Fiona Anderson
Sun
After buying her first apartment six years ago, and two others since, Vancouver Sun chief news editor Brenda Bouw has been inundated by single woman friends asking her to help them do the same.
But unlike 25 years ago when Colette Dowling wrote Cinderella Complex bemoaning the fact that many women were still waiting for a man in their life before making big decisions like buying an apartment, Bouw found most of the reluctance was financial, not relationship-driven.
Bouw, like most of the people she interviewed, just didn’t think she could afford to buy. But then she saw a co-worker take the plunge and knew if the co-worker could do it, so could she.
Bouw did some number-crunching and discovered that a mortgage would cost her only a few hundred dollars more a month than her rent at the time.
“It just suddenly dawned on me that I didn’t have to pay rent anymore,” Bouw said.
And when she did buy, Bouw was surprised at how many other single women had thought they, too, couldn’t buy a home on their own.
So Bouw wrote the ultimate guide: Home Girl: the Single Woman’s Guide to Buying Real Estate in Canada.
Much of the advice — though written for women — could just as easily apply to men who are opting to buy alone. But statistics show that more single women in Canada are in the market and likely to buy real estate than single men.
And Bouw spices up her writing with references that are going to appeal mainly to women.
Bouw’s biggest tip is: Don’t let emotion make the decision for you.
Don’t buy a house because you have fallen in love with the kitchen or yard, she says. “I think a lot of times you overlook the problems with the place because you picture yourself in that kitchen, and nothing else will do.”
And for single women, location, location, location is especially important. Make sure the area is safe and you feel comfortable in it, Bouw said.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
