Buying a house in downtown Hamilton on a small budget?

Addy · #1 Posted **Apr 7, 2012, 1:19 AM**

Could I please get some help? My dad passed away recently and left a small amount of money to each of us kids. My one brother has straightened himself out after years of living a bit of a rough life and he wants to use this money towards a downpayment on a house in Hamilton (he works near Bronte Go station in Oakville).

A fear he has is if he loses his job, he wants to have at least one room rented out (hopefully to a student if thats possible) to help cover the expenses while he's unemployed. He will have a small emergency fund but it's always nice to have some leeway so he doesn't lose the house. So his budget is $140K max.

If you wanted to buy a house in Hamilton but could only afford $140K, where would you buy? (realtor.ca will give you an idea of house prices for those unaware.)

International Village, Landsdale, Gibson all seem to have detached (or semi detached) houses for sale in the under $140K range. These houses are almost all north of King Street. My brother understands he won't be living in a dreamily safe area but would like to get an idea of how bad these areas are to live, if they are okay or pretty bad (which is subjective I know).

Also, I'm hoping to find a good Realtor who won't be turned off by someone who can only afford a $140K house, a realtor who lives downtown would be ideal but I realize that may be a pipe dream.

CaptainKirk · #2 Posted **Apr 7, 2012, 3:27 AM**

http://www.realtor.ca/map.aspx?&vs=V...43.25634765625, -79.86746978759768;curView:;curStyle:r;leftMin:false;rightMin:false;chkSchl:false;chkTran:false;chkPol:false;chkMed:false;chkWrk:false;chkFire:false;chkAll:false

durandy · #3 Posted **Apr 7, 2012, 3:46 AM**

your brother's got a good plan. Check this place out: http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetail...ey=-1052967416

$129 K, steps from the park and pier 8, close to James N, and it's got a 180 foot lot depth!!! I almost want to buy it. This town is crazy. There are lots of crooked houses in the north end but you can't really go wrong at that price. With the plans for the waterfront and Rheem lands I have no doubt this area will increase drastically in value.

Pearlstreet · #4 Posted **Apr 7, 2012, 1:30 PM**

It is definitely not a pipe dream. Check out Victoria St., it is close to downtown, close to the hospital and prices are cheap! I just bought a legal duplex for $150,000 with a garage! Across the street there is another legal duplex for sale on a large lot for $109,000 which needs a little work.( http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetail...ey=-1882190012) Tons of improvement in the area. Good luck!

Addy · #5 Posted **Apr 7, 2012, 11:06 PM**

Thanks everyone, this information really helps! I'm also curious what the rental market is like in Hamilton, I haven't researched vacancy rates yet but I'm curious if it's easy to rent an apartment in these areas? My brother would want to put some work into that duplex if he does buy it in order to make it more appealing, but he would want to make sure he can recover any money he puts into it first.

Any idea how much a 3 bdrm house (side by side duplex) would rent for? And how much would a room rent for on average in these areas? I've been checking kijiji but it's difficult to get an idea from that.

Thanks everyone, I realize my brother needs to spend some time in Hamilton but this information really helps narrow down some areas he will be looking into.

Jon Dalton · #6 Posted **Apr 8, 2012, 8:46 PM**

A house for $140k really isn't a problem in Hamilton. There's some really cheap houses in the Central neighbourhood west of Bay that are very close to downtown and in a relatively safe area.

SteelTown · #7 Posted **Apr 9, 2012, 7:38 PM**

The City and Scotia Bank can help with the down payment

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...eNovErvM3Ugs3A

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...Nz_vQQzEPw-1Tg

This is available to I guess the "undesirable" areas in Hamilton. Ward 3 to 5 I'm guessing.

mattgrande · #8 Posted **Apr 9, 2012, 7:50 PM**

Hamilton Downtown Property Improvement Grant Program: http://www.investinhamilton.ca/downt...s/#improvement

Hamilton Downtown Multi-Residential Property Investment Program: http://www.investinhamilton.ca/downt...ms/#investment

Hamilton Heritage Property Grant Program: http://www.investinhamilton.ca/downt...rams/#property

Jon Dalton · #9 Posted **Apr 10, 2012, 1:39 AM**

Sounds like now is a good time to buy. Hamilton house prices specifically downtown should not be going down, whatever happens to the housing market. They are undervalued already. Those in the gentrifying areas should be going up in the future. I would try to get in before the central bank tightens the belt on lending, as it will make buying more difficult on a budget.

drpgq · #10 Posted **Apr 11, 2012, 4:43 PM**

Actually this Spec article on Burlington running out of growth room has to be good for Hamilton real estate:

Burlington not on growth ‘autopilot’ anymore

Burlington’s all grown up. Now it’s time to grow from within.

