Closing new build in Jan/Feb 2018 - sell current dwelling or wait?

Buying and selling real estate is expensive (land transfer taxes, agent fees, legal fees...), so I wouldn't recommend buying another property. I would recommend either options 1 or 3.

utopianbl wrote: ↑We have a new build closing in Oakville that is effectively Jul 2017, but the builder has forewarned us of delays already. They expect first delay will likely be Nov 2017 and the second delay Feb 2018.

Running with the worst case scenario...

We are a family with young ones and will need to ensure their schedule is impacted as little as possible. Also looking to get advice on better value-for-money options.

1) Stay at current dwelling till closing; because we are close to downtown (Mimico) we hope the market continues to appreciate and the our townhouse continues to appreciate with it.
2) Sell current townhome, buy small detached in Oakville for same price as ours, meaning no diff to the mortgage payments; stay in detached house till Feb 2018 and then sell again and move again
3) Sell current townhome, RENT detached in Oakville - save ourselves from a double whammy should the market fall across the board.

In terms of comfort for the little ones, moving to Oakville now and getting them enrolled in schools and daycare will be easy on them. Moving in Feb 2018 means kids are joining school mid year which will make placement harder, and adaptability harder as well (IMO)

Wanted to get some feedback as to what might be a smarter option moneywise as well.

Considering that stability for your kids schools etc is most important, then you need to consider which side you believe more - the one that says real estate will sink and the others that say Toronto is taking in more people every year etc.

utopianbl wrote: ↑We have a new build closing in Oakville that is effectively Jul 2017, but the builder has forewarned us of delays already. They expect first delay will likely be Nov 2017 and the second delay Feb 2018.

Running with the worst case scenario...

We are a family with young ones and will need to ensure their schedule is impacted as little as possible. Also looking to get advice on better value-for-money options.

1) Stay at current dwelling till closing; because we are close to downtown (Mimico) we hope the market continues to appreciate and the our townhouse continues to appreciate with it.
2) Sell current townhome, buy small detached in Oakville for same price as ours, meaning no diff to the mortgage payments; stay in detached house till Feb 2018 and then sell again and move again
3) Sell current townhome, RENT detached in Oakville - save ourselves from a double whammy should the market fall across the board.

In terms of comfort for the little ones, moving to Oakville now and getting them enrolled in schools and daycare will be easy on them. Moving in Feb 2018 means kids are joining school mid year which will make placement harder, and adaptability harder as well (IMO)

Wanted to get some feedback as to what might be a smarter option moneywise as well.

...1 or 3 (2 involves too many transaction costs but then again, if you can afford to, why wouldn't you just buy a detached home in Oakville instead of a new townhouse? Detached homes in Oakville do very well over the long term (and tend to have greater lot sizes - that is if you can actually find one that is reasonably affordable)


As for the choice between 1 or 2 - I'd do 1. Its very tough to find a good detached rental in Oakville and when you do they are expensive (see above). Moreover, there is a very good risk that the owner of the detached home could kick you out before 2018

Just wait, homes in Mimico sell quickly

Personally, I wouldn't risk waiting 3 years to sell my house. A lot can happen to the RE market in three years and we are definitely in uncertain times in terms of where interest rates might be going (U.S. likly raising in Sept, which will effect the mortgage market) and also, Canada's economic future is on very shaky ground.

Footnote: I'm assuming your personal finances would be impacted by a sudden decline in RE.

gomyone wrote: ↑...1 or 3 (2 involves too many transaction costs but then again, if you can afford to, why wouldn't you just buy a detached home in Oakville instead of a new townhouse? Detached homes in Oakville do very well over the long term (and tend to have greater lot sizes - that is if you can actually find one that is reasonably affordable)


As for the choice between 1 or 2 - I'd do 1. Its very tough to find a good detached rental in Oakville and when you do they are expensive (see above). Moreover, there is a very good risk that the owner of the detached home could kick you out before 2018

sorry I wasn't clear, we have bought a new build detached house.

also why would the owner kick me out, I thought the reverse was true that renting in Ontario provides enough securities for the renter?

arkroyal wrote: ↑Personally, I wouldn't risk waiting 3 years to sell my house. A lot can happen to the RE market in three years and we are definitely in uncertain times in terms of where interest rates might be going (U.S. likly raising in Sept, which will effect the mortgage market) and also, Canada's economic future is on very shaky ground.

