275 Manse Road Townhouses: West Hill’s Lower-Fee 1977 Complex

275 Manse Road is a West Hill complex I bring up when buyers tell me townhouse fees near $1,000 a month are a deal-breaker. Fees on the homes listed here are well below that. A lower fee is good news only if the corporation is still saving enough for its roofs and roads, and that is what I would want you to find out first. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A lower fee, and why that needs checking

Fees on the current listings here are about $770 a month. Compared with some other 1970s townhouse complexes in this part of Scarborough, where fees on current listings run close to $1,000, that is a meaningful saving of a few thousand dollars a year.

There are good and bad reasons a fee can be lower. The complex may have fewer shared assets, such as no underground garage, or it may have finished its major replacements and be running efficiently. Or the board may have held fees down while the reserve fund fell behind. The reserve fund study and the last few budgets will tell you which.

Ask Maple Ridge Community Management, the listed manager, for the status certificate early. Look at the reserve fund balance against the study’s recommended level, and at any planned projects for roofs, windows or paving.

The homes and the site

The homes listed here are three-bedroom plans, some with an extra room in the basement. In complexes of this era, that usually means living and dining on the main floor, bedrooms upstairs and a basement below, with a small private yard or patio.

Condos.ca lists a parking garage and visitor parking. Confirm whether each home has its own garage or uses a shared structure, and how many spaces it has. If parking is in individual garages and driveways, the corporation has fewer shared costs, which may help explain the lower fee.

Walk the site before you decide. Look at the roofs, siding, fences and paving across the complex, not only at the home for sale. The overall condition is often the clearest sign of how the corporation has been run.

Who is responsible for what

YCC-356 was registered in September 1977, so the declaration is nearly 50 years old. Older declarations often divide responsibilities in ways newer buyers do not expect. Check who maintains windows, exterior doors, decks, fences and the furnace, because those costs either sit in your fee or come out of your own pocket.

Condos.ca does not list what the fee includes. Confirm whether water, building insurance and exterior maintenance are covered. In townhouse condos of this age, owners usually pay their own heat and hydro, so add those to your monthly budget.

Also read the rules on renovations, pets and rentals. I could not find a public source for any of these, so the declaration, by-laws and rules are where you will find the answer.

Lawrence and Morningside

Manse Road runs through a residential part of West Hill near Lawrence Avenue East and Morningside Avenue. Shops and services are along Lawrence and Kingston Road, and the panel on this page lists the nearest transit, schools, parks and shops.

Morningside Avenue is part of the proposed route for Scarborough East Rapid Transit, the future Line 7, which the City and the TTC are planning from Kennedy Station to Malvern Town Centre by way of the University of Toronto Scarborough. Proposed stops on this stretch include Kingston and Morningside and West Hill. The line is in planning and not yet funded, so I would not pay a premium today for it.

How I would inspect a home here

In a lower-fee complex, I put even more weight on the documents. Ask for the reserve fund study, the last two budgets and two years of board minutes before you firm up an offer, and have your lawyer review the status certificate within the conditional period.

Inside the home, have an inspector look at the furnace, air conditioner, water heater, electrical panel and plumbing. Ask whether the water heater is owned or rented, check the basement for past water, and ask for permits on any finished basement space, especially if it includes an extra bedroom.

Outside, look at what you share. Roofs, siding, fences and paving across the whole complex tell you whether the low fee is the result of good management or deferred work. If the site looks well kept and the reserve fund is close to the study’s recommendation, the lower fee is a genuine advantage. If not, ask what the board plans to do and how it will be paid for.

What homes here are asking

Two of the homes listed for sale when I checked showed asking prices, from about $435,000 to about $599,000. The range reflects condition, basement finish and renovation more than location within the complex.

Because the fee is lower here, the monthly cost of ownership can come in well under a similar home in a higher-fee complex nearby. Over five years, a fee difference of $200 a month adds up to about $12,000. That is real money, provided the reserve fund is healthy enough that you are not paying it back later in a special assessment.

Keep in mind that two listings are a small sample. Fees in an older complex usually vary with the size of each home, so the fee on the home you are buying may differ. Ask for the exact fee and any planned increase in the next budget, and factor both into your monthly cost before you compare this complex with a higher-fee one nearby.

If you want the recorded sales for this complex and similar ones nearby, I can pull them through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at 275 Manse Road Townhouses

There is no shared gym or pool here, which keeps operating costs down. The amenities that matter are your own outdoor space, permission to barbecue, and parking for you and your guests. Fewer shared facilities also means fewer big-ticket items for the reserve fund to cover, which is one honest reason a fee can stay lower.

Jatin’s honest take on 275 Manse Road Townhouses

275 Manse Road Townhouses — frequently asked questions

Looking at Scarborough Bluffs, West Hill, Guildwood, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.