The city across the bay has experienced strong and varied growth as greenfield after greenfield along the QEW, and key corridors such as Harvester and Upper Middle and the services roads have seen office buildings and high tech manufacturing sprout like dandelions in spring.

But that easy path to economic growth is about to close. The city is running out of industrial and commercial land, and that means it has to rethink its approach to its economic future.

“We’re not on autopilot anymore,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “The dialogue has changed. We don’t have ample land for residential or employment development. As a community … we need to have a multipronged strategy.”

Burlington’s challenges have sharpened its urban planning focus.

The municipality is committed to keeping a 50/50 split between urban and rural lands while a facing shrinking employment and residential land supply. At the same time, Burlington needs to maintain economic growth.

...

Because while the city’s residential growth has slowed to a near crawl — the slowest in the GTA, in fact, at a projected growth of 176,000 to 195,000 in 19 years — its economic growth must keep pace.

...

Addy · #11 Posted **Apr 14, 2012, 12:05 AM**

Thanks everyone, my brother looked at 102 Victoria tonight but it's a no go because it's in need of so much work including a complete electrical redo that it's not worth even the low ($102K) asking price.

Does anyone mind if I paste realtor.ca links here just so I can get feedback on the areas the listings are in?

Addy · #12 Posted **Apr 14, 2012, 12:06 AM**

And is all of Barton (or close to as in a block or two of Barton) pretty much a bad area for crime?

mattgrande · #13 Posted **Apr 14, 2012, 11:44 AM**

I wouldn't mind you posting Realtor links, but my opinion probably won't be worth much! I seem to like everything I see online, and then get disappointed when I see it in person.

As for Barton St and crime, here are all the HPS arrests reported on their website for the past month. source

Addy · #14 Posted **Apr 14, 2012, 7:52 PM**

Thanks Matt, that helps, amazing how many blue dots are west of Wentworth and North of Main.... is that typical anyone here know?

My brother has upped his budget to $160K and is open to a single family residence as long as it has a garage for him to 'tinker' in. Seems garages are not that common so he may have a search ahead of him.

It seems there's a few houses here in there south of the greenbelt near the Rail yards that are around $170's to $180's which is too bad because it's just above what he can realistically afford and I don't want him going too far into debt and getting himself into trouble if he loses his job.

This is one I was thinking of, it needs work but seems to be in a nice area: http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetail...ey=-1953184561

For renting out rooms in a house is there a more desirable area of the city? I'm asking because if he can easily rent out a room or possibly two that may enable him to get a house in a nicer area.

IronWarrior · #15 Posted **Apr 14, 2012, 11:15 PM**

You can get a pretty good deal East End for 160K around the Parkdale area...I would stay away from the Victoria and Barton area myself,

realcity · #16 Posted **Apr 16, 2012, 12:22 AM**

You're going to have to buy in Ward 3 between the Canon and Barton strip. That's the best you can do, but I believe also has the best potential of increase. When the new stadium and HHS buildings seed the area, and Ottawa st is proving to be the Locke St of the east.

matt602 · #17 Posted **Jul 24, 2012, 7:54 PM**

Definitely. I have Teksavvy and they're great for unlimited DSL. You can either get the standard package with 300GB or the unlimited one. The 300GB one is more than enough for me.

realcity · #18 Posted **Jul 24, 2012, 10:04 PM**

Rosslyn St might be within the free Hamilton wireless service.

Addy · #19 Posted **Jul 29, 2012, 12:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by realcity

Rosslyn St might be within the free Hamilton wireless service.

Oh I had no idea there was such a service out there! I'll have to google it and hope for the best, that would be awesome.

I'm actually visiting him for a few days and LOVE Ottawa Street North! I've been to Helens for breakfast, the gluten/vegan friendly bakery a few stores up from Helens, and to the Farmers Market twice now. And the hat store is awesome!! I'm actually considering buying rental property around Ottawa but am probably too scared to make that plunge!

Thanks everyone, your information really helped my brother and I a lot!

Pearlstreet · #20 Posted **Jul 31, 2012, 5:32 AM**

Congrats!