Bold start: Extreme savings plus a meaningful inheritance allowed Jake to buy a mortgage-free condo worth $415,000 in Burlington.
After five years of meticulous planning and saving, supported by a sizable inheritance from his late father, 35-year-old Jake closed on his first home. At the end of the summer, the digital marketer finalized a deal on a one-bedroom condo priced at $415,000. The building offers a gym, pool, and lounge, with a monthly condo fee of $550. He takes possession this month.
Jake acknowledges Canada’s strong culture around homeownership — he describes it as a kind of obsession — but owning his own place remained important to him.
He started plotting early in the pandemic, aiming to accumulate about $200,000 in savings, roughly the amount he anticipated receiving from his father’s estate. He believed that together these funds would be enough to secure a condo on the outskirts of Toronto.
“I basically laid out a plan to live at home, work from a home office, save aggressively, invest, and once I had the amount needed to buy property outright, I’d pull the trigger and make it a reality.”
Living at home enabled aggressive savings. Jake lived on about 10 percent of his income — a little over $100,000 — leaving room for one vacation per year. He describes taking extreme measures and making compromises along the way.
Growing up with minimalist influences taught him that you can get by with less, which made financial discipline easier to adopt.
He steered his savings into guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) for low-risk, stable returns. GICs offered higher rates than savings accounts while keeping funds accessible, which mattered during the pandemic when yields reached as high as 5 percent. “I locked in for a year at a time and renewed when the term ended. In hindsight, I could have been more aggressive when rates were high, but it was a good move at the time,” he notes.
By 2024, Jake began visiting condos in Hamilton and Burlington and ultimately found a balance between size, price, and amenities that suited him.
Jake is straightforward about using his inherited money for this purchase, noting that an increasing number of people rely on gifts and inheritances to reach homeownership. He emphasizes that buying without some form of assistance is not representative of the Canadian reality for his generation.
Unlike many first-time buyers, Jake bought his condo outright, avoiding a mortgage and any monthly payments beyond his condo fee, utilities, and taxes. Owning the unit free and clear allows him to focus on saving for the future rather than paying off debt.
“The problem with mortgages is that you’re usually making only minimum payments,” he says. “I prefer to keep more money in my pocket.”
Jake moves into his condo this month and plans to stay for at least five years, using that period to continue saving and building equity. He sees the next challenge as bridging the gap from a $400,000 condo to a million-dollar home, noting that the distance between the two is significant.
Closing costs:
- Legal fees and land transfer tax: $1,900 (after a $4,000 rebate for first-time homebuyers)
- Moving, painting, and furniture: $5,000 (estimate)
Ongoing costs:
- Mortgage payment: None
- Monthly condo maintenance: $550
- Home insurance (fire, water, possessions): $350 per year
- Hydro: $150–$250 per month (estimate)
Advice: For single buyers in Ontario, purchasing a home is exceptionally challenging. Develop a strategic, long-term plan and stay the course, even when it feels painful.
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