Why, you might ask, would anyone living in Hong Kong want to buy a soulless high-rise box in a treeless condo development in godless Surrey, so far away from DT Vancouver? Hey, to make 12% on your money. Like, guaranteed. Just send cash.
Yin lives in HK, reads this blog, and snapped the picture below of the rolling billboard for Park Avenue West, which some poor Hong Konger might think is actually near anything useful in Canada. “I’m curious as to the Brad Lamb math used,” says Yin, “but this is a hoot and a holler.”
By the way, developer Concord Pacific plans on having the towers built sometime in 2017 and is currently pumping up a Chinese New Year Special, which includes a $3,000 cash gift, $11,000 in buyer incentives and $8,000 furniture prize package and something called “Draw for the Golden Sheep,” which seems highly appropriate.
Anyway, Yin nails it. Imagine all those HK investors expecting to rake in a double-digit return on their Canadian investment, who end up subsidising Canadian tenants. Baaaaa.
On another note, this time of year a decade and a half ago I spent my winter hopping around the country giving financial speeches to people desperate to invest in RRSPs. There is hardly a hotel ballroom, golf club dining room or community hall where I haven’t stood before a crowd and explained things like how to put your mortgage in your RRSP, or how to make a contribution without any money, or how to get income out of your RRIF without paying tax.
But that was then. People invested. This is now. They borrow.
RRSPs are out of favour for two reasons. First, there’s precious little disposable cash around middle-class households any longer. And, second, we’re a nation of house-lusty people who would rather enjoy nice digs now than a cozy retirement later. This is idiotic, but ubiquitous. And, it seems, RRSPs have morphed into just another device to feed out real estate mania.
Here’s what so many moist virgins are doing: they borrow $25,000 from the bank in the form of an RRSP loan, then stick it into a retirement vehicle. Two months later they withdraw the money to buy a house under the Home Buyer’s Plan, but instead repay the loan. Meanwhile they’ve received a tax refund of $9,000 or so, which they use as half the downpayment on a $350,000 condo.
Then they have two full years before they have to repay a cent of the RRSP withdrawal back into their retirement plan. In the third year they’d need to deposit about $1,600 to avoid having that same amount added to their taxable income. But, stats are showing, a lot never do. They make the phony RRSP contribution, take the government cheque, buy the condo, then go AWOL.
There are almost 2,000,000 people who have used the HBP to buy property ever since idiot MPs (I was one of them) supported the realtor plan to allow Canadians to raid retirement savings. At the time (early 1990s) the housing industry was in a deep funk with prices having plunged about 20% in major cities like Toronto. So, instead of letting market forces determine a new level of affordability for people, politicians supported this plan to goose sales and prices by subsidizing first-time buyers. Now virgins can access up to $25,000 from an RRSP (double that for a couple) and have 15 years to repay the tax-free borrowing.
This is stupid public policy on two levels. First, it distorts the housing market, encourages first-timers to overbuy and (along with suppressed mortgage rates) inflates prices. Second, it sends the message that houses are more important than retirement savings, which will prove to be heartbreaking, and it steals over a decade of tax-free compounding growth from that investment.
But no matter. We’re facing a new level of misadventure today.
Not only do many of the kids employ the strategy I mentioned above, of funding their downpayments with your tax dollars, but (as I said) they never pay this money back. About half (47%) of those using the HBP failed to meet the minimum payback. This may be because they bought too much house, have a honking big mortgage and no discretionary income to repay with. Or they’d rather spend any extra cash on an iPhone6 and three weeks in Cuba than putting it in a crusty RRSP. Or, they don’t care.
In any case, the small annual amount is added to their income and taxed. Unless they make a new RRSP contribution, of course, and claim a refund to effectively offset it. By the way, about $1.5 billion a year in RRSP cash is being used by first-timers to buy properties.
This ain’t insignificant. Or smart. And now the realtors want the HBP to be indexed.
I hear the feds are about to give in. What we really need are better MPs.
211 comments ↓
first!!
Second!!
We not only need better MPs, but we need a leader instead of the current Prime Minister. Someone with integrity who cares about this country instead of just handing out subsidies and tax breaks to big oil while destroying the environment and screwing the middle class. He’s racked up the biggest deficit of any PM in history–this from a “Conservative” or should I say neo-con. Now oil has tanked and we have nothing else in Alberta to take its place and manufacturing out east will take a while for the infrastructure to build up, thanks to poor policy. Way to go Stevo, you really screwed Canadians.
Jimmy says would have been first if Gartho wasn’t so late tonight. Interfered with my dinner.
ok, for a bond etf do i just get vanguard cdn bond etf cuz of low fees or is it more complicated? sup blawg dawgs
Garth, when you say they want the HBP to be indexed, what do you mean?
Increased with inflation, moving up the allowable withdrawal by $2,500 on a regular basis. — Garth
Rather unfortunate, since depriving Canada’s corporate sector of capital (by way of equity) actually damages job growth. Granted, $1.5B is not a lot of money (ie: its less than the annual retained earnings of just one big bank or O&G company alone), but it all adds up.
Even worse is the message that such sends to young people, and that is, its implicitly “better” to buy a house, than it is to make productive investments. As if it wasn’t already bad enough that mothers-in-laws everywhere have pounded the virtues of “as soon as possible” home ownership into the kids.
http://business.financialpost.com/2015/02/20/bombardier-inc-boosts-stock-sale-plan-25-to-938-million/
Bombardier Inc. increased a stock offering it had announced Thursday by 25% to $938 million, part of a previously announced plan to raise cash to contend with cost overruns on its CSeries family of jets.
Bombardier will sell 424.2 million Class B shares at $2.21 apiece, 12% less than Wednesday’s closing price in Toronto. The offering is expected to be completed on or about Feb. 27, Montreal-based Bombardier said Friday in a statement…
Bombardier’s Class B stock fell 2% to $2.41 at 12:22 p.m. in Toronto trading, its lowest intraday level since March 2009. The shares have lost 42% of their value this year.
I was listening to some co-workers complain about how rediculous it was to need a down payment. They said it was imposible to save 10k but the rent they were paying would cover the mortgage so clearly the whole downpayment thing was BS cooked up by the rich to keep them poor.
Sometimes, I wish stupid hurt.
Better MPS
Good luck with that, now that all our calls, texts, hard drives are monitored.
The Neocons can black mail anyone.. In my case they’d need to kill me. I never developed the Shame Gene.
Sure they are looking for tillaban or ISSL
The second you through your hate into the ring, they go to your file and see who you been talking to on backpage. Or any thing they can hang you with.
Not talking about Harpo, but his owners.
Look at the new servalance laws going in..
Vancouver real estate on a tear according to realtors in Vancouver.
Single biggest pool of buyers from mainland China.
There you have it folks.
This party ain’t ending anytime soon.
‘According to realtors’? That’s credible. — Garth
#3 Timmy…
I’m with ya Bro. Worst Government ever!!!! Canadians should be taking to the streets with pitch forks over Harper’s Bill C-52.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/the-alberta-oil-squeeze/article23136731/
In locales like Nisku, a sprawling industrial hub south of Edmonton that serves the oil sands and other energy operations, the downturn is hitting hard.
“This is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” Stephen Dodd, chief executive officer of Steelhead Fabrication Corp., said sitting at his office desk while a deep freeze lingered outside.
Mr. Dodd faces a grim year. Steelhead manufactures the jumbo steel framing that supports pipe used at steam-driven oil sands plants. It had about $7-million in revenue last year, but new business has dried up as producers scrap expansion plans. Customers are now asking for discounts of at least 25 per cent, which erases his profit.
Worse, an expected order of 30 new units recently fell through, shrinking the firm’s backlog. The company has enough work to last until May. After that, his 27 employees face an uncertain future. “In six months, I’ll be lucky to have four or five,” the crestfallen Mr. Dodd said.
“Our No. 1 customer informed us the other day they would be no more in the next four months and we’ve been servicing them for 15 years, and that’s 50 per cent of our business, gone, instantly.”
Indexed? Ugh… GREAT.
So what’s the master plan, here? Keep band-aiding this house of cards to infinity so people just manage to maintain their state of enslavement to their debt? The majority might be happy that “real estate never loses money”, but they’ll be stuck making endless payments, foregoing retirement savings, and will be immobile (they might make a killing selling their home, but they’ll get killed when buying another home at bubble prices.) There will be relative calm because most people will be just oblivious enough to not see the peril of their state of extreme indebtedness (“sure I have debt, but I have all these *things*!”), they won’t know they’re screwed until it’s too late. Meanwhile, a small subset of the population will actually get richer, when the goal is for the tide to lift the majority of boats.
My, that was rather doomerish and depressing. Smokey, cheer us up and tell us how your son’s now a forex millionaire.
TGIF.
#4 Jimmy
Jimmy says………..was the character on Seinfeld that Elaine dissed. Jimmy, try to be original, thankyou, bye.
Yes, as hard as the U.S., Europe, and Japan et al tried to stop their housing markets and economies from tanking, they failed. Of course, most Canadians don’t know anything. Garth has been showing us this is true for years.
My retirement vehicle will be a Ferrari !
Better MPs? Come on. The better MP is the one who gets elected. The moronic public only cares about what goodies the MPs can give them and how they can personally benefit. The average moron only listens to sound bites and does not think about the greater good or employ logic in his thinking. Why do you think mindless attack ads work so well (oh God, upcoming election). What we really need is better voters.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/the-alberta-oil-squeeze/article23136731/
#15 Freedom First
—————————————————-
Jimmy is an example of a mindless moron who shouldn’t be allowed to vote for MPs, or any other public office.
“how to put your mortgage in your RRSP”
I did not attend, but would love to know what you mean by this?
“Vancouver real estate on a tear according to realtors in Vancouver.”
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. “
Restaurants n bars are packed in yyc. Party on.
“…..What we really need are better MPs…….”
_________________________
“…..What we really need are better PM’s…….”
Dave on 02.20.15 at 9:14 pm
first!!
#2 Muffintop on 02.20.15 at 9:18 pm
Second!!
_________________________
Turd!!!
#ThatGoldenSheepThang… #Was,Like,WayMoreFunInAntiquity… #WithAnyLuck… #TheMissusWillForgive… #ThatYouthfulIndiscretionWithMedea…
http://youtu.be/p5uzwh4pLmQ
Retail sales look bad for pre-Christmas, even including the Black Friday gains, contrary to what pumpers had expected. Worse is expected when the next monthly reports come out.
http://business.financialpost.com/2015/02/20/canadian-dollar-dives-after-retail-sales-fall-the-most-in-5-years/
This could be another domino or two setting up for a fall if it continues, as I expect it will especially in Alberta.
Retail spending is usually a good indicator of how flush cash levels are, more than just access to credit.
Interestingly, new car sales continued to be stronger – fuelled mostly by credit and ridiculous payback periods, of course.
This is worrisome.
Garth,
First, who goes to Cuba for 3 weeks?
Second, why didn’t I go to Cuba this month for three weeks? My butt is frozen!
Pretty sure that’s a bus in Markham. Just kidding; will the year of the sheep bring about the end of the greater fool? Maybe, but I would love a day when people are talking about investments and economic trends more frequently than school districts and the next reno but hey, that’s just me.
