BUYING SOLO
In a city where housing prices consistently tower over the incomes of even two-person households, here’s how a few savvy singletons are getting a foot on the property ladder.
THE ONE WHO PARTNERED WITH HER SISTER—AND ZEROED IN ON FORECLOSURES
“My sister and I decided to copurchase a property [in 2015] as an investment. This made it a lot easier to save up for a down payment, and, realistically, we knew that it was the only way we could afford to buy a place in Metro Vancouver. Our strategy was to look heavily into foreclosures and find one in a good area that we could renovate as needed. We lived in our apartment for six months together and then I got a roommate, whom I lived with for three years. Now my sister and I are renting it out, which pays the mortgage with a bit of extra income for us. My goal is to eventually own a property in Vancouver, but the market is crazy right now! Hopefully, in a few years, things will change.”—Tanya, 25, owns a two-bedroom apartment in Burnaby
THE ONE WHO RECORDED EVERY CENT SPENT
“I had the idea that I wanted to move out sometime after I finished university and got my first job [in 2014]. I just didn’t have a plan in mind. I was looking at how much I was making and thought, ‘I could save at least 30 percent per paycheque, and in a few years, maybe I could have enough for a down payment.’ And then I realized that when you live at home, saving 30 percent is actually pretty easy as long as you’re somewhat diligent. That’s when I started tracking what I was spending my money on, and I made adjustments and those adjustments became habits. I also had to make some compromises: because I work in Vancouver, the idea was to move to Vancouver. But I soon realized I could probably only afford a down payment somewhere else.
I withdrew money from my RRSP, too, which wasn’t a gigantic portion but still helped.”
—Kevin, 28, owns a one-bedroom condo in New Westminster
THE ONE WHO RELIED ON GOOD OLDFASHIONED HARD WORK—AND A LITTLE HELP FROM STARBUCKS
“For the majority of my early to mid-20s, I worked two or three jobs at a time, one of them as a barista at Starbucks. Fortunately, as an employee you receive amazing benefits—one of them being access to restricted stock units—and, after working for the company for six years,
I was able to use them to contribute to my down payment. That, combined with savings, investments, some assistance from my mom and my participation in the [now defunct] BC Home Partnership Program, aided in my ability to purchase a home. I also bought at the right time [in 2016], before the market went up. If I had waited, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to purchase my current home.”—Alyx, 27, owns a onebedroom condo in Coquitlam