Three young women. Three cities. Three stories.
As you might imagine, this pathetic blog generates a lot of mail. I weed out the Nigerian bank executives offering large finder fees, the dumbass lawyers who think I just defamed someone for quoting their own Facebook page, outraged mothers, irate realtors and females attracted by my chiselled pecs, and read the rest. It’s a trip. Especially when it comes to what real estate is doing to people’s brains, and their families.
So here are the three from the last 48 hours I wish to share with you. Zoe in Toronto. Kate in Van. Linda in Calgary. The first two need to know about the last.
Zoe’s story
“Longtime reader, came to see you give a talk in Mississauga (thank you for that). My husband and I are early 30’s with a toddler and a perfect Puli dog, renting in a nice area of Toronto. We bring in about 170k combined (mostly thanks to my rock-star electrician/engineer husband) I’m a front-line public sector worker that loves making Canadians happy but also appreciates the flexibility for my son rather than a higher salary. We have zero debt and about 300k in total liquid assets that I’m managing in a diversified portfolio. Maxed RESP. Good pensions for both of us.
“Why do I write? Because it’s HARD to keep on this contrary path long term…it’s HARD to have your in-laws (and almost everyone else) think that you are the only reason their son isn’t “actually” successful because he rents like “a failure”. I just have such a hard time with the idea that people outright and vocally pity me. I know it’s easy to say to ignore them (and I do with occasional rebuttal) but as a contrarian and a female one at that…the pressure and anger thrown at me is very hard to deal with and nearly constant. Any attempt to rebut the housing cult arguments are met with further head shaking even to the point of questioning my fitness as a mother!
“I know you’re not a therapist (well maybe in some respects) but how do you propose holdouts deal with the pressure, the conventional wisdom is SO strong that I’ve had people call me vapid (to my face) for refusing to buy despite having substantial alternative financial success and a masters degree in a business discipline. I’m just unsure how to deal with this insanity moving forward. I just thought I’d let you know how heavy the pressure is on families that don’t give into the cult. Thank you for what you do.
Kate’s story
“What I can tell you is how much I love your blog. I love your advice, your humour and your down to earth way of looking at things is helping me to make better decisions. I also love to read your blog because I get negative comments constantly for not buying-even though we could get a million dollar mortgage; but if we spent that amount, we would have to use most or all of our savings, and then if myself or my husband gets laid off/loses our job, or interest rates rise, we are screwed. It is also hard because people look down on us and “wonder” why we still rent (which makes me feel like crap). Then there is the constant comments on how we need to buy now or we will never be able to buy anything.
“Anyway, I too believe cheap money is fueling the market and am willing to wait until rates increase and homes start to fall here in North Vancouver. I just hope that bloody well start to happen in the near future.
“Anyway, keep up the great work. I really appreciate it. And when house prices start to fall, and we buy a house at a price we can afford, a bottle of scotch to say “thank you” for all your hard work on the blog will be coming your way.
Linda’s story
“I’ve been reading your blog for 2 years now, and thank you so much for all your information you give.
“My partner and I bought a condo in Cochrane almost 3 years ago for $270,000 and are thinking of selling it and moving to Calgary closer to his work. However, with prices now, I’d be surprised if we could get $240,000 for it, and after all the realtor fees and legal fees etc, it would be closer to $220,000 putting us underwater and saying goodbye to all our “equity”.
“My question I was hoping you could give an opinion on is, will the Calgary and area housing market be better in a couple or few years or will it be worse? If it’s better, maybe it’s worth holding onto our place and selling when our mortgage is under $200,000 and the condo is worth $260,000 plus, but if it’s going to get worse, maybe it’s better to just cut our losses now and walk away with nothing or a bit of debt, instead of waiting a couple years and realizing that prices have fallen under $200,000 entirely. I’m heartbroken and torn.
__________________________________________________________
Kate and Zoe – we live in days of a housing cult. It’s a speculative orgy in which many have gambled everything on a single asset, shouldered massive debt to do so, and are utterly invested in promoting it at every turn. As with all manias and addictions, the obsession has squeezed out respect for others, logic and perspective. When close relatives tell you to buy or else, they’re reinforcing their own decisions. It’s about them, not you. That’s when families fail. Over a stupid house.
Linda – you’ve learned. Remember this lesson. You could have lived in the same condo, paid less as a tenant, lost nothing, retained your freedom, and regret nothing. Is Calgary coming back, or on the precipice of harsher times? Nobody knows. But you gambled once, and lost. Why do it again? The greatest gift we have is time, not equity. You’re wasting it.
Okay, back to the Nigerians. At least they’re funny.
222 comments ↓
Garth: I noticed that you delete emails from women who admire your chiseled pecs? Please send them to me at
[email protected]
BTW, don’t worry, the server is clean. Hillary wipes it with a rag everyday.
Linda, Kate, Zon.
At leased your level headed.
I got a devout Christian Account. He’s also a lush. Sort of love the guy. I could do so much better. He’s not that good.
