Ella Campbell and Tyrone Ajani with their cat Tequila. The couple were searching for a starter home with three bedrooms.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
Tyrone Ajani, a 25-year-old return-to-work specialist for Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, grew up in the east Ottawa suburb of Orleans. In July, 2023, he moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Gloucester, east of downtown Ottawa, paying $2,200 a month. A year later, he moved back in with his parents in Orleans. “I realized that renting was a waste of time and money,” Mr. Ajani says. “The goal was to save a little bit on rent and then eventually have a down payment.”
In September, 2024, Mr. Ajani started dating Ella Campbell, a 22-year-old nurse. She was living in a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Ottawa at the time, which she was renting for $1,874 a month. Mr. Ajani shared his home ownership dreams with Ms. Campbell and the idea of stability resonated with her. “I’ve moved around a lot – eight times in four years,” she explains. “I was definitely ready to just be in one place.”
A year later, in November, 2025, the couple was browsing real estate listings online when they crunched the numbers and realized they were in a good financial position to buy a home. “There was a favourable market,” Mr. Ajani explains. “Interest rates were lower and prices were a little bit lower in the wintertime.”
Ms. Campbell wanted the couple's new home to have large windows so her rescue cats, Tequila and Hennessy, could enjoy looking outside.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
The couple knew who to call for help with their home search. Ms. Campbell’s mother, Erin Campbell, is a realtor based in Northumberland County, where she raised her daughter. “I usually won’t go out of my area,” Mrs. Campbell says. “But Tyrone grew up in Ottawa and he knew the area extremely well.”
Ms. Campbell and Mr. Ajani set themselves a budget of $600,000. They were looking for a townhouse or a semi-detached home with at least three bedrooms, so they could have a spare bedroom for guests and an office for Mr. Ajani, who works from home. They also wanted a big backyard for barbecuing and a future dog, plus a garage where an electric vehicle charger could be installed for Mr. Ajani’s EV. As for Ms. Campbell, a bright, open layout was a priority, as were large windows where her rescue cats would enjoy looking outside.
They focused their search in Orleans, the suburb where Mr. Ajani grew up and a region that offered good value while keeping Ms. Campbell’s drive to work, at Ottawa Hospital, at under 30 minutes. With Mrs. Campbell’s help, the couple compiled a list of six homes to view in one December weekend. Here were their top three choices.
Three-bedroom end unit with a big backyard in Springridge
A three-bedroom home in Springridge, Ottawa.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
This end-unit townhouse was located along the eastern edge of Orleans. It sat on an oversized lot with a big backyard that had plenty of space for barbecuing and a dog to play. The bright, open-concept main floor had a living room with a gas fireplace and a large kitchen with a floating island. A sauna in the finished basement’s bathroom was an unexpected bonus.
However, the stairs and basement were carpeted, which was a drawback. “Animals are unpredictable,” Ms. Campbell explains. “It’s really hard to clean a mess out of a carpet.” The property’s fence was also in poor condition and would need to be replaced soon. The home was listed at $599,999, at the top of their budget.
Quirky two-bedroom semi in Springridge
A two-bedroom home in Springridge, in Ottawa.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
Ms. Campbell liked the modern decor in this semi-detached home, also in east Orleans, like patterned wallpaper, wainscotting and bright accent colours. While it only had two bedrooms, there was a loft space that could be converted to a third bedroom. “The lady that was living there did a really good job utilizing the space that she had, making the area appear bigger than it is,” Ms. Campbell explains.
It had a dining room at the front of the house and a living room open to the kitchen at the back, but the couple thought the layout felt cramped. The basement was only partly finished, and there was carpeting on the stairs, upper floor and basement that would need to be replaced. The backyard was small and had an unusual upward slope at the back. On the plus side, this property was priced lower, at $569,000, giving them some budget left over to renovate the home to their liking.
Modern three-bedroom middle unit in Avalon West
A home in Avalon West, Ottawa.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
The contemporary decor of this three-bedroom townhouse in the southern part of Orleans appealed to the couple. The house was owned by an electrician who had installed plenty of light fixtures, including some modern LED lighting strips in the basement that the couple admired. “He also promised to install a charger for me if we bought the house,” Mr. Ajani says, to accommodate his EV in the garage. The home had a gas fireplace on the main floor, three bedrooms and a primary ensuite bathroom with a soaker tub and a separate shower.
However, the backyard was very small. They also found out that there were plans to build a school on a lot just behind the house, which would mean living through a major construction project for at least two years. This home was priced at $599,999.
Their home: Three-bedroom end unit with a big backyard in Springridge
Mr. Ajani and Ms. Campbell in front of their new home.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
While the quirky two-bedroom was well under their budget, the couple weren’t keen on renovating to get the three bedrooms they needed. And while the bright and modern three-bedroom in Avalon West was appealing, the higher price point didn’t seem worthwhile for the couple, especially for a middle unit with a small backyard and the potential for construction nearby.
That left the three-bedroom end unit in Springridge as their top choice. “It was a nice, bigger house compared to the other ones we’d seen,” Mr. Ajani explains.
The home in Springridge was bigger than the others the couple had looked at.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
The couple were keen for a fast closing. They completed the sale on Dec. 16 and moved in by mid-January. “It didn’t feel real at first,” Ms. Campbell says of their purchase. “It felt like I was living in an Airbnb. It hadn’t really sunk in yet that this was our place.”
After moving in, the couple tackled a few light repairs, such as installing a new thermostat, fixing the garage door and upgrading the doorknobs to a cat-proof design. “My nosy little cat has learned how to open doors that don’t fully latch,” Ms. Campbell explains. “We found him in the laundry room, up in the furnace.”
They’ll work on fixing the fence next and will upgrade their flooring to remove the carpet at some point. “Being able to do construction and renovations without asking for permission is pretty nice,” says Mr. Ajani.
Ms. Campbell and Mr. Ajani see this house as a starter property as opposed to a forever home. They envision themselves moving to a more rural property in the country some time in the future. “We’re brand new to this,” Ms. Campbell explains. “But this is a good place to get our feet on the ground.”
The finished basement even has a sauna, an unexpected bonus.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Springridge is located in western Orleans. It is in the eastern part of the suburb.