Today’s Calgary Herald featured an entire section by the CREB. The content of this section? Over 1000 homes listed for sale
At the risk of having eggs lobbed at me…. we used the HBP to buy our first home and the program worked well for us. We borrowed $27K total (at that time 20K per person was the max) so that we could have conventional mortgage and avoid CMHC insurance. We have since paid it back and the payments became part of the budget so we just keep contributing that money to savings. Maybe we are the exception but I am glad that we could take advantage of it.
Ahh Good Ol’ Surrey Central, where “The Future Lives Here”.
Alternate slogan suggestion:
“Tomorrow’s Ghettos Today”, no – wait “Ghettos of Tomorrow”… Ah, they both work.
Since they seem to be having great difficulty unloading these units to the locals Let’s Try to “Fleece” the Foreigners! Bahahahaaa!
There’s a sucker born every minute.
Sir Garth, first post from millennial reader.
Can you or any of your Dogs please enlighten me on what I should do with excess cash after i max out my TFSA contribution, as well as my RRSP limit? I have a TFSA portfolio growing nicely, should i set up a second, taxable portfolio, or just keep stuffing the TFSA?
Thanks from a Dog rookie… Blog Puppy if you will.
Thought for the day…
Why does nobody talk about Bitcoins anymore?
(They’re still going, albeit their worth has gradually sloped off to about 1/4 that of their Greater Fool heyday. Wonder how many cyber-humpers lost their shirt there?)
When 70% of voters are owners and another 28%(frustrated guesstimate) want to be, it makes sense to keep the majority happy.
Yet another, hopefully not soon-to-be, initiative to enable newbies to enter one of the most overvalued markets in the world. We’ll see if it goes through and who’d be picking up the tab.
http://www.rew.ca/news/axing-bc-property-transfer-tax-is-long-term-plan-premier-1.1769772
I prefer a dividend paying portfolio over a house any day. And with stocks such as Potash, Agrium and Thomson Reuters that pays dividends in USD I can either save the USD income or reinvest it in US stocks such as Wells Fargo. This in addition to dividend paying ETFs then the portfolio over time can be used as supplementary income vehicle. I much rather have a $100000 in dividends portfolio over a $1000000 in home equity. And when one of those companies declare a dividend increase it’s like getting a raise!!!
Jimmy never watched Seinfeld but I’ll check out that episode.
Babblemaster is jealous because he has never been First and never will be!
Dear Pathetic Blog ; even at my young age of 60 I do still get flashes of “Oh my God I can’t believe I did not see this already”. I have often felt especially over the past 18 months as it pertains to the oil & gas engineering industry that there has been under reporting of job losses / layoffs in the main newspaper in town the “Calgary Herald”. There has been many outfits of all stripes laying off over the past 2 – 3 months without any mention in the printed press in town. Then I look today at our newspaper and at least 40% of the pulp content is CREB propaganda. No wonder they are under reporting job losses there is no need to inflame the masses and causing panic by actually “reporting the factual news” and thereby affecting the business climate of our biggest advertiser. I feel shamed that I did not figure this out already.
#5 Tom
I would do a combination. 1/3 Long Canada Bond, 1/3 Corporate Bond, 1/3 Emerging markets bond for example . BMO ETFs have them all. Vanguard doesn’t have much of a selection.
http://www.etfs.bmo.com/bmo-etfs/
“…Park Avenue West, which some poor Hong Konger might think is actually near anything useful in Canada.”
LOL! What – Pawn shops, roadhouses & payday loan co.’s aren’t useful?!
Actually, perhaps future owners can utilize the services of all 3 to first drink away their sorrows, then pawning whatever they have left to make the mortgage payment on their “surprisingly” often vacant “investment” unit.
On the plus side maybe the hooker stroll is still a factor in the area…?
I know the “myth” of foreign buyers/investors is very much out of vogue on this blog, but since absolutely no one has any real data about this, I do not know why there continues to be discussions about it. Convenience surveys do not cut it. No one, including you Garth (with all due respect), have no idea what is happening in some of these distorted markets (i.e. Vancouver). Someone is buying properties, maybe developers, maybe people who have recently sold, maybe investors, but people like you and I are not and cannot buy. So someone with data please explain the forces, especially at the top ($$) of the market, that are moving these properties.
I have family in Vancouver …and they’ve been telling me that Vancouver stopped being a Canadian city back in the mid 80s…Vancouver=suburb of Hong Kong..and Toronto will be a suburb of either Shanghai or Mumbai in less than 10 years. Arrivederci Canada!
Canada = white? — Garth
@#11 aL Pacino
Ah and dont forget the nightly real estate “news” from Vancouver Global 6pm tv.
Vancouver Real Estate is hot hot hot! The falling Canuck Buck is the reason this week folks! Asians, Americans, all other people not living in the Best Place on Earth want to buy buy buy……”
All brought to you by ReMax….Global news sponser.
What a joke.
More importantly than pumping Van Real Estate aL Pacino……How are sales of “Booty Sweat” goin?
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCkQtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DYigJlyJt2U8&ei=-uznVPScAtHYoASniIKgDw&usg=AFQjCNEbx3C21wJ_DbfkXNphemEf1BkkHg&bvm=bv.86475890,d.cGU
Why, you might ask, would anyone living in Hong Kong want to buy a soulless high-rise box in a treeless condo development in godless Surrey, so far away from DT Vancouver?
—————
Well, HK is more treeless than Surrey and nothing but high-rise boxes, for one. Secondly, it is being built by HK’ s ‘Superman’ Sir Li Ka Shing’s Concord Pacific. So HK’ers would be familiar with the name, and boxed living. Surrey is evolving. Yaletown used to be a cesspool, but look how it has grown up, all shiny and new. The 12% bit is marketing, of course, like every product on the market.
#28 Catalyst on 02.20.15 at 10:03 pm
Pretty sure that’s a bus in Markham.
===========
ha ha ha ha ha
Pretty sure that WILL be a bus in Markham by 2020.
#32 First time poster
If you have maxed out both the TFSA and RRSP, you have no choice but to open up a non-registered account to continue investing. If you are married or common-law, make sure to max out your spouse’s TFSA as well as the limit is per person.
#11 aL pacino
Hmmm. CREA’s own numbers beg to differ. BIV article, (normally very PRO house-humpery), not so rosy on latest Van pricing, in spite of increased sales, based on latest CREA (upwardly-massaged) stats.
http://www.biv.com/article/2015/2/greater-vancouver-home-sales-prices-slip-number-sa/
“In spite of growing sales in the region, however, the average residential sales price dipped in the month. The average home sold for $825,233 in January – down 2.6% compared with $847,661 in December.”
I wonder what the, un-edited version of the sales / price trends might look like lately?
#30 Maybe
I would suggest that if you needed a dodgy mechanism involving retirement savings to scrape up a down payment, you shouldn’t be buying. If you bought recently, you took on a lot of risk. If you bought back in 1998-2004, good timing.
We are so screwed and so is USA watch Death by China on Netflix and get a dose of reality! Soon none of us will have jobs, and the few there are why do we we have so many TFW. I live near an orchard lots of Quebec kids come for the summer jobs but the jobs are going to Mexicans flown over and the kids are turned away… And no some of them actually want to work!
“What we really need are better MPs.”
We should start with fewer of them. Instead of 306, why not 150? That would suffice. Make the job harder to get. It might attract higher quality people.
I will speak only as an Albertan of close to 6 decades. Voters know 10 years in advance of an election which party they will vote for. Hence gaining the nomination is far harder than being elected.
How else could you possibly explain the political career of Rob Anders?
At least the voters of Quebec, Ontario and other provinces will vote to change governments.
A year after an election, people here cannot name their MP.
The level of political discourse in this province is pathetically low. Political debate is nothing more than name calling and slogans. Libtards, lieberals, dippers, contards, etc.
We won’t get better MPs. We don’t deserve them.
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/cheaper-loonie-drives-boost-in-visas-as-china-comes-to-spend/article23133055/?service=mobile
The yuan’s strength relative to the loonie is not just a recent phenomenon – it’s up 18 per cent over the past 18 months, providing a sizable discount for Chinese investors and homebuyers looking to Canada. And it comes at a time when a slowing Chinese economy and increasingly long-lived corruption crackdown are pushing well-heeled Chinese to move their money elsewhere. China’s home prices are also cooling, while Vancouver’s keep charging ahead.
A Barclays survey last year of Chinese people worth $1.5-million (U.S.) found 47 per cent planned to get out of China in five years. Their top two destinations: Hong Kong and Canada.
“What is different today compared to ten years ago: not only do you have more millionaires who want to immigrate to Canada, you also have more millionaires wanting to keep their capital safe in Canada, without living here,” said Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer in Vancouver who works with wealthy clients in China.
Garth has said many times that future governments are going to tax the hell out of your rrsp once it is converted to a rrif, so why not use the hbp to buy a home, and lessen your tax burden in retirement?
#11 Al Pacino
Au contraire….
Hubby spoke to a long-time (ie 30+ yrs) realtor on the steps of the local North Van library earlier this week.
Hubby asked realtor, innocently, “So, how’s business?”.
Long-time realtor responded, “Crazy busy.”
Hubby digs deeper. “HAM buyers?”
Long-time realtor responded, “Actually, not so much HAM anymore. Lots of Baby Boomer parents helping out their youngsters with hefty down payments for their first home and/or Baby Boomer’s buying bigger homes so that multi-generations (parents/kids/grandkids) can live together.”
Why are sovereign bonds in Europe paying negative interest? And who the hell would buy them?
Irrational Exuberance!
Don’t fight the herd, stampede along with them but just keep your eyes on the exit at all times.
From the frontlines, I can tell you that the RRSP has morphed into a free-tax-refund-down-payment-steroids vehicle. That’s the only reason most people use it
“Decades of tax-sheltered, compound growth”? Pfft. Try getting sheeple excited about earning a return on their investment first. A concept most people fail to grasp, as evidenced by mountains of high interest debt next to sub-1% GICs and savings accounts.
Interesting photo of the bus in Surrey. Yeah rather misleading Surrey does not equal Vancouver or even Richmond for that matter. I like the elegant touch too with the “Park Avenue” handle for something in Surrey lol
Blog dogs who post that people should take to the streets aren’t seeing the picture.When you are indebted up to your eyeballs and live pay-check to pay-check how can you afford to protest,really.The indebted population just keeps trudging along.Years ago I went to a job interview and got hired over many other higher skilled applicants because as my new boss said”you have a wife and kids and a mortgage so you will show up for work everyday,you won’t be hung over or take excessive sick Fridays because of the need to pay bills for the next twenty years.I learned then when your in debt you have no options your a financial slave so to speak.Debt free now,will never live like that again.
I used the HBP years ago and have never made a “payment” to it. I get taxed on $1333 every year and to me it’s not an issue. I’ll be doing a Lifelong Learning Plan withdraw this year too, AFTER using a spousal contribution to jack up our tax refund. No plan on paying that $1000/yr back either. But then again I get tax free income from an annuity due to a car accident and so having $2333 in taxable income, when the personal tax free amount is pushing $12,000 this year, has no bearing on me or my wife at all.
But that was then. People invested. This is now. They borrow.
Garth you’ve said this before, in their mind, debt = wealth
pretty funny
Victor V: talking about Bombardier : from what I gather in the Flight Global article it’s now in direct competition with Boeing and Airbus and it’s late.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/opinion-bombardier-counts-cost-of-cseries-gamble-409042/
Totalchaos: I was listening to some co-workers complain about how ridiculous it was to need a down payment.