But nothing gives me more satisfaction than year end watching his face when he’d going over my many bank statements.
He zeros in on the ATM withdrawls from casion cash machines, and every year he says in non acronym language. WTF.
Alcohol and casinos don’t mix well.
Shit you do after your kids are done rep hockey.
That’s a very lovely, touching picture of mother and daughter celebrating the daughter’s new dwelling.
Kate and Zoe! Who are these people in your life that keep shaming you to buy a house?! There is some added value here – use this housing mania to weed out the losers in your life. You have a much clearer picture who your friends are.
Unfortunately, parents, in-laws or siblings can’t be weeded out. But you can tell them to shut it.
Awwwww…. What a loving ( thanks mom? ) selfie with mom on that billboard. It truly warms the heart.
And that’s what a LACK of FINANCIAL education in the early years of our school system has done to the minds of the masses.
“… will the Calgary and area housing market be better in a couple or few years or will it be worse?”
——————————
This question isn’t specific enough. Better or worse for whom?
Quoted from some source on the internet, probably applicable to the insane real estate market:
http://howtobuystocks.blogspot.ca/2013/12/who-are-your-shoe-shine-boys.html
In 1928 in New York City, John D. Rockefeller was having his shoes shined. The shoe shine boy, presumably not knowing who Rockefeller was, started giving him stock tips and financial news of the day. Rockefeller took his shoe shine boy’s advice but not in the way you would expect. He decided that if a shoe shine boy was giving stock tips.. It was time to get out of the market. He did! And it’s the reason his family was able to stave off the Depression, and continued to be one of the richest in our history.
Pressure? I just can’t imagine myself caring about what others have to say about how I live my life.
I share my lifestyle on here as it may possibly help others to learn it really is all about putting my own Freedom First. I have time, and equity. I am Blessed.
It is up to you to look after yourself. First.
“…the dumbass lawyers who think I just defamed someone for quoting their own Facebook page…”
Has this thing got legs? The “way too happy grin” on dad’s face should have been a warning sign, along with the fact that they even thought to try such a sad tactic in the first place.
Dear ladies, the two that are renting, Kate & Zoe keep renting. You are doing the most brilliant thing you could in these ridiculous times. Yes, the pressure is awful, as must be the comments, but it is your financial lives you are protecting, not your dear reputations. Someday, the market will turn, and it could be fast and ugly when it does.
As for Linda, you bought, why sell in a down market, unless it keeps going down further, …faster… then why bother at that time? You are stuck, either losing money today, maybe more tomorrow. Who knows? If you do sell, don’t be in a hurry to buy again.
Nothing is forever, markets change. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. If we have positioned ourselves to withstand the day, we have done reasonably well. Tomorrow could be vastly different, and maybe will be.
Just glad to be out of the idiocies reaching the historic levels, and a mere bystander. I didn’t make any money in RE, and probably never ever will. Ask me if it matters, not a whit.
Rain again! My lawn needs to be cut before I might have to just reap the thing! Grrr…
Glad the week is done, a weak week on the street of Wall.
Trump to Black Lists never trump consulting firms.
“A”list for that wee consulting company in Shlong Branch.
On his first crack at dealing with tax returns. “OH I’m being audited. His second crack at the question.
Non of your business. …..that clinched the election. Hillary going down no pun intended.
It’s in the archives. When he wins. I get my usa status. Can finally retire in a trailer in Arazona writing full time.
Meeting with gang in Boston and NYC next week.
I was in shock last aguest when I was turffed by my tax farm gig. Only to be called by some smokey fans down south.
This pathetic blog has unbelievable reach.
To add to my first Post. First thing I tell a new girlfriend is that I have no interest in ever meeting her family. Garth covers a little bit of why I do this.
I want to continue to enjoy my life. And I am merely perfecting that in every area of my life today. I never knew life could be this good. Mind you, I’ve been saying that for decades. And also, I am extremely hopeful about the future.
“The greatest gift we have is time”
So true… the older I get, the more I realize you can have all the money in the world but you can never buy time back. All the times and decisions I made when I was younger, some of them I do wish I could do it over again knowing what I know now, but it is too late.
Treasure time, not money
Meet Gale and Jim
Don’t have a pot to piss in. But they offered to buy us dinner.
I love the warmth of true American people. Never find this in canada.
http://dyslexicsmokingman.blogspot.ca/2016/05/making-friends.html
Their going to end up huge before the nights done.
#14 Jonathan on 05.13.16 at 6:43 pm
“The greatest gift we have is time”
So true… the older I get, the more I realize you can have all the money in the world but you can never buy time back. All the times and decisions I made when I was younger, some of them I do wish I could do it over again knowing what I know now, but it is too late.
Treasure time, not money
…..
Well said. It’s my religion.
