Talking about a 1 bedroom + den around 700 sqft or more specifically http://www.studiocondos.ca/vip/
-maintenance fee
-utilities
-property tax
can anyone provide a guestimate? any other fees?
You can rent a 700 sqft condo built within the past 4 years for about 1400 in Toronto with underground subway access.
Condo fees alone at a few places run about $450-500. Add on tax, etc.. if it's eating about $600 total, you may be hard pressed to have a comparable mortgage for $800.. it may be better to rent instead.
My condo is about this size and these three items are 575 per month.
Keep in mind that the cost of property tax, water and electricity may or may not be part of the condo fees.
Make sure you factor in the cost of condo owner's insurance. Mine is about $200/yr.
Condo fees have become hard to compare. Some places include electricity in their condo fee. You've got to read carefully. For that size, I think you're looking at $400-$600 a month in condo fees and utilitiess together. Utilities is hard to gauge. When it's shared, people tend to be more wasteful and as a whole, everyone pays more.
For property tax, it's based on government's tax assessment value of your property. Not sure how much that condo's worth, but I'd expect between 2.5-3.2k a year based on just size.
Other fees to think about
-They charge an arm and some kidneys to replace keys. Take good care of them as you can't simply make a copy of them
-Some condos charge a fee for party room usage
-Public liability insurance. I totally forgot how much this was. $200 a year?
-maintenance fee with annual adjustments most likely a slight increase
-utilities
-property tax
-additional condo/content insurance
-pay-per-use fees (parking fees, party room, elevator moving rental)
-one time special assessments or charges relating to the condo
-extras: parking spot rental, key/garage fobs, lock/key replacement - has to be done by condo corp or approved by the condo corp (in most cases)
Also, if you're comparing rent versus buying a condo, you need to add an amount for interior maintenance of the condo. A landlord will replace the carpets and appliances periodically, while, if you own, you're on the hook. This is an item that is not included in a condo fee, and unfortunately, not even included in many of those rent vs. buy calculators.
Some comments,
Condo Fee: Really depends on how old your condo is and where it is located... older condos cost more to maintain... I've seen fees ranging from $550-770 per month of the same size of condo with similar amenities but varying age and location. If you're condo does not have swimming pool the fees will be slightly cheaper. If you have additional parking your condo fee will be more expensive too.
Property Tax: Can't avoid paying the tax man, but if I remember correctly new condos often quote property tax ~1% of the sales price it is slightly over budget for me but it can be use as a good proxy.
Hydro Bills: Depending on whether if you have separate meters you might have to pay this on top of your condo fee. I have not lived at my place long enough to have a stable read but I hear $50 bucks per month for average use. Make sure you time your heavy appliance use if you're in Ontario due to the recent change in time based energy billing.
Condo Insurance: This is optional, insure your contents and damages from your neighbors. Some people say it is good to get some people say it is waste of money. For me. It helps me lower my car insurance while having condo insured as added benefit so I see why not. This will depend on varying factors such as how far is your place to the nearest fire station, community safety... etc. ~350 per YEAR maybe over estimate but as good budgeting practice you want to have a decent buffer
Banks: Unlike that radio channel game show, unless you pay all your money up front to buy the place, you can't beat the bank. While you're enjoying your place, the bank is also enjoying the interest they reap off you. You can know this by getting pre-approved mortgage quoted so you know how much interest you'll be paying.
Fixes and Renovation: Light bulb goes out, kitchen sink crack... things that are not covered either by Condo Management Corp. or the insurance. Difficult to budget unless you can tell the future of when things will break. If you are willing to pick up that DIY book and learn a thing or two you can save things by doing minor adjustment yourself. Wall mounting a shelf, custom closet unit maybe, just leave the tough stuff to the pro even if you have any doubt about your ability to handle it (i.e. pipes, electric wires... etc)
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