Sometimes, I wish stupid hurt.
I’m afraid it will
Ray Skunk: Why does nobody talk about Bitcoins anymore?
one of my big non-investments, the attraction was wealth not controlled by the central banks, but if they were threatened wouldn’t they buy like $100 million and then trade it so that it would be worth $50 million? Reminds me of the banks approach to bank robbery: suppose the banks lose $10,000 a robbery, the bad guys hit 4 or 5 banks and then get caught. The banks say “deal”.
#42 crowdedelevatorfartz
AWESOME.
Ahhh Booty Sweat. Lol.
There growing signs that the Chinese leadership is reverting to a form of Maoist ideology of which the current anti-corruption campaign is one aspect. It is hard to know if this is just political rhetoric to herd the sheep (like US senators wrapping themselves in the Stars and Stripes). One Chinese real estate mogul has publicly denounced the changes as detrimental to private business. This highly unusual outburst has not been suppressed yet. Possibly there are influential opponents to the reforms. As the Party moves toward greater control it is not hard to see why so many wealthy Chinese wish to leave and why people who have profited from the prior regime might try to block the new initiatives. None of this bodes well for economic growth.
‘Perhaps most controversial was Ren’s comparison of China’s contemporary political tide to the Cultural Revolution. A period of violence and chaos from 1966 to 1976 characterized by ideological witch hunts and disastrous economic policies, the Cultural Revolution remains a near-taboo topic for the CCP, under whose auspices the decade-long turmoil occurred. But Xi’s swift consolidation of power, his invocation of orthodox Communist rhetoric once considered moribund, and the systematic silencing of dissent under his watch have led some observers to wonder if Xi might be reviving some of the era’s ideological policies. Ren said that the government is “emphasizing guns and knives” – a reference to Xi’s Jan. 2015 remark calling rule of law a “knife” in the “hands of the party,” an expression once favored by Cultural Revolution-era ruler Mao Zedong – as well as “opposing Western values.” In doing so, Ren warned, the “winds of the Cultural Revolution are once again blowing.” ‘
“China’s Most Outspoken Real Estate Mogul Just Made Some New Enemies”
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/18/china_mogul_enemies/utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=%2AEditors%20Picks&utm_campaign=2015_EditorsPicks_PROMO_2_Carnegie_Corporation
#9 Totalchaos on 02.20.15 at 9:34 pm
Reminded me of those old Mr Boffo comics…. ‘Those unclear on the concept….’
That was strangely painful to read.
#45 John on 02.20.15 at 10:33 pm
#32 First time poster
If you have maxed out both the TFSA and RRSP, you have no choice but to open up a non-registered account to continue investing. If you are married or common-law, make sure to max out your spouse’s TFSA as well as the limit is per person.
—————————————————-
Are you sure this is legal?
I have heard of spousal RRSP but not spousal TFSA
My tfsa is maxed out ,but my wife’s is empty .
She is doing the RRSP thing .
Could I put $36,500 in my wife’s tfsa without being thrown in jail?
Smoking men,
Could you please verify your status as perhaps #1 or #2 or some such simplistic identifier for the more simple minded like myself. I have a good memory, its just really short.
If this is not possible I may try to differentiate by recalling that one of you has poor spelling and the other is far worse.
Thanks in advance and please keep me giggling.
I bought my first house in the 80s $50 k moved up in 2000
net cost 120k mpac says house is worth 260k.
yeah kids live in self contained basement apartment.
I dont need to sell it to the next generation.
They are paying me now.
They will look after me in the future so as to have a
real good home in a great spot.
Yeah times have changed.
I would not give them money to move out.
Yeah it has its advantages and dis-advantages like
everything else.
The house is dam near paid off so lets share hydro,nat gas, taxes,ect. My family has not had a raise in pay for 15
years. That to me says it all with way things are tough
out there.
I would like to think we have what is most important
when it comes to real estate Location ……
Amid all the sack cloth and ashes and the hand-wringing over secular stagnation and negative interest rates, we forget that the world is still full of young people with economic ambitions. Technology is rapidly changing the Third World and bringing about unprecedented opportunities for growth. This is one example.
“Is the sun rising on an African solar revolution?”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31503424
Smoking Man, you are right on the money.
Bill C-51, complete with Orwellian terms like ‘hate speech’, which essentially criminalizes dissenting opinions of anything. You are looking at jail for typing a disparaging comment against a ‘protected’ group of people, which is so vague it could mean anyone or anything. Don’t like the neocons bombing kids? Oh thats hate speech. Don’t like the bankers?
HPB was good – it allow the lower class to get their hands on RE and multiplicate….
the MPS were stipid for not putting a year limit for HPB – ’cause babe, right-now is working against the lower class- made housing too expensive at entry levels…
“and, second, we’re a nation of house-lusty people who would rather enjoy nice digs now than a cozy retirement later. This is idiotic, but ubiquitous. And, it seems, RRSPs have morphed into just another device to feed out real estate mania.”
Not all of us…certainly not me. But why so many have become hoodwinked by the BS and advertising is truly amazing.
I think what gets lost in all this is the question WHY? Why have so many Canadians drank the bathwater of deceit and eternal indebtedness?
Why is there so little disposable income. Are wages so low compare to G7 nations? Why are there no higher wages than those of the civil service. Is it because businesses don’t want to locate in Canada? Why are factories closing and why are there no head offices of global giants willing to locate in Canada? Is it because idiots are at the helm and in the wings?
It would seem to me that the last politician with any concern for the Canadian economy has been pilloried into infamy….but in fact Brian Mulroney bring in NAFTA was the last Canadian politician who did anything positive for the economy of this country. WHY?
We see the pandering to special interest groups and arguments about head scarves in the front pages rather than any plan do struggle out of the mess this country is in? WHY? 100% taxation is coming soon…and will become fact just to pay for the civil service salaries and pensions.
Where will the revenue come from to build new hospitals and schools if the government keeps pandering to green blob ideals that are imported effectively by our competitors? We need a Canada first and only policy…kick out the Supreme Court…kick out the agitators and get this country back on its feet…because we’re on our knees now.
OK, this is SLIGHTLY off topic, but I know Garth loves dogs, so why not birds as well?
Well, as I was waiting (eternally, sorry I’m a spoiled GF addict) I happened upon this article:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/extreme-cold-taking-toll-animals-202328995.html
This bleeding heart is going to make a donation to Wings Rehab (http://www.wingsrehab.ca/donations.html) tomorrow.
Any other bird lovers are welcome to join me.
“Constructive ambiguity” wins the day. For now.
“Greece averts bankruptcy and softens austerity in last-ditch deal”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11426378/Greece-averts-bankruptcy-and-softens-austerity-in-last-ditch-deal.html
Too complicated for me Garth. I’m sticking with the plan you outlined when I saw you in thunder Bay 20 years ago. Saskatoon 15 years ago. (roughly).
The dangers of a democracy. There’s no adults running the show, telling them they have to work hard BEFORE being rewarded. The people act like spoiled children, always wanting more.
Everyone talks about the Senate being reformed. Sure, but it should be reformed IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. Give the Senate MORE power and give them the responsibility of overseeing Canada’s ‘long-term’ health. That would form a ‘check’ on what the House is doing all the time, which is simply appeasing the masses from election to election.
That’s the way the Senate in the US used to be – it used to be appointed as representatives from the individual states, to ensure the federal government didn’t encroach on states’ rights. But progressive idiots decided it should be put to a vote every few years instead, and ever since you can see the rapid devolution into mob rule and growth of the federal government.
The US constitution really was divinely inspire, the founders predicted everything and tried to prevent it…they are rolling in their graves.
Eager to see Canadian banks report next week.
Genworth and HomeCapital started painting the picture.
HomeCapital doing well and raised the dividend, but only 5% exposed to Alberta.
I was one of those 2M people who used this program to finance my digs in 2007. Late start in the housing game due to digging out from near bankruptcy, but hey it worked for me.
Thankfully I seen the bigger picture and bought well within my means. BTW the RRSP raid is one of the easiest loans I have ever had to pay back. Actually as of yesterday just stuffed 34k into my RRSP for the year, and thanks to you Garth, I know what to do with it.
I like that you can look back and call yourself and idiot MP even though clearly you are no idiot. It shows you have class. We all get wrapped up in what we think is so right at the time, but hind sight is always 20/20
I was once a financial moron
Thanks again for this blog
#30 Maybe
Same here, at 25 in 1990 I made enough to carry a house but didn’t have enough cash for a down payment (beer and toys took precedence) , but had been contributing to my RRSP from 18. Was actually taking a night school course on buying a house at the time the HBP came into effect, it got me in the door. 25 years later, after 1 upsize, sitting here in a 750K spread thats paid for….worked for me!
#53 For those about to flop… on 02.20.15 at 11:15 pm
Totally kosher.
http://www.tfsa.gc.ca
Funds can be given to a spouse or common-law partner for them to invest in their TFSA.
I think the logic behind this is that the money earns investment income tax free, so there is no tax to attribute to the spouse that gave money to fund the other’s TFSA.
Vancouver detached prices set to go thru the roof.
China visa applications to come to Canada up 51% !!
Who says foreign money isn’t driving Vancouver RE?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/cheaper-loonie-drives-boost-in-visas-as-china-comes-to-spend/article23133055/
#63 For those about to flop…
Technically your wife has to make the contribution to the account under her name. But, it is perfectly legal to give your wife the money so she can load up her own TFSA.
I used the HBP just after I turned 22. It allowed me to buy a townhouse and take on mortgage risk when returning to university. The option was (1) take a massive line of credit and stay on residence or (2) buy a place and rent out rooms while sleeping in the basement. Things worked in my favour and I’m happy I had the HBP to help me. Had I not done so, I would have come out of school with a massive line of credit over my head. It’s risk and reward, I realized I could file for bankruptcy if things didn’t work out, or I’d just drop a class or two in order to work more PT hours to keep the place. Since then I’ve put more than enough back in the RRSP. No complaints here, mind you the HBP was used in 2003!
Re: #67 The Fuzzy Camel on 02.20.15 at 11:23 pm
“Smoking Man, you are right on the money.
Bill C-51, complete with Orwellian terms like ‘hate speech’, which essentially criminalizes dissenting opinions of anything. You are looking at jail for typing a disparaging comment against a ‘protected’ group of people, which is so vague it could mean anyone or anything.”
Hope this helps further the understanding , for some.
Nikiraapana.blogspot.ca
http://12160.info/profiles/blogs/what-is-the-hegelian-dialectic-by-niki-raapana-and-nordica
Regards
Garth,
Maybe you could explain in a post how can builders in Toronto offer a rental guarantee for 2 years ? How does it work and where’s the catch? Thanks.
I can’t imagine that the RE craze in the US was even this bad. The unwind could be one for the history books. Oil and bank stocks might just be telling a story here.
#43 seeing it from both sides
Whaaa, did you actually just compare Whalley /Surrey Central (widely referred to as the ahem- “nether-opening” of the Lower Mainland) to Yaletown?(!)
It took YT almost 2 decades to transform in to what it is today, and that’s within the context of a truly urban community, with waterfront False Creek a block away, centrally located within a major Metro center complete with accompanying “expected” urban lifestyle conveniences.
I do agree, it was a bit of a “cesspool”, used to work there before it gentrified.