Regarding the picture, ever notice how “women of a certain age” in ads always sport the long, grey mane? I mean, it’s nearly universal. Bank commercials, retirement commercials, ads for bone health supplements, ads for prescription drugs. They’ve always got the long, grey locks. Now ask yourself, how many women do you know in real life who have long grey hair? I’m guessing the answer is NONE.
Here are the April numbers from our businesses… Note – I am pulling these off my phone so not as detailed as normal. Remember – this is for a premium service business so it’s highly discretionary revenue. If people were feeling strapped, we would not be growing well.
North America YoY growth: 24%
AUS YoY growth: 30%
NE US YoY growth: 23%
West US/CAN YoY growth: 35%
I will send out some individual (by city) metrics on Sunday’s post. I am sure that some of the prairies will be doing poorly (also it will be interesting to see how Quebec is doing).
I get all kinds of pressure from certain family members over practically every decision I make. And then they wonder why I don’t call anymore.
It’s about everything and it’s pointless to rebut it. “Why would you buy a truck that is that color of blue?” (I dunno, because I like it I guess.) “Why would you waste money on braces for your kids?” (I dunno, because their teeth are crooked and their mother and I both have insurance I guess.) “Why would you give the kids a car?” (Because I’m sick of driving them everywhere and I have an extra one! And I didn’t give it to them it’s still mine!) “Why don’t you buy a house close to us?” (This one is a no brainer and anyway I work downtown!)
So the best thing to do is ignore these sorts of people as much as possible and measure your success by your own standards. Or Garth’s I guess. It’s hard to impress Garth though because of his impressive resume.
But anyway I am not above giving free useless advice so here is some for Linda: If Calgary house prices go up at some point in the future, the price of the house you want in Calgary will rise just as much if not more than the one you have in Cochrane. Similarly if they keep falling the one you want in Calgary will fall just as much if not more than the one you have. (Talking total dollars here not necessarily percentage points) Thus, speculating on the trend in Calgary real estate will only help you if you plan to sell now and rent for a while. If you plan to sell now and buy pretty much right away then the commissions and extra borrowing/equity you need for the more expensive Calgary house must be paid either way and they won’t change that much. You’ll be better off if prices fall though, even if it zaps your equity on the current property, because you are stepping up to a more expensive house. (I assume. $270,000 doesn’t buy much in Calgary unless it’s in Mackenzie Lake, in which case you may as well stay in Cochrane.)
Boom,I am in Dallas because I thought paying $400 to get to Virginia was a good deal.
Also thought I would travel in a”V” as a tribute to Donny Rump.
My wife and I don’t earn a lot of corn ,but because like two of the girls in the post we rent and have no kids it frees up some cash and while the boss talks about time over money I choose memories over money.
I am a wage slave ….but only part time.
I refuse to buy a house and become full time.
I will probably never be rich, but if you find me under a bridge,something has gone horribly wrong…
M41BC
In spite of these stories, you are missing the big point Garth. These people have the financial leverage to do this stupid things. People have good financial positions. If this small sample tells you anything, it shows that Canadians at this point are not stretching themselves. So this will continue
Once the asset is our reach with low rates, it’s over.
How much would rates have to rise to make N Van affordable?
Prices would have to drop by 75% to merely be expensive
Kate – there’s no way anyone should be giving you grief for renting. It’s way cheaper than buying. Prices won’t be increasing in North Van 30% a year forever. Houses are crazy expensive, no matter how much $ you make.
That said, it’s probably helpful to divorce the savvy renting strategy from the “waiting for the decline to buy” idea. They aren’t really related, and I think there’s room for more “up” before things go “down” in North Van in any substantive way, if that ever happens.
Retail had a big loosing week and only Amazon seems able to keep a straight face. I was shopping up in Vaughan with my Italian familia at the Piazza del Sole where there are still several available vacant store fronts after months on end being empty?
Vaughan folks are a wealthy hood and extrovert types tend to spend so kind of begs the question..not shopping in town or has everyone gone online?
#118 MF on 05.13.16 at 11:06 am
#9 A box in the sky on 05.12.16 at 6:56 pm
“a millennial with money”
Nice oxymoron.
A millennial “with money” is in Vegas, LA or NY.
MF
———————————————–
Haters gonna hate
Niagara / Liberty Village
Median age: 35.20
Average Household Income: $135,385
I owned a condo in Vancouver once. Once.
Bought in May 2007 with 10% down, $8000 to CMHC and a mortgage at 5% (prime was close to 7% back then).
My mortgage was $1600/mo. Taxes and Condo fees were about $300/mo.
Sold in 2010 ahead of an expected $50 000 assessment. Sold it for what I bought it for, but paid $11 500 in commissions.
I also paid $12 500 as a penalty to break the mortgage, due to interest rate differential because by then, prime had fallen from 7% to 2%. Bank said they’d waive the penalty if I doubled down, bought another place within 90 days, and ‘ported’ my mortgage to the new debt pile. [email protected] called it ‘moving up’ the property ladder.
No dice.
