I wonder how long this insanity will last....

Forum Sponsor
In all seriousness, overbuying is a bad idea. Here is a personal example, I have been with my company for the last 5 years. After 4.5 years of bored and underpaid I took a job with a new department for 1 year contract to get my foot in the door. It was more desperately needed money. However what happened was that the hiring manager got reorganized before I started so I never got to work with her. Instead I got a different acting manager and a supervisor who had never been one before and the way they set it up she wasn't my direct report so she was always telling the acting manager this and that except I didn't work with the acting and all my interactions were often when the psuedo-supervisor wanted to complain about something. No, I wasn't perfect but I would have been fine with the original hiring manager. Anyway, too much friction with the acting and pseudo-supervisor. I've been told to find a new job for my contract that ends at the end of May. So I'm kind of ******. The VP likes me as a person and offered to mentor me between now and then. I am a little frustrated about it because I can and do do the work if only I had had experienced managers. I'm bright green on the true colours test and I'm sure I ended up with a pair of golds. Not sure what kind of questions I should ask him. He says open format and casual and can be anything. I would appreciate advice on what I should be asking him.

I don't have a degree, just a certain skillset and experience, so I'm kind of ****** now.

I'm going to have to either go back to school which would start in September or find a new job probably at a 20k pay cut since it would be entry level again.

If I had overbought I would have had to sell my house immediately. But since I didn't it is low enough that it is the same as rent.

I'm still ******, just not as ******.

The point of this story is to warn you that even if you're flying smooth down the road sometimes you run over a bump and it isn't always 100% your fault. So don't overbuy. :)
 
Awesome. Good buy.
 
mmmnaked said:
Lives at home haha
Click to expand...

Who wants to live at home? Sure its a great idea to a point but theres value to independence and privacy. Just dont tell tht to all the italian guys in woodbridge
 
Paul1000RR said:
What kind of logic is that? If its not for a mortgage then you'll waste it some where else? For people like this i guess a mortgage is the only way to go, paying 30% interest to be forced to "save".

Do you have any idea what i make per month, where i live or what my financial situation is?

Its an excellent time to purchase a condo right now!!! :lmao:
Im not interested however, im happy where i am at the moment, no one would be able to beat my current price of "rent" :)
Click to expand...

So you rent a Yorkville condo and make 500k a year:lmao:... yet can't get in the marketplace cause it's insanity:lmao: WAH WAH.:sad1:
BTW talk about overuse of the :lmao:
 
the bandit said:
So you rent a Yorkville condo and make 500k a year:lmao:... yet can't get in the marketplace cause it's insanity:lmao: WAH WAH.:sad1:
BTW talk about overuse of the :lmao:
Click to expand...

Didnt even get one point right..

Dont debate my numbers or logic rather try to insult me

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
 
caboose56 said:
In the end, no.

I have a good job now and after 5 years of career stagnation I feel like I have a future with my current employer.

I ended up being off work for only 3 weeks including the Christmas break. Before that though I was seriously looking into being an electrician apprentice. Had I not got this new job (which was a bit of a fluke) I think I'd be working as an electrician right now.
Click to expand...

Is engineering in that rough of shape in London you were going to give up on it?
 
Some people might have to one day come to the realization that they will never own a large detached home, at least not somewhere near the city. Our small semi-detached is perfect for us at only 1100 sq. feet -- it is cheap to heat and a breeze to keep clean. I too hear about people over-stretching their budget to get into 2800+ square foot homes, and I don't really understand it (nor do I want it).

Most residents in most of the big cities of the world can't even dream about owning any kind of property. In the old cities in Europe people rent for their entire lives. How many middle class people own homes in New York or Los Angelas? We are in the biggest city in Canada and despite that there are still property options that are within the range of many people (townhouses, semi-detached, condos, etc) -- I consider us lucky here.

For those of you that make less than $100k a year and are still dreaming about a big detached house close to their work in the city... well keep dreaming and hoping for that crash. I have a buddy who has been hoping for this crash to come for the past 5 or 6 years. This year he finally took the plunge and bought because he has his 2nd kid on the way and needs the space. If he had not have waited so long, he probably could have paid at least 30% less in his ideal neighbourhood of St. Clair and Lansdowne.
 
Yep, waiting is simply a gamble on the opposite end of the spectrum.

I didn't wanna wait. When the ideal house showed up on the market I pulled the trigger and the rest would site itself out later. If I'm ever strapped I'd rent out the basement. My wife and I both make enough individually to cover all our living expenses and this is the house where we intend to raise a family. It's value no longer matters to us because we won't be selling.
 
Last edited:
Diesel said:
Some people might have to one day come to the realization that they will never own a large detached home, at least not somewhere near the city. Our small semi-detached is perfect for us at only 1100 sq. feet -- it is cheap to heat and a breeze to keep clean. I too hear about people over-stretching their budget to get into 2800+ square foot homes, and I don't really understand it (nor do I want it).

Most residents in most of the big cities of the world can't even dream about owning any kind of property. In the old cities in Europe people rent for their entire lives. How many middle class people own homes in New York or Los Angelas? We are in the biggest city in Canada and despite that there are still property options that are within the range of many people (townhouses, semi-detached, condos, etc) -- I consider us lucky here.

