The relocation shuffle
Although Amy was perfectly happy with her first little house and made lots of friends in Red Deer, a job opportunity popped up that was too good to turn down. She recently relocated to Calgary, where she serves as a regional sales manager for a major coffee company.
Before her move, she experienced the ups and downs of both buying and selling houses in 2 different cities.
Selling a first home in Red Deer
“Lucky for me, Red Deer has a shortage of homes for sale and a lot of buyers. I didn’t have a chance to make any improvements on my house, a house built in 1904, but I did add a simple deck and lots of flowers and new bushes. It has more curb appeal than when I bought it,” Amy said. She said that the hardest part about selling a house was making sure it was clean all the time and ready for prospective buyers to tour.
Amy ultimately sold her house for $361,000, $21,000 more than what she paid in 2017. Even in that time, she accumulated some equity and walked away with a total of $28,000 when the sale closed.
Buying a new house in Calgary
The next step was to find a house in Calgary. Home prices are higher there, compared to Red Deer, Amy noted. She wanted to buy a nicer, more expensive home this time around.
“I found one that was a little bit above my price range at $400,000. But it is in perfect condition, I don’t have to worry about repairs or anything,” Amy said. Plus, coffee shops and restaurants are within walking distance.
As a single person who works long hours, finding a low-maintenance home was important to her. But she also wanted to keep some money in the bank, just in case.
She explained, “I could have used all of the proceeds from the sale of my house as my down payment. But I didn’t want to drain my savings account. I used mortgage insurance (high-ratio mortgage) again, so I could put less money down. I opted for a 5% down payment of $20,000. My monthly payment is a little bit higher but still affordable. Thanks to mortgage insurance, I could buy a better house and still have money in the bank.”