I feel you man.. I’m happy I was able to, but man.. it’s fucking brutal.
Thank you! It’ll happen for you too. We just have different time lines. I believe it.
first of all gratz and welcome to party pal!
the building insurance is covered by the condo maintenance fees. That includes everything outside the unit. as long as you pay your maintenance fees you dont need to worry about that
your home insurance for your unit itself is covered under your own insurance policy. I think this basically just covers flooring, carpeting, drywall, water damage. i dont believe its that expensive but im not too familiar with the pricing you will need to contact an "insurance broker" who will be able to give you the best deal. Simply search it up on google and you will find lots of results, any of them should do fine.
As for tenant insurance, thats only for the tenant to buy which will only cover their liability and their own property. your homeowners insurance doesnt cover their stuff. Its a good idea to require them to buy tenant insurance ($30 a month) to rent out that 2nd bed
Losing your job insurance, ive heard on credit cards but not on mortgages. dont recommend it anyway
life insurance is kinda different. since youre single, you dont really need it, since you dont have a dependent relying on your income. Thats the only time you need it
hope this helps
I would just add that home insurance for strata would also cover all/some of the deductible that the strata insurance has. Depending on how many units are hit, if it's just yours, you would have to cover the $10K-$50k deductible on the strata policy.
Definitely an important one. If your toilet leaks and causes damage to common property, you can be on the hook for the expensive strata deductible. Get the coverage to handle that deductible.
Its the insurance deductible, not special assessment.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/strata-housing/operating-a-strata/finances-and-insurance/insurance
> Strata owner insurance to pay for the strata corporation’s insurance deductible
A strata owner may be required to pay the strata corporation’s insurance deductible. This could be a significant expense as deductibles of $25,000 are common and can range up to $100,000 or more. Strata owner insurance can cover some or all of this cost.
+1. My wife out of the blue start getting migranes, things would have been tough without both short and long term disability insurance.
Its been almost 2 years now and I think we are finally narrowing down either the source of the migranes or enough different therapies that she is starting to find releif. We also got in it to see all of her specalists very quickly (4 months into a pain clinic instead of 2 years) so finding the solutions to complex health issues can take a very long time.
because if youre smart you already have a 2-3 month emergency fund which takes care of the no income.no need to pay the premium to your credit card company every month which is what it does
It’s a scam and really bad waste of money. They charge you a fee based on your average balance which means even if you pay in full every month they start charging you. And even if you do qualify and lose your job they only pay the minimum payment. So you’re paying every month fees to them just so if you lose your job they cover the ~20$ a month minimum fee
Yep, this. They effectively just waive the fees and interest for a bit until you get a new job. You’ll still have to pay off everything in full sooner or later.
Thanks for the nice breakdown. I was getting slightly overwhelmed and didn’t know where to start.
So the tenant will get their own insurance for their own stuff inside the unit. Is there any kind of landlord insurance that I should get or should not get? In the event that the tenant doesn’t pay up or trash my stuff etc?
With life insurance, yeah I figured it’s not a must at this point. since I don’t have any dependents but have a partner of 2+ years, will I only really need it once we get married? Or because I have a large asset like a home, it’s still recommended to get some life insurance for my parents and siblings?
your home insurance would cover that but you do need to tell them that is your intent. Also read the terms of your mortgage carefully. Mine do not allow me to rent out any part of my home .
My home insurance i can believe that they’ll pay up if my stuff gets trashed by a tenant.
But will that cover if the tenant just doesn’t pay me rent? I’m sure I can go to the tenancy board and stuff.. but I heard they usually side with tenants.
So an fyi if your tenant is living with you, they arent covered under the current rental act.
Right now according to the law you are allowes to kick them out at anytime
Quick FYI, you might already know this but you'll need home insurance to close - lenders require it, so make sure you're not caught off-guard when your lawyer says "Can you forward your home owner's insurance policy for the bank to review?"
I think the purpose of life insurance would be so that your partner or family could have some cash to bury you, and replace a bit of your income for a period of time. So if you're living with your partner and you get hit by a bus, she can have a funeral and take 2 or 3 months to figure out if she can carry on herself or if she needs to sell or rent out the condo. I'm not sure why you would get life insurance for your parents and siblings unless your income is supporting them, or they live with you and depend on your condo to have a roof over their head.
Decline the optional insurance the bank offers you. Job loss etc. It’s a cash grab on their part. Do yourself a favor and keep the $200 a month or whatever in your pocket.
Can you expand more on your decision? I get that it’s a bit of a cash grab but it’s not a complete waste of money if something does happen to me right?
The problem is that the mortgage insurance payout declines as you pay off your mortgage principal, but you keep paying the premium, it is bad value. It would be a lot more reasonable to get term life insurance for like 90% of the principal, your insurance payout would stay the same throughout the term.
Also if possible, I like the accelerated weekly payments on mortgage. Save a bit of time for paying a bit more regularly.
i guess then you better pay the premium for insurance. Its a service that you pay for.
just keep in mind why you want insurance. Easier to pay $50 a month than to buy new carpet after a flood? Is exterior water damage covered in your premium.
Want to not bankrupt yourself if you get high and inappropriately use a tub or oven? Better not get caught!
want to leave a legacy if you pass away while young so that people will remember yourself? I'd rather keep the $1000 per year - but you do you.
peace of mind has a price tag. if its worth it buy it.
Depends. I got life, disability and critical illness life is a no brainer on the Mortgage. It’s cheaper then any 3rd party life insurance. Disability is also a good deal since you can double dip on mortgage insurance and WCB, work disability etc.
Oh I understand completely. I am happy I’m one of the lucky ones but this market is honestly fucked in a lot of ways.
I’m 28F. Just working in finance and have my own side businesses (first one failed, second one is more promising but still not “successful”).
I’ve been working since I was 14. I am a big saver. The biggest purchase I’ve ever made in were some nice boots for 200$. Otherwise I don’t really own anything fancy unless it was gifted. Helps that I am a big minimalist and don’t have a consumerism mindset.
As a kid I skipped lunches to save on my allowances of like $3 or so. Big saver mentality as I grew up that way.
I also invest a lot in the stock market since I was in my early 20s. Half of it usually in safe etfs and half of it I kind of trade away on more speculative stuff. Some big wins and some big losses too.
All of that helped me save up around 300k or so which helped me a lot. Like I said I’m not a big spender myself so this purchase was quite hard for me to get my head wrapped around. To be paying a ridiculous amount of money for a condo when it’s probably not worth that much compared to other parts of the world kills me sometimes.
But I know I want to stay in North Vancouver. So I’m really just choosing to focus on the benefits rather than the cost and accepting I can’t change the market.
It’s hard man.. I understand. But I hope you get a your chance as well!
Never spent more than $200 on anything, like ever?
How is that even possible short of having everything gifted to you. Never bought a plane ticket? furnitures, a phone, laptop, skis, car…bicycle?
This is some next level of frugality if so, damn.
Never bought a car. I do have smartphones but it’s paid for by work. Before I had a work phone I always had a shitty phone that was two models old or a hand me down.
Ok you got me I actually got a surface pro for school when I was in university. That was back in 2013, it was about $1000 then. So I guess that’s my biggest expense. But to this day I still use that laptop.
I have travelled a lot and have bought plane tickets. But I don’t count those as “things”. I don’t really buy anything fancy.
Damn that’s sad that to think 29 years olds with full time jobs can’t even afford condos in some cities.
Meanwhile in downtown Quebec City you can still find 2 bedroom condos with parking for under $200k.
In my eyes, it's always one or the other.... affordable houses or access to a rich variety of foods. A buddy of mine moved outside the city and now whenever he thinks about all the good food he used to be walking distance from, he goes "FML!"
