Ontario retiree buys 'cheapest home in the GTA'. This is what she got
A retiree in Ontario has just purchased what is being called the “cheapest home in the GTA”—a caboose located on a commercially zoned parking lot near Milton.
Laurel Wynne said she sold her previous property—a 1921 school house—in February 2021. She told CTV News Toronto she had the property for about a year before realizing the commute to see her family in Oakville was just too long and the cost of renovations were adding up.
The 64-year-old said she didn’t believe she was eligible for a mortgage and didn’t want to pay upwards of $2,500 a month to rent, so she started to scan real estate websites and came across a listing on Zoocasa for a red train caboose in Campbellville, just outside of Milton, Ont.
“I thought well, that could be workable.”
Inspired by anti-poverty advocates who were building tiny home communities outside of Hamilton, Wynne decided to make the leap and buy the home.
“I just really like the cool factor of a structure that old that’s pretty quirky. So I thought I could make that work over the summer,” she said. “Then I don't have a mortgage and I have a place to stay.”
“While by no means am I homeless, I also am not in a position to afford the types of homes that I used to have. And I don't even think if I'm honest, I don't know that I want that.”
The home sold for $45,000. Wynne also has to pay the owner of the lot $500 a month; however she said in the future she may look at purchasing some land where she can put the caboose.
The structure was previously used as an office by a limousine business—the interior had three large benches as seats, as well as mirrors and a sound system.
43 Main Street East, Campbellville. (Jennifer Krane/Realtor.ca)
Wynne added that it may also have been used as an ice cream shop once upon a time.
“It's been there for about 30 years.”
The structure is wired for electricity but isn’t attached to any plumbing—so she will have to buy water. Wynne is currently renovating the caboose so there is a living area, a bedroom and a bathroom. She says that even with the renovations, she anticipates paying less than most other properties on the market.
The caboose has been listed since at least November 2021. At the time, Realtor agent Jennifer Krane told CTV News Toronto that she didn’t recommend the property for residential use in its current state, but that it could be outfitted for running water by installing sewage lines and holding tanks.
“My seller is hoping that someone will move it and enjoy it in their own space, whether it's on their own piece of property as a tiny home or in their backyard for the kids to hang out in," she said.
Wynne says her family was surprised at her new choice of a home, but they have been supportive of the endeavor.
“I think my friends I mean the ones that know me know, my situation is not going to lend itself to conventional housing.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Eating disorders among youth skyrocketed during pandemic and so did associated costs, report finds
The number of young people experiencing eating disorders surged during the height of the pandemic as the social and economic costs skyrocketed too, a new pan-Canadian report has found.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.