How to buy a condo in Calgary? Buying a condo in Calgary could be a much more complicated process than buying a house in Calgary. There are so many additional things to consider such as condo fees and what they include, amenities, condo restrictions, and condo management (including the reserve fund, etc). If this sounds complicated to you, don’t worry. By the end of this article, you will be much more comfortable with all of these concepts.
If you have ever wanted to buy a condo in Calgary (whether a brand new condominium from a builder or a resale Calgary condo), reading this comprehensive guide is the best first step towards responsible condo ownership with no regrets.
Buying a condo is a commitment to a lifestyle that’s completely different from living in the suburbs in a detached house. As a Certified Calgary Condo Specialist with years of experience buying and selling condos, I want you to understand what you are getting into, decide if this is the lifestyle that works for you and your family, and avoid all the mistakes I’ve seen over the years. Condos generally have a lot more rules and restrictions that we must follow, and many Calgary first-time home buyers are not aware of them.
This First-Time Condo Buyer’s guide is divided into 3 Parts for easier reading. This is Part 1.
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- First of all, what is a condominium or a condo?
- What type of condo can you buy in Calgary?
- What types of condo sizes are available in Calgary, Alberta?
- Condo Maintenance Fees (what do they include, what are the average fees, can you negotiate condo fees)
Part 2: Read here: What’s the difference between buying a Calgary Apartment Condo vs a Townhouse vs Calgary Detached House
This is what’s covered in Part 2:
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- What’s the difference between a Calgary condo versus Calgary detached house?
- What’s the difference between a Calgary apartment condo vs a townhouse?
Part 3: Read here: What Every First-Time Buyer Should Know Before Buying a Condo, Apartment, or Townhouse in Calgary
This is what’s covered in Part 3.
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- What to look at when you are buying a condo in Calgary?
- Buying a resale condo vs buying a condo from a builder – what to look for?
- Making an offer on a condo – what conditions to have?
- Should you do a property inspection for a condo and Condo Documents Review?
- Quick tips for buying the best condo for your lifestyle
1. First of all, what is a condominium or a condo?
A condominium is a form of ownership – not the type of style of a property!! Most attached properties such as apartments, villas, townhouses, duplexes, and rowhouses are condominiums. You pay a monthly condo fee and share common spaces with other owners.
These condo fees go towards the maintenance of the shared common areas, building amenities, and the exterior of the condo complex. Condo owners are typically responsible for everything that happens inside their units, including upkeep, maintenance, and repairs.
Condo owners can learn exactly what they are responsible for in their unit (sometimes it varies depending on the condo complex), and what they can do with their unit by reading a document called Condo Bylaws.
This document has all the rules and regulations that you need to follow. These rules are different for every Calgary condo complex, so make sure to read the Bylaws for each condo complex, and don’t assume that the rules are always the same.
Many people associate the word “condo” only with apartments, but that’s not true. This term also includes villas, townhouses, duplexes, and even some detached homes – bareland condos. You can read about different types of condos in Calgary here.
Note: there are some townhouses and duplexes with NO condo fees, but not that many of them. These types of properties are not condominiums (+ there is no condo fee) and are called freehold properties.
2. What type of condo can you buy in Calgary, Alberta?
Different styles/types of condos are available for sale in Calgary. I wrote a very detailed article that features photos and information about each type of condominium in Calgary.
Styles/Types of Condominiums (Condos) in Calgary:
- Apartment
- Townhouse
- Rowhouse
- Duplex
- Villa
- Bareland condo
To view different styles/types of condominiums in Calgary, click on the following article here: https://calgarylifestyleguide.com/buying-a-condo-in-calgary-different-types-of-condominiums-in-alberta/
3. What types of condo sizes are available in Calgary, Alberta?
As a general guideline, an apartment is usually smaller in size than a townhouse (an apartment is usually around 450 sf-1,000 sf). Of course, there are some large apartments over 1,500 sf (especially in age-restricted buildings (for seniors), but those are not very common).
Apartments do not have backyards but can have a patio or a balcony. Some apartments have a shared green space area. Some townhouses also have backyards, yards, or large patios (vs an apartment that might only have a small patio or a balcony).
Of course, there are some outliers like spacious luxury apartments costing a million dollars or more, but here we are talking about general guidelines.
Townhouses and rowhouses are typically around the same size (650 sf-1,500 sf). A duplex is usually bigger than an apartment or a townhouse (1,200 sf-1,600 sf). A villa can be as large as a detached home (1,500 sf-2,200 sf). A bareland condo is basically a detached home with a condo fee and is the largest size available (1500 sf-10,000 sf).
From the smallest size to the largest size (the price also reflects the change in size):
- Apartment ($150,000-$350,000) – anything under $200,000 typically doesn’t have an elevator in the downtown area. If an apartment building has only 3 floors that means that there is no elevator. If an apartment building has 4 floors or more, then most likely there is an elevator there. Apartments over 280K in the downtown area typically have an elevator in the building and some also have an underground parking lot. Newer condo complexes (for example, in NW/North and SW/SE) have elevators, and typically you can get something simple but nice for under 350K.
- Townhouse/Rowhouse ($420,000-$550,000) – townhouses/rowhouses usually do not have elevators; some townhouses over 700K have elevators inside the unit (for example, Aspen Estates, but the condo fee is $1,000/month). In terms of parking, there will be no underground garage. Instead there will be either an attached single garage or an attached double garage or surface parking.
- Duplex ($480,000-$600,000) – do not have elevators (unless you are buying a luxury property). The garage can be attached or detached (double or single) or there can be no garage at all (street parking).
