Calgary Construction XXVI

[Daemon]

Urban forest through the trees

[Tobyoby]

Sorry to break the news but you're all on the wrong path

Owning isn't the way to go in a city like Calgary. Live where you want, but consider renting instead of owning.

Originally Posted by Bad Grizzly

The best answer is none of those three. You’d have to crazy to leave a nice neighbourhood like Martha loop and move to a place like the Beltline.

First off all three of those condominium buildings are overpriced so from a financial point of view it’s not a smart move.

Some people might want to move to the beltline for the so called ‘vibrancy’, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why. Marda loop already has urban vibrancy, plus it’s a safe clean neighbourhood unlke the Beltline.

Originally Posted by Littlechilds

I will respectfully disagree. I've lived most my life in Marda Loop...it is too quiet for me. Not enough good pubs/breweries. It's also changing as we speak....tons of condos going up. The wannabee rich lifestyle is a bit overwhelming as well with Altadore as its neighbor.
You think beltline is overpriced? When comparing sf and quality of units, Beltline is a deal right now. It is one of the communities that has dropped the most in the last 2 years, so better deals imo. I'm viewing a place in East Village today though.

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

Although the prices of units might be cheaper in the beltline, grizzly is correct. In the long run the Beltline is actually more expensive. The value of units on the Beltline won’t go up in value, and actually more likely to go down whereas in Marda loop they will go up due to Marda Loop having a large number of single family homes that are worth a lot of money. Many of the units in the Beltline are cheap, yes, but it’s like buying Baltic Avenue whereas Marda Loop is more like a Marvin Gardens if you know what that reference means.

My wife’s a realtor, this is what she has said many times. If I were you I would stay in Marda Loop.

Originally Posted by Littlechilds

http://www.avenuecalgary.com/Best-Neighb...ods-2016/Calgarys-Top-12-Neighbourhoods/

http://www.avenuecalgary.com/Best-Neighb...ods-2017/Calgarys-Top-10-Neighbourhoods/

I have experience in both communities, and you just can't make a broad statement on which is best per situation. Marda Loop is a snoozer for me (streets are quiet), and the commute sucks going up that hill haha. I'm in the condo market, condos in ML are crap, no views. High floor expansive views are high priority for me. Lots of "hype around ML, but seeing I've been here 9+ years on and off, I'm ready to move on.
East Village would be great, but obviously prices are much higher.
ps...I own a rental in Altadore...that is a whole different story.

Anyways, moving on, agree to disagree lol.

[technomad]

[jc_yyc_ca]

I'm not sure where you're getting that info from. My wife who's a realtor would tell you otherwise. In very rare occasions, yes, it makes better sense financially to rent, that's the exception not the rule. Renting is good if you plan on moving a lot, but long term it certainly isn't.

Originally Posted by Tobyoby

Sorry to break the news but you're all on the wrong path

Owning isn't the way to go in a city like Calgary. Live where you want, but consider renting instead of owning.

[milomilo]

A realtor who recommendeds buying over renting!? Gosh, that's a surprise!

[Tobyoby]

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

I'm not sure where you're getting that info from. My wife who's a realtor would tell you otherwise. In very rare occasions, yes, it makes better sense financially to rent, that's the exception not the rule. Renting is good if you plan on moving a lot, but long term it certainly isn't.

Does your wife the realtor tell you when to go to the bathroom?

Also some wise points from this artivle
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-rent-vs-buy-reader-response-road-ahead-1.4503852

"People who think home ownership is the be all and end all need to talk to the majority of the European community who don't chase after 'ownership' of a home," Ross Heller commented.

"They are educated people and they spend their lives, their time and their money instead on travelling, culture, a very nice car, adventure and enjoying their friends, etc. Home ownership is largely a North American thing. It isn't a life necessity nor is the root/key to happiness and fullfillment."

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

I always thought that tower looked weird! Makes sense it was a fire escape. I couldn’t tell from the recent photo showing construction of the second tower if it was intact. Is it located between the two condos then?

No it was removed when the first Union Square tower was built. All that remains is the Annex building, but it will be an interesting center point to the full development.

[Tobyoby]

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

I'm not sure where you're getting that info from. My wife who's a realtor would tell you otherwise. In very rare occasions, yes, it makes better sense financially to rent, that's the exception not the rule. Renting is good if you plan on moving a lot, but long term it certainly isn't.

Here's another one you should read.

Q&A: Max Fawcett on why renting a home is better than buying
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/max-fawcett-on-renting-over-buying-in-calgary-1.3297348

or

Real estate woes: The secret lives of house-poor Canadians
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/real-estate-woes-the-secret-lives-of-house-poor-canadians-1.3086793

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Beltline is diverse, and you can get extremes on both ends of the spectrum there. I'm sure you won't be looking for a 1960's boarding house with fire code issues.

Not only diverse in built form but also community type. Between 12th and 10th Aves you get a bit of a downtown feel, by MacLeod it's very much a 'tower farm'. Further to the west between 8th and 14th and south of 12th it's quieter in my opinion.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by suburbia

I don't think that's fair. If I were looking at the Beltline, I'd consider being on green space (and facing it from the selected unit, so I don't get blocked by a future building), being close to LRT current or future if possible, being as high as possible (I've got a thing about views also), and being at least a block from any of the stretches that have late hour establishments. I think access is also a challenge for some of the places IE I'd likely want to be within a block and a half from one of the collector roads (for the off time driving is required).

There's also 5 protected historic buildings in the Beltline so if park facing wasn't an option in theory if you were facing one of those sites you would never get a tall tower in that lot to block your views.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Tobyoby

Does your wife the realtor tell you when to go to the bathroom?

Also some wise points from this artivle
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-rent-vs-buy-reader-response-road-ahead-1.4503852

But isn't home ownership significantly more expensive in Europe?

[Suburgatory]

Welcome to forum.singlefamilyhousepage.com

[Bad Grizzly]

Asinine stupid advice. I bought my house years ago and paid under $200k. The mortgage is almost finished, and the house is worth around 600k.

In a couple of years I will be living in $600K house and won’t be paying anything for it. You tell me which is better renting or buying? It’s simple math my friend.

Originally Posted by Tobyoby

Here's another one you should read.

Q&A: Max Fawcett on why renting a home is better than buying
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/max-fawcett-on-renting-over-buying-in-calgary-1.3297348

or

Real estate woes: The secret lives of house-poor Canadians
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/real-estate-woes-the-secret-lives-of-house-poor-canadians-1.3086793

[Daemon]

Park point from new angle

[Daemon]

Telus Sky another angle

[Daemon]

[Daemon]

Concorde and bonus of the Rocky Mountains



Concorde and construction crane


Concorde and again Mountains

[craner]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

Wow! That was a very impressive first post. The formatting looked fine on my end. I loved some of the closeups you took and had no idea that some of these projects even existed. I really liked how you first showed the rendering and then the current state of the project. Very nice touch.

Times a million!!
Gotta give it up for an incredible first post by Littlechilds.

[Tobyoby]

Too bad about the blurriness on this first. I love this angle of the skyline with the mountains with it.

Originally Posted by Daemon

Concorde and bonus of the Rocky Mountains



Concorde and construction crane


Concorde and again Mountains

[Tobyoby]

So in other words you didn't read the articles at all.

Originally Posted by Bad Grizzly

Asinine stupid advice. I bought my house years ago and paid under $200k. The mortgage is almost finished, and the house is worth around 600k.

In a couple of years I will be living in $600K house and won’t be paying anything for it. You tell me which is better renting or buying? It’s simple math my friend.