‘Cheapest home in the GTA’ sells for a manageable $45,000

Laurel Wynne, 64, made the move into a converted caboose because she didn’t qualify for a mortgage

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An Ontario retiree just procured an unconventional home dubbed the “cheapest home in the GTA” for a manageable $45,000. The house is a converted red train caboose situated on a commercial parking lot in Campbellville, near Milton.

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Laurel Wynne, 64, sold her previous home, a 1921 school house, after about a year in February 2021 to be closer to her family in Oakville, she told CTV. She discovered her new home and thought it looked like the tiny homes in Hamilton built by anti-poverty advocates that she found inspiring, she said.

“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.”

Wynne said she made the move because she didn’t qualify for a mortgage and didn’t want to saddle herself with a monthly rent of $2,500.

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“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.”

After looking through some real estate listing, she found the caboose for a song and ultimately decided to close the deal.

“I thought ‘Well, that could be workable,’” she remarked.

The home previously served as an office and showroom for a limousine company. The interior comes complete with a stereo system, a deck and three long seats, which gives the boxcar a roomy feel.

Wynne paid $45,000 for the home and will pay an additional $500 a month to the owner of the lot. In the future, she said she may purchase some land of her own to park the caboose.

When Zoocasa realtor Jennifer Krane first listed the home in November 2021, she said it wasn’t quite ready for residential use but could be connected to a sewage line and a holding tank.

The home is wired for electricity, but Wynne will be buying her own water for plumbing. She told CTV of planned upgrades to the caboose to add a living area, bedroom and bathroom.

Even with the planned renovation, she expects to pay a less than most of the other homes being sold in the area.

Laurel Wynne, 64, made the move into a converted caboose because she didn’t qualify for a mortgage

Article content

An Ontario retiree just procured an unconventional home dubbed the “cheapest home in the GTA” for a manageable $45,000. The house is a converted red train caboose situated on a commercial parking lot in Campbellville, near Milton.

Article content

Laurel Wynne, 64, sold her previous home, a 1921 school house, after about a year in February 2021 to be closer to her family in Oakville, she told CTV. She discovered her new home and thought it looked like the tiny homes in Hamilton built by anti-poverty advocates that she found inspiring, she said.

“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.”

Wynne said she made the move because she didn’t qualify for a mortgage and didn’t want to saddle herself with a monthly rent of $2,500.

Article content

“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.”

After looking through some real estate listing, she found the caboose for a song and ultimately decided to close the deal.

“I thought ‘Well, that could be workable,’” she remarked.

The home previously served as an office and showroom for a limousine company. The interior comes complete with a stereo system, a deck and three long seats, which gives the boxcar a roomy feel.

Wynne paid $45,000 for the home and will pay an additional $500 a month to the owner of the lot. In the future, she said she may purchase some land of her own to park the caboose.

When Zoocasa realtor Jennifer Krane first listed the home in November 2021, she said it wasn’t quite ready for residential use but could be connected to a sewage line and a holding tank.

The home is wired for electricity, but Wynne will be buying her own water for plumbing. She told CTV of planned upgrades to the caboose to add a living area, bedroom and bathroom.

Even with the planned renovation, she expects to pay a less than most of the other homes being sold in the area.