We found a place to rent, bigger, and in a better neighbourhood: $1250/mo, heat and two underground parking spots included. Been there ever since.
Spent a bundle in that time, too: we toured Europe, Asia, visited Egypt – saw the pyramids and the museums before the revolution. Took countless weekend getaways, annual trips to Hawaii; kayaked with whales, sailed with dolphins, and raced for records at Bonneville. Bought and paid for a new car, spent a bundle (successfully) on medical treatments. Left a job, lost a job, found another. I could afford to wait for the right job, instead taking whatever came along.
No debt today, not a penny.
Some great memories, though.
Instead of being two paycheques away from default, clinging to a job desperate for raises at 2% to 4% per year, I make more than 40% more per year now, than I did in 2010.
At the time I sold my condo in 2010, my family’s net worth was about $270,000. Today it’s about $450,000.
By my calculations, with a few more years of saving we will be able to throttle back and let time and compound interest incubate our nest egg for 20-some years until retirement.
If you’re young, pay off your debt and sock that cash away: TFSA, RRSP, non-registered accounts, do whatever it takes to build that nest egg early – then let time and compound interest do the rest.
Dedicate a few years to saving, though, the earlier the better. Once you’ve got your retirement financed, you can dial back the savings, and use your working income for whatever you want. Travelling, flashy clothes, cars, living well, even buying real estate.
So many people don’t start saving until they’re in their 50’s, then end up falling short, or taking ridiculous risks, or gambling it all on one sector, or one asset.
#118 MF on 05.13.16 at 11:06 am
“a millennial with money”
Nice oxymoron.
A millennial “with money” is in Vegas, LA or NY.
MF
———————————————–
Haters gonna hate
Niagara / Liberty Village
Median age: 35.20
Average Household Income: $135,385
Dude,
General Maladamba of Nigeria has MY 50 Million in escrow. Going into the account at midnight.
You bein played sukkka
#21 data on 05.13.16 at 7:13 pm
…Once the asset is our reach with low rates, it’s over.
————————
I think you meant to say “Once the asset is out of our reach…” I couldn’t agree more.
It’s a funny thing. While those over-leveraged need rates to remain low for their next renewal, we also need to raise rates to slow down the housing insanity.
Today’s pic is awesome! Doesn’t that about sum up what’s going on here?! You can see the daughter thinking “ok, I will allow this one selfie with you”.
#20 Flopper
Enjoy the big D and head down to Austin if you have time..
Great bridges to live under there too.
#8 Mean Gene
“…John D. Rockefeller was having his shoes shined.”
You’ve gotten your story wrong. Actually it was Joseph Kennedy who pulled the plug on his investments after talking to a shoeshine boy. Or so the story goes.
My partner bought a ‘revenue property’ in Regina 3 years ago. She currently subsidizes the ‘new’ tenants to the tune of $600 per month. The market is so overrun with rentals…bargains are to be had all over. She can’t/won’t sell, or she crystalizes a loss of $120,000.
The tenants who just left trashed the place – ruined the carpets and smashed the walls. The cost will be about $8,000 to fix.
Yeah…I love the property bubble and revenue properties.
That’s ok…there was this guy on TV who told me property always goes up, and that we had to get in or lose out forever.
I wonder when the ‘always goes up’ will start up again….?
Blue Shore Financial (formerly the humble North Shore Credit Union) is pushing mortgages on any millennium who has a pulse and a mother.
Great Financial Crisis 2 coming to a theater near you.
Pass the popcorn.
The stelth of the Smoking Man.
Have a full pack of cigs in my shirt pocket. Wifee thinks I’m done. Said to her. I feel like smoke can you buy me on your card a pack of native lights.
She said sure for another 200.
Ha I thought, Going to smoke the pocket smokes tonight and only have one smoke missing in the native pack.
That’s how a brilliance works.
So I was talking to some of the animals around my yard yesterday and the gist of the discussion was that inflation in the USA will spurt past 2 percent next year with energy prices rising and the dollar stabilizing. Also, I heard murmurings from the lawn that the FED will be raising rates again by the end of this year on its way to 4 percent by 2020. One woodpecker from the telephone pole stated that Canada will always follow the fed like a duckling does its mother. Furthermore, a yappy squirrel was squeaking away on something about 90 day T-bill floaters being the deal of the decade or something like that. I could not hear him clearly because he was way up in a tree. Does anyone know what all this really means?
Garth,
Great Post.
Nothing is forever, markets change. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. If we have positioned ourselves to withstand the day, we have done reasonably well. Tomorrow could be vastly different, and maybe will be.
On a separate note, I have gay friends who say you hang out at their YMCA all the time and offer Cleveland Steamers.
soon enough a number of fort mcmurray refugees will be trading their insurance checks for calgary real estate. that should keep the market alive until oil goes back to 80 and once that happens (6 months? 12 months?) the sky is the limit. knowing this, i am still confused: why would anyone want to buy a house/condo in calgary? why?
