Buying a house in Ottawa

[Lews Therin]

Hello everyone,

I'm part of the military, and this summer I'm being posted to Ottawa.

I have been looking at different real-estate options (condo, strata, house, renting), and I'd like to hear from anyone who has some experience with the city about things to avoid / things that I should be thinking about. I live with my S/O and I'm moving from a house in Quebec City, and preparing to downsize a bit, since prices in Ottawa are higher than in Quebec.

The area in which I'll be working is East of the airport (CFB Leitrim), and my S/O is a paralegal, so ideally, I'm looking for something within 15km of Leitrim (so I can bike to work) and near transit lines, as my S/O is French, and would probably have more luck in Gatineau. So far, I've worked out that the best area would be North of the Airport and East of the Rideau Canal.

I've noticed that there are quite a few buildings/areas that have HOA of 350+ even for Stratas of less than 200k. To me that seems like a crazy amount of money for "maintenance". I've had a House in Quebec city, and "maintenance" sure as heck doesn't cost that much.

[Jouer]

Hi Ben,

The suburb of Orleans is pretty French. It's on the eastern side of Ottawa but not likely bikeable to Leitrim. Is your wife French-only or bilingual? My in-laws are French-first from outside Quebec City who learned English in Ottawa. They worked in places where they were able to speak French most of the time - she as a nurse in Orleans and he with the federal government.

Gatineau and Leitrim are not very compatible as one is south and the other north. Riverside South and Finley Creek are your best bet to be close to your work. Riverside South can be pricey, not sure about Finley Creek. Take a look North of Hunt Club as well - may find some older/smaller homes in that area.

I work from home so I'm not fully up on the transit system, especially to Gatineau. Check out octranspo.ca to see maps, routes, etc. From what I recall, the transit system is pretty good east to west and vise versa but not as good if you are not directly on the main bus transitway.

[Lews Therin]

I didn't know about the Orleans Suburb, it'll be a good place for my s/o to look for work. She's French, understands English in one-one conversation, but can't always follow English people speaking to each other due to speed. (She's also very hesitant in practicing) I've drawn a map following the Rideau canal East (with about 2km West of the Rideau included) and the whole zone North of the airport all the way out to Gloucester.

I'm trying to get a feel for the prices of places, and if there are areas that are pricier/cheaper.

Riverside South must be pricey due to the "riverfront" of the canal?

For working in Gatineau, it was obvious at the beginning that even though it would be the easiest for my s/o, it's unlikely that the transit would be less than 30-45min each way. Orleans will now become the area of interest with the downtown for job search (She's a Paralegal)

[Learner]

Depending on your rank, there is some limited CFHA housing.  Not 100% sure of the specifics, as it wasn't going to apply for us.  As a side bonus, it wasn't too far from the MFRC either.

[Lews Therin]

The lowest military housing is around 1000$ per month, which is more than the cost for buying a reasonable place.

It's not Bagotville (3Br house with 550$/month)!