That said, Surrey (especially the more downtrodden areas like Whalley), despite all it’s delusions of grandeur, has a loooong, slow, likely painful road ahead to reach 2nd City status in the Lower Mainland.
Realistically AT LEAST 20+ years away, more than likely 50 or more, if it ever does. Lots of better ways to put money to work for you in the meantime, just imho. Maybe it will Make It eventually, who knows. I believe there is lots of RISK in buying in this early to the hype however.
Full disclosure. I’ve lived in Surrey in a “Less – Nether – Endy” area for 5 years now, it’s as diverse regionally (housing price, amenities, communities, etc) as Greater Van, but it is in NO WAY a major urban center, not even close. We still drive to Van for the Cosmopolitan Fix as needed. It is almost non-existent locally.
[…] Source: http://www.greaterfool.ca/2015/02/20/year-of-the-sheeple/ […]
How about de-indexing realtors commissions since prices are so damn high?
Folks…..don’t get uptight about the ‘tax’ you pay on your Rrsp. You are not really being taxed.
You forgot about the tax refund the CRA gave you in the first place. Which was really a loan which you invested on behalf of the CRA.
You’re just paying that back plus its own growth when you get taxed on withdrawal.
If you the math you will find that your own contributions growth can be drawn tax free. The only time you lose out if is your marginal withdrawal tax rate is more than your original contribution tax rate. If they were the same then your RRSp has the same effect as a TFSA, if you withdrawal marginal rate was lower then you get a bonus, in effect the CRA is letting you keep a bit of their refund growth.
Key points….you are just repaying the ‘refund’ the CRA gave you, and you dont own all of your RRSP, the CRA owns part of it…whatever your marginal contribution tax rate was.
Index the HBP? Not without doubling the TFSA limit, and then indexing it, too!
Investors get rich, debtors get mortgages!
Hey Happy Renting ,yeah I already went to the Cra website.
The reason I thought it might be allowed was the same as you ,it’s all about the taxes.
Thanks for trying to help ,take care.
Secret words from the boadroom of an unnamed oil giant operating in the oil sands (from the Netherlands): a massive project in the ‘riviere de la paix’ region in nothern Alberta is on the chopping board. No definitive decisions made yet, but thousands of well-paid jobs are in the balance.
The blood bath in the oil sands is not over yet. This won’t end well…
67 The Fuzzy Camel on 02.20.15 at 11:23 pm
Smoking Man, you are right on the money.
Bill C-51, complete with Orwellian terms like ‘hate speech’, which essentially criminalizes dissenting opinions of anything. You are looking at jail for typing a disparaging comment against a ‘protected’ group of people, which is so vague it could mean anyone or anything. Don’t like the neocons bombing kids? Oh thats hate speech. Don’t like the bankers?
……
Obviously I’m going to jail soon. But then I’m from Nictonite, .. Retribution, exploding heads.
Machine fk up… I don’t need to do shit.
USA constitutional veterans, and serving soldiers will mop up the mould on the wall.
Then history gets re written by the winners.
Alien advantage into the future is all I’m saying.
And, oh dear Lord, now colleges are going bankrupt?
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/02/20/everest-colleges-canada-files-for-bankruptcy-as-ottawa-lawyer-considers-class-action-lawsuit-against-school/
Apparently many of the students whose school year was abruptly halted were single mothers who were about to graduate and who had taken out significant loans to pay for their education and their children’s daycare costs.
Instead of helping young virgins with no personal savings take on massive mortgage debt by raiding RRSPs that they’ve funded with other taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars, our government and leaders should be bailing out these students to ensure that they are able to transfer their credits to a competing institution so that they can finish their school year at no extra cost.
End of rant
#77 Happy Renting
does tfsa $$$ need to be deposited directly by spouse, or can i deposit directly into spouse’s tfsa from my own bank account?
For those about to flop… on 02.20.15 at 11:15 pm
#45 John on 02.20.15 at 10:33 pm
#32 First time poster
If you have maxed out both the TFSA and RRSP, you have no choice but to open up a non-registered account to continue investing. If you are married or common-law, make sure to max out your spouse’s TFSA as well as the limit is per person.
—————————————————-
Are you sure this is legal?
I have heard of spousal RRSP but not spousal TFSA
My tfsa is maxed out ,but my wife’s is empty .
She is doing the RRSP thing .
Could I put $36,500 in my wife’s tfsa without being thrown in jail?
*************************
Hey Flop.
I’m with Happy on this one.
Basically, when you’re married the excess cash goes into joint account.
It makes sense that she takes some of that to max out her TFSA.
As a matter of fact we just did that today. Moved 11K dollars from our joint cheque acct to both TFSAs with the FA during our annual review.
Plus a separate amount to her RRSP since I’m the income earner.
As we say, “I make the living. She makes the living worthwhile.”
33 years next month!
Poor HongKongers!
Most recent official (massaged and yet still disenchanting) FVREB yoy stats for Surrey Central Apartments:
http://www.fvreb.bc.ca/statistics/Package%20201501.pdf
Average Price: -23.8%
Median Price: -19.3%
Frankenumber Benchmark Price: -2.3%
If were an Early-Kool-Aid Drinking-Adopter and bought in 5 years ago, according to FVREB’s Surrey Apartment HPI (Other Frankenumber): -8.4%
Excellent returns kids. Don’t forget to account for an extra -2% for annual inflation on top. That’s with > $100 million in municipal tax dollars spent to build out this area and encourage-*cough*-subsidize redevelopment.
But hey – I’m sure that 12% rental yield makes up for it.
More Regulatory Oversight and data transparency needed please.
#49 Washed Up Lawyer on 02.20.15 at 10:47 pm
“What we really need are better MPs.
We won’t get better MPs. We don’t deserve them.
================
Actually we do deserve better and could have them if we were allowed to choose people we respected from within our community. Once MP’s were respected but that was when they didn’t have a prayer of being elected unless they were already a known quantity in the community, typically a municipal politician or a prominent local businessman or professional.
Today nobody can even run unless the party leader approves the nomination. Supposedly this power keeps the kooks and weirdos out of contention but it kneecaps democracy by ensuring that only “cooperative” people are allowed to carry the party banner. Few self-respecting local worthies want to submit to this kind of pressure so, with welcome exceptions, all we get is opportunists, butt kissers and trained seals.
What we don’t have is the UK Westminster system. In Britain the MP’s choose the Prime Minister. In Canada, it’s the reverse. Under the Westminster system, Garth would be the prime minister.
#73 Cato
The US constitution really was divinely inspire, the founders predicted everything and tried to prevent it…they are rolling in their graves.
——————
True that, and indeed they are. The masses were dumbed down more than enough to not even notice. Hoodwinked, and the ones who point this out or speaked the truth are ostracized
VICTORIA PRICES STILL STRATOSPHERIC
In case any of you eastern bastards freezing your asses off think prices in Victoria reflect anything near a rational market – forget it – prices are still ridiculous.
You can get a nice starter in the crack ‘hood for $400K to $500K – just budget for an 8 foot chain link perimeter fence with a hoop of barbed wire on the top.
Or you can get a nice 2 bedroom condo in a soon to be leaky building (or an older not really fixed properly building) for the same amount.
For anything you would want your grandkids visiting you in figure on $700K to $800K for starters. $500K to $600K for a condo.
But do come out here and spend the winter (and spend your money) – retirees from other parts of Canada are about the only thing driving the economy in Victoria these days.
Just save yourself 40% and rent rather than buy.
Plus by renting you can easily move back home when you realize nobody really wants to come visit Victoria after they have seen it once. Hmmm…….should we go visit Mom and Dad in Victoria again this winter or go to Aruba?
The Fuzzy Camel, Smoking Man and many others on here know what’s really going down… But hey we’re all just whack jobs with tinfoil hats
I am old enough to remember when there was an actual RHOSP that provided a tax incentive to accumulate equity savings prior to buying your actual first time house and face no tax penalty when couples actually used these ear marked funds to purchase a modest abode.
Much of history is a retreat from prior enthusiasms.
Money is fleeing Canadian equities and the energy sector in particular these days. Even if the real estate industry crows about a 5% price decline in houses as a buy signal, it is a value trap.
Sir – I don’t understand what you meant when you wrote: “… who end up subsidising Canadian tenants.”
Also, why do you permit so many stupid comments? It detracts from your blog.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/the-alberta-oil-squeeze/article23136731/
“Fluor Corp., say it’s possible to knock as much as 20 per cent off the cost of developing such projects”
You bet it’s possible, owners could start cutting back on the fatty, wasteful, and excessive E/P contracts awarded to the folks you see in the mirror. There was a time when engineering, contracts and project planning/execution was a simpler and more efficient matter. Now, contractors are encumbered in addition to a high cost of living and are expected to perform the work of the engineers like youselves, take on more risk, in hard dollar contracts, all the while as you sit back and waste your clients capital on a cost plus basis as you dream up new ways of creating victims as opposed to healthy competition. Luckily, our firm is astute enough to stay in business in lean times, and avoid falling into the ‘20% mandatory cutback’ trap that is simply a pipe dream.
#31:
I always say: ” The garbage lives here “. For those who don’t live in Surrey and understand this saying, just take one look at all of the trash that’s dumped all over the city. It’s disgusting. When I walk my dog, every few days I see a new pile of garbage dumped somewhere.
Index… well golly gee wasn’t that what Greece did,
Kept the debt taps open. Hows that working out for them.
They are done, I hope Germany rapes and pillages their resources. You have to pay your debt, it all comes at a price
#63 and #77….as long as they can open a tfsa, you can give the funds to anyone you want……kids, neighbour, milkman…..me.
#91 Smoking Man
Alien advantage into the future is all I’m saying.
Did you travel forward through time and then decide to pump and dump BBD to the dogs on this pathetic blog? You still “buying” now that the share price has tanked 40% or is your dump over?
Earthling minds want to know.
#95 Vanecdotal on 02.21.15 at 1:32 am
—————————————————-
Careful, look at what you’re showing and what the ad claims. A 12% ‘rental yield’ has nothing to do with selling price of the condo.
In fact, wouldn’t the yield be calculated after assuming a large downpayment, low mortgage rates, and not taking into account condo fees?
Thus, you can easily get a 12% ‘yield’ (ie, relative to your mortgage payment).
It’s all smoke and mirrors!
Dumping US dollars. As Russia sets up alternate swift yesterday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPY9li_CMXs
Wrap it in tinfoil! Anytime someone starts making personal attacks in the face of facts- you know they have lost.
I used the Home Buyers Plan when I bought in 2007. Interest wasn’t ultra-low back then, and my first mortgage was 5.07%. I also didn’t see a whole lot of returns in my RSP back then (maybe it was just in the wrong assets?…), and I just have a massive aversion to carrying debt and paying interest.
With money I pulled from various sources, I had a 45% downpayment.
Now I’m happily mortgage free, and simply have $1333.33 of RSP contribution a year on which I don’t see a return. (20K, 15 years to pay back).
And money that formerly went to mortgage now gets plowed into investments.
Hard to gauge if I would have netted more money in my pocket if I had simply left that in my RSP, carried a bigger mortgage with a bigger interest bill.
Long and short – I have no regrets on having used the HBP.
I think one of the TV commercials that epitomizes how out of whack things have become is the one where the Hipster couple go into the bank, nervous about how much $$ they can borrow, find out its WWAAAAYYY MOAR!!! than they thought and hop and skip out, slamming high fives and victory dances. Apparently they think that the bank lending you $750K makes you RICHHHH!!!!
