Nearly one in four Canadians who are in the process of buying a home or plan to do so will buy as solo purchasers, according to a survey conducted by Environics Research Group for TD Canada Trust.
“A large part of this trend is driven by unexpected life circumstances,” TD noted in its report of the survey results. “Canadian home buyers who are divorced (69%) or widowed (35%) [say] they are more likely to purchase a home on their own, along with a growing number of single Canadians who say they’ll go it alone (67%).”
Almost all of those who said they planned to buy a home alone were confident they could afford to do so, with 91 percent saying they had thought about at least some of the costs of home ownership before starting the purchasing process, and 86 percent saying they could comfortably afford maintenance and ongoing costs.
For many of the individual home buyers TD surveyed, one way to achieve home ownership was to buy alone but not live alone: 27 percent said they would consider having a tenant, and 23 percent were thinking about having a roommate.
The bank noted that even those planning to save money by living with another person should plan to qualify for a mortgage without rental income to ensure they can afford to stay in their home if the roommate or tenant arrangement does not work out. Those renting out part of their home should also be sure to get the appropriate insurance coverage, TD said in the report.
When buying alone, it may be a good idea to enlist help from a friend or family member to keep you on track throughout the purchasing process, the TD report said: “Having support will help you stick to your home-buying plan and can provide an objective voice as you visit properties, negotiate and close on a property, and set up your new home.”
