Why renting a parking spot makes more financial sense than owning one

by Davelle Morrison

Buying a condo without parking is actually a great way to save money. While parking is factored into the costs of many condos. Parking in Toronto is valued at anywhere between $70,000 to $165,000 for the parking spot. Imagine adding that cost to the price of your condo and paying a mortgage on it.

So let’s test our theory, if I take a parking spot cost of $165,000, at an interest rate of 3.94% and amortized over 25 years, that parking spot would cost you $862.58 per month. And throughout the life of this mortgage you would have wasted, I mean paid $93,771.41 in interest fees. You’re probably wondering why I used $165,000, well there is a pre-construction condo project in midtown Toronto currently selling parking spots for $165,000. It’s an outrageous amount but this is where the market is going.

Let’s use another price scenario, what if you only paid $80,000 for the parking spot, at an interest rate of 3.94% amortized over 25 years, that parking spot would cost you $418.22 each month. Throughout the life of this mortgage you would have wasted, I mean paid $45,465.05 in interest fees.

So how does a rental of $180/month sound now?

For an example of a real life example of this rental parking, check out this townhouse at 11 Broadway Ave.

The Journey of Villa Mango, Barbados (Part 3): Will the shipping container finally arrive?

by Davelle Morrison

This is a 3-part blog series on how we found a rental property in Barbados to buy sight unseen during a pandemic while being in Toronto, Canada.

Make sure you read the first part and the second part before.

We made our way back to Villa Mango to continue to wear out our customs broker.

It’s now Wednesday, Nov. 26th. On Thursday., Nov. 27th, they tell us that the container will arrive at 4:30pm the next day, Friday, Nov. 28th. I look at one of my friends and tell him, he’s going to need to extend his trip yet again. He’s already been in Barbados for 6+ weeks and is desperate to get home but realizes that he can’t leave now just as the container is arriving.

On. Nov. 26th, someone from the customs broker shows up to make sure there is enough space to place the shipping container. They tell us that the customs officials must have a desk, chair and washroom facilities made available to them.

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The Journey of Villa Mango, Barbados (Part 2): Closing date, what closing date?

by Davelle Morrison

This is a 3-part blog series on how we found a rental property in Barbados to buy sight unseen during a pandemic while being in Toronto, Canada.

Make sure you read the first part: The Journey of Villa Mango, Barbados (Part 1): How We Got Started

Next, we started to plan for our Oct. 18th arrival in Barbados with our closing date of Oct. 7th looming. Much to our shock, October 7th came and went without an email from our lawyers. When I contacted them on Oct 8th to ask what happened to our closing date and why had no one asked us to wire the funds to close, we were met with silence. Finally, they responded to let us know that the closing had been delayed. Until what date, no one could tell us. We let them know that we had plane tickets and 6 of us were scheduled to arrive on Oct. 18th so we definitely needed to close by that date so that we wouldn’t be homeless.

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The Journey of Villa Mango, Barbados (Part 1): How We Got Started

by Davelle Morrison

This is a 3-part blog series on how we found a rental property in Barbados to buy sight unseen during a pandemic while being in Toronto, Canada.

In early 2020, a friend and I chatted about buying an investment property in Barbados. Both of us had been real estate investors for many years and were looking to branch out beyond the Canadian borders. I had been running a 6-suite guesthouse in Prince Edward County, 2 hours east of Toronto for the last 4 years successfully and started thinking that a rental in a hot, sunny climate was bound to also do well.

So I booked a vacation in Barbados with a few girlfriends over New Year’s 2020 and started to become more acquainted with Barbados. I loved it. I loved the people, I loved the restaurants, I loved the weather, I loved the fact that I could walk everywhere, I loved how close we were to the beach. It somehow felt like home even though I was born in Guyana and had never set foot in Barbados.

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How to avoid heavy special assessments in your condo

by Davelle Morrison

Many of us have read the story about the Jane St condo building in such a state of disrepair they have given their owners 15 days notice to pay $30,000 to $42,500 in a special assessment. It was reported that they no longer have cleaners, security or a superintendent and that their reserve fund has $1.75 and their operating fund had $5000. This is shocking and a sad state of affairs. For owners to come up with such a large sum of money in such a short period of time is ridiculous. The building is now putting liens on the units that haven’t paid their special assessment yet.

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The Mortgage Goalposts Keep Moving

by Davelle Morrison

Last week the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) decided that the stress test that had been proposed for June 1st, which was only to impact those with a down payment of 20% or greater, should be extended to all of those applying for mortgages. So now those who are putting less than 20% down payment will also be affected by the increase to the stress test.

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