The costs of condo fees, taxes, maintenance, and insurance would be around that and definitely over with interest on the mortgage, so unless he is renting a room, he has a pretty good deal at the moment.
@alien444 I wish more people actually grasped that fact. All they see is the final price of the property after it has gone up in value, but totally ignore all the non-recoverable costs they would have had to pay over the years.
I remember when I was paying $800+ in rent (20+ years ago) and a guy I did some work for said that just his condo fees and property tax added up to more than that. It was around that point that I really started questioning the value proposition of "owning" a condo at all.
@oneservant To add to what others have said, buying a van to live in during the winter isn't the best idea. Though the whole house/mortgage/mom/mom's friend is the real elephant in the room here.
@theophilia A few times. Last year power was out due to a hail storm for 5 days, so I spent them in my car. I don't live in my car, but I'm not sure how that's relevant. Does it get colder if it's 1 night or the entire winter?
Cars aren't cold. It gets hot as shit with the heat on. You drive, right?
@jordanl103 Your idea of 'fine' is subjective, but I see why you decided to sleep in the car given the hail storm. Doing what the OP is suggesting would be sleeping in a car for the whole winter vs. one night is a big deal. You live here, right?
@bccc14 Wtf are you doing for 300/m in maintenance? Your utility is crazy cheap though. I pay 650$/month in electric in winter and 300-350ish in summer.
@oneservant I lived in a van for a while. It's not glamorous. The nicest van is less comfortable than a crappy apartment. It's also a huge hassle: unless you have a really great spot, you spend a lot of time driving around looking for water, bathrooms, electricity, wifi (unless you can afford Starlink), places to dump your trash, and a host of other things that you take for granted in a house or apartment.
The big advantage of van living is that it allows you to travel around easily. It's also best done in beautiful places with nice climates because the van should be the place you sleep, not where you live. If I were tied to a job in Toronto, I would not want to live in a van.
@oneservant Friend? So the house title is under the 'friend's name'? At the very least it sounds like the "mortgage" will be under the friend's name while your bf pays down the friend's mortgage. It sounds like a scam from the friend. The mom will likely end up living there without paying rent while your boyfriend pays back the mortgage to the "friend" AND tries to pay for that van he wants to live in 3x a week. And by end of the it, the "Friend" will have a fully paid off property under his name and your bf...well. . Nothing but more debt from carrying the extra living costs.
Don't do it. If he goes ahead with it, you need to figure out if you want to absorb this mess by staying long term together.
@oneservant So friend buys the house and mom is not paying rent and husband is not living in the house, but pays full mortgage to a friend of mom, not a bank of mortgage company. Did I forget any more stupid details?
@chris73 Hilariously yes, the bf will be living in a van in downtown Toronto apparently. Somehow with all the stupid stuff you listed, you forgot that. And any single one of these details would be a deal breaker for me.
@oneservant Lol, 80k income and buying a house within an hour of Toronto, he’s fucking delusional. No bank, or “rich friend” would grant a loan facing the prospect of 50+ years to pay it off.