It is sad that people this stupid will procreate.
Re:
“Joe Below on 02.21.15 at 3:16 am
Sir – I don’t understand what you meant when you wrote: “… who end up subsidising Canadian tenants.” ”
Also, why do you permit so many stupid comments? It detracts from your blog.
**************** My Response ***************
You see Joe, Mr Turner gives us the opportunity to post, and to read the posts too. We do tend to see some inside jokes and subtleties within subtleties in regard to ongoing fundamentals on here.
Many of us like that about Garth. For example, the issue with subsidizing a tenants rent refers to the ongoing fact he tries to enlighten us readers about; that some Greater Fool TM ( & greatly misinformed ) person has assumed that mortgaging real estate in order to rent it to you and I , is an investment.
Call that process what you wish, but it’s not infesting, it is heavily leveraging a single asset class that has proven ruinous across the globe.
But there’s more, enjoy reading Joe!
Big Thanks Mr Turner
#96 Andrew Woburn
“Today nobody can even run unless the party leader approves the nomination.”
Here in Ontario, the Wynn provincial Liberals are embroiled in yet another criminal investigation, having run afoul of election laws in the Sudbury byelections.
This adds to the two ongoing probes into the deletion of documents of the gas plant cancellations AND the financial irregularities at the air ambulance service Ornge.
2015 is the Year of many interesting intersections.
Old blog dogs remember Nathan’s Economic Edge debt saturation point happening in 2015, the triangle of the oil price was supposed to close in 2015 (it closed a bit earlier), the Zero Guy is now showing a MS chart of 100% monetization of debt by CBs for some Big Gs (ex-Canada).
Interesting year ahead.
WAR IS COMING.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/ukraine-preparing-for-full-scale-war-says-former-envoy-to-canada/ar-BBhOXKQ?ocid=mailsignout
Ignore the Pollyanna naysayers. (Like you, Ralph Chamberlain)
Prepare, everyone.
I thought it was Ebola. — Garth
Totalchaos on 02.20.15 at 9:34 pm Sometimes, I wish stupid hurt.
——————————————————————
So funny LMAO !!!
A Place to Stand
Dolores Claman and Richard Morris
written for Expo 1967
Give us a place to stand
And a place to grow
And call this land Ontario.
A place to live
For you and me
With hopes as high
As the tallest tree.
Give us a land of lakes
and a land of snow
And we will build Ontario
A place to stand, a place to grow
Ontari-ari-ari-o!
From western hills,
To northern shores.
To Niagara Falls,
Where the waters roar.
Give us a land of peace,
Where the free winds blow.
And we will build Ontario
A place to stand, a place to grow
Ontari-ari-ari-o
I was ten years old in 1967. I remember singing this with my classmates. We all sang loudly and proudly.
Today…it is to weep. I did.
#104 juno on 02.21.15 at 4:53 am
“…Greece…They are done, I hope Germany rapes and pillages their resources. You have to pay your debt, it all comes at a price.”
Blimey, harsh.
So if, say, Alberta or Canada ends up defaulting on its debt, (admittedly not likely, although you never know), it would be OK for the bondholders to come and take our stuff?
Lending always has a risk attached. Why do you think that higher risk bonds tend to have higher interest, pray tell?
Greece’s particular problems are made worse by their position in the Euro. They will probably have to drop out of the currency.
Then there’s all kind of moralizing about rich Greeks and their tax evasion. They are not alone in that. It’s practically a national industry in every country :-)
#93 saskatoon on 02.21.15 at 1:31 am
I don’t see why you can’t. If the TFSA is at a discount brokerage, then you look up the brokerage under the “bill payment” section of your online banking, punch in her account number, and start depositing.
I’ve walked into a bank with cash and my sister’s TFSA account number written down on a piece of paper (this last part is sort of important) because she was too lazy/busy to do the deposit herself. I didn’t have any problems.
I thought it was Ebola. — Garth
No, Garth, it’s the measles now! Ebola is soooo last year.
In a vacuum, without other bad decisions, the HBP isn’t necessarily bad.
I have done the math, and every dollar that you borrow from the bank is 2 that you pay back. With the home buyers plan, every dollar that you borrow from yourself is 1.4 dollars that you didn’t need to borrow from the bank.
The next step is crucial: you need to go out and buy a house you can actually afford. If you do this, then you give yourself some breathing room.not only can you easily pay back your home buyers plan, but you have room to spend money investing in other ways. Granted, you don’t make gains on the money you invested in your house compared to your RRSPs, but you can make up for it in cash flow.
Unfortunately, this is where a lot of people mess up. They take the money that they borrowed from themselves with the home buyers plan, and buy more house than they should be able to afford. Instead of having cash flow to make the right decisions, they’re trapped.
It is a tool, like a hammer. You can use it to build something, but it can also be used to destroy.
In 20yrs, when this thing unwinds—the sheeple will realize where there priorities should have been. I hope people can read between the lines and see how this will unfold
GTLA
“And now the realtors want the HBP to be indexed.”
And then turn it into a derivative based ETF so everyone can ensure they have a balanced portfolio and folks in France can hedge against Canadian real estate intelligence because usa stocks are priced into the 99th percentile and worn out like a rented condo.
It’s all a joke until it’s not. And then it’s like, well, I’ve got all of my money with this broker but the web site is down, and there hasn’t been anybody in the office for days.
I guess I’m insured but then again there really isn’t a government anymore and everyone else wants ‘their’ money also but the money just disappeared. So there really isn’t any money anymore.
Black Swan events. Count on them.
#45 John on 02.20.15 at 10:33 pm
#32 First time poster
If you have maxed out both the TFSA and RRSP, you have no choice but to open up a non-registered account to continue investing. If you are married or common-law, make sure to max out your spouse’s TFSA as well as the limit is per person.
——————————–
I would add to the above advice that it is also possible for you to make a contribution in kind.
As more room becomes available in the beginning of the year, you simply take your holdings from the non-register account and make a contribution in kind to your TFSA/RRSP account.
Beware that it will be considered a taxable event and you might have to pay tax on the capital gain if applicable.
Best,
HD
#9 Totalchaos
“Sometimes, I wish stupid hurt.”
——————————–
Brilliant! I’m going to use that if you don’t mind.
@#116 After
Time marches on.
Get over it.
Maudlin navel gazing for the “Ontario” of your early childhood when you had no more responsibilites than making your bed and picking up your clothes off the floor is long gone.
Your an adult now with adult responsibilities.
Pay your taxes. Budget wisely. Invest for the future.
Its not THAT bad……………
As I said to a smart aleck 18 year old kid who was laughing at me on my 47th birrthday for “being old”.
I smiled and said,” Yes I’m old in your eyes. Do you know how old 47 is? Thats how many YEARS you have to work until your eligible for a pension at 65………!’
The look of realization and horror on his face was priceless.
#90 Cowtown confidential
You mean Shell is cancelling their Peace River project
#71 Andrew Woburn
.fraud on the readers?
“the decline in fact-checking and the obsessive pursuit of online traffic that pushes titles towards agendas”
https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/peter-oborne/why-i-have-resigned-from-telegraph
https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/des-freedman/wider-significance-of-oborne%E2%80%99s-resignation
===========
escape from poverty ?
2 Cici on 02.21.15 at 1:25 am
non dischargeable in bankruptcy
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Student Debt (HBO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8pjd1QEA0c
At the coffee shop the word is very quiet about the oil activity in the area. hear nothing. see nothing. say nothing.
Jobs are as usual. no change, otoh, some 55 year old tradesmen are retiring with 8 grand per month pensions and then plan to work partime for turnarounds.
no change in real estate activity. prices are continuing to trend upward.
apparently oil is being pumped like never before.
pubs and eating spots are filled. standing room only.
imo, the drop in oil price is over rated,
#119 4 AM Sunrise on 02.21.15 at 11:22 am
I thought it was Ebola. — Garth
No, Garth, it’s the measles now! Ebola is soooo last year.
=============
Does this mean I can stop worrying about Y2K now?
Flipping still a regular pastime in Vancouver…
https://www.locatehomes.ca/bc-real-estate-listings/vancouver/mls-V1105930/2996-East-8th-Ave-Vancouver-V5M1X1?id=261522489
Noticed this place in East Van listed and sold within a couple days last summer…and VOILA! Listed again today… Listing price 130k higher than last year. Notice the sale price in 2014 was 900k.
http://evaluebc.bcassessment.ca/Property.aspx
A nice STARTER house …
Yeeeesh
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/snowdens-message-to-citizens-democracy-itself-is-threatened/article23138430/
Alberta has another problem with it’s oil. Obama and his supporters do not like tar sand oil, hence the veto of Keystone. Obama does not like Harper, ideologically oil and water. Venezuela is ripe for picking, back into the fold, so to speak. So replace Alberta heavy crude with Venezuela heavy crude. Better get your pipeline to the coast fast, we are running out of a market it seems.
http://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/regional-news/canada/alberta-s-premier-seeks-to-soothe-a-bruised-oilsands-reputation-in-washington-1.1752313
http://www.bnn.ca/Video/player.aspx?vid=555895
We need every politician to read the book The Law by Frederic Bastiat and use it like bible if we are going to have a true free society.
#127 Drill Baby Drill on 02.21.15 at 1:11 pm
#90 Cowtown confidential
You mean Shell is cancelling their Peace River project
http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2015/01/29/shell-delays-final-investment-decisions-on-carmon-creek-following-budget-cuts
Where there’s smoke…
#123 Calgary Rocks
“It’s all a joke until it’s not.”
—-
That was exactly my thought as I read Garth’s rather snide rejoinder to Brutus. (And ebola is nowhere near the threat that Russia is)
Sorry Garth, but history tells me we have not seen this level of crisis since about 1983 (remember the Korean airliner shot down? Many thought we were heading to nukes).
Plus we have more other crises around the world than this boomer can ever remember.
I think that war probably is coming. A very big one that may not result in nukes but will wreck the economy. And I think that our appalling PM Harper will happily jump in with lethal weapons and more to Ukraine, to solidify his power base. He really is alone at the top – read this illuminating article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/the-loneliest-of-all-prime-ministers/article23116954/
There is no one in the party to challenge some of his more ridiculous ideas. He will drag us into any war that arises.
I listened to the Ukraine fellow on CBC radio today. I suggest others do the same. A very sober, and very scary outlook is what I heard.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thehouse/debate-over-anti-terrorism-bill-heats-up-1.2964920/ukraine-wants-lethal-weapons-from-canada-1.2965164
lol Garth. Thought you were talking about me the entire time. I just took out a loan for 20k for rrsp. It will be payed off by end of March 2015. I will use it as a downpayment for a condo on Yonge and Sheppard, they go for just under 400k 2 bedroom 900 sq. The spin off is I will rent out the condo for about 1900 month. I will get to use the address to register my kid for mckee, cummer, earl haig schools. I will continue to live with mother-in-law at Yonge and Finch for another 2 years. It’s a win win. No? PS. I will still continue to swing trade and pass off profits to my retirement accounts.
CBC-BC is running a story on a guy who is suing his landlord for a black mold problem that he alleges has cost him his health and his job. It is a must read not only for renters but also for horny purchasers of bug spit semi’s or particle board McMansions.
There are many useful comments but I want to pass this one on. I have no construction experience so I am hoping that blog dogs that do will add their opinions.
