Adam and Makenna McNellis were searching for a home of $650,000 or less with three bedrooms and two or more bathrooms.Photography by Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Adam McNellis first met Makenna online in November, 2019. By January, 2021, they wanted to move in together and contemplated buying a home at the time, but decided to rent first.
The couple moved into a one-bedroom apartment in a Newmarket, Ont., triplex, paying $1,650 a month. It was close to where they both grew up – Adam in the neighbouring town of Aurora, and Makenna in Markham, about 30 minutes south.
Their rent increased annually, reaching $1,850 a month. They disliked paying rent toward someone else’s mortgage instead of their own. “Every year, we thought, ‘This is going to be our last year,’” says Adam, 35. But prices had climbed during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping ownership out of reach.
Still, they held onto their home ownership goals. “We always wanted a yard and to have a family some day,” Makenna, 34, explains. “It was always a dream for us to have something bigger and more long-term.”
After marrying in November, 2024, the couple revisited their desire to buy a home. “We were moving on with the next steps of our lives, and we knew [buying a home] would be integral to building our life together,” Adam says. A few months later, Makenna made a career pivot from working as a part-time veterinary assistant to becoming a talent agent, which increased her income and made home ownership more achievable.
The McNellises began looking further north of Newmarket, but didn't want to go too far from Adam's work. They also still have friends and family who live between Markham and Aurora.
The McNellises had saved up more for a down payment by this point, too, improving their financial situation. The housing market had also cooled somewhat. “That gave us a little bit more leverage, negotiating power and a chance to see a home without having to immediately put a bid on it the same day,” Adam explains.
They set a $650,000 budget and hoped to get at least three bedrooms and two or more bathrooms. They wanted a large space for hosting extended family dinners and a spacious backyard for entertaining, barbecuing and a future dog and their rabbit, Pumpkin, to roam.
A detached property would be a bonus, but they were open to semis and end-unit townhomes. More important, however, was a home that wouldn’t require any major renovations or improvements right away, though they were open to longer-term projects. A fully finished basement was also desirable, so they could maximize use of their space.
This couple had a $600,000 budget for a townhouse in the Ottawa suburbs. What did they find?
Given their budget and home requirements, the couple looked further north of their current Newmarket home, but they didn’t want to go too far. Adam still worked as a sales manager at an Aurora office two days a week and wanted to keep his commute under an hour. The couple also had family and friends between Markham and Aurora and didn’t want to be far from them. They decided to focus their search on Barrie, Ont., where their budget could get them the must-haves they desired.
Makenna and Adam enlisted real estate agent Izzi Popat from Royal LePage to guide their hunt. She applauds the couple’s financial preparedness ahead of beginning their search by getting a mortgage preapproval from a lender. “They got prequalified,” Ms. Popat explains. “You knew what they could afford before we went out to look. It’s a big letdown if you’re looking at a home for a million dollars and you can afford eight hundred [thousand].”
By March, 2025, the couple began their home search in earnest. Here were their top three options.
Detached fixer-upper in north Barrie
A three-bedroom detached home in Barrie had a large fenced-in yard but needed repairs.
The McNellises were excited to see a detached home listed at the top of their budget – $650,000. It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a finished basement, a large fenced-in backyard that would be great for entertaining and a big living room where they could host gatherings.
The modern interior was appealing, but the home was small at just 992 square feet, and it needed repairs. The wooden back deck was in poor condition and would have needed to be stripped and refinished or completely rebuilt. Some of the home’s windows were also broken and would need replacing.
Another deterrent was the home’s location in north Barrie, which would push Adam’s commute beyond an hour and put the couple farther from their family in Markham and Aurora.
Bright end-unit townhouse in southeast Barrie
A townhouse in southeast Barrie had ample outdoor space but a cramped layout that would make it difficult to host large groups.
This listing caught Makenna’s eye since it had a fully private ensuite bathroom attached to the primary bedroom – something that was more difficult to find in their price range. The end-unit townhome was bright, and it had a well-built back deck in good condition with ample outdoor space for barbecuing and outdoor entertaining. The yard backed onto a park, which offered more privacy since there were no rear neighbours.
While the home had three bedrooms, three bathrooms and 1,196 square feet of space, the layout felt cramped and they questioned how well it would work for hosting large groups. The basement was also unfinished. This home was listed for $634,999.
Spacious end-unit townhouse in southwest Barrie
A home in southwest Barrie shared only a part of one wall with a neighbour.
Adam and Makenna liked that this end-unit townhouse, listed at $649,900, was a “linked” property that only shared part of one wall with their neighbour, offering more privacy and less sound transfer. The entryway was large, compared with the other homes they viewed, and there were three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
However, the top floor just had a semi-ensuite bathroom as opposed to a private ensuite, which they preferred. It was the largest of their top three options, at 1,857 square feet, with lots of room for gatherings on an open-concept main floor. Some of the home’s appliances were older, including a 20-year-old air conditioner that would need replacing soon. But the couple liked the surrounding neighbourhood, which had a public school and a community centre nearby.
Their home: Spacious end-unit townhouse in southwest Barrie
After seeing several homes, the McNellises landed on the one in southwest Barrie, which has an open-concept main floor.
The north Barrie property felt too far from Adam’s workplace and its fixer-upper nature was a big deterrent. While the southeast Barrie home was bright, the couple couldn’t see how the cramped layout would work for them. That left the “linked” end-unit townhouse in southwest Barrie, which ticked many of their boxes. It had a great backyard for entertaining and a finished basement that extended usable space in the home.
The semi-ensuite top-floor bathroom felt like a manageable compromise. And the entrance felt especially welcoming to Adam. “At all the other houses we saw, the entranceways were very narrow and small,” he explains. “This one opens up very nicely into a fairly open concept main floor.” The kid-friendly neighbourhood was also important for the McNellises. “That was something we really wanted to focus on, with wanting to have a family at some point,” Makenna explains.
Based on comparable listings, their realtor, Ms. Popat, suggested an initial offer of $630,000. The sellers countered with $640,000, which Makenna and Adam accepted. The sellers requested a three-month closing, which the couple agreed to, so they took possession in August, 2025.
The couple accepted a counter offer of $640,000 for the property, which was still $10,000 under their initial budget.
“The day that we moved in, we had two sets of neighbours come over and introduce themselves to us,” Adam says. “Both said great things about the neighbourhood as well. The old homeowners actually only moved 15 houses down the street into a bigger home, which we think is a testament to the neighbourhood itself.”
While they initially thought they’d let their rabbit, Pumpkin, roam around in the fenced-in backyard, Makenna had second thoughts and worried that he’d escape. But they’re still hoping to get a dog soon, and they think the outdoor space will be a great spot for future kids to play.
The couple was excited to finally realize their home ownership dreams. “I was on cloud nine,” Makenna says, after finalizing their purchase. Like the home’s prior owners, they see the house as a starter property from which they can grow.
“It’s not just a stepping stone,” explains Adam. “It’s something we can really turn into a home for 10 years or so, build some equity, do some renovations, improve the value and put us on solid footing.”