The PRC-land-owning gang had sights set in vancouver and Toronto but not Calgary.
That’s how there are different stories from different citizens.
The Chinese model is the ultimate upper bound to RE land value.
If prices don’t go down ‘there’ then don’t expect things will be different in selected districts in this 2nd largest country on Earth
Garth,
In the local paper today an article about Okanagan real estate activity and prices,FOMO being pushed big time by the head of the real estate board.The best statement was that after being in decline for ten years prices have now recovered to 2006 levels.
Ladies just think of being locked in to a declining asset and making payments on it for ten years for it to break even.
PS,don ever tell anyone your getting ahead financially with a good nest egg it will only breed more resentment as a lot of homeowners are also financially strapped for cash too!
Another great post from the Gartho.
My advice to Kate & Zoe – just smile sweetly at your dumbo relatives and say yes, we will get around to it when the great crash cometh.
Thank you Garth. I appreciate your work and support. I also appreciate the hell out of my husband for trusting me with something as important as managing our finances. I’m one of the lucky ones…Freedom First take note!
Garth, did you actually get an email from someone claiming to be a lawyer regarding posting the public FB posting?
I mean, I could get one of my lawyers to do that, I guess. There’s at least one I use that is a bit of a legal prostitute (as long as I’m paying he/she is willing).
I’m hoping it was just in jest.
Could we use the house cost in Calgary vs income ratio to determine fair value? Same for cochrane? Say buy at 3 times income and sell at 5 times income?
Suggested financial adviser:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dKw3OVZmp0Y/VNDYRexB-_I/AAAAAAAABKA/_3kX_WkTKtc/s1600/financialadvicedog.jpg
#34- Warren, lay off the mushrooms man. They’ll destroy the lining of your stomach and also send you to the soup kitchen in no time if the consciousness is sending you messages like that! You’re clearly not tuned in.
“When close relatives tell you to buy or else, they’re reinforcing their own decisions.”
So true. I’ll keep thinking this as my brother brags how his house has gone up over $200k in 3 years….in SURREY!
#24 A box in the Sky on 05.13.16 at 7:21 pm
Haters gonna hate
Niagara / Liberty Village
Median age: 35.20
Average Household Income: $135,385
———
135k household income is millennial(s) with money?
That’s the same as a couple in rural Ontario making minimum wage….
Well said garth
The greatest thing we have is time.
You only have one life to live.
If you spend your entire life ball and chained to a 200 year mortgage…
Are you really living. or are you just dead?
#34 Warren – the lagging indicator on 05.13.16 at 7:44 pm
Inflation in the US will be above 2%, if not this year, certainly by next year.
The pressure is from wages. Wage inflation in the US may reach 3% year-over-year this summer.
Their labour participation rate is declining slowly. This is not a sign however, pointing towards more sluggish employment. It is simply a reflection of the latest demographic trend – that the boomers are dropping out.
The Fed may raise rates sooner than you think.
I’m so very sorry ladies.
I told you several days ago that I’ve got enough looove for myself and aaall my previous girlfriends put together. I have been so selfish. I am changin’ my ways this day. I’ve got enough loooove to share with all you ladies that read this blog. I mean “aalll” you ladies. Dr. Love is in the house!
From now on, if need a shoulder to cry on, you know where to turn.
“Lean on me,
When you’re not strong.”
Oh yeah, I’ve got my Barry White on now ;) A little bit of Otis Redding and mom is already asleep, so I get to stay up laaate.
I’ve got the love girls, so just call me and let me help you out!
MI6 Secret Agent 007
AKA Freedom First
“Get on the love, the love train, come on….ride the train.”
Social science has shown us the most important determinant of your behaviour is what those in your peer group are doing. Brain scans show when people make choices against the group the regions of the brain involved in physical pain are activated.
In other words when your mom asked if you would jump off a bridge if your friends did, the answer is usually yes.
This is a rarely discussed aspect of the housing bubble which I suggest is central.
Being a renter myself and facing this onslaught I’ve prepared myself for dealing with it. Still an ongoing struggle
Chaddywack on 05.13.16 at 8:30 pm
So true. I’ll keep thinking this as my brother brags how his house has gone up over $200k in 3 years….in SURREY!
=====================
Where in Surrey?
Whalley or Morgan Creek? Newton or Ocean Park?
Big difference.
Kate & Zoe: in a way, the ‘shaming’ mirrors those ‘friends’ who try to peer pressure others into drinking, smoking, drugs, gambling or who bring in your very favorite high calorie treat when you have been busting your butt to lose the excess weight. Misery loves company & all that. If you are happy renting, why would someone dissing you make you feel bad, other than the basic fact they are dissing you? Friends like that (or family) you don’t need. Myself, I’d talk about the fab vacation I just came back from, or the wonderful spa day etc. I just had (all paid for, no past due bill or money concerns here) just to pay them back for trying to make me feel bad. Or smile sweetly & comment about how happy freedom from debt makes me feel, then change the subject. You may not know this, but doing that tends to make the person trying to make you feel bad grind their teeth with rage.
