I'm buying a townhouse soon. The ones I'm looking at are between $290,000 and $315,000 and are between 8 and 2 years old. For similar initially quality, it's basically about a $20K difference to get 2-3 years old vs 7-8 years old.

I'm considering going with the newer, more expensive option because I will quite possibly want to move in 4-5 years and then the newer one will resell easier. Also, the older one may need a new roof and other major repairs before reselling since at that point it would be 12-13 years old. I need to stay in my current suburb due to kids school, but once the youngest is done in 4 years, I would move closer to my work in the other end of the city. Unless I change jobs in the meantime in which case I would rather stay here.

I'm not sure how to quantify the options. I'm starting with purchase price + cost of maintenance done at purchase + cost of maintenance done to sell. That part is easy. For a possibly longer time to sell, I guess I could look at what my incremental costs are. I would mostly be moving to save gas and time on my commute. If I spend an extra $200 per month in gas and it takes 3 months longer to sell, then that is a cost of $600. Does that make sense? Anything else to consider?

There's also the stress/hassle factor of being able to sell easier, but again not sure if it can be quantified.

Have you considered renting for that time period? It depends on your area, but in most areas, 4-5 years is the bare minimum time in a purchased house to break even vs. renting.

Also in 5 years, perhaps the difference will seem smaller to buyers. They'll be hypothetically comparing 7-8 vs 12-13 year old houses - a 50% difference rather than the 200% difference you're comparing today.



Roofs should last longer than 12 years. I would expect 20+ years I guess. The only major things I would expect to replace at that age are perhaps the appliances.

Renting a similar place is about $1600-$1800 per month. I'm not sure if that includes utilities or not. I can do a 15 year mortgage for under $1200 per month. Over 5 years on the mortgage I'd pay about $20K interest and $50K to principal vs about $95K in rent.

Now, I'm going to put down about $125K and have about $175K mortgage, so to be really comparable I'd have to also consider what I could earn in interest on the $125k if I was just renting. But rates are low, and I'd have to pay tax on it so it wouldn't be enough to make a difference.

Anyway, I have found a better deal. There is lots of building going on right now. I'm planning to buy a quick occupancy place, same model as the ones I've been looking at for $297K. It has more upgrades than the older ones at $292, and a few fewer upgrades than the ones in the $310-$315K range. I don't get to pick any colours or fixtures because everything has already been ordered, but I'll move into a brand new place in December.

I'm waiting for some final paperwork on my separation before I actually do the purchase agreement, but I have a hold on this place. If someone else comes in to buy, I have 24 hours to go in to buy. A few more days and I'll be in a position to do that, although there will be fewer complications if I can wait until the Friday after.

I really like the area where this house is, and I like the plans for what is going in around it. I may decide to stay put even after the 4 years when I could move. You never know what can happen in that time.