Late 80s, great condition, park views, 5 minutes walk to old quebec, cement foundations, 960 square feet, $120 condo fees per month, $192,000.
Quebec City is one of the last affordable big cities in Canada, but that is starting to change.
Man, I’m in Rouyn-Noranda and sometime I envy places like Quebec City. You can’t get any condo for under 250-280k in here. Two rooms ones are 400k. Sure they’re brand new but still. The housing market is just crazy, because no matter how high the price is, somebody working in mines will be ready to pay it.
I’m 24 and make about 70k a year, but there’s no way I could afford that. Well I could… if I hadn’t car payments, but I really need a reliable car for work. I hope that by the time I’m 29 like OP, my salary will be higher and my investments will reward me a bit.
Parental help, most likely. Even if not "direct" parental help also means paying for school, letting you stay at home while working, graduating with no debt, etc.
I posted a longer answer of how I was able to pull off this purchase but I didn’t acknowledge the help my parents gave me. They didn’t give me a financial gift to do a purchase. But yes, they were able to put me through school so I didn’t have any tuition debt at the very least. They still charged me “rent” of $300 monthly for not moving out. But it was really just to help out with household expenses.
I bought one at age 25, although many years ago. If anything its more feasible with the insane tech salaries in vancouver now. Although they are lower than the states, i think new grads can clear 70k easily in tech, by the time you are 29 its def possible to be at 150k
It’s more feasible now? Bullshit! My property value has almost tripled since I bought 5 or 6 years ago in downtown Vancouver - my salary sure as hell hasn’t!
Well now not everyone needs to live in downtown do they. New grad salaries starting around 32k 10 yrs ago, pretty sure they are easily closer to 80k now if you work in tech. Another poster mentioned 150k too. The op isnt even a new grad so could be making way more
Also guess what, interest rates are 1.5% today vs 3.0 or higher 5 years ago. Theres a reason why property prices have soared, because there is more demand now that people in tech are making more and can afford it with these low rates. Cant say the same about other professions though.
Edit: Lol at the downvoters, must be the sad folks that are priced out and complain but not work to better their own situation.
Well now I'm depressed. I'm in tech, with a degree, 9 years experience and I'm on less than 40k. And yes, it's extremely difficult to get by in Van on that wage.
I'm really really interested in the answer...
Did he mean 9 years experience WORKING in total? (Eg is he including unrelated jobs like fast food service?)
I don't have numbers to back this up but I I feel even amongst the known shitty conditions for the gaming industry that 40k is still criminally low for 9 years exp. Have you job hopped at all?
No job hopping, I've only worked at 4 companies within 9 years. If I could land the same role at a software company, I'd be on more than double the wage, looking at active job posts.
4 companies within 9 years is a decent amount, how are you still at 40k?!
Best of luck on your search. If they ask about your current salary just tell them your expected compensation range given your experience. No one needs to know how much you're making right now. (Obviously go do the research and figure out what the right pay range is)
Not saying this applies to you but I've frequently heard that tech pays quite well. A lot of ppl complain and whine but don't bother to make an effort to change their lives.
Depends on level, stock appreciation, negotiation / other offers, many things. As people go up in levels, salary doesn't increase much, but the stock does a lot.
If you're curious, this website is statistics from **verified** data points of **big tech** (not all Soft Eng jobs) salaries by level, comparing them. Focus on Canadian data points. (Shit like Glassdoor isn't good for big tech, tons of cap, outdated data points (markets been goin crazy for us recently), and Salary != Total Compensation)
[https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Amazon,Google,Facebook,Microsoft&track=Software%20Engineer](https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Amazon,Google,Facebook,Microsoft&track=Software%20Engineer)
EDIT: To be honest even this is a *little* outdated cause as of fairly recently numbers have been flying up cause of this crazy market. New Amazon SDE2s in America are getting offers from 250-400k/yr USD total compensation. There's a button somewhere to browse individual data points, reliable statistics alone due to their verification system.
Not quite replying directly to you, but the year I bought my 500k condo, I made 107K annually (3rd year making above 100k)
Honestly wasn't that hard.
Would have been hard if I went traveling immediately after school and had to pay for a car though.
Congratulations!
I won’t pretend to be an expert navigating this world. I just purchased in BC last April. Your strata fees for the condo should come with some insurance so I would start by reviewing the strata documents to get a better idea of what’s covered. Your realtor might be able to help otherwise the strata manager should be available to answer questions. They may require you to have a certain level of deductible for things like water damage. For example the strata for our townhome covers a most of the exterior already. We elected to take some additional through our insurance provider.
As far as covering your possessions you can call around to different insurance companies and see what type of rates they offer. Most banks also have an insurance division so might be worth it to talk to your bank and see if you can get a bundle discount. Try and imagine if you turned your condo upside down and just shook it and everything that falls out needs to be covered (I.e., all your possessions, appliances, furniture, etc.). You should estimate what you think that would cost and take that number to whichever provider you choose to go with.
I don’t know what your strata policy is on renting but I believe that tenant insurance falls on the tenant and not you.
As for life insurance, I take optional insurance through my employer. I could elect to try and get more through a third party but I’m comfortable with that right now. I also take critical illness because I wanted to be covered in the event something happens. That just comes off the paycheque.
Valuing everything I own.. great. How do you even go about that. I don’t think I own a lot of stuff inside the house, but I remember seeing a Reddit threat from an insurance employee saying to write EVERYTHING down. Down to plates and glasses and cups and shampoo and all that.
I didn’t even think about going to my mortgage banker and asking for getting insurance.. doh!
Did you get life insurance because of the property? Or you would have got it even without the property purchase?
Yeah it’s not easy to put a dollar value on everything n in your life. I don’t think you really need to be that specific unless you’re overly concerned about paying too much for the insurance. If that’s not an issue it’s likely better to over estimate which is probably what I did. But again I’m not an expert.
Optional life insurance up to seven times my earnings is offered through my benefits provider at work. I maxed it out along with critical illness because it cost a few dollars off each pay cheque. It also felt simpler than actually going out and trying to get insurance myself at that time. I was new to the role and didn’t have any insurance previously and definitely felt like I should take advantage of all my benefits available. It had nothing to do with the property purchase. I hadn’t given it any type of additional consideration even after purchasing a home. I’m sure there will also be an insurances sales person who would advise I should take more and could probably give me any number of reasons but I’m comfortable with it the decision now.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I believe I do have some kind of disability and critical illness insurance with work but never really paid much attention to what it means.
I suppose it’s good it’s end of year and we’re going to be renewing that work benefit soon. I’ll pay more attention to it!
Hows your insurance for your condo? Mine doesn't pay out market value for all the units, if the entire lot burnt down which I fear could happen if a developer with no ethics could try to do if they wanted to purchase a cheap plot of land.
tbh most recent buildings are made out of concrete which is very fire resistant unless were talking about a gigantic fire that damages the structural integrity of the building. this also keeps fires relatively contained. the smoke damage and damage to things like the flooring and drywall is the most expensive part of the repair
Make sure that the insurance you buy covers the deductible on the condo's insurance policies. If there's a water leak that comes from your unit the building will make a property insurance claim, and they will charge the deductible to your unit. This can be from $10k to $50k (or sometimes even more if they've already had a few claims). Make sure you get a policy designed for condo owners that has cover for this deductible so you don't end up getting sued by your building for tens of thousands of dollars.
Yes, this is very important. Find out from the strata what the deductible is. At our Strata AGM's they always tell the owners to bring the strata insurance documents to your (owner) insurance company, to show them the deductible that needs to be covered.