James Bilodeau
Poor construction sue the inspector who passed it. I just rebuilt a car wash roof that was supposedly done three years ago, it caved in due to poor building and an inspector who knows diddly squat about construction. How many of these things have I repaired, fixed? To damn many! Once again, greed causes suffering and pain. Building industry in Canada as a whole is a joke! How we build, with stick frame and drywall and stucco, plastic siding, plastic plastic plastic…The lumber we get is second rate, a lot will not pass any structural test. Not many will stand up to Canadas weather. Open a new fresh skid of 2×6 or 2×4 or most anything, you will find 30% or more is barely usable yet we do. How many new homes I have been in from BC to Sask where I’ve seen lumber in walls cracked, twisted, huge knots, all kinds of wane. How can vapor barrier form a decent shield on this crap? It can’t unless one uses accoustasil or other to seal the crap out. How many homes are built waaay to quick on top of green concrete? I would say most every home built. Banks, money lenders have no concept on cure rates etc, get the house built get your ass in, start paying that mortgage!! People wonder why in a few years they have to tear out that basement finishing and repair leaking cracks. You can blue skin, you can tar all you want but if that foundation is still green it will crack with the weight of the house. I could go on and on…building Canada is a joke.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mouldy-surrey-rental-suite-blamed-for-ismail-abdirahman-s-illness-inability-to-work-1.2965623
#135 Victor V
You have a good eye for breaking news. Thanks for the links you provide.
Shell is a few days late in providing its quarterly update to the regulators on its plan for the Pierre River Mine application. It asked the regulators to place its application on the shelf in Feb 2014. It will be interesting.
#114 Brutus — “WAR IS COMING.”
How about nailing your colours to the mast? Name a date that armed soldiers from a NATO country will be trading fire with Russian backed soldiers in Ukraine.
That way, if the date passes, we can definitively say you were wrong again, just like last year. And if you’re right, then I’ll have been wrong.
Do you think Putin is going to miscalculate and get into a war with NATO which he’ll lose? Or do you have an unrealistic view of Ukraine’s importance to the West? Or are you just wishing that somebody will come to Ukraine’s rescue? You seem far more concerned about what’s going on there than most westerners, including me. Putin could annex the whole country and, aside from sanctions, the West would do nothing.
#138 Andrew Woburn on 02.21.15 at 2:41 pm
“…building Canada is a joke.”
And it’s going to get worse. In Ontario we’ll have 6 storey wood frame buildings:
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2014/03/ontario-moves-forward-six-storey-wood-frame-construction
What can possibly go wrong?
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/12/17/major_fire_in_downtown_kingston_damages_buildings_crane_operator_rescued_by_helicopter.html
Maybe it’s time to wind this down. Plenty of Americans think so.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/opinion/the-tar-sands-disaster.html?_r=0
#SillySaturday… #YouCan’tMakeThisStuffUp…
#ScorchedTorch…
[SCMP] – Hundreds evacuated as fire engulfs Dubai’s 79-storey “Torch” residential tower
http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1720184/hundreds-evacuated-fire-engulfs-dubais-79-storey-torch-residential-tower
#HereComesTheSun…
[LAT] – George Harrison tree — killed by beetles — to be replanted Feb. 25
…”The George Harrison Memorial Tree, infamously killed by beetles, will be replanted on Feb. 25 in Griffith Park on what would have been the former Beatle’s 72nd birthday.”…
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-george-harrison-tree-killed-by-beetles-replant-20150220-story.html
#NoGoatForYou!…
[G&M] – Trudeau stood up by controversial guest at Chinese New Year event
…”A trio of girls in sequined miniskirts sang about being too sexy in this club (this one, certainly). A young diva belted out an impressive aria. Although it was billed as a private event, the Chinese state media CCTV and the local multicultural channel OMNI were positioned to capture the money shot of Mr. Trudeau with Mr. Luo, a moment meant to evoke a historical echo, given Mr. Trudeau’s father’s storied closeness with the autocratic country. Ultimately, the federal Liberal Leader arrived; the ambassador, however, was a no-show.”…
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/trudeau-stood-up-by-controversial-guest-at-chinese-new-year-event/article23138913/
114 Brutus on 02.21.15 at 11:00 am
WAR IS COMING.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/ukraine-preparing-for-full-scale-war-says-former-envoy-to-canada/ar-BBhOXKQ?ocid=mailsignout
Ignore the Pollyanna naysayers. (Like you, Ralph Chamberlain)
Prepare, everyone.
*********************************************
My dear brother in law.
You could be right about the war.
However, the rebels did allow their countrymen (the conscripts) to flee. Which will set the stage for mass defects to the rebel side in the event they are ‘forced’ to proceed.
As you know – most if not all people on they own would rather live in peace then be forced to die. Doesn’t matter which country one is from – we are all humans. The other side (rebels) have more heart in the game as they are defending against aggression. Fighting for their lives.
The eastern people are force to reckon with – both sides are being backed by a super power(s). let’s not kid ourselves. Allow the split – borders are constantly changing throughout history.
If someone came to my home and tried that shit…my response would be the same, if not worse. I would seek out to neutralize the whole lot. Only mercy for those who are misinformed and caught up in the disinformation.
Junia sends you her love.
Europe doesn’t want tar sands and they might tax it to price it out of their market.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/19/new-hopes-that-tar-sands-could-be-banned-from-europe
Maybe a pipeline or rail link through Alaska. Prentice likes it, but will Obama?
http://grist.org/news/who-needs-keystone-when-you-could-build-a-tar-sands-pipeline-through-alaska/
You’ve got them pegged, Garth, but what good does it do? Waiting for reality to set in is like watching paint dry. Thanks anyway, though.
Foreigner @ Seneca tonight.
I’m amped, pre drinking for the show..
And hell my kid made another 5k on Friday. Left work early, bought an Mac book. And says he’s not going back..
He’s got this trading he says. Ha this won’t end well..
Or maybe it will.. He was quiting anyway, going to a IOS boot camp..
Taken after daddy, want to be a code smith..
Canadians can’t handle the truth, but Americans sure can.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/neb-wants-pipeline-emergency-response-plans-made-public/article23138970/
#126 crowded
“Pay your taxes. Budget wisely. Invest for the future. Its not THAT bad…”
Done, done and done. I retired at 55 and have a balanced diversified portfolio that generates a more than comfortable living.
My sentiments are for the future of this once great province that was brimming with opportunity, the economic engine of the country. It saddens me to see it brought to its knees by debt, corruption and the malfeasance of political parties of all stripes.
Its not THAT bad? On that I beg to differ.
#246 brydle604 Feb 20
I stand by my comments, oil tank remediation actually LESS than 30k average. (Which is what my friend paid in N Burnaby)
http://www.theprogress.com/news/218538831.html
And yes there are exceptions. And yes there are scammers. And yes it has spawned a new industry.
The smart money removes it in a more stealthy manner PRIOR to listing so the metal detector dude doesn’t find anything.
And Mark is still blowing smoke
Ignore my other posts, I really like oil sand oil and all it does for Canada. Sorry Mr. Harper.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/anti-petroleum-movement-a-growing-security-threat-to-canada-rcmp-say/article23019252/
#107 Bottoms_Up
Yes, you are of course correct. The Magical Unicorn best case scenario is exactly how they drew the 12% rental yield conclusion, technically “accurate” for marketing purposes, but only in a very unlikely buying (and being able to actually keep the unit continuously rented especially in that area) scenario.
They are marketing masters of smoke & mirrors, hence my comment about more regulatory oversight of this industry desperately needed.
Merely pointing out that unit appreciation, and any cap gains on your investment, may be entirely missing from the equation presently.
Hey Quebec! Get ready to pay for your own daycare bills. Alberta’s equalization payments are going to shrivel up worse than a set of Red Deer Truck Nutz!
Au Revoir!
BF
#105 cropgrower on 02.21.15 at 7:33 am
#63 and #77….as long as they can open a tfsa, you can give the funds to anyone you want……kids, neighbour, milkman…..me.
—————————————————-
Hey Cropgrower,I asked my wife if I could give some tfsa money to a nice person on the Internet and surprisingly she said NO.
Don’t say I didn’t try to help you!
I went in my bank to arrange a line of credit last year (just in case my business ever hit a down turn)
The guy arranging it asked my why i didnt own property. I answered that i thought vancouver property was overvalued and not worth the asking price, and in my current financial state of starting a business – i dont have enough guaranteed income to risk a mortgage, nor a downpayment.
He scoffed and told me i was stupid for not owning property and vancouver property only goes up in value. It was the best investment available to me. I re-iterated my points.
He then said i could afford the downpayment if i did exactly what you’re saying here Garth.
So I said “why would i take out a loan for my RRSP? I max out both my RRSP and TFSA each year.”. He looked shocked and said – “I wasnt aware you had a rrsp, you dont have it with us!” – I explained i’d rather put money under my matress than take out an investment with the bank… To which he replied “well if you have maxed out your RRSP and TFSA you can afford a deposit on a house then!”.
Now I was trying to get a good deal on my line of credit – so i didnt go out and out and call the guy a complete f-ing moron.. But I was VERY tempted.
“Hey Quebec! Get ready to pay for your own daycare bills. Alberta’s equalization payments are going to shrivel up worse than a set of Red Deer Truck Nutz!
Au Revoir!”
We are ready, it is now BC’s turn to send us money.
Just talked to a thirty something relative who is buying a three bedroom home in suburban Portland, where there are thousands of jobs at Nike and Intel, for $225,000 with nothing down on a thirty year mortgage at next-to-nothing interest. He can’t find anything to rent but he wouldn’t save much anyway if he did.
This country has completely lost the plot.
Is there any way you can come out in front with non registered investing as opposed to doing RRSP .
I know you get the tax break at the start with RRSP but as long as your investing the same amount ,wouldn’t it work out the same in the end?
#96 Andrew Woburn
But when was the last time the majority party leader did not become PM? In practice, the UK system is the same; only the party “blessed” people win candidacies and get to run for elections.
In theory, all the democratic systems are great. Even in the US, but in practice they end up with 2 super-parties, and political stagnation and paralysis. Things settle on whatever is most optimal to preserve power of incumbents, which you can’t really argue against, as they WERE rightfully elected by the majority. Why would anyone want to rock the boat when their guy is getting in?
#158 Andrew Woburn on 02.21.15 at 6:49 pm…
A zero down, thirty year term on 250K at 4% interest is only $ 1200 a month – so no wonder it’s better to buy. Been to Portland a few times, nice city – there are even better deals across the river in Vancouver, WA.
#156 Blobby on 02.21.15 at 6:44 pm…
We got the same shocked look from our [email protected] last year as we applied for a $25K LOC. She asked if we owned, we replied yes, but in the US.
Why would we buy a condo in Kelowna when it was almost half the cost to rent the same unit?
When we showed her our net worth in detail (I love spreadsheets) she again wondered why we wouldn’t buy when we could pay cash.
I wanted to tell her the same thing you were thinking of, but quietly signed the paperwork for the LOC and we left.
“Hey Quebec! Get ready to pay for your own daycare bills. Alberta’s equalization payments are going to shrivel up worse than a set of Red Deer Truck Nutz!
Au Revoir!”
“We are ready, it is now BC’s turn to send us money.”
———————————————————-
René # 157,
I thought you guys were leaving?
As a BC resident, don’t let the door….
