Thoughts on Hamilton, ON & surrounding areas (for sale, real estate)

[copious73]

With aging parents, I am in need of coming back to Ontario. They are having trouble maintaining their large 2 story home and will not be able to drive for much longer. Coming for visits from Montreal on a regular basis is just not practical. The only area we can all agree on is the Hamilton, Ontario area (Hamilton itself, Stoney Creek, Dundas, Ancaster, etc), possibly a bit out towards the Niagara area. But it must NOT be in a snowbelt area.

I've looked at countless listing on the MLS website. It looks like they could find a nice house (preferably a 5 to 10 year old bungalow) for close to or under $450K which is what they will probably get for their house in Barrie. They could spend a bit more, but would prefer not to, and in fact, would rather spend about $350K on the new house if that's reasonable. I'm not sure how realistic that is if they want to live in a middle or upper-middle class neighbourhood.

We will either all live in the same house, preferably a bungalow (no stairs for them), with me living in an in-law type suite in the basement. Or if it's a large enough house, in one of the upstairs bedrooms. But eventually, I'd prefer a bit more privacy and would like my own house within walking distance to their house, or at least, fairly close to where they will live.

Since both of my parents will not be able to drive anymore, they would like a house within walking distance of at least some amenities like shopping, and if possible, a doctor's office. Of course, I will be available to drive them around when needed too. They refuse to live in a senior's residence.

My parents think they need at least a year to sell the current house and find a new one. I will move to Hamilton or area in April 2011 (about 8 months from now) into a rental townhouse. I'd rather not buy a house right away until I get to know the area a bit. So, a dog-friendly townhouse with a month-to-month rental agreement would be ideal for me. Worst case, I'll sign a 1 year lease.

I'm hoping my parents will have sold their home in Barrie and be ready to move into a new house in the Hamilton area before next winter. After all, time is not on their side. So, 2 questions:

1. Where is a good place in Hamilton or area for me to find a short term rental that will allow a medium sized dog? Preferably not in a sketchy area or near a lot of university and college students. I'll pay around $1000 a month, give or take a bit. Less if I can get away with it. Proximity to employment isn't a priority as I'm migrating towards full self-employment and contract work that I can do from home.

2. Based on the above requirements, what would be a good middle class to upper-middle class area for my parents to buy a home in Hamilton or the surrounding area? Preferably a 5-10 year old house, but they may consider a new construction home or maybe an older home (1980's or 1990's home), especially if it put them closer to all of the amenities they need.

Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions!

[copious73]

While I was still in Barrie over the weekend, we took a drive to Hamilton and looked at some homes (just from the outside - I got the addresses off the MLS website). My parents seem to really like the area on top of the mountain by the Limeridge Mall. There are resale homes and some brand new homes being built there. A bungalow would be ideal, as they are hoping to eliminate stairs (at their age, it's important). Although they might still consider a 2 story house if it was otherwise perfect. That area is close to a hospital and lots of other amenities - many within a reasonable walking distance. That's what they want.

We also saw Ancaster and Dundas. Nice areas, but they seemed a bit far from everything. It's almost like what they have now in Barrie - a nice residential neighbourhood with nothing by a variety/convenience store nearby. It's necessary to drive to get anything else. We're trying to avoid that. The nice thing is that all of those areas get a much easier winter than Barrie - a few degrees warmer and about half the snow. That's a big plus for all of us.

Any thoughts on those areas we visited? When I come back for a visit in early October, I will drive us out there again and maybe we'll meet a real estate agent this time to show us some houses. Or, take a look at some of those new construction houses too. And then I will start scoping out a place to rent in that area - preferably on a month-to-month basis, not a 1 year lease. We're still debating on whether to have me live in the same house as them, in a basement or in-law type suite, or if I should buy/rent a house or townhouse close to where they will live.

[lucknow]

If you are so concerned about the winters you really should concider St. Catherines. That is one of the reasons that so many retired people move there. St. Kitts is also very walking friendly with many areas where a car is not necessary. One of the biggest reasons that I like sST. Kitts so much is that is very defined in area. The lake to the north. The canal to the east. the escartment to the south and highway 406 to the west. Very defined and sasy to learn. Every concievable service within 5 minutes of anywhere it town. Also RE is very reasonable and 300K will get you a great home.

[copious73]

We had considered St. Chatharines but didn't get a chance to see it when I was visiting my parents last week. I'll be going back in about 6 weeks and will make sure we get a chance to see it. For some reason I thought it got a bit more snow being near the fringe of the snow belt and lake effect snow.

I had an aunt and uncle live there before, but the last time I was ever in that city must have been around 1984, so I don't really remember much about it. Thanks for the suggestion - we'll check it out.

[lucknow]

It snows less in St. Kitts than anywhere else in southern On. I did not have to shovel my driveway once from 88 to about 93. I also think it's much better for old folks to get around than the Hamilton area. My father in Law still drives around town and he is 92 years old.
St. Catherines gets no lake effect snow because of it's location in regards to the lake. It's due south of the lake and the weather comes from the west. It's also protected from weather by the niagara escartment. One thing though, it's HOT in the summer. It's got real nice beaches and lots of walking trails through the city. They are building a brand new big hospital that will be the main medical center for the region. It's so close to the USA for day tripping and shopping. When I lived there for almost 20 years we used the Niagara parks a lot. Beautiful parks all the way from NOTL to Ft. Erie. About 50 km of park along the Niagara river. The Jewel of Ontario, I used to call it. I even had my wedding at Queenston Heights and still love the spot. All these great things to do are free and that's even better.

[copious73]

Wow, St. Catharines sounds great! We will definitely have to go look at when I come for a visit in October. I love the idea of very little snow. As for hot summers, well I guess we can't really get away from that unless we go really far up north, which is not an option. Being close to the USA is nice too. I like going day tripping there too. For my parents' sake, the medical centres are important too.

We had previously thought of St. Catharines but for some reason concentrated on Hamilton. I guess my parents assumed all of the amenities would be closer. They thought of St. Catharines as more suburban and spread out, which (up until now), they liked. But since they won't be able to drive (at least not much or for who knows how much longer), being close to everything is very important.

Thanks again for the suggestion. I'm looking forward to checking it out in a few weeks when I go for my next visit.

[lucknow]

Well, St. Kitts is not suburban at all and is a very tightly contained little city. My wife and I have our house in Kitchener up for sale right now and we will move back to St Catherines when it sells. We have been looking for a house there and with our budget of 220K there are hundreds of really nice upgraded homes in beautiful areas. Hamilton is like a little Toronto and it's actually quite spread out. It's also quite busy and the traffic is bad. St Kitts is served by two major 400 series highways with a much smaller population and therefore has very few traffic problems. I was an on the road salesman there for almost 20 years and never a problem at all. Another aspect about the city is it's abundence of really good old folks homes. There is one their called Tabor manner that has everything from completely independent living to assisted living to complete nursing care. My wifes Oma started in the independent living and ended up in the nursing care over a number of years and it was really wonderful for her. Retirement living is actually a big industry in all of Niagara.

[copious73]

St. Catharines is sounding better and better! I like the fact that it doesn't get really bad traffic, since I will be the one doing most of the driving - and I hate wasting time in heavy traffic. I actually didn't find Hamilton that bad, but from Burlington, through Oakville, Mississauga and into Toronto always seems congested no matter when you go.

My parents really aren't into the idea of an old folks home. They get really insulted when I bring that up. I think the next house they buy will be the last one they ever buy. For them, old folks homes are for "other people" - but maybe they'll change their opinion on that too. Nice to know there are a lot of services for retirees/seniors in the Niagara area.

And it looks like their money will go quite far in St. Catharines too (or anywhere in that area - even Hamilton was a better bargain than Barrie, where they currently live). For their next house, they would like to pay around $350K if possible, but would be willing to pay a bit more if needed. Like I said before, a 5-10 year old bungalow would be ideal, so we'll have to hit up a real estate agent there to show us a few. For me, I'd probably rent for a few months (or a year if required to sign a lease) just to get to know the area so I could recommend a good neighbourhood for them - and for me in the event we choose not to have me live in an in-law suite in the same house.