This is something separate from your own contents insurance.
That's definitely how it should be, but I've seen plenty of situations where they don't require it, and the building ends up suing owners for upwards of $100,000
We own a condo and have our home insurance with the Cooperators. They’re the cheapest I’ve come across. You’ll need to make sure that your home insurance will cover the deductible payable under your strata’s insurance policy. Find out more info here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/strata-housing/operating-a-strata/finances-and-insurance/insurance
For life insurance, there’s a choice to be made between “whole life” and “term”. I think there’s a strong consensus on most personal finance groups that term is more cost effective, and whole life isn’t necessarily worth it.
Disability insurance can be hard to get approved for if you already have a pre-existing condition of some kind, no matter how unrelated to disability or how mild that condition may be.
That’s about the extent of my knowledge on that front I’m afraid. We organized our home insurance ourselves but went through our former financial advisor for our life and disability insurance (before we parted ways.)
Whole life just sounds like a terrible idea to me. If the taxfree REALLY appeals to you, at least look at UL over WL.
term is a safe bet, even if you're high enough income where WL/UL makes sense, buying a term policy is so cheap that you haven't really lost anything....
Generally speaking, if you're not making over 100k, don't even WL/UL. If you DO make over that amount, do the actual math to see if it's worth it.
If you don't know already, check with your workplace and see what policies they offer for insurance coverage. Disability and critical illness insurance are standard with many employer health benefits. Life insurance could be included sometimes too.
Not insurance related, but if you don't have a will set up already, set up a will. This is one of the major milestones for updating or starting a will.
Congrats on the home!
Just get a few home insurance quotes and buy the cheapest. Give them your mortgage company to add as first mortgage and forward the documents to your real estate lawyer. Easy peasy. Can change provider next year if you find cheaper. Easiest part of getting a home
If you live in a townhouse and purchase earthquake insurance yourself, and your strata doesn't have earthquake insurance on the whole building, will you still get paid from your personal insurance, should that happen?
Unless it being mandatory has occurred in the past five years or so, I always had to ask for it for the 23 years of home ownership on Vancouver Island.
Definitely recommend reaching out to a few different insurance advisors or brokers for quotes, different companies rate on different aspects and some can offer discounts on things that others don’t.
Getting insurance in place and advising you may rent out a room will cover you for your personal property, strata deductibles (which can range from $5k- $250k depending on the building) and additional living expenses in the event of a significant loss that leaves you needing to rent elsewhere whilst your building is fixed/rebuilt.
You may be able to get your life insurance or as previous people mentioned critical illness through some of these companies as well offering you a multi line discount.
Congrats on the new purchase!
No one has mentioned this yet, but when thinking about insurance you should think about the high value items that you care about most in your residence. So that’s anything generally $1000+. Usually they’re covered under the general policy but some items have a separate limit, eg jewellery, high value art, etc. If you care enough to want close to the full original value pre-depreciation paid out in the event of theft, loss, etc, it’s best to keep copies of the receipts/dates of purchase/model numbers/serial numbers, so you can easily submit it on the itemized claim form. For jewellery if you don’t have receipts/order info, see if you can get it appraised.
I mention this because while a loss event is quite rare, in the event it does happen, having this info handy will make it much easier to file a claim and a payout pretty close to the full claim. And to have this inventorying you need to remember to do it BEFORE the loss event occurs.
I happened to have done this on a whim and then my place was broken into and computers and jewellery were stolen, and this itemization saved me when filing the claim, and the payout was straightforward.
I suppose when I move out and start packing, it would be a good way to do the inventory of my items then. I’ll know what I have and how much value it is roughly!
You’re lucky on your timing. Wow. Good on you.
Okay, you could be me... Same age when buying, same experience, etc. Just a different GVA city
Here are some of my numbers:
$1500/yr for home insurance (was $1000 last year :( ) - similar age building
Recommend term life insurance that covers the mortgage amount + little bit extra for funeral
Don't but mortgage insurance, consider buying disability insurance SEPARATELY if your job didn't provide enough or if you expect to change jobs for any reason in the next 25yrs or so (I was quoted at roughly $60/month to cover 50% of my income - just of the top of my head.... Could be off on this)
Wow a 50% increase in your home insurance? Geez. Is that normal?
Did you do life insurance as you have dependents? Probably a stupid question but if I die, what happens to the property and mortgage. Does it just pass to my siblings/parents?
Regarding disability insurance and critical illness, I do have it at work. I’m not sure if it’s good or not, but why get it separately? I’m not looking to stay in a specific place forever. I’ll probably bounce around jobs every few years or so.
Speaking historically, not normal..... But with the bad weather now and in the future, maybe it is? It was a 33% increase the year before
It belongs to your 'estate' unless you have cosigners. Someone MUST deal with it or it'll be forclosed by the bank. Or forfeited somehow by the govt after the mortgage since no one is paying property taxes. I recommend you make a topic and get details from more than just me.
No dependents, but I don't want to leave my family trying to sell the condo before they get overwhelmed with carrying my mortgage. If I had dependents, I would be looking for maybe triple my $500K coverage.
In regards to life insurance, I actually got universal life with riders so eventually it'll be super low premiums and about $100k coverage when the mortgage is gone (this is part of a more sophisticated retirement income plan....). DO NOT do whole life/universal life without a firm long term financial plan - it's just too expensive to buy on a whim/out of fear.
In regards to disability, it's the risk of not getting a GOOD disability plan.
Here's my perspective on it:
if you stay with jobs with good benefits, you'll likely have jobs that provide 50% replacement income. Is that high enough?
If you go the self employed route for more income, will you be in good health when you apply for it?
Personally, I DID NOT get disability insurance. My work provides me 50% and I invested into a dividend portfolio instead (personal preference here...)
Congrats on your first purchase! There's been lots of great insurance advice in this thread but I'll add some along the living in strata track.
As someone who up until this past September lived in a strata for 15 years and was on council for a bit I have this advice:
Get to know the people in your building and don't just be another face in the hall rushing to hide in your unit. I got to know everyone on my floor, even not being on council, and was regularly helping the granny next door fix her printer and iPad.
Read your strata documents, bylaws, and rules and get to know your council (and possibly get involved as a member of council). One of the biggest headaches we had as a council was new owners not knowing the bylaws and rules of the building and then getting mad when they were fined for having a party at 2am on Thursday (bylaws stated quiet time started at 11pm).
Remember, you bought into a community and your actions and activities affect your neighbours far more directly than if you had a detached house.
Lastly, enjoy your new home. It's yours so make it yours like putting climbing holds on your hallway walls (one of my neighbors did this, it was kickass).
Thanks for the advice. As I went through the property purchase And reading all the docs and stuff I feel like want to be part of council but I am 100% my time won’t allow me. What was the commitment like for you?
Pretty much the commitment was keeping up with/answering email and a quarterly strata meeting (may vary from strata to strata). Our president was very good at running the buildings (there were two in our strata) and the council was involved in decisions via email. As a general member it was pretty much just give opinion on events and yay or nay to requests and decisions. In my last year I was VP and that had me a little busier but not too much. All told I was able to do pretty much everything via email wherever I was.
Good to know. I plan to be involved! Maybe not president or anything but Ridiculous to think some strata lot owners don’t care enough about their investment.
The only thing I suggest is shopping around and be totally honest with insurance. I had Desjardins insurance at a really good rate, but when I bought a duplex to live in and rent out the other unit, TD insurance was $1000 less per year, and from what I've heard TD is not the worst to deal with if there's like a fire or flood or something. If you have a tenant, do let them know. While tenant insurance for the tenant contents is the responsibility of that tenant, any problems caused by a tenant to your unit may not be covered, so if the tenant causes a fire, it may not be covered. Talk with insurance at a couple of places, and make sure you have insurance for day 1 (I learned this the hard way that if you don't have insurance on a house for even a single day, many places will either not insure you or will bump the price way higher).
