MycoNeophyte said:
Hey, Fellow Canuck here. I just purchased my first property 2 weeks ago - a townhouse condo in Burlington, ON.
As you probably know, if you buy a condo you are bound not just by the terms and conditions of the agreement but also to the health of the condo board. Board operates like a business in that if they dont have funds they cant fulfill their obligations.
If the condo board allows owners to make change to their unit without permits & inspections etc that's a big risk to the condo board obligations as their insurance likely will not cover the case should those changes ever cause damage to the property common elements, or other owners.
You would still likely be able to get insurance for your unit (liability / contents) but common elements of your unit may not be protected should your neighbors unit collapse, flood, catch on fire, etc cause their cousin did their renovation on the cheap.
You / your lawyer should look into the status of the condo corporation before deciding to buy. look at the reserve study, look at the history of the building. sometimes it can be hard / expensive to get this info but its worth considering if you smell something fishy.
Personally I only made the decision to enter the real estate market once my other investments were sufficiently diversified. as such I sat on the sidelines and waited for years before making a move on an opportunity I couldnt pass up.
My 2c, ymmv 
I am necroing this thread, sorry I know the person who posted this is long gone but thinking i may buy a condo. I would like to get out of renting, in fact maybe even go 2 bedroom and rent out a room.
I have read some horror stories some people bought one(a condo) and then the parking garage was deemed unsafe due to cracks and had to be rebuilt and everyone got a 80 thousand dollar bill, one guy was like "i dont even have a parking spot yet i still have to pay".
The ones with low monthly fees you are like cool low fees but then some repairs to common areas come up and they don't have funds. At least a house you dont depend on other people's judgement like that. If they haven't been preparing and its an old building, or even just a poorly constructed building there could be huge bills in the future.
Insurance is a bitch and expensive
Really I should find someone fresh out of a divorce with the same equity and then we could buy a house, no way i can swing that alone. I would like to get like a townhome attached type of condo rather rather than something in a high rise.
There is also chance i will just buy a van and live in it and invest rest of the money i just inherited in some dividend paying fund. I worry if i go van life some huge mechanical issue will come up and wipe out any gains i make from not paying rent. I could buy van for 20 thousand + pay to customize it 25 thousand and then two weeks later i find out transmission has to be replaced and i have no choice but to put in the ten grand, if i want to sell van it has to be running. Real estate a ten or twenty thousand dollar repair/reno adds to the value, but the van would always be depreciating in value based on age and mileage. Just and endless money pit with potential for fuel to go up even more.
I guess no matter what I do there is risk involved. I understand local condo market is pretty saturated, I think they overbuilt. A bunch were built as investment properties to rent out, then immigration was cut now there is a glut, may be a good time. Though i would rather live in a building with other owners rather then tenants. I dont want to live next to an air b n b that hots regular parties, quality of neighbors always matters. Most condos in canada were marketed to Chinese buyers as investment properties. Finding a building full of people who bought their units to live in is rare.
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