Moving to Vancouver, Where to live?

Question

So I am 22 and won't be making a lot of money, say just under $2000 a month. I have 10 thousand saved up for down payment on something, don't know, whether it be a house or condo.

I would prefer something suburban but also relatively close to the beach, I think it is Kitsilano?

I'm an actor so I need to be able to get to downtown in an hour for auditions.

Any info or your opinion on the areas would be much appreciated!

Answer 1

For a down payment on a house in Vancouver, you will need about $85,000. The average price of a house here is $750,000.00. Even a fixer-upper is a minimum $500,000.

You can rent a 1 bedroom basement suite for about $750 and up per month.

You can be in downtown in an hour from practically anywhere in Vancouver.

Apartments in downtown go for $1250/month and up for a small 1 bedroom.

Try getting accommodation on craigslist.com

Answer 2

You should look into buying a condo in langley trust me its not crazy expensive like in north van.  

Answer 3

kitsilano is expensive,  burnaby, coqitlam north van. there are many nice places and not far from the beach. point roberts is very nice too and a big beach, near the us border

Answer 4

You're going to have trouble finding a place you can afford to buy anywhere near downtown. Go to mls.ca to check real estate prices around Vancouver. Renting, maybe. And given the state of the bus system in Vancouver, you'll have a different problem if you get work. You'll probably need a car if you have to show up for a 7 am call to set, or if you finish work late or at a location not served well by transit, and there are lots of those. You could always take cabs but that can get very expensive.  

Answer 5

I hope that the answers from the other people are not too discouraging.  Sadly, they are right.

You do not have an adequate down payment.  You won't even have much of the $10,000 left, by the time you pay the legal fees, Property Transfer Tax, and hookups for phone and Internet and electricity and whatnot.

You do not have the income to qualify for the a mortgage the size of the one you will need, or to service the monthly payments on it.

In any case, you are new in town and will not have an employment history for credit-granting purposes.

Your best bet, for the kind of housing you want (upscale neighbourhood like Kits and close to town) would be a room-mate situation.

Answer 6

If you are making under 2 grand a month - the prospect of you owning a house should be thrown out the window.

With your income - You could look at 1br or studio condos selling for around 200K and you will definitely not find this in Kits unless it's a tool shed.

If you have 10 thousand saves up for a down payment that means you only qualify for a 200,000 loan. You have to put in a down payment of at least 5% in a mortgage.

Now, the fact that you give yourself an hour to commute to downtown gives you a lot of options and you should be looking at areas such as Surrey as a skytrain can take you to downtown in under 45 minutes

You can look at Richmond it's about a 20 - 25 minute drive and 35 minute bus ride. There is also a skytrain that is being developed and should be completed soon so another option to commute downtown will sprout.

I would suggest you go to mls.ca and doing a search on where you may want to live and get a feel for the prices and such. - If you want, feel free to email me at [e-mail] and I'll be more than willing to offer some words.

Cheers and best of luck to you!