Footnote: I'm assuming your personal finances would be impacted by a sudden decline in RE.

thanks, my convenience in living my lifestyle will definitely be impacted if there was a hit to my equity in my current property :-)

utopianbl wrote: ↑sorry I wasn't clear, we have bought a new build detached house.

also why would the owner kick me out, I thought the reverse was true that renting in Ontario provides enough securities for the renter?

The owner can "kick you out" at the end of your lease if he wants to sell or move back in. Otherwise they can't.

arkroyal wrote: ↑The owner can "kick you out" at the end of your lease if he wants to sell or move back in. Otherwise they can't.

okay that makes sense, but I can sort of combat that by having an agreement in place to have a lease out till jan 2018?

CdnRealEstateGuy wrote: ↑Buying and selling real estate is expensive (land transfer taxes, agent fees, legal fees...), so I wouldn't recommend buying another property. I would recommend either options 1 or 3.

thanks Kevin those are valid concerns that I have as well. I guess buying only would make sense if I bought into the upward trajectory that are being forecasted by the optimists.

utopianbl wrote: ↑sorry I wasn't clear, we have bought a new build detached house.

also why would the owner kick me out, I thought the reverse was true that renting in Ontario provides enough securities for the renter?

...sorry missed that. But even still, if you could buy a detached house in Oakville right now, why wait on a new build? I'm assuming the new build is North of Dundas? In my opinion, that area is saturated with product and may not see the kind of price appreciation that the rest of Oakville has seen. (BTW: I am a long time resident of Oakville, by way of d/t Toronto)

utopianbl wrote: ↑sorry I wasn't clear, we have bought a new build detached house.

also why would the owner kick me out, I thought the reverse was true that renting in Ontario provides enough securities for the renter?

Nope they can kick you out if they live in it for themselves or sell it. You will only sign a one year lease..after that you're month to month unless they sign another lease with you

Calculate the total cost of renting vs the total cost of staying and include selling, moving expenses in the difference. If you are prepared to live with a depreciation of your equity that amounts to at least that difference stay and sell closer to closing. If you don't want the stress of the upcoming uncertainty and would prefer predictability for your family with a better measure of control sell now and rent.

gomyone wrote: ↑...sorry missed that. But even still, if you could buy a detached house in Oakville right now, why wait on a new build? I'm assuming the new build is North of Dundas? In my opinion, that area is saturated with product and may not see the kind of price appreciation that the rest of Oakville has seen. (BTW: I am a long time resident of Oakville, by way of d/t Toronto)

ouch, just the thing I DIDN'T want to hear after I blow a large wad of cash the builder's way - lol

No, but really I don't really care about immediate appreciation of the area as we intend to live in it for the next 10-15 years at least.

The appreciation would be a factor more if we bought a house of comparable cost value to our townhouse, and then hope that it appreciates enough to cover for moving cost + legal and closing fees + land transfer taxes. Rough math would be around ~20k-25k of appreciation to cover for these costs

Moving is a pain.

I would stay put and hope for the best.

utopianbl wrote: ↑We have a new build closing in Oakville that is effectively Jul 2017, but the builder has forewarned us of delays already. They expect first delay will likely be Nov 2017 and the second delay Feb 2018.

Another for your consideration.

As you’ve mentioned, you’ll of course want your children enrolled by the start of the school year, with luck.

Not knowing when exactly the move-in date will be makes the timing of a sale stressful and more so if there’s a bridge between move-out and move-in dates unless you have someplace to stay temporarily.

If you rent, chances are the landlord will want an initial one year lease after which you have the option of renewing on a month to month basis. Breaking a fixed lease could mean forfeiting rent so it seems the latest you would want to rent in Oakville would be around March 2016. You then have the option of renting out your current townhouse until your possession date is within sight or sell it at about the time you find a rental in Oakville. But this timeline doesn’t allow for your to be kids enrolled at the start of the school year.

Given that, I’d suggest doing a quick calculation to determine what your net proceeds could currently be on the sale of your home to see if it’s worthwhile to sell and invest the proceeds now (if you’ve owned the property for at least a couple years it won’t attract CRA’s attention) or find a rental by Sept. of this year and also rent out your current home (this will attract a small cap gain tax). Then, keep an eye on the market for any signs of a downward trend in values and sell prior to Jan 2017 only if that is evident.

1 or 3 are the only options I would consider.

The main determinant is do you need the money from the sale of your current house before you close on the new house?

In other words would be able to afford both houses simultaneously if there is delay in selling?

If so,