33-year-old pays $3,100 a month to live in an old bank

Marianne Plaisance, 33, and her boyfriend had been looking to buy a house in Montreal, Québec, Canada, for about two years. In 2022, Plaisance came across an online listing for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom condo located inside an old bank. The apartment was 3,500 square feet, split between the first floor and a basement.

“The first time I saw the listing, I freaked out,” she tells CNBC Make It. “I knew it was meant for us, but I kept calm because, you know, the house market is a bit crazy.”

At first, the old bank was listed for 900,000 CAD or $625,720 USD, but by their first visit to see the space in person, the price had been reduced to $521,433 USD.

“The listing was up for a long time. Nobody seemed interested in buying the property,” she says.

The couple submitted an offer of $500,576 and it was accepted. Their mortgage is $2,655 a month and they pay $4,080 a year in property taxes. Additional expenses include $275 in utilities, $92 for Wi-Fi and $70 for parking a month.

“The bank is on the main floor of the building. The other condos on top [don’t] look at all like what it looks in here,” she says. “I got the bank of the block.”