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The Globe and Mail Downsize Your Home Worksheet

Question: Does it Pay to Downsize?

Condos are smaller than houses, but are they cheaper to live in? It's commonly assumed they are, but this may not be the case. Use our worksheet to do a personal analysis of how monthly living costs in a condo would compare to a house. Plug in the numbers for your house and let the worksheet estimate comparable numbers for living in a condo as an owner. We've also included a column for people who plan to rent a condo. To show what the worksheet can do, we've added details for a house at the national average price and a modestly cheaper condo.

It's assumed here that you own your house outright and do not have a mortgage.

Edit the values in the underlined fields to reflect your scenario. Corresponding values are calculated automatically.

Your current home


Your future condo


 

Monthly costs

House

Condo (owned)

Condo (rented)

Property taxes

 
N/A

Insurance

 
 

Utilities

Water

N/A
N/A

Hydro

 
 

Heat

N/A
N/A

Cable TV

 
 

Internet

 
 

Household maintenance costs

 
N/A
N/A

Condo fees

N/A
 
N/A

Rent

N/A
N/A

Total monthly
carrying cost

 
 
 

Assumptions

  • Property taxes for the condo compared the house are proportional to the price differential between the two dwellings
  • For the condo, maintenance fees are set at 70 cent per square foot
  • Condo fees include water and heat, but not hydro; water is often included, but heat may or may not be
  • Household maintenance fees estimatef at 1 per cent of home value divided by 12
  • Condo hydro costs estimated at two-thirds of the amount for the house
  • Condo insurance costs estimated at 33 per cent of costs for a home