Would high building fees rule out this Montreal apartment?

[makeTheWorkshop]

The monthly gap between renting and owning is hard to ignore. My main concern is committing about C$1,357,000 to a Montreal apartment when I might leave within seven years.

Higher association dues are not automatically a bad sign if they support proper maintenance and healthy shared-building reserves; a cheaper building with deferred repairs could be the more expensive choice. I need to compare my rental with five- and seven-year ownership scenarios, including purchase and sale costs, likely maintenance intensity and a possible major shared repair. I would also like to check completed local comparisons and realistic tenant demand in case renting the apartment out is allowed and becomes preferable to selling.

 

[NimbleReed]

With a five-to-seven-year horizon, I would lean toward renting unless the purchase still works under fairly pessimistic assumptions. Ask for the building’s recent financial information, reserve position, maintenance history and any planned work, then model higher dues rather than today’s figure alone. How much of the monthly ownership cost is principal repayment, and how large would the buying and eventual selling costs be?

 

[openTheKite]

I wouldn’t reject it solely because ownership costs more than rent. Part of the mortgage payment becomes equity, while rent does not, and a well-funded building can have higher dues precisely because it is maintaining things properly. Low fees can conceal deferred work.

The bigger concern is your possible move. Compare five- and seven-year outcomes using the same assumptions for price growth, rent increases, insurance, energy use and maintenance. Also consider how easy this particular apartment type would be to resell—or rent out, if permitted—without assuming constant tenant demand or zero vacancy.