- Villa ($650,000-$700,000 and up) – do not have elevators (unless you are buying a luxury property). The garage is usually attached (single or double).
- Bareland Condo ($700,000-$2 million and up) – A bareland condo is similar to a detached single-family home; a stand-alone house with a backyard; they do not have elevators (unless you are buying a luxury property). The garage is usually attached or detached (single, double or triple, etc.)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Typically an apartment has either 1 or 2 bedrooms + some living room/kitchen space. The second bedroom in the apartment might not have a window at all, but it still qualifies as a bedroom as long as there is a closet. Three-bedroom apartments are not very common in Calgary, but more and more builders are building 3-bedroom apartments as the demand is there. A townhouse can have 2-3 bedrooms.
Note: all of these properties above have condo fees.
- See also: What Every First-Time Buyer Should Know Before Buying a Condo or Townhouse in Calgary
- 8 Tips on How to Choose a Calgary Community when Moving to Calgary
- Calgary Home Buying Guide: Apartment vs Townhouse vs Detached House?
- Buying a Condo in Calgary: Different Types of Condominiums in Alberta
4. Condo Maintenance Fees (what do they include, what are the average fees, can you negotiate condo fees)
4.1 What is a condo fee?
A condo fee is a monthly payment that you need to make in addition to your mortgage payment, property tax payment and utilities expense payment. A condo fee is a monthly payment that you pay and it’s withdrawn from your bank account monthly. Typically, your condo fee includes heat and water and often it does not include electricity so that’s a utility that you have to set up and pay for yourself when you get possession of your condo.
A condo fee is not negotiable and it’s based on the unit factor of your unit meaning you’re paying for the resources you’re using based on your unit size. The bigger your unit is, the bigger your condo fee will be.
The condo fee also covers insurance, snow removal, lawn cutting, reserve fund, property management, parking, building maintenance and upkeep, and other expenses.
The condo fee is determined by your condo’s unit factor. The unit factor represents your share of ownership in the common property. It is assigned to each condominium unit by the developer when the condominium plan is registered.
Besides your condo fee, you need to pay for your mortgage payment (if you didn’t pay for it all in cash), for your property tax payment, HOA fee (if there is one for your community) and the condo fee + utilities that the condo fee doesn’t cover (e.g., electricity).
Over time condo fees tend to go up as costs of ownership, maintenance, materials, and repairs increase as the condo complex ages. Brand new condos have the lowest condo fees vs older condominiums. Also, complexes with extensive amenities such as pools will definitely have higher condo fees vs condo complexes with basic amenities or no amenities at all.
4.2 What do condo fees usually include in Calgary?
The condo fee usually includes maintenance fees such as snow removal, lawn mowing, reserve fund contributions, insurance, professional management, etc.
If you have an apartment, your condo fee also typically includes heat/gas and water costs, in addition to the snow removal, lawn mowing, reserve fund contributions, insurance, professional management, etc. BUT IT DOES NOT INCLUDE ELECTRICITY! You will need to cover the cost of electricity. Some downtown buildings have condo fees that include everything including electricity, but those buildings are not very common.
Townhouses have a condo fee that covers the maintenance of common grounds, lawn mowing and snow removal. This condo fee does NOT include any utilities. As a townhouse owner, you will be paying for all of the utilities (heat/gas, water and electricity) + townhouse condo fee ($245-$450/month).
4.3 What are the average condo fees for Calgary?
The average condo fee for a condominium is from $275-$650/month but it depends on the age, location, and type of the building.
4.4 Can you negotiate condo fees?
No, condo fees are non-negotiable and is something you have to accept when you purchase the unit. Also, condo fees are not static and can go up over the years or in case of an emergency (if something bad happens to the complex for example, a fire or a flood).
4.5 Are there apartments in Calgary without condo fees?
No. All Calgary apartments have a condo fee that you have to pay for. If you don’t want to pay a condo fee, then look into duplexes with no condo fees or detached single-family homes.
4.6 Are there townhouses in Calgary without condo fees?
Yes, there are but they are quite rare. As of right now (April 2024), there are just 20 townhouses with no condo fees in the whole of Calgary.
4.7 How high is the condo fee on average?
The condo fee depends on the unit’s size, the property’s age, reserve study, anticipated repairs, acts of God (hail, natural disasters, floods), and many other factors. Please note that $500/month condo fee used to be QUITE high for Calgary, but the condo fees went up over the years.
Condo fees have increased substantially over the years, especially in the Calgary downtown core. I would stay away from average-sized condos (under 1000 sf) (that are NOT located in the downtown core) with a condo fee of over $650/month unless the complex has some incredible amenities such as Westman Village in Mahogany or if the complex is quite old.
Condos outside of the downtown area (in the suburbs) have more reasonable condo fees from $275/month and up. Newer condos have the lowest condo fees but condo fees tend to go up in price over time (I am not talking about drastically going up, but the condo fee can go up from $275/month to $350-450/month in 4-10 years or less depending on the complex).
Continue Reading…
Part 2: Read here: What’s the difference between buying a Calgary Apartment Condo vs a Townhouse vs Calgary Detached House
Need help with buying or selling your condo in Calgary?
I am a licensed real estate agent/Realtor and Property Manager with CIR REALTY in Calgary, Alberta. I’ve been in Calgary real estate since 2011. Learn about me here.
If you want to get more information quickly and save yourself some time and effort, just send me a message, book an appointment with me (Zoom or a phone call or office meeting) or send me a text message – 403.835.6913 (I do not always pick up my phone as I am busy with clients, so for the fastest response, it’s better to text me or schedule an appointment online), and I’d be happy to help you figure out the best type of property in Calgary for you and your family.
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