My personal quest for pay back aside, just keep doing what works for you. Too bad if someone doesn’t or won’t believe you can succeed doing things your way. It is your life. Which brings me to Linda in Cochrane. First, Cochrane is a bedroom community for Calgary. So unless the commute has been truly brutal – which it should not have been, we just had a powder puff winter here & all the layoffs have made one heck of a difference in the road & transit traffic – there is little point in moving to Calgary unless you see a sweet deal you can upgrade to. The housing market here has lost steam. Builders may still be going hard at it right now, but developers are definitely slowing down. I base this on what I see from my work, which interacts with developers & builders on a daily basis. In my personal life, I’ve seen more flyers with rental reductions & home buying opportunities with lowered prices & incentives than I can shake a stick at. Hardly a day goes by w/o seeing some ad or flyer offering some deal to get people to rent or purchase. When the market is hot, these kind of offers are not being stuffed into every mailbox in town. So Linda from Cochrane, my advice to you is sit tight if you really like where you are OR if you want to scoop a deal, take the loss in Cochrane & scout out the deals in Calgary. If you can sell, do so & rent until you scout the deal. That keeps you from losing more & gives you time to build a down payment for a move up if that is what you are after. I’d say you have the time, prices in Calgary are unlikely to rebound for at least a year because oil prices aren’t rebounding that fast & there is the world wide oil glut to work through. Iran & other OPEC nations are not going to stop pumping like mad for some time to come. They may make noises about reining in production, but it is an open secret they all exceed the agreed upon production limits.
The old dame is lucky to score a young one. Cute too. They will be happy with their new townhome. I wonder whose mom was the bank.
dumbass lawyers who think I just defamed someone for quoting their own Facebook page
You need one of those buy-a-set-of-boobs fundraising thingiemajig pages. I’ll donate! I have two almost-used gift cards that have to have at least five bucks left on them!
“Is Calgary coming back, or on the precipice of harsher times?”
====================================
Well, If history repeats, take a look at the price of oil between 1980 – 1998. Will it be the same this time around ???
Hong Kong Property Market in Free Fall
Zoe and Kate, just know that you’re not alone. Also thanks to Garth and his book and blog we ditched the idea of buying in Calgary at its peak in 2008 when we moved here from T.O. Didn’t know the city, came for a 5 year project and didn’t want to drink the kool aid so rented…and 8 years later still renting.And yes getting asked still, why don’t you buy? Love Garths comment, when people tell you what to do they’re reinforcing their own beliefs.Stick to your guns girls! And try to be casual and nice when you talk about all the trips you’ve done to Las Vegas, Maui, Palm Springs, the new car, the weekend in the Okanagan etc etc thanks to your liquidity.
We took hubbys house sale of his first house in Maple and “invested in ourselves ” with maxed out TFSA, RRSP and investments. Our dividends pay our rent here so win win..and did I mention our rental company LOWERED our rent to what it was when we moved here 8 years ago to keep us, so Linda that should give you an idea of how Calgary is doing. Our rentfaster and mls map for pur inner city upscale area look like they have the measles.
Garth, thank you for putting on some great contrarian womans letters, you get a bit tired of the guys writing in saying how house house horny the wife or girlfriend is…there is some very smart, savvy and even wealthy girls out there. Keep those contrarian views coming!
And thank you thank you for what you write…net worth (all liquid and diversified) now at 1M! Gotta love liquidity!
I always find some nugget or five, in each post on greater fool.ca, something to hold on to.
This says it all:
Kudos, Garth –
“The greatest gift we have is time, not equity. You’re wasting it.”
*Brilliant.
To the ladies asking…
I’ve been renting – since October of 2015. When people ask me “when are you going to buy again?”, my response is:
“when almost everyone I know thinks that buying RE is a bad investment”. Of course, that’s when I get that ‘look’ (as if I’m crazy).
What can I say? I have no issues with being ‘contrarian’. I guess it comes from employing a contrarian approach to stock investing – it has now become part of my ‘fibre’, so to speak.
Although not to the degree illustrated by the “Freedom First” blog daug, I also put my own freedom first (over some populist opinion).
Linda, there are only two possible futures for Calgary real estate:
1) The peak is already in and houses will never be this expensive again within at least a generation. If you sell today, you will get the best price you ever will.
2) There’s a small chance that some fluke will spike oil prices over $100 again before humanity finally switches over to electric cars and more efficient, non-polluting means of energy, which may produce one final gasp of Calgary real estate. But as Garth said, that’s a gamble, and pretty unlikely I think. After this spike, see #1.
If you can get out of the market now and get close to break even, consider yourself lucky. Right now, listings in Calgary have ballooned as many wise people are trying to sell without taking too much of a loss.
As for me, I rent, walk to work, bank a few thousand a month, have no worries, and enjoy my life immensely. How many home owners can say that? Not many!