For those of you that make less than $100k a year and are still dreaming about a big detached house close to their work in the city... well keep dreaming and hoping for that crash. I have a buddy who has been hoping for this crash to come for the past 5 or 6 years. This year he finally took the plunge and bought because he has his 2nd kid on the way and needs the space. If he had not have waited so long, he probably could have paid at least 30% less in his ideal neighbourhood of St. Clair and Lansdowne.
Click to expand...

That ain't the mentality here, or at least ive noticed that people go completely nuts when it comes time to purchase a house. Approved for 500k? Get a house for 500 k lol
 
As some have mentioned retraining is a great idea. However it may not always be possible because of circumstances that surround us.

perfect example, you guys saw my thread about entering the HVAC trades. I had everything ready, costs of each school broken down and have discussed the issue with many people. I also spoke with HVAC techs and each said the same thing. Be prepared to make very little money for the first 1-3 years. Unfortunately I cannot just stop working to go to school (money is saved for this) and then take a massive payout while I learn the trade. If there was part time available for the educational requirements I'd be doing it already but there isn't. Only for the G3 that can be done part time. The rest are all full time studies for about 3-4 months and then trying to get a beginning position and building from there. It's definitely possible, I just feel like I thought about this too late.
 
mimico_polak said:
As some have mentioned retraining is a great idea. However it may not always be possible because of circumstances that surround us.
Click to expand...

I'm not up to speed on your situation exactly but if a HVAC career is a step up for you I can relate. I didn't start my sheet metal apprenticeship until I was 29, this after 1 yr to earn grade 12 equivalency(gr.10 dropout) and another yr. in HVAC pre-apprnticeship school. Both years living on 60% of $10hr. E.I. claim. Thank god for government programs. Then on to apprenticeship, the first 3 yrs pretty tight.

You won't get rich doing this and with T.O. house prices it almost seems pointless. In other parts of Ontario it's quite workable.
 
When my wife and I attempted entering the Toronto housing market in 1991, the bank rejected our first offer on a town house in Scarborough. So we cut back on non essentials and saved, since there wasn't an option to increase our salaries. After saving $10,000.00 for the next down payment (CMHC insured), we found we could only afford crappy houses near Rail Road tracks, or with 5 foot tall basements. So back to saving. Each $10,000.00 we saved opened up the opportunity for a slightly better house, or nicer location...but nothing we really wanted to live in. (I will admit I worked many long hours) So back to saving even more. We managed to put 33% down on our first house. I lovingly renovated every room and we began raising our two boys in the 1957, 1000 sq. ft. side split, with fenced yard, walk to school and ravine....Life was good, so I thought. One day my wife said..."we are moving". Crap I thought, the mortgage is almost paid off. So back to the bank.... this time I figured... buy the biggest house the we could afford, and that we did. Not only was the house much bigger, better location and near better schools, but we bought it not only as a home to raise our family but as a "Pension Plan" as others have stated. The boys will be done college by 2016 and once they leave the nest and begin their own journeys through life, we will begin planning our retirement... The moral of the story... no one says you "can't" but yourself. Looking back, we felt the same crunch as some of you feel today, but we did it, just like our parents did and our children will. Good luck to all, damn, I love real estate....Ca ching!
 
Paul1000RR, you sound like a fan of the bearded one...as am I. I'm older than most on this board and have been through 2 real estate crashes. The last one in 1991. It took over 11 years to recoup the price on a very nice house in the Georgetown. Folks are naive if they do not believe it could happen again. It will and there will be a lot of under water mortgages.

Good luck to all and remember that real estate does not always go up.
 
I was on a flight Friday night with an analyst for BMO and in our conversation he's convinced the GTA home pricing isn't a bubble and has staying power. In his opinion there is LOTS of money around the city and the earners that have a family income of 150-200k, and there are lots of them, will keep the momentum going. Buying a home now is still a good idea (in his opinion) because waiting means trying to out save the rate of escalation in value, and the market doesn't see a correction coming anytime soon.
 
Audiometric said:
Paul1000RR, you sound like a fan of the bearded one...as am I. I'm older than most on this board and have been through 2 real estate crashes. The last one in 1991. It took over 11 years to recoup the price on a very nice house in the Georgetown. Folks are naive if they do not believe it could happen again. It will and there will be a lot of under water mortgages.

Good luck to all and remember that real estate does not always go up.
Click to expand...

It's different here, until it isn't. ;)
 
crankcall said:
I was on a flight Friday night with an analyst for BMO and in our conversation he's convinced the GTA home pricing isn't a bubble and has staying power. In his opinion there is LOTS of money around the city and the earners that have a family income of 150-200k, and there are lots of them, will keep the momentum going. Buying a home now is still a good idea (in his opinion) because waiting means trying to out save the rate of escalation in value, and the market doesn't see a correction coming anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Asking a real estate agent whether its a good time to buy is like asking a car salesman whether you need a new car. The answer is always yes since thats how they make a living. :p
Forum Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom