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.”
When Plaisance first saw the property listing, she knew it would be the perfect place for her and her boyfriend.
Marianne Plaisance
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.”
Plaisance’s apartment still has the bank’s original marble floors and crown molding.
Marianne Plaisance
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