Ralph Cramdown #140 said
“How about nailing your colours to the mast? Name a date that armed soldiers from a NATO country will be trading fire with Russian backed soldiers in Ukraine.”
Hmm…so the price of me dealing with your complete, reckless ignorance of geopolitics and failure to READ good accounts (mainstream press, not doomer blogs) of what is going on (including some I have provided here) is that I have to have some sort of supernatural powers of perfect prediction?
Your type is a useful idiot for what Putin and others have in mind, I’ll grant you that. History is full of pontificating, self-important gasbags like you, proven wrong.
“…the West would do nothing.”
Again, have you bothered to READ what western and NATO leaders have been saying? Far from “nothing”, they are growing more committed to action by the day.
This is a major overhanging world event which if not dealt with properly (which it now appears it most certainly will not be) will create large scale conflict, increased sanctions both ways, European chaos and undermine our economy, real estate, and most all else.
War has a way of doing that. Events have a way of dealing with people like yourself.
#129 pinstripe on 02.21.15 at 1:45 pm…
You certainly can spin a yarn, I give you that.
Have you considered working together with SM on a novel set on an alien oil planet?
Maybe it could be called Petra Oleum?
#107 Bottoms_Up
Of course. The yield is not generated by the downpayment, it is generated from the entire property and purchase price, so it must be calculated relative to it. The majority is financed, thus, finance charges are an expanse that must be subtracted from the yield, just as other expenses, such as property taxes, condo fees, and maintenance costs.
This is the kind of voodoo investment advice that hoodwinks the (willfully?) ignorant and uneducated. You’ll see plenty of it on dodgy investment forums like RFD that these kind of people flock to.
Andrew Woburn: quoting James Bilodeau (whoever he is)
The lumber we get is second rate, a lot will not pass any structural test. Not many will stand up to Canada’s weather. Open a new fresh skid of 2×6 or 2×4 or most anything, you will find 30% or more is barely usable yet we do.
I never went to a lumber yard and was forced to take a piece of lumber I didn’t like. I mean the stuff at Home Depot is first rate!
I heard somewhere that you could buy a house before it was built but you were not allowed to inspect it during construction! Like why not? Seems to me that you would require an inspection of the framing ( I mean when you could see it) and require the builder to replace substandard lumber.
O Selfish Selfish Nation….
“A lesson in human depravity”… or “How to eat your children’s future”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8pjd1QEA0c
#160 devore on 02.21.15 at 7:45 pm
#96 Andrew Woburn
What we don’t have is the UK Westminster system. In Britain the MP’s choose the Prime Minister. In Canada, it’s the reverse.
But when was the last time the majority party leader did not become PM? In practice, the UK system is the same; only the party “blessed” people win candidacies and get to run for elections.
=====================
It is true that a party revolt in Britain is rare, and it should be for stability, but it can happen and British PM’s are much more concerned about MP’s views. Current Conservative British PM, David Cameron, is under a lot of pressure from MP’s who are less than thrilled with the EU.
Maybe my memory is at fault, but I think the last Canadian prime minister who had any serious challenge from his own MP’s was Diefenbaker. Mr. Harper appears not to tolerate contrary views from MP’s and Mr Trudeau derided them as “nobodies”. Mrs Thatcher was deposed by her “nobodies”.
RE: #167 45north on 02.21.15 at 9:36 pm
I never went to a lumber yard and was forced to take a piece of lumber I didn’t like. I mean the stuff at Home Depot is first rate!
The problem is that the builder doesn’t go to home depot and hand pick every SPF 2×6 or 2×4. He gets a flat delivered, which contains a large amount of crap lumber. He doesn’t throw 30% of it away. He uses it for framing and hides it behind dry wall along with all the drywall scraps he doesn’t want to pay a disposal fee for…
To anyone who does not grasp how serious the Ukraine situation is, and how close Canada is to being dragged right into it by Harper, I suggest you watch the first 5 minutes of The National tonight on CBC.
If you have been oblivious or in denial, it might just make you shit your pants.
Seriously, people, this coming time will be a time to have liquid assets to weather some serious storms. Sell quickly at a reasonable price any real estate you do not need or are considering as an ‘investment’ – do not wait!
#159 For those about to flop… on 02.21.15 at 7:25 pm
Is there any way you can come out in front with non registered investing as opposed to doing RRSP .
I know you get the tax break at the start with RRSP but as long as your investing the same amount ,wouldn’t it work out the same in the end?
Non-registered can be better than RRSP in certain circumstances. Everything coming out of the RRSP is taxed at your regular rate, so you lose the benefit of preferential tax treatment of eligible Canadian dividends and capital gains. You’d have to run some numbers, but depending on your tax bracket at contribution and withdrawal times, for those types of investments RRSP may not be the best thing.
HBP finally paid off this year. done. only the minimum HBP repayment actioned each year. was handy at the time. although the lump sum you get up front is slowly paid back over time with lost future deductions.
you could argue you are worse off b/c as most are making way more $ later on and lose greater potential tax benefit. only use it if you have to or you think you are going to make less $ down the road (although then, why the hell are u buying a house?)
RE:#159 For those about to flop… on 02.21.15 at 7:25 pm
Is there any way you can come out in front with non registered investing as opposed to doing RRSP .
I know you get the tax break at the start with RRSP but as long as your investing the same amount ,wouldn’t it work out the same in the end?
Read this simple article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/the-wealthy-barber-explains-tfsa-or-rrsp/article1356709/?page=all
As long as you reinvest the RRSP tax refund again in the RRSP, and the tax rate at withdrawal is the same as when you contributed, and there is no OAS claw back, then an RRSP is just as tax free as a TFSA.
Hey Brutus,do you need a hug?
Ah, bought wife off, here take a G, go play..
Forener Concert amazing, had a set of twins, actually two sisters destroying my shoulder blades with four soft, but big intrusive softness.
They wanted to know what love is.
I failed.. I don’t know..
Hey everybody, yes, we are going to be sending a secret military weapon to Ukraine to help them with their fight against Russian forces.
Here is the photo of it: (wow, scary isn’t it?)
“Top secret Canadian Navy warship heading towards Russia.”
http://9gag.com/gag/arpBmWp
#176 Smoking Man, you know when you helped your kid regain the $$$ he lost via Forex, and when you showed him your methods for Forex, that was love. Because you won’t show anyone else the same consideration, it means you love your kid.
#171
Some suggested shopping for you.
http://www.keepcalmandcarryon.com/
Hilarious, the Toronto Star doesn’t fact check on an anti-vaccine article and thus has no choice but to retract it. Doctor responds that an equivalent headline would be “Shark attacks: the dark side of swimming in Canadian lakes”. At least public health officials are now pushing back on this ignorant, ignorant reporting.
Who’s looking out for the public interest when the headlines about real estate are blatant lies?
https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2015/02/21/autopsy-of-toronto-star-hpv-article-and-the-real-dark-side-of-gardasil-they-missed/
“But no matter. We’re facing a new level of misadventure today.” – Garth
But no matter. For every new level of misadventure the public stumbles into, they have a govt ready to follow along, to cover their back.
The US govt was mostly a helpless spectator in their R/E bust because that was a problem of the investment banks. Here in Canada, sadly, our govt is front-&-centre of the R/E story, and has a few knobs yet, to influence the market (as the recent rate DECREASE showed powerfully).
Only prolonged and nation-wide economic malaise can dampen Cdn housing. With the US surging ahead, and Canada their largest trading partner, it’s hard to see how that will happen.
#162 Snowboid on 02.21.15 at 8:54 pm
#156 Blobby on 02.21.15 at 6:44 pm…
We got the same shocked look from our [email protected] last year as we applied for a $25K LOC. She asked if we owned, we replied yes, but in the US.
Why would we buy a condo in Kelowna when it was almost half the cost to rent the same unit?
When we showed her our net worth in detail (I love spreadsheets) she again wondered why we wouldn’t buy when we could pay cash.
I wanted to tell her the same thing you were thinking of, but quietly signed the paperwork for the LOC and we left.
———————
gmafb. Who on earth carries a laptop around with them on the chance they can fire it up in front of some random low-level bank employee and walks them through an MS Excel spreadsheet of their net worth?
you’re either full of ish or insufferable in real life.
GT: ” . . . it seems RRSPs have morphed into just another device to feed our real estate mania.”
This or any other such mania causes the non-maniacs to lose confidence in political leadership, the political process, the economic system as a whole, not to mention respect for the maniacs.
I suspect that when house prices fall – those homeowners facing hardship will not say, “Oh, we were stupid, we made a mistake.” They’ll say, “We were lied to. We’ve been stabbed in the back.”
Canada may already have entered Recession. Looks like unemployment will rise dramatically. Angry maniacs – will put the rule of law to the test.
Throw in a stock mkt correction – Canada is a historically young, evolving country – a lotta morphin’ in the works.
How would better MPs help? They will just vote how the party tells them how to vote. Except for that one that crossed the floor. Parliament needs secret ballot voting. I’m glad you left that sheep’s den, even if it wasn’t your choice.
What makes a Smoking Man?
Is it being prepared to do the right thing, whatever the cost?
Or simply a pair?
Strong men also cry….
Strong men… also… cry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R33IEQjI1l8
#152 “Ignore my other posts, I really like oil sand oil and all it does for Canada. Sorry Mr. Harper.”
You mean like fund wages for civil servants, fund infrastructure, build hospitals, schools, fund charities, feed the seniors, house the homeless?
The RCMP has come to the same conclusion that other Canadians have known for years. Foreign funded.paid extremists are practicing industrial and economic sabotage against Canada for reasons other than environmental activism. What took them so long?
A law to protect Canada from the whims of the Supreme Court of Canada may be necessary to have Canadians more quickly and economically access the resource wealth we desperately need to protect this country’s people from experiencing a collapse of the Canadian way of life. Foreign governments through local proxies have tied the Supreme’s in knots with antiquated laws and a Charter that Canada must replace for the future good of us all.
Just checked local mortgage rates and a 10 year fixed is a nose bleed 6% I just took out two investment mortgages here in Germany 10 year fixed 2.54% and I just got an email they’re now 1.5%
Nuts!!!!
Ray Skunk: Why does nobody talk about Bitcoins anymore?
one of my big non-investments, the attraction was wealth not controlled by the central banks, but if they were threatened wouldn’t they buy like $100 million and then trade it so that it would be worth $50 million? Reminds me of the banks approach to bank robbery: suppose the banks lose $10,000 a robbery, the bad guys hit 4 or 5 banks and then get caught. The banks say “deal”.
——
Sounds like someone is a bagholder over $250. I know people that bought at 18 bucks. While I’m not a genius, I’d say they are up about 1400%
Won’t the Vancouver condos become cheaper to the Chinese investor since the free fall in value for the Canadian dollar. The Chinese Yuan has moved as well but not nearly as much as the Canadian dollar has been devalued.
This should make new condos more attractive than they were even a couple of years ago, no? I’m not so sure I’d want to be a Chinese investor that bought a few years ago when our dollar was strong as he’d see a 25% loss on exchange alone, if he sold.
“…or how to get income out of your RRIF without paying tax.”
Wait….what??? You can do that?
In the last twenty-four years the ratio of total Canadian household debt to disposable income has doubled, increasing from 80 per cent in 1990 to over 160 per cent in 2014. A similar US ratio peaked at 130 per cent. Canadian house prices grew even more rapidly, with the Teranet-National Bank Housing Index soaring to 160 from 60 in 1999, almost tripling. The housing industry employs more than seven per cent of all workers.