Advice for Zoe: move away from relatives as far as possible, maybe even to another country.
Number one regret people have when it’s almost over….
I wish I wouldn’t have cared so much about what people thought.
I just had to comment…
“…this pathetic blog generates a lot of mail. I weed out the Nigerian bank executives offering large finder fees, the dumbass lawyers who think I just defamed someone for quoting their own Facebook page….”
I can imagine – when there’s some jealousy out there, there will always be hatred. Your a rock star in your own world and provide “some” people (those who know how to listen) with some words of wisdom – thank you for that.
The Nigerian bank? buddy – you should take them up on that offer. It might be better than that Panama story!
Lawyers? Sheesh, if your going to put something in the public, of course people will criticize and give their 2 cents. Seriously, that lawyer is an idiot and needs to go help all those others everywhere in the world who are being defamed as well.
@ #40 Zoe
you wrote:
Thank you Garth. I appreciate your work and support. I also appreciate the hell out of my husband for trusting me with something as important as managing our finances. I’m one of the lucky ones…Freedom First take note!
Mrs.Metaxa and I simply moved as far away from either set of in laws/relatives as feasible 38 years ago.
That is possibly a major determinant in why we observed our 40th wedding anniversary last winter, after a morning on the ski hill we retired to our deck where, with help from the propane fire ring, we drank Pinot Gris and ate steamed clams and Dungeness crab until we couldn’t.
Oh, and garlic toast too…because we aren’t dating anymore so garlic isn’t an issue.
#20 Flopper….
Dallas as the stop-over eh? Never spent any time in Dallas / Ft. Worth. Austin is a fun town. You will enjoy Virginia!
I would not buy in Vancouver either. Debt slavery sucks!
It is never about how much you earn, it is all about how far you can go. That separates the brilliant from the merely bright ones. Besides, who are you out to impress?
Enjoy the travels! Where is WUL of late?
Zoe, Kate and Linda. Why do you put up with these disrespectful busybodys. Who needs to be treated in such a way when in fact your all doing quite well without their ignorant interference. How dare they! Lots of people rent by choice, even many who could well afford to buy. Your family and friends probably know your itching to buy. Start telling them you love renting – no responsibilities. Don’t engage in the RE conversation with these people. Tell them to mind their own damn business
DELETED
Getting deletes
I’m back bitches
#67 Smoking Man on 05.13.16 at 9:42 pm
DELETED
—
The DRUNKEN man is back…..!!!
#46 IHCTD9 on 05.13.16 at 8:38 pm
Haters gonna hate
Niagara / Liberty Village
Median age: 35.20
Average Household Income: $135,385
———
135k household income is millennial(s) with money?
That’s the same as a couple in rural Ontario making minimum wage….
———————
You’re a joke.
Yeah, a couple who works at a fast food joint in rural Ontario is better off than one who makes 135k in Toronto.
Good job, good effort.
That billboard makes me laugh – almost as much as their tag line as a “financial spa.” Don’t know if they’re still using that. I don’t want my portfolio getting a mani/pedi. I want it working for me at 7% average thanks. I have a feeling I would have to fire my BS (Blue Shore;) portfolio’s lazy ass. Showing up late, taking too many sick days…
Seems pretty simple. Anyone invested in RE needs to believe they are in a good place and they have no risk. When you choose to rent you make it clear you think they may be in a precarious position. Rather than consider that possibility, they need you to change to make them feel secure. It’s not about you – it’s about them!
#13 Freedom First on 05.13.16 at 6:42 pm
First thing I tell a new boyfriend is that my family has no interest in ever meeting him. They even encourage me to elope or go common-law so that they don’t have to attend the wedding.
#68 Smoking Man on 05.13.16 at 9:52 pm
Getting deletes
I’m back bitches
“Back in the day in my late teens, with raging hormones, I had to wear special trousers and devises to conceal my massive enthusiasm whenever I passed within 10 feet of a female.”
—
Now that’s my smoking hot alien stud!….The mrs smokey got you strapped in again?? Holy studmobile… I’ve got the key to unlock those devices you studly beast… unleash the beast.. .look out ladies!
You want to spot a smoker man. Ear buds on. Floyd
Talking to myself seeing how sentaxes sound. Yes my lips are moving.
For better or for worse, I belong to the cult of Garth. Its religion is sanity, at least.
#129 IHCTD9 on 05.13.16 at 12:11 pm
Well put. I find that Chinese women are most likely to have a WM husband/boyfriend compared to other Asian groups for some reason.
My girl is like the one your buddy married. Single, cooks, cleans, great with kids, family oriented AND attractive. Incredible mix.
These days I am noticing that a lot of my GF’s friends are refusing to date Canadian men out of what can only be described as fear. They view us as unlikely to make a commitment or marry, and think we are out for sex and nothing else. They are not totally wrong either. I’ve seen some of her friends, good filipinas who are well raised and sweet, get burned by some Canadian born fool trying to use “game”.
