[BeaverFever]

bootlegga bootlegga:

Even in places like Vancouver and Toronto, it's a matter of living within your means. Sometimes that means renting for a decade while you save or buying in the suburbs first or buying a condo instead of a house.

I wish it were that simple but it's not. The rate of inflation is so high out here , people never catch up. Full stop. 10 years of renting or living in the burbs does nothing because the prices have just inflated 10 years more. No amount of bootstrap moralizing is going to change that.

[BeaverFever]

$1:

There's no intent to tax income properties further.

Vancouver is considering looking at a tax on speculation

[OnTheIce]

bootlegga bootlegga:

I find it hard to feel sorry for people who inflict this financial hardship on themselves.

It's all about priorities - if you want all the toys, then you shouldn't also expect to own a huge house unless you have a high six-figure income. Even in places like Vancouver and Toronto, it's a matter of living within your means. Sometimes that means renting for a decade while you save or buying in the suburbs first or buying a condo instead of a house.

I agree.

I grew up in Toronto and had the choice to buy in the city and be house poor or move 20 minutes out of the City and get double the house for half the price.

[BeaverFever]

All I'm saying is, if it weren't for speculators driving up prices, the house in Toronto might not have been so expensive.

[herbie]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

$1:

There's no intent to tax income properties further.

Vancouver is considering looking at a tax on speculation

As I mentioned NOT for homes rented out or lived in by owners.
And Vancouver can't add a tax like that anyways. THe BC gov't is opposed. I guess abolishing the old $5000 provincial grant to buy a home and substituting a 3% property transfer tax is enough to satisfy even their greed.

[Zipperfish]

herbie herbie:

3% property transfer tax

[ShepherdsDog]

.....nnnnnnnnnnyyyyy?

[BartSimpson]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

All I'm saying is, if it weren't for speculators driving up prices, the house in Toronto might not have been so expensive.

I'm sorry but just who do you think builds those homes in the first place?

Speculators, that's who. People who take a risk and speculate that the market will buy their product.

Speaking for myself, the condo Lisa and I just bought in Vic was unsold on the market for over a year. It was also empty.

We bought it and now it'll have a tenant on the 1st of June who will have an awesome place to live with a view of Beacon Hill Park and a five minute walk to the Inner Harbour.

How's that make us evil?

[ShepherdsDog]

You guys in behind the Museum and Leg?

[BartSimpson]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

You guys in behind the Museum and Leg?

On Douglas at Simcoe. Spiffy place! I wish the heck I could retire and live there myself!

[BeaverFever]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

All I'm saying is, if it weren't for speculators driving up prices, the house in Toronto might not have been so expensive.

I'm sorry but just who do you think builds those homes in the first place?

Speculators, that's who. People who take a risk and speculate that the market will buy their product.

Speaking for myself, the condo Lisa and I just bought in Vic was unsold on the market for over a year. It was also empty.

We bought it and now it'll have a tenant on the 1st of June who will have an awesome place to live with a view of Beacon Hill Park and a five minute walk to the Inner Harbour.

How's that make us evil?

As I've said before, you're not the same as speculators and none of what you just described above is what I'm talking about.

[martin14]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

You guys in behind the Museum and Leg?

On Douglas at Simcoe. Spiffy place! I wish the heck I could retire and live there myself!

The new building or the older one(s) ?


The Beacon Drive-In a block away has pretty good ice cream.

[ShepherdsDog]

Just a hop skip and a jump from Beacon Drive in....great ice cream. if you're careful you might catch Gunnair sneaking into the heavy petting zoo over in the park.

[bootlegga]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

bootlegga bootlegga:

Even in places like Vancouver and Toronto, it's a matter of living within your means. Sometimes that means renting for a decade while you save or buying in the suburbs first or buying a condo instead of a house.

I wish it were that simple but it's not. The rate of inflation is so high out here , people never catch up. Full stop. 10 years of renting or living in the burbs does nothing because the prices have just inflated 10 years more. No amount of bootstrap moralizing is going to change that.

No, it is that simple.

Too many people expect that their first home is going to be 2500 sq ft McMansion, when they should be thinking, I'll buy what I can afford now and as my income grows, I'll save more (and build equity in my starter home) and move into something bigger and better in a decade or two. Either that or you commit to saving a minimum of $5-10,000 per year and in a decade, you've got $50-100k for a down payment. Sure, prices will likely have gone up from when you started, but between your increased earning power and your down payment, you will be better positioned to buying your dream home.

And if it turns out that in a decade your dream home in on the waterfront in Toronto is out of reach, so what. Scale back expectations and buy what you can afford.

When I went house hunting five years ago, there were lots of very nice homes I wanted to have, centrally located with lots of nice amenities nearby, and if I was like the family in this story, I could have had if I was willing to risk it all.

Instead, we chose the prudent path and bought something that wouldn't strain us financially if something happened. Sure, it was a little farther out and we have a slightly longer commute (about 10 more minutes).

That's what people should do, but in this era of instant gratification and easy credit, too many take the path this family did and they have nobody to blame but themselves IMHO.

[BeaverFever]

You just don't understand what I'm saying and we are talking about 2 different things. I'm not disagreeing with you that a responsible person should buy the $1 banana instead of the $100 apple. Of course people need to live within their means and limit their expectations to what they can afford. Im tired of repeating that. .

What im telling you is open your eyes to the fact that in Toronto the apple doesn't have to cost $100 in the first place. Will it be the same price as the burbs? No. Does that mean we should just accept over inflated prices from speculative trading that exploita a market bubble? Also no.

Sometimes you have to question why things are the way they are Instead of just moral lessons on how to cope and accept unfair conditions