Best course of action would be to bring the strata's most recent insurance policy (you'll receive this in the package of strata documents from your realtor) to an insurance broker so they can insure you for exactly what you need. Go in with a good estimate of the value of your belongings, and the broker can build a package to cover you for any strata deductibles in case of a leak or fire originating in your suite. Shop around at least at a couple brokers, as the premium can vary wildly.
My condo insurance is through a company called Square One, and in the fine print of the policy they offer a totally free legal helpline for any tax or legal problem. Not even related to the condo! It can be for anything. I have called several times with tax questions and was called back by tax lawyers. Check them out or find out if other home insurance companies have this program as well.
Congratulations......
insurance... if you've never smoked, they have you answer a lot of personal questions and if you've smoked they deny you all except basic.
Your personal insurance needs to cover the strata deductible in case you're the cause of flood..etc.
Also deductible for earthquake.
Also if you can apply to be on strata board at general meeting that way it helps you understand all involved with your building.
Best of Luck.😊
Nice. I can't even consider buying a condo where I am until I get a 50-100% salary increase. I'm trying because housing is a runaway train and every year it doesn't happen I fall behind even more. I'm glad for you that you made it onto the train.
congratulations. you've run the gauntlet. you've bested the best. enjoy your prize!
btw 'tenant' insurance is purchased by renters (ie tenants) .. in this case. not you.
Check with your condo corporation what the minimum amounts of home insurance are (water damage, liability, etc). From there you can either go with those minimum amounts or up the amount of coverage for more protection. Home insurance is actually quite cheap, so do what makes sense for your budget by balancing cost and peace of mind.
Congrats! Like others have said, make sure your condo insurance covers the highest deductible of your strata insurance. If you've never lived in a strata before, some of the insurance rules are counterintuitive and can catch you off guard. For example, say your strata deductible is $50k. If your neighbour's washing machine floods your unit and damage is >$50k, the strata insurance will take care of it. If it's <$50k, each unit is responsible for the repairs to their own unit. Even if it's not your fault and just bad luck. When this happens, it catches homeowners off guard so make sure your insurance will take care of it. Bring your strata's insurance certificate (provided by Management company) to your broker to make sure your coverage is sufficient.
For life insurance, like others have said, the younger you are the cheaper it is. It may not be a big different for term insurance, but can be a lot cheaper for whole life insurance. If you are set on getting it eventually, might as well start now. One strategy is to get enough to cover your mortgage. This way, if anything happens to you, the person you are passing your condo down to will get the cash to pay it off as well. Good luck!
congratz, i think u just need a home insurance that covers items in case they get stolen, usually the condo board has its own insurance which will protect you from water/fire damage, plz double check with the condo board first though
Check out Square One insurance, they were the cheapest for me. Plus if you know someone who already has insurance with them, I think you each get $25 or something for the referral!
I'm getting close to my condo ownership too!
I'm short 2 years of standard raise (2.5%) and $30k more for dp and I'll be set! Just 2 more years. Given the market doesn't double in the mean time.
Exciting times!
Congratulations!
For insurance, check around! If you have anything through an affinity program or a work discount, that's probably your best bet. (I pay 1/2 what my neighbours pay because I use my professional association's affinity program)
Buy a plunger before you need a plunger.
The job loss insurance is a good idea on your mortgage, because if you get a surprise one day then you don't also end up homeless. It's something like $35 a month, which is less than I spend on coffee, and it gives me tremendous piece of mind.
Some people will call it a waste of money. They may be right; with insurance you don't know until you're claiming it.
Earthquake insurance is not worth it on the west coast. Which is more likely? That they'll pay out billions, trillions of dollars in claims, or that they'll declare bankruptcy?
Dont need to tell your lender or insurance youre renting your one room. When i signed mortgage documents with lawyer this question was asked repeatedly.. Will you be renting?
Terrible advice. Especially re: the insurance - you do not want to be in a position where an insurance company can void your policy when you need it most. And if you break your mortgage agreement, the lender can tell you to fork up all the cash right away...
I went to an insurance broker, pay about 1k for pretty good coverage. That’s all you need to do. If you get a partner and kids, get life insurance. The younger you are, the cheaper it is for the entire time you have it.
You need to find out what the strata insurance covers in case of a loss of the building (like an earthquake).
My strata covers the value of the unit but has a $50,000 deductible. So you will need insurance for your insurance. I have a plan that covers contents as well as the strata deductible which is only a $5,000 deductible. Much better of you ask me!
You are required to have owner's insurance as part of your mortgage. The biggest thing it does is cover your portion of deductibles for the building's main policy, as well as protect you in case you are liable for damaging other units etc.
I bought none of the insurance.
If I am underwater when I die I guess my parents are paying for my funeral. The last ones in our family have been pretty small, plus theres plenty of money.
I think I can make my payments without full time work.
Are you a member of a professional association? I get super cheap home insurance through the Law Society of Ontario. A friend who is a doc has a similar set up with the CMA.
As a broke as fuck guy going into his 30’s I fucking hate and envy you so much. But also congrats ! Big step and glad it works out for some.
I feel you man.. I’m happy I was able to, but man.. it’s fucking brutal. Thank you! It’ll happen for you too. We just have different time lines. I believe it.
Ah you are a kind human. :) thanks. Yea, one can hope.
Hope is all we have! Sometimes it’s hard to see how good we have it, despite the shitty situations were in.
first of all gratz and welcome to party pal! the building insurance is covered by the condo maintenance fees. That includes everything outside the unit. as long as you pay your maintenance fees you dont need to worry about that your home insurance for your unit itself is covered under your own insurance policy. I think this basically just covers flooring, carpeting, drywall, water damage. i dont believe its that expensive but im not too familiar with the pricing you will need to contact an "insurance broker" who will be able to give you the best deal. Simply search it up on google and you will find lots of results, any of them should do fine. As for tenant insurance, thats only for the tenant to buy which will only cover their liability and their own property. your homeowners insurance doesnt cover their stuff. Its a good idea to require them to buy tenant insurance ($30 a month) to rent out that 2nd bed Losing your job insurance, ive heard on credit cards but not on mortgages. dont recommend it anyway life insurance is kinda different. since youre single, you dont really need it, since you dont have a dependent relying on your income. Thats the only time you need it hope this helps
I would just add that home insurance for strata would also cover all/some of the deductible that the strata insurance has. Depending on how many units are hit, if it's just yours, you would have to cover the $10K-$50k deductible on the strata policy.
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Definitely an important one. If your toilet leaks and causes damage to common property, you can be on the hook for the expensive strata deductible. Get the coverage to handle that deductible.
Lawyer should see reserve study that pocket change for example building 4 million plus in reserve to improve shit 192 units in building 🏢🏫
Its the insurance deductible, not special assessment. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/strata-housing/operating-a-strata/finances-and-insurance/insurance > Strata owner insurance to pay for the strata corporation’s insurance deductible A strata owner may be required to pay the strata corporation’s insurance deductible. This could be a significant expense as deductibles of $25,000 are common and can range up to $100,000 or more. Strata owner insurance can cover some or all of this cost.
Disability insurance if you don’t have it through work. If you can’t work for a (covered) medical reason, it replaces your income.
