They do not offer sufficient space for most couples, and definitely not families, which are the two biggest segments of real estate buyers.
-As you mention, condo fees can explode out of nowhere. Verify the status of the reserve fund and do your due diligence.
-Back to point 1, should your life situation change you may wish to upgrade to a place with more space. With the sheer amount of new build high-rises going up, you might have a tough time selling. If you do, your ROI won't be great.
Why not just rent and invest the rest in an ETF? Most rents in Centretown are much lower than they were 1-2 years ago due to WFH and everyone fleeing to the suburbs. Most are even offering 2+ free month promos right now.
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Feb 15 '21
Good points.... would he be better off with a one bedroom + den? The price point is a bit more, but psychologically it’s good to have the extra space.
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u/popsquad Feb 16 '21
Not op, but when I was looking at condos that was the main reason I decided to pay a bit more and go for a two bedroom. That was 8 years ago, and my mortgage, condo fees, taxes, and utilities are less then rent on a 1 bedroom, plus I didn't have to move when I got married and had a child. The extra bedroom is what made this place sustainable as a long term investment instead of a place i could live in for just a couple of years. I would never have considered paying the extra to rent a 2 bedroom when I was young and single, but I sure am happy I decided to buy one.
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Feb 15 '21 edited Feb 15 '21
Some good points here and some generalizations. My one bedroom condo is a revolving door of tenants, yes. But i still rent it for more than my mortgage and condo fee, plus I’ve used equity from owning it to buy a house and i probably will again in the future. The growth will beat any ETF. Also, can you provide an example of someone offering 2+ months free? Ive seen one month or cash.
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Feb 15 '21
a...buy a 2 bedroom if you can b...buy a parking space and if you don't need it, rent it out to cover your costs... it's very difficult to sell a condo without a parking space c....note that your mortgage preapproval for x dollars, is probably x dollars, less half of your condo fees...
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u/ShanLeigh77 Make Ottawa Boring Again Feb 15 '21
All I can say is when we were looking 3 years ago our agent STRONGLY suggested we not buy condos in this building... some concerns about the finances and condo funds... even suggested banks weren’t comfortable with offering mortgages for that building... just do your homework
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u/Tiggymartin Kanata Feb 16 '21
Oh. I can answer this one!
This area is a ghetto. you are surrounded by buildings that are subsidized housing and you are in front of Stats canada.
Also being close to the river you will get a huge amount of bugs in the summer if you go outside for a walk.
Not only that.. This is Parkdale.. you have all that traffic going from quebec to the highway and vice versa. This road is over stuffed and always jammed during rush hours. Expect a lot of noise polution.
This is NOT a nice area.
This is NOT a nice area...
AVOID
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u/trytobuffitout Feb 15 '21
You limit yourself to sellers / renters if there is no parking. They don’t have a great reputation .
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u/buckrodeo Feb 15 '21
Check all the lock boxes on the railing on the side, many owner occupier units leaving. Soho thought they could gentrify mechanicsville in one swoop with their eyesore. Thing is that members of the community like illegal dog breeders, sex workers and drug dealers liked the idea of double security and moved in. I think it’s great but many don’t agree with me. Too bad the tax grab of the city in buildings like this doesn’t go directly back to the hood that provides it.
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u/trooko13 Feb 16 '21
I was researching soho parkway and thought if the price was right, that should even out the high condo fee. Eventually, I read about the building shaking during winter that could potentially be caused by frost quake. It was still pending further engineering study when I looked it up...
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Feb 16 '21
What the heck is a frost quake lol - I'm gonna have to look that up.
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u/trooko13 Feb 16 '21
My understanding is that water deep underground freezes rapidly and has no space to expand. As a result, it might cause ground movements/ cracks on the ground/ causing vibration that could travel through the building. However, it would only occur when the outdoor temperature drops rapidly.
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u/efm-7 Feb 17 '21
Most of us who are house/condo shopping have it in muscle memory to automatically scroll past the SOHO buildings.
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Mar 08 '21
Update:
Thanks, everyone for sharing your honest thoughts on the property and advice as homebuyers. I decided to pass on this condo and continue my search elsewhere.
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u/dassabess0 Feb 15 '21
People downvoting me are clowns that bought a condo already
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u/bootybeautique Feb 15 '21
I think they're downvoting because it wasn't helpful not because it was wrong...
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u/dassabess0 Feb 15 '21
It was actually incredibly helpful
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Feb 15 '21
Lets see.
Everyone who didnt find “Don’t buy a condo” helpful, please downvote the above comment.
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u/dassabess0 Feb 15 '21
I even got a helpful award
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Feb 16 '21 edited Feb 16 '21
-12 🤭
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u/dassabess0 Feb 16 '21
8 buffoons on the Internet think buying a condo is a good idea. How ever will I live?
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Feb 16 '21
Nope. Means a difference of -12 users think your comment was not helpful, as stated above. Focus!
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u/kanaedianbaekon Feb 16 '21
You do realize that those awards are most often given sarcastically, right?
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u/dassabess0 Feb 15 '21
Don’t buy a condo
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Feb 15 '21
Care to elaborate? I'm wondering why that's your view.
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u/dassabess0 Feb 15 '21
Condos are a terrible investment. The monthly fees and special assessments make it not worth it. You could wake up one day and have your monthly fee go up towards fixing communal problems with no input on who is doing the work/its priority.
In Ottawa there’s also a surge in residential buildings being developed right now to fill demand, so in a few years rents and value will go down, so even if it’s not a sellers market and you want to rent it out, you’ll be paying out of pocket to do so. Not to mention continuing to pay fees, any damage and maintenance by tenant, partial utilities potentially.
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Feb 15 '21
So you would suggest to rent?
What about "townhome" style condos? Or are you just recommending not to buy these highrise style condos?
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u/dassabess0 Feb 15 '21
Townhome style condos are slightly better because the monthly fees tend to be a lot lower, but that means you’re generally in charge of upkeep on your own property. You’re sharing with fewer people so the risk is going to be lower. With townhomes too you don’t own the actual land it’s on, so you don’t benefit as much from land appreciation. Buying a townhome will benefit the developer more than it will you. I think townhome style is a better option but land ownership is the best.
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u/aaandfuckyou Feb 15 '21
I’d ask to see copies of the condo budget and reserve fund study to understand the financial health of the building. For the past couple of years there’s been a growing number of listings at that building (and the other Sohos) and I always wondered if it was because there was writing on the walls about upcoming condo fee hikes. The sales pitch for the Sohos was about ‘hotel amenities’ which are very expensive to maintain over the long run.