Young Money: Couple finds northern appeal, affordable homes in Timmins, Ont.

Young Money is our five-part series this week chronicling young Canadians and the lessons they learned making big financial decisions. Click here for a recap of the entire series. 

Name: Colleen and Adam
Age: Both 28
Where: Timmins, Ont.
What they do: Head receptionist (her), engineering manager (him)

After two years, Colleen and Adam’s long-distance relationship — spanning nearly 600 kilometres — found its rightful home in Timmins.

Adam, originally from Kirkland Lake — an hour-and-a-half southeast of Timmins — decided to make the move after landing a job as an engineering manager at a metal fabrication company. Colleen, who hails from Whitby, followed soon after, landing a position as a head receptionist at a veterinary clinic.  

Moving to Timmins, home to approximately 45,000 people, might mean braving cold winters, but there’s personal space galore and plenty of affordable houses. It’s also known as something of a nature lover’s paradise, with world-class recreational trails, lakes, and parks to be explored.

Here’s the story of how this young couple made their housing dreams come true far away from the province’s red-hot housing markets.

From renters to finding the home of their dreams

When they first moved to Timmins, Colleen and Adam did what many young couples across the country do: they rented. They found a two-bedroom apartment with a nice view of the lake for $840 per month. Shortly thereafter, though, they outgrew the space and started looking for something of their own.  

“We really needed more space for Adam’s stuff,” says Colleen. “He has like, five snowmobiles and a bunch of other crap. And I needed somewhere to put all my books.”

He has like, five snowmobiles and a bunch of other crap. And I needed somewhere to put all my books

All it took was a quick number crunch and they realized they could afford to buy a house. In fact, with the home prices in Timmins, buying actually cost them only slightly more per month than what they were paying in rent. So it was a no-brainer: they began the house hunt.

House hunting in Timmins poses its own unique challenges

For many young buyers, the hardest part of buying a home is being able to afford it. In a place like Toronto, saving 5% for a down payment can easily add up to $50,000 or more. And then there’s getting approved for a mortgage, finding something in your desired price range and neighbourhood, and then possibly even the added stress of a bidding war.

In contrast, it didn’t take Colleen and Adam long to save up their $9,000 down payment and get pre-approved for a mortgage. Turns out the most difficult part of their house hunt was finding a place they actually wanted to buy.  

It was October of 2015 when they started looking. They called a real estate agent and explained what they were looking for: a bungalow with a garage, parking (which turns out to be a big issue in Timmins, where huge snowfalls mean no street parking), and outdoor space that would fit within their $160,000 budget. From there, they started viewing houses. A LOT of houses.

It didn’t take Colleen and Adam long to save up their $9,000 down payment and get pre-approved for a mortgage

“We probably saw 30 or 35 in total,” Colleen says.

Sadly, nothing checked all of the boxes. Many of the homes were dated, and some needed huge amounts of work.

“Everything here was built in the 60s, and for the most part, you could tell,” she says. “There was even this place that’d been split into a multi-unit apartment and then converted back again — badly. One half of a room had carpet, and the other half had tiles. It was terrible.”

With Adam being a particularly handy guy, they were okay with doing some renovations, but they wanted to find a house that was at least close to move-in ready.

After nearly eight weeks of house viewings, they decided to take a break over Christmas. Colleen requested they be removed from the property match emails, but saw one at the last minute that caught her attention. And, good thing she did: that listing was for the house that eventually became their home.

Aside from the difficulty of finding ripe avocados when they want to make guacamole, the couple couldn’t be happier living in Timmins 

“When we first got there, I knew instantly I wanted it,” she says. “Adam wasn’t so sure, until we walked around the back and he saw the detached garage. Then he was on board. We both knew we were going to buy it before we even went inside.”

The couple had found the one, and they put in their offer of $129,000 (it was originally listed at $135,000) on a Wednesday. By Friday, they were homeowners.

The Northern appeal

Fast forward to January 2017 — it’s been almost a year since Colleen and Adam purchased their home. Turns out, homeownership suits them well. They have more space for Adam’s stuff, an entire room for Colleen’s books, and most importantly: more space for their cats. (They’re at three right now, and plan to add a fourth to the family this spring).

And, aside from the difficulty of finding ripe avocados when they want to make guacamole, the couple couldn’t be happier living in Timmins.

Some young Canadians prefer big space — and affordable homes — to the big city.

Photos courtesy of Heather Savard