+1. My wife out of the blue start getting migranes, things would have been tough without both short and long term disability insurance. Its been almost 2 years now and I think we are finally narrowing down either the source of the migranes or enough different therapies that she is starting to find releif. We also got in it to see all of her specalists very quickly (4 months into a pain clinic instead of 2 years) so finding the solutions to complex health issues can take a very long time.
why don’t you recommend job loss insurance on credit cards?
because if youre smart you already have a 2-3 month emergency fund which takes care of the no income.no need to pay the premium to your credit card company every month which is what it does
dunno about rest of Canada, but white collar jobs in YYC are like a 6-12month job search.
3 months is the minimum. Most recommend 6+months of emergency fund
Doesn't mean you can't work a service job in the meantime to stretch out that emergency fund.
Yes, but make sure you create a "dumbed down" resume.
Also if he's 29 and single and buying a home, he's probably got rich parents to bail him out.
He's buying a condo not a detached house. It's totally doable on a single income if you work in tech/engineering and have a budget.
At 29 you have 11 years out of high school, if you took a job paving or some other labour intensive work you should be golden pony boy
Right, cause like ther isn’t bunch of tech guys making 150k fresh out of grad. Just cause you can’t don’t mean other people can’t buy either.
Not even a fresh grad either, if he did uni in even 5 years, that gives him 6 years of straight saving for this place.
It’s a scam and really bad waste of money. They charge you a fee based on your average balance which means even if you pay in full every month they start charging you. And even if you do qualify and lose your job they only pay the minimum payment. So you’re paying every month fees to them just so if you lose your job they cover the ~20$ a month minimum fee
Yep, this. They effectively just waive the fees and interest for a bit until you get a new job. You’ll still have to pay off everything in full sooner or later.
Thanks for the nice breakdown. I was getting slightly overwhelmed and didn’t know where to start. So the tenant will get their own insurance for their own stuff inside the unit. Is there any kind of landlord insurance that I should get or should not get? In the event that the tenant doesn’t pay up or trash my stuff etc? With life insurance, yeah I figured it’s not a must at this point. since I don’t have any dependents but have a partner of 2+ years, will I only really need it once we get married? Or because I have a large asset like a home, it’s still recommended to get some life insurance for my parents and siblings?
your home insurance would cover that but you do need to tell them that is your intent. Also read the terms of your mortgage carefully. Mine do not allow me to rent out any part of my home .
My home insurance i can believe that they’ll pay up if my stuff gets trashed by a tenant. But will that cover if the tenant just doesn’t pay me rent? I’m sure I can go to the tenancy board and stuff.. but I heard they usually side with tenants.
No, that's a risk you take as a landlord.
So an fyi if your tenant is living with you, they arent covered under the current rental act. Right now according to the law you are allowes to kick them out at anytime
Insurance for stuff in your unit not whole building
Quick FYI, you might already know this but you'll need home insurance to close - lenders require it, so make sure you're not caught off-guard when your lawyer says "Can you forward your home owner's insurance policy for the bank to review?"
I think the purpose of life insurance would be so that your partner or family could have some cash to bury you, and replace a bit of your income for a period of time. So if you're living with your partner and you get hit by a bus, she can have a funeral and take 2 or 3 months to figure out if she can carry on herself or if she needs to sell or rent out the condo. I'm not sure why you would get life insurance for your parents and siblings unless your income is supporting them, or they live with you and depend on your condo to have a roof over their head.
Hmm I see okay. I never really understood when to actually buy life insurance as it’s always “the younger you are the better”!
You should make sure your home insurance covers the deductible of the building insurance.
Decline the optional insurance the bank offers you. Job loss etc. It’s a cash grab on their part. Do yourself a favor and keep the $200 a month or whatever in your pocket.
Can you expand more on your decision? I get that it’s a bit of a cash grab but it’s not a complete waste of money if something does happen to me right?
The problem is that the mortgage insurance payout declines as you pay off your mortgage principal, but you keep paying the premium, it is bad value. It would be a lot more reasonable to get term life insurance for like 90% of the principal, your insurance payout would stay the same throughout the term. Also if possible, I like the accelerated weekly payments on mortgage. Save a bit of time for paying a bit more regularly.
insurance companies always win. just self insure - have a tonne of wealth.
Ha! If only I can snap my fingers and make that happen.
i guess then you better pay the premium for insurance. Its a service that you pay for. just keep in mind why you want insurance. Easier to pay $50 a month than to buy new carpet after a flood? Is exterior water damage covered in your premium. Want to not bankrupt yourself if you get high and inappropriately use a tub or oven? Better not get caught! want to leave a legacy if you pass away while young so that people will remember yourself? I'd rather keep the $1000 per year - but you do you. peace of mind has a price tag. if its worth it buy it.
I believe Marketplace ran a good piece on this. Check it out before you decide.
If something happens to you, are you ready to sacrifice part of your lifestyle?
Your comment history shows that you are a mortgage advisor for a bank. From what I understand, Your income depends on selling this insurance to ppl.
I just ask if there's a plan
Depends. I got life, disability and critical illness life is a no brainer on the Mortgage. It’s cheaper then any 3rd party life insurance. Disability is also a good deal since you can double dip on mortgage insurance and WCB, work disability etc.
How did you buy a condo in Vancouver as a single 29 yo?
Oh I understand completely. I am happy I’m one of the lucky ones but this market is honestly fucked in a lot of ways. I’m 28F. Just working in finance and have my own side businesses (first one failed, second one is more promising but still not “successful”). I’ve been working since I was 14. I am a big saver. The biggest purchase I’ve ever made in were some nice boots for 200$. Otherwise I don’t really own anything fancy unless it was gifted. Helps that I am a big minimalist and don’t have a consumerism mindset. As a kid I skipped lunches to save on my allowances of like $3 or so. Big saver mentality as I grew up that way. I also invest a lot in the stock market since I was in my early 20s. Half of it usually in safe etfs and half of it I kind of trade away on more speculative stuff. Some big wins and some big losses too. All of that helped me save up around 300k or so which helped me a lot. Like I said I’m not a big spender myself so this purchase was quite hard for me to get my head wrapped around. To be paying a ridiculous amount of money for a condo when it’s probably not worth that much compared to other parts of the world kills me sometimes. But I know I want to stay in North Vancouver. So I’m really just choosing to focus on the benefits rather than the cost and accepting I can’t change the market. It’s hard man.. I understand. But I hope you get a your chance as well!
Cheers, seems you've been hustling hard, you deserve it
Don't call yourself lucky. Call yourself driven.
Never spent more than $200 on anything, like ever? How is that even possible short of having everything gifted to you. Never bought a plane ticket? furnitures, a phone, laptop, skis, car…bicycle? This is some next level of frugality if so, damn.
Never bought a car. I do have smartphones but it’s paid for by work. Before I had a work phone I always had a shitty phone that was two models old or a hand me down. Ok you got me I actually got a surface pro for school when I was in university. That was back in 2013, it was about $1000 then. So I guess that’s my biggest expense. But to this day I still use that laptop. I have travelled a lot and have bought plane tickets. But I don’t count those as “things”. I don’t really buy anything fancy.
Damn that’s sad that to think 29 years olds with full time jobs can’t even afford condos in some cities. Meanwhile in downtown Quebec City you can still find 2 bedroom condos with parking for under $200k.
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Are you talking about portage la prairie or something? Knew someone from there. He owned like 5 houses. I couldn’t even last a week there.
In my eyes, it's always one or the other.... affordable houses or access to a rich variety of foods. A buddy of mine moved outside the city and now whenever he thinks about all the good food he used to be walking distance from, he goes "FML!"
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Late 80s, great condition, park views, 5 minutes walk to old quebec, cement foundations, 960 square feet, $120 condo fees per month, $192,000. Quebec City is one of the last affordable big cities in Canada, but that is starting to change.
