Lofts? Townhouses? near Dalhousie

[Coldrsx]

I have applied to Dalhousie BEDS/MArch program for fall 08 and have been online checking housing options and to be honest havent found anything i would want.

My requirements are below:

condo - 1bdrm + den or 2bdrm
size - 750-900sqft
walking distance to the university or short bus/ferry


House - 2drm or 3bdrm
size - 900-1300sqft
short bus or walk to university

budget $175-250,000

Ideally i would want a retrofitted loft or a newer townhouse.

any help would be great! www.mls.ca really hasnt given me much hope there.

[Wishblade]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you'll never find housing that cheap meeting your requirements within walking distance to a university. You might find them on the outskirts or outer suburbs near a bus route though.

Also, MLS doesnt show nearly all the properties for sale in the area, so theres much more out there than what your probably seeing. Im not sure of any other source that would give you more listings, but someone else on here might be able to help you out.

[Coldrsx]

most everything i am finding on mls is $150-250,000 in halifax and or dart.

I dont mind spending more, but looking at what i have seen there is a severe lack of contemporary or interesting housing stock.

if anyone has a link to anything please let me know.

thanks again

[Keith P.]

You won't find much (if any) "contemporary or interesting" housing stock in those`price ranges with that amount of square footage. Being Halifax, you won't find much contemporary *anything* given our faux-historic development tendencies. While there are a few custom single-family residences that are that style I cannot think of a single apartment complex or condo development. It is a real shortcoming.

If you can find a condo development under construction I suppose you might be able to negotiate some contemporary features in your unit - but again, that price/size ratio is not promising near Dalhousie.

[Coldrsx]

^im more than happy to go smaller...my gf, dog, and i are in 770sqft now and that is plenty...

id rather have smaller and closer/more interesting than bigger for the same $

[someone123]

I think there is a bit of a shortage of existing homes for sale right now. A typical home in the city is also way outside of your price range. The ones I see on MLS for under $250k are mostly pretty rough, and it looks like a lot of nice, mid-range areas have nothing available at all. In Dartmouth you can get a house near the ferry in your price range but you get what you pay for basically.

You could get a basic condo in your price range with enough left over to be able to renovate it substantially.

Have you ever visited Halifax? You definitely should before buying of course. The housing stock is somewhat different from other cities and visiting in person would allow you to see more of what's available and get a feel for what different areas are like.

[someone123]

And yes, the lack of contemporary housing is unfortunate. Most of the North End rowhouses for sale are faux historic, with a couple of ragged looking genuine old ones and two contemporary ones for $550k.

Contemporary tends to imply small-scale and expensive in Halifax, although maybe that is about to change somewhat.

[Coldrsx]

i would definately come to visit and house hunt before buying should i get in...