Our bubble is bigger than the US version. But bubbles can last for a long time, and grow bigger before they burst.
The US meltdown started with a seizure in housing finance. The collapse began with Bear Stearns, and spread to Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Countrywide and many others.
In Canada, house finance works differently as 75 per cent of the total $1.2 trillion in mortgages outstanding carries a government guarantee.
What could go wrong? LOL
#164 Brutus — “Hmm…so the price of me dealing with your complete, reckless ignorance of geopolitics and failure to READ good accounts (mainstream press, not doomer blogs) of what is going on (including some I have provided here) is that I have to have some sort of supernatural powers of perfect prediction?”
Maybe you misunderstood. I didn’t ask you to pick the exact day war involving NATO would start, merely a day by which it would be on.
I explained the geopolitics to you, here, a year ago:
http://www.greaterfool.ca/2014/02/28/happily-ever-after/#comment-289745
You’ve predicted nuclear war within weeks, stock market, housing and currency crashes, $3,000 gold and all manner of other famines, plagues and pestilence because of the Ukraine situation, here on this blog, for a year now. You’ve breathlessly reported on Russian ICBM launches, supposed ultimatums from the west, and all manner of other stuff.
What has actually taken place is a quaintly anachronistic low-level conventional ground war. Russians bottle up Ukrianian fleet by sinking blockships. Battle over strategic transportation hub (i.e. railroad junction). “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job,” say Ukranian officials, desperately short of matériel.
This is a style of warfare that was obsoleted by the Spanish Civil War 80 years ago. The Chechens at least had the spark of asymmetrical tactics and taking the fight to the enemy’s home.
And what, exactly, was so shocking on the National last night? The Ukranian government says it now expects all-out war. Better late than never to start fighting, I suppose, if your enemy started a year ago. And they show off an exceedingly short general officer in an exceedingly tall hat and an excessive amount of gold braid. The US Secretary of State says precisely nothing, but does so forcefully, in his inimitable Connecticut Lockjaw accent. Canada’s Minister of National Defence says our army is stretched pretty thin right now. If anyone watching the National last night lost control of their bowels, I’d blame a bad burrito.
#192 R. Cramdown
I don’t know everything you way you seem to pretend to Ralph, but you seem very dismissive of the international threats we face. To call the deaths of thousands of people “quaint” as you do is, frankly, offensive.
I also watched the CBC news last night with my husband and found that opening story on Ukraine very alarming, personally.
I put more credibility in that level of journalism than what I might read in your message, sorry.
We are not going to war with Russia. Give your head a shake. — Garth
#192 R. Cramdown
Oh, and Ralph, I was puzzled by this statement of yours:
“And they show off an exceedingly short general officer in an exceedingly tall hat and an excessive amount of gold braid.”
Short? Meaning what?
I guess with attitudes likes yours, we can only imagine what you would say if this officer was Black, or a Jew, or a woman, God forbid.
Please keep your bigotry off this blog, thanks. You have revealed too much already.
#182 A box in the Sky on 02.22.15 at 1:01 am…
Who said anything about a laptop? I’m not into new technology, I still take my my old Dell pentium desktop with me wherever I go!
But seriously, why take a laptop when all that is needed is a concise printout of our financial situation.
I take it by your nom de plume that you are likely one of the many high-rise condo owners that just realized the smart ones in the building are the renters!
Forget Ukraine (my family is from there)
and let’s get ready to do battle with UK school girls. Maybe they will facebook us to death? I know I sure hope Harper has a few hundred million sitting around to deal with this threat.
The fear campaign is so mis-guided….I cannot take this stuff seriously any more.
Anyone want to know what pyramids are really for (note: not dead pharaohs) or how FTL anti gravity travel works?
I think we’re better off forgetting about our society and starting a new one.
Best advice for people affected by the stupidity is stop watching it – it only exists in your mind.
#158 Andrew Woburn, I doubt that someone is able to purchase a home close to Portland for 225K. I went down to Aizona in 2011 looking for great deals in Scotsdale area and if you wanted something close to the city you had to pay. If one drove 45 to 60 minutes out there were bargains to be had. It’s like driving out one hour out of Toronto. So much crap on this blog. First of all for all the people that are comparing US cities to Canadian and thinking they can move there. It’s not that easy to move to the US legally. It’s almost impossible actually. Also bloggers complaing that Canada is a frozen tundra. Well look at NYC, Boston, and the whole US east coast. What a bunch of jerks constantly complaining. Garth keeps it real and is well balanced but so many morons on here just dying to see families wiped out because they missed the real estate ride of a lifetime.
Anyone want to know what pyramids are really for (note: not dead pharaohs)
———-
Sure. I figured it for another (housing) mania gone seriously off rails, but I’m always keeping an open mind to alternative explanations.
Speaking of sheeple, consumer confidence, and the liars that try to manipulate us…….they are not just confined to the real estate industry.
Today I finally see in the local real estate pumping publication called the Calgary Herald an article about how retail sales have slumped (I guess they needed to fill some space with the perception of real news). The data they are using is referring to the sales period between Black Friday and Boxing Day……….hmmmmmm………that was what……..2-3 months ago ??? Guess those fancy electronic point of sale terminals and their associated software programs don’t work as good as a $2,000 Facebook machine (the Apple MacBook Air) since it took them that long to compile and sort the numbers……LOL. Or it could be that they are just simply figuring out how to spin the bad news months after it has passed.
The report says retail sales in Canada were down between 5-10% (rounded up) depending upon the sector. If that is what they reported, then all you need to do is double it for the truth. My wife and I were in South Centre Mall here in YYC yesterday at 500PM and it was dead……you could have thrown a grenade into the center court and there would have been no injuries. My airport limo driver also told me his trip count is down 30% in the last 3 months when he picked me up on Friday. There is panic in the air in YYC…….
@#196 Mike T
“I think we’re better off forgetting about our society and starting a new one….”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The volunteers have already been chosen…..
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.space.com%2F28215-elon-musk-spacex-mars-colony-idea.html&ei=hwrqVMXnCYXToATn1YGADw&usg=AFQjCNE8DHyIVPwp4-IkYsMLam9N1a9A3Q&bvm=bv.86475890,d.cGU
#RalphUnderstandsRealPolitik,&… #HistoryLessonsForTheIgnorant…
“It’s not that easy to move to the US legally. It’s almost impossible actually.”…
http://youtu.be/HGkqh-iwS28
#OfCourse,It’sALittleDifferentToday…
http://youtu.be/XkvIlrLiy9o
#197 Rob
“but so many morons on here just dying to see families wiped out because they missed the real estate ride of a lifetime”
——————————–
Not so, Rob.
The honest posters here (i.e. the only ones you should bother reading) are more concerned about those older RE owners who are waiting too long to crystallize gains and those younger ones who are anxious to assume a crushing lifelong debt burden.
The others who have missed out have done exactly that. They missed out. They will have to find some other path. Garth and this blog can help with that.
There is no ill will involved.
#197 Rob on 02.22.15 at 12:15 pm…
Funny, just did a search for SFHs within a six mile radius of downtown Portland (not including Vancouver WA) and come up with 152 between $200K and $250K.
Granted these aren’t fancy homes, but if you wanted a home near downtown Scottsdale then your tastes are obviously more expensive. Currently there are 40 listings for SFH homes between $200K and $250K in Scottsdale.
A 45-60 minute drive in the Valley of the Sun basically takes you from the NW corner all the way to the SE corner (or SW to NE) so that’s pretty well all of the greater Phoenix area to choose from.
In 2011 there were thousands of nice homes in the Phoenix area for $150K.
I would hazard a guess that living near the centre of any large city anywhere in the world is more expensive than the outlying areas.
You say it’s not easy to move to the US – tell that to the 128,000 full-time resident Canadians in Phoenix!
Not to mention the nearly 900,000 Canadians that stay here for all or part of the winter!
#194 Linda on 02.22.15 at 11:51 am
#192 R. Cramdown
Oh, and Ralph, I was puzzled by this statement of yours:
“And they show off an exceedingly short general officer in an exceedingly tall hat and an excessive amount of gold braid.”
Short? Meaning what?
I guess with attitudes likes yours, we can only imagine what you would say if this officer was Black, or a Jew, or a woman, God forbid.
Please keep your bigotry off this blog, thanks. You have revealed too much already.
————————————————————–
Pathetic attempt to play language police.
Are you a dominatrix in your day job?
Ralph, I see you have put some more crapdown.
Is that a typo in your moniker?
Here’s some true reporting from the CBC. (And that is not the Crapdown Bullsh!t Corporation, fyi)
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV%20Shows/The%20National/ID/2655141790/
After a year of push and pull, Ukraine IS heading to major war, and Canada, because of Harper’s belligerence and desire to fragment the electorate prior to a vote, WILL be involved directly or indirectly in ways that will seriously affect us.
A HUGE Black Swan is about to descend on western economies, wrecking much of our markets and evaporating Canada’s bloated real estate values.
speaking of snow caves……..how is global warming working out for everyone?
http://iceagenow.info/2015/02/great-lakes-likely-ice-records-began-meteorologist/
Apparently record cold is the new warm. 2015 will be recorded as the year “truth” is revealed.
Global warming creates weather change. Colder in some areas, hotter in others. The science appears indisputable. — Garth
My Dad had a saying…
” don’t bother arguing with anyone about politics or religion ”
Each to their own I guess.
@#194 Linda
Wow!
Calling a short person “short” is the “new” bigotry……?
How nauseatingly Politically Correct our country has become…..
Any innocent utterance can be twisted, misconstrued, denigrated and challenged by the pathetically overeducated pc crowd waiting to pounce at another imagined “slight” of a visibly different person.
Linda, dont forget your pink shirt this week.
Because THAT’LL make bullies go away……………yeesh.
I love going to Cuba and I would use cash to retire in Cuba and enjoy sun rather than be here. I can read that many Canadians love Cuba http://www.debbiescaribbeanresortreviews.com/forum/board/21/cuba and not too many regret going and spending money there!
Ironically, we might get better MPs if majority of people who currently vote stop voting. Voting is the only thing keeping MPs employed. None of us would have jobs if we performed the way they do. But not only do they get elected, they get elected by us.
#193 Linda on 02.22.15 at 11:43 am
How could anyone think we are going to war with Russia? Any direct conflict quickly escalates into a nuclear exchange between NATO and the Russians. The Russian backed rebels shot down a commercial airliner without any remorse. This is not a group any sane leader would want to support. Do you really think Vladimir Putin will risk any of Russia’s territory in support of these murderers? Four full divisions of NATO troops with air support would crush the rebels and take back Crimea in a week.
This is why the USA and Russia have always fought their battles through proxies. The Arab nations VS Israel .. Guatemala and Nicaragua …. Neither wants another Cuban missile crisis. No one wins if the weather in New York and Moscow is bright, sunny and a million degrees.
The USA, Europe and Russia will continue to fight over Ukraine with trade sanctions, natural gas and oil prices. Eventually, the average Russian will lose faith in Vladimir Putin. All this misguided hyper nationalism will quickly give way to desperation from hunger and mass unemployment. Do you really think the average middle class Russian who has not experienced bread lines and meat lines since they were a toddler is going to put up with all of this political theatre in the Kremlin? The Russians have much more to lose in this pissing match. They know it too.