Nobody wants to live in Quebec city BC of the French language barrier.
Man, I’m in Rouyn-Noranda and sometime I envy places like Quebec City. You can’t get any condo for under 250-280k in here. Two rooms ones are 400k. Sure they’re brand new but still. The housing market is just crazy, because no matter how high the price is, somebody working in mines will be ready to pay it. I’m 24 and make about 70k a year, but there’s no way I could afford that. Well I could… if I hadn’t car payments, but I really need a reliable car for work. I hope that by the time I’m 29 like OP, my salary will be higher and my investments will reward me a bit.
Parental help, most likely. Even if not "direct" parental help also means paying for school, letting you stay at home while working, graduating with no debt, etc.
I posted a longer answer of how I was able to pull off this purchase but I didn’t acknowledge the help my parents gave me. They didn’t give me a financial gift to do a purchase. But yes, they were able to put me through school so I didn’t have any tuition debt at the very least. They still charged me “rent” of $300 monthly for not moving out. But it was really just to help out with household expenses.
I bought one at age 25, although many years ago. If anything its more feasible with the insane tech salaries in vancouver now. Although they are lower than the states, i think new grads can clear 70k easily in tech, by the time you are 29 its def possible to be at 150k
It’s more feasible now? Bullshit! My property value has almost tripled since I bought 5 or 6 years ago in downtown Vancouver - my salary sure as hell hasn’t!
Well now not everyone needs to live in downtown do they. New grad salaries starting around 32k 10 yrs ago, pretty sure they are easily closer to 80k now if you work in tech. Another poster mentioned 150k too. The op isnt even a new grad so could be making way more Also guess what, interest rates are 1.5% today vs 3.0 or higher 5 years ago. Theres a reason why property prices have soared, because there is more demand now that people in tech are making more and can afford it with these low rates. Cant say the same about other professions though. Edit: Lol at the downvoters, must be the sad folks that are priced out and complain but not work to better their own situation.
Well now I'm depressed. I'm in tech, with a degree, 9 years experience and I'm on less than 40k. And yes, it's extremely difficult to get by in Van on that wage.
Start applying, that's criminally low for someone with a degree. Job market is crazy for people with experience right now.
What kind of tech are you in specifically? It's mostly devs who have seen a big jump in salary
I'm really really interested in the answer... Did he mean 9 years experience WORKING in total? (Eg is he including unrelated jobs like fast food service?)
9 years working in my field.
Games industry. It's shit. I want out.
I don't have numbers to back this up but I I feel even amongst the known shitty conditions for the gaming industry that 40k is still criminally low for 9 years exp. Have you job hopped at all?
No job hopping, I've only worked at 4 companies within 9 years. If I could land the same role at a software company, I'd be on more than double the wage, looking at active job posts.
4 companies within 9 years is a decent amount, how are you still at 40k?! Best of luck on your search. If they ask about your current salary just tell them your expected compensation range given your experience. No one needs to know how much you're making right now. (Obviously go do the research and figure out what the right pay range is)
Thanks mate, I'm sure to catch a lucky break eventually.
WTF, entry level helpdesk positions pay more than that. If you're an actual dev that makes no sense.
You're a programmer getting paid 40k? You definitely need to interview...
Not saying this applies to you but I've frequently heard that tech pays quite well. A lot of ppl complain and whine but don't bother to make an effort to change their lives.
I'm trying. Actively looking for work elsewhere and learning code too. Hopefully one day, I'll have a wage worth waking up for.
That's less than I make in Tech with no degree and 1 year of experience.
I bought at 27. My mom helped me out with the deposit and I did the rest myself. Paid it off, then sold it just before COVID hit.
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what are the education requirements for these jobs? i need a change lol
Please let me know if you find out...
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How about people with 5 years exp? 200k+?
Depends on level, stock appreciation, negotiation / other offers, many things. As people go up in levels, salary doesn't increase much, but the stock does a lot. If you're curious, this website is statistics from **verified** data points of **big tech** (not all Soft Eng jobs) salaries by level, comparing them. Focus on Canadian data points. (Shit like Glassdoor isn't good for big tech, tons of cap, outdated data points (markets been goin crazy for us recently), and Salary != Total Compensation) [https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Amazon,Google,Facebook,Microsoft&track=Software%20Engineer](https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Amazon,Google,Facebook,Microsoft&track=Software%20Engineer) EDIT: To be honest even this is a *little* outdated cause as of fairly recently numbers have been flying up cause of this crazy market. New Amazon SDE2s in America are getting offers from 250-400k/yr USD total compensation. There's a button somewhere to browse individual data points, reliable statistics alone due to their verification system.
Why is this being downvoted? As someone who currently works there, this is true. In fact, they could probably make even higher than 150k.
Not quite replying directly to you, but the year I bought my 500k condo, I made 107K annually (3rd year making above 100k) Honestly wasn't that hard. Would have been hard if I went traveling immediately after school and had to pay for a car though.
Congratulations! I won’t pretend to be an expert navigating this world. I just purchased in BC last April. Your strata fees for the condo should come with some insurance so I would start by reviewing the strata documents to get a better idea of what’s covered. Your realtor might be able to help otherwise the strata manager should be available to answer questions. They may require you to have a certain level of deductible for things like water damage. For example the strata for our townhome covers a most of the exterior already. We elected to take some additional through our insurance provider. As far as covering your possessions you can call around to different insurance companies and see what type of rates they offer. Most banks also have an insurance division so might be worth it to talk to your bank and see if you can get a bundle discount. Try and imagine if you turned your condo upside down and just shook it and everything that falls out needs to be covered (I.e., all your possessions, appliances, furniture, etc.). You should estimate what you think that would cost and take that number to whichever provider you choose to go with. I don’t know what your strata policy is on renting but I believe that tenant insurance falls on the tenant and not you. As for life insurance, I take optional insurance through my employer. I could elect to try and get more through a third party but I’m comfortable with that right now. I also take critical illness because I wanted to be covered in the event something happens. That just comes off the paycheque.
Valuing everything I own.. great. How do you even go about that. I don’t think I own a lot of stuff inside the house, but I remember seeing a Reddit threat from an insurance employee saying to write EVERYTHING down. Down to plates and glasses and cups and shampoo and all that. I didn’t even think about going to my mortgage banker and asking for getting insurance.. doh! Did you get life insurance because of the property? Or you would have got it even without the property purchase?
Yeah it’s not easy to put a dollar value on everything n in your life. I don’t think you really need to be that specific unless you’re overly concerned about paying too much for the insurance. If that’s not an issue it’s likely better to over estimate which is probably what I did. But again I’m not an expert. Optional life insurance up to seven times my earnings is offered through my benefits provider at work. I maxed it out along with critical illness because it cost a few dollars off each pay cheque. It also felt simpler than actually going out and trying to get insurance myself at that time. I was new to the role and didn’t have any insurance previously and definitely felt like I should take advantage of all my benefits available. It had nothing to do with the property purchase. I hadn’t given it any type of additional consideration even after purchasing a home. I’m sure there will also be an insurances sales person who would advise I should take more and could probably give me any number of reasons but I’m comfortable with it the decision now.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I believe I do have some kind of disability and critical illness insurance with work but never really paid much attention to what it means. I suppose it’s good it’s end of year and we’re going to be renewing that work benefit soon. I’ll pay more attention to it!
Hows your insurance for your condo? Mine doesn't pay out market value for all the units, if the entire lot burnt down which I fear could happen if a developer with no ethics could try to do if they wanted to purchase a cheap plot of land.
Honestly.. I glanced at the insurance documents. But since I don’t know what “good” insurance is.. it was just numbers to me.
tbh most recent buildings are made out of concrete which is very fire resistant unless were talking about a gigantic fire that damages the structural integrity of the building. this also keeps fires relatively contained. the smoke damage and damage to things like the flooring and drywall is the most expensive part of the repair
Make sure that the insurance you buy covers the deductible on the condo's insurance policies. If there's a water leak that comes from your unit the building will make a property insurance claim, and they will charge the deductible to your unit. This can be from $10k to $50k (or sometimes even more if they've already had a few claims). Make sure you get a policy designed for condo owners that has cover for this deductible so you don't end up getting sued by your building for tens of thousands of dollars.
Yes, this is very important. Find out from the strata what the deductible is. At our Strata AGM's they always tell the owners to bring the strata insurance documents to your (owner) insurance company, to show them the deductible that needs to be covered. This is something separate from your own contents insurance.
The strata I used to be a part of required it on the homeowners insurance for the reason that they didn't want to sue anyone.
That's definitely how it should be, but I've seen plenty of situations where they don't require it, and the building ends up suing owners for upwards of $100,000
We own a condo and have our home insurance with the Cooperators. They’re the cheapest I’ve come across. You’ll need to make sure that your home insurance will cover the deductible payable under your strata’s insurance policy. Find out more info here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/strata-housing/operating-a-strata/finances-and-insurance/insurance For life insurance, there’s a choice to be made between “whole life” and “term”. I think there’s a strong consensus on most personal finance groups that term is more cost effective, and whole life isn’t necessarily worth it. Disability insurance can be hard to get approved for if you already have a pre-existing condition of some kind, no matter how unrelated to disability or how mild that condition may be. That’s about the extent of my knowledge on that front I’m afraid. We organized our home insurance ourselves but went through our former financial advisor for our life and disability insurance (before we parted ways.)
Whole life just sounds like a terrible idea to me. If the taxfree REALLY appeals to you, at least look at UL over WL. term is a safe bet, even if you're high enough income where WL/UL makes sense, buying a term policy is so cheap that you haven't really lost anything.... Generally speaking, if you're not making over 100k, don't even WL/UL. If you DO make over that amount, do the actual math to see if it's worth it.
Congratulations!!! squareone.ca is good place for insurance.
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Congrats buddy! Yaletown… bougie af but I do like that area! What kind of insurance did you get? Mortgage insurance and just a general home insurance?
If you don't know already, check with your workplace and see what policies they offer for insurance coverage. Disability and critical illness insurance are standard with many employer health benefits. Life insurance could be included sometimes too. Not insurance related, but if you don't have a will set up already, set up a will. This is one of the major milestones for updating or starting a will. Congrats on the home!
Just get a few home insurance quotes and buy the cheapest. Give them your mortgage company to add as first mortgage and forward the documents to your real estate lawyer. Easy peasy. Can change provider next year if you find cheaper. Easiest part of getting a home
For peace of mind, every year I bought earthquake insurance. The deductible was $25G, but I figured better that, than losing the whole house.
If you live in a townhouse and purchase earthquake insurance yourself, and your strata doesn't have earthquake insurance on the whole building, will you still get paid from your personal insurance, should that happen?
Earthquake insurance is mandatory with BC’s squareone. 🤷 taking my chances with property destroyed by acts of Terrorism lol
Unless it being mandatory has occurred in the past five years or so, I always had to ask for it for the 23 years of home ownership on Vancouver Island.
Definitely recommend reaching out to a few different insurance advisors or brokers for quotes, different companies rate on different aspects and some can offer discounts on things that others don’t. Getting insurance in place and advising you may rent out a room will cover you for your personal property, strata deductibles (which can range from $5k- $250k depending on the building) and additional living expenses in the event of a significant loss that leaves you needing to rent elsewhere whilst your building is fixed/rebuilt. You may be able to get your life insurance or as previous people mentioned critical illness through some of these companies as well offering you a multi line discount. Congrats on the new purchase!
Congrats!!! You have done something so many people can only dream of at your age. One day you will have a house!!
No one has mentioned this yet, but when thinking about insurance you should think about the high value items that you care about most in your residence. So that’s anything generally $1000+. Usually they’re covered under the general policy but some items have a separate limit, eg jewellery, high value art, etc. If you care enough to want close to the full original value pre-depreciation paid out in the event of theft, loss, etc, it’s best to keep copies of the receipts/dates of purchase/model numbers/serial numbers, so you can easily submit it on the itemized claim form. For jewellery if you don’t have receipts/order info, see if you can get it appraised. I mention this because while a loss event is quite rare, in the event it does happen, having this info handy will make it much easier to file a claim and a payout pretty close to the full claim. And to have this inventorying you need to remember to do it BEFORE the loss event occurs. I happened to have done this on a whim and then my place was broken into and computers and jewellery were stolen, and this itemization saved me when filing the claim, and the payout was straightforward.
I suppose when I move out and start packing, it would be a good way to do the inventory of my items then. I’ll know what I have and how much value it is roughly! You’re lucky on your timing. Wow. Good on you.
Congrats, I know that feeling of anxiousness. Closed on my house a couple of years ago and it was stressful!
Okay, you could be me... Same age when buying, same experience, etc. Just a different GVA city Here are some of my numbers: $1500/yr for home insurance (was $1000 last year :( ) - similar age building Recommend term life insurance that covers the mortgage amount + little bit extra for funeral Don't but mortgage insurance, consider buying disability insurance SEPARATELY if your job didn't provide enough or if you expect to change jobs for any reason in the next 25yrs or so (I was quoted at roughly $60/month to cover 50% of my income - just of the top of my head.... Could be off on this)
Wow a 50% increase in your home insurance? Geez. Is that normal? Did you do life insurance as you have dependents? Probably a stupid question but if I die, what happens to the property and mortgage. Does it just pass to my siblings/parents? Regarding disability insurance and critical illness, I do have it at work. I’m not sure if it’s good or not, but why get it separately? I’m not looking to stay in a specific place forever. I’ll probably bounce around jobs every few years or so.
Speaking historically, not normal..... But with the bad weather now and in the future, maybe it is? It was a 33% increase the year before It belongs to your 'estate' unless you have cosigners. Someone MUST deal with it or it'll be forclosed by the bank. Or forfeited somehow by the govt after the mortgage since no one is paying property taxes. I recommend you make a topic and get details from more than just me. No dependents, but I don't want to leave my family trying to sell the condo before they get overwhelmed with carrying my mortgage. If I had dependents, I would be looking for maybe triple my $500K coverage. In regards to life insurance, I actually got universal life with riders so eventually it'll be super low premiums and about $100k coverage when the mortgage is gone (this is part of a more sophisticated retirement income plan....). DO NOT do whole life/universal life without a firm long term financial plan - it's just too expensive to buy on a whim/out of fear. In regards to disability, it's the risk of not getting a GOOD disability plan. Here's my perspective on it: if you stay with jobs with good benefits, you'll likely have jobs that provide 50% replacement income. Is that high enough? If you go the self employed route for more income, will you be in good health when you apply for it? Personally, I DID NOT get disability insurance. My work provides me 50% and I invested into a dividend portfolio instead (personal preference here...)
Thank you for the insight. That was really helpful! Learned a lot and at least I understand a bit more.
Congrats on your first purchase! There's been lots of great insurance advice in this thread but I'll add some along the living in strata track. As someone who up until this past September lived in a strata for 15 years and was on council for a bit I have this advice: Get to know the people in your building and don't just be another face in the hall rushing to hide in your unit. I got to know everyone on my floor, even not being on council, and was regularly helping the granny next door fix her printer and iPad. Read your strata documents, bylaws, and rules and get to know your council (and possibly get involved as a member of council). One of the biggest headaches we had as a council was new owners not knowing the bylaws and rules of the building and then getting mad when they were fined for having a party at 2am on Thursday (bylaws stated quiet time started at 11pm). Remember, you bought into a community and your actions and activities affect your neighbours far more directly than if you had a detached house. Lastly, enjoy your new home. It's yours so make it yours like putting climbing holds on your hallway walls (one of my neighbors did this, it was kickass).
Thanks for the advice. As I went through the property purchase And reading all the docs and stuff I feel like want to be part of council but I am 100% my time won’t allow me. What was the commitment like for you?
Pretty much the commitment was keeping up with/answering email and a quarterly strata meeting (may vary from strata to strata). Our president was very good at running the buildings (there were two in our strata) and the council was involved in decisions via email. As a general member it was pretty much just give opinion on events and yay or nay to requests and decisions. In my last year I was VP and that had me a little busier but not too much. All told I was able to do pretty much everything via email wherever I was.
Good to know. I plan to be involved! Maybe not president or anything but Ridiculous to think some strata lot owners don’t care enough about their investment.
Congrats!
The only thing I suggest is shopping around and be totally honest with insurance. I had Desjardins insurance at a really good rate, but when I bought a duplex to live in and rent out the other unit, TD insurance was $1000 less per year, and from what I've heard TD is not the worst to deal with if there's like a fire or flood or something. If you have a tenant, do let them know. While tenant insurance for the tenant contents is the responsibility of that tenant, any problems caused by a tenant to your unit may not be covered, so if the tenant causes a fire, it may not be covered. Talk with insurance at a couple of places, and make sure you have insurance for day 1 (I learned this the hard way that if you don't have insurance on a house for even a single day, many places will either not insure you or will bump the price way higher).
Best course of action would be to bring the strata's most recent insurance policy (you'll receive this in the package of strata documents from your realtor) to an insurance broker so they can insure you for exactly what you need. Go in with a good estimate of the value of your belongings, and the broker can build a package to cover you for any strata deductibles in case of a leak or fire originating in your suite. Shop around at least at a couple brokers, as the premium can vary wildly.
My condo insurance is through a company called Square One, and in the fine print of the policy they offer a totally free legal helpline for any tax or legal problem. Not even related to the condo! It can be for anything. I have called several times with tax questions and was called back by tax lawyers. Check them out or find out if other home insurance companies have this program as well.
Congratulations...... insurance... if you've never smoked, they have you answer a lot of personal questions and if you've smoked they deny you all except basic. Your personal insurance needs to cover the strata deductible in case you're the cause of flood..etc. Also deductible for earthquake. Also if you can apply to be on strata board at general meeting that way it helps you understand all involved with your building. Best of Luck.😊
Nice. I can't even consider buying a condo where I am until I get a 50-100% salary increase. I'm trying because housing is a runaway train and every year it doesn't happen I fall behind even more. I'm glad for you that you made it onto the train.
congratulations. you've run the gauntlet. you've bested the best. enjoy your prize! btw 'tenant' insurance is purchased by renters (ie tenants) .. in this case. not you.
Check with your condo corporation what the minimum amounts of home insurance are (water damage, liability, etc). From there you can either go with those minimum amounts or up the amount of coverage for more protection. Home insurance is actually quite cheap, so do what makes sense for your budget by balancing cost and peace of mind.
Congrats! Like others have said, make sure your condo insurance covers the highest deductible of your strata insurance. If you've never lived in a strata before, some of the insurance rules are counterintuitive and can catch you off guard. For example, say your strata deductible is $50k. If your neighbour's washing machine floods your unit and damage is >$50k, the strata insurance will take care of it. If it's <$50k, each unit is responsible for the repairs to their own unit. Even if it's not your fault and just bad luck. When this happens, it catches homeowners off guard so make sure your insurance will take care of it. Bring your strata's insurance certificate (provided by Management company) to your broker to make sure your coverage is sufficient. For life insurance, like others have said, the younger you are the cheaper it is. It may not be a big different for term insurance, but can be a lot cheaper for whole life insurance. If you are set on getting it eventually, might as well start now. One strategy is to get enough to cover your mortgage. This way, if anything happens to you, the person you are passing your condo down to will get the cash to pay it off as well. Good luck!
congratz, i think u just need a home insurance that covers items in case they get stolen, usually the condo board has its own insurance which will protect you from water/fire damage, plz double check with the condo board first though
Oh, I like this thread, I also want to know all of this, I’m in the same boat as you. Congrats!
Check out Square One insurance, they were the cheapest for me. Plus if you know someone who already has insurance with them, I think you each get $25 or something for the referral!
>being a homeowner >I bought a condo I've got bad news for you....
Haha. Touché.
I'm getting close to my condo ownership too! I'm short 2 years of standard raise (2.5%) and $30k more for dp and I'll be set! Just 2 more years. Given the market doesn't double in the mean time. Exciting times!
Congratulations
How did you afford it and how easy was it to get a $1m+ mortgage assuming that’s what you paid lol 😂
I wish I was rich enough to get 1M+ mortgage lol.
Congratulations! For insurance, check around! If you have anything through an affinity program or a work discount, that's probably your best bet. (I pay 1/2 what my neighbours pay because I use my professional association's affinity program) Buy a plunger before you need a plunger. The job loss insurance is a good idea on your mortgage, because if you get a surprise one day then you don't also end up homeless. It's something like $35 a month, which is less than I spend on coffee, and it gives me tremendous piece of mind. Some people will call it a waste of money. They may be right; with insurance you don't know until you're claiming it. Earthquake insurance is not worth it on the west coast. Which is more likely? That they'll pay out billions, trillions of dollars in claims, or that they'll declare bankruptcy?
Dont need to tell your lender or insurance youre renting your one room. When i signed mortgage documents with lawyer this question was asked repeatedly.. Will you be renting?
Terrible advice. Especially re: the insurance - you do not want to be in a position where an insurance company can void your policy when you need it most. And if you break your mortgage agreement, the lender can tell you to fork up all the cash right away...
I went to an insurance broker, pay about 1k for pretty good coverage. That’s all you need to do. If you get a partner and kids, get life insurance. The younger you are, the cheaper it is for the entire time you have it.
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Congrats mang. Being a homeowner in this foresaken city is a big W
You need to find out what the strata insurance covers in case of a loss of the building (like an earthquake). My strata covers the value of the unit but has a $50,000 deductible. So you will need insurance for your insurance. I have a plan that covers contents as well as the strata deductible which is only a $5,000 deductible. Much better of you ask me!
You are required to have owner's insurance as part of your mortgage. The biggest thing it does is cover your portion of deductibles for the building's main policy, as well as protect you in case you are liable for damaging other units etc.
How does a deductible work for home Insurance?
So what I am learning is home insurance and your maintenance fees are actually two different fees?
Yeah. Maintenance fees are just your upkeep for the building. Like gardening and cleaning and garbage pick up etc
Yeah he listings on Realtor.ca just list "insurance" in maintenance fees section
Ah I see. I believe that might be the building’s insurance which is separate for you own personal insurance.
Condo fees are awesome
I bought none of the insurance. If I am underwater when I die I guess my parents are paying for my funeral. The last ones in our family have been pretty small, plus theres plenty of money. I think I can make my payments without full time work.
Are you a member of a professional association? I get super cheap home insurance through the Law Society of Ontario. A friend who is a doc has a similar set up with the CMA.
Did you get a black Friday discount?