My theory: Canadian women have turned so feminist and masculine that we Canadian dudes are responding and adapting. We are, on average, confused about what masculinity is. When the real feminine women from the east (or south america) show up many guys revert to their “normal” learned behaviour to win over these girls… but end up scaring them away.
E.G. Canadian women like “the bad boy” who is tatted up, does drugs, complete douche, drives an audi, dates around etc. The real women from the east are repulsed by this type of guy.
MF
@ #51 White Crock BC on 05.13.16 at 8:56 pm
Whalley
I never would have thought!
Looking at all these god damn bricks in the wall waiting for my change.
No sure it will happen.
Garth wake up man…I’m Iñ party mode.
#121 TurnerNation on 05.13.16 at 11:20 am
Maybe I was a little harsh in my description yesterday. King West can be okay in short bursts. I guess for someone like yourself, who maybe didn’t get to enjoy his 20’s? KW can be cool for a while. Eventually you will start to loath the place and the people though.
MF
#143 Nick on 05.09.16 at 7:28 pm
This past weekend, I read the latest Investment Outlook by Bill Gross at Janus Capital, and was pretty surprised by his outlook and investment implications.
=========================
Finally had a look at this interesting read. It reminded me that government intervention to deal with rising unemployment in an expanding economy is nothing new.
At its peak, ancient Rome held a million inhabitants. Most lived in fire-trap tenements up to seven stories tall. Many were slaves brought there by Rome’s military power. Slave power put many Romans out of work but, as citizens, they kept their rights. Today we call them the “Roman Mob”. They could depose an Emperor who failed to placate them with bread and circuses.
The bread came from Roman colonies in what was then a much more fertile North Africa. Rome taxed them colonies in agricultural products which it handed out to the Mob as an early form of guaranteed annual income.
The investment bankers of the day were ambitious Roman generals who got rich conquering new lands to feed the growing needs of the metropolis. They created a lot of the surplus they extracted from the colonies by keeping their new subjects from robbing and killing each other and by bringing in advances in technology and effective administration. This productivity expansion could probably have fed the Mob indefinitely.
The fall of Rome had little to do with the moral hazard of bread handouts and free shows. If an economy can produce enough tangible goods, it doesn’t matter if those goods are produced by slaves or robots or are given away free to consumers. As long as the leaders find a way to maintain productive social harmony, you just have to give up the idea that only workers get to eat.
You might wonder why the one-percenters of Rome put up with the unruly free-loading Mob but the system offered them many benefits such as access to a vibrant city full of artists, artisans and professional service providers. Also the Mob fathered the legions that the one-percent depended on to protect their lives, wealth and incomes. As long as taxes from the Empire kept rising, paying off the Mob was a small price compared to the risk of civil war.
We can only hope that, as robots displace today’s workers, our elites come to see that some form of bread and circuses will be soon be needed to keep the economic wheels turning. We can only hope that this new social system firms up quickly before the elites discover they can replace citizen police and soldiers with robot intelligences utterly loyal to them. If I were a millennial, I would worry about this a lot more than global warming or even Kim Kardashian’s butt.
Seriously, that lawyer is an idiot and needs to go help all those others everywhere in the world who are being defamed as well.
the couple likely berated a number of lawyers until one just decided to take their money
stupid ppl do stupid things
I’ve seen some of her friends, good filipinas who are well raised and sweet, get burned by some Canadian born fool trying to use “game”
dudes weren’t “trying to use game” if the girls got “burned”. they used game and got the girls burnt
Going to bed with this one on the buds
https://youtu.be/6Tou8-Cz8is
Already this year I have had to give eight “Two Month Notice to Vacate” to families residing in rental properties I had listed that sold. To the best of my knowledge none has found substitute accommodation in Kelowna’s tight rental market. Half have young toddlers.
On the flip side, using RRSPs and some creative financing we have been able to help some First Time Buyers put away money toward retirement and buy a home with conventional financing after some preplanning before heading into the market hot and horny. The monthly cost of ownership in those cases IS equal to that which there rent was accounting for property taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance. In some cases, where a revenue suite was involved, monthly costs were substantially reduced.
Moral One of the story, being a landlord IS NOT a nonprofit venture. If it is proving to be so you can expect your landlord will soon choose to sell crystallizing his capital gains, as was the case with the previously mentioned eight properties.
Moral two; Bought or Rented the value of a property is paid for by the inhabitant. Generally speaking, when rented, the nonresident owner is intent on being rewarded when taking on the risk associated with renting his/her real property to another. If not… see Moral One above.
Their not there
For you Shirley valentine
https://youtu.be/_LBmUwi6mEo
#77 MF on 05.13.16 at 10:23 pm
E.G. Canadian women like “the bad boy” who is tatted up, does drugs, complete douche, drives an audi, dates around etc. The real women from the east are repulsed by this type of guy.
MF
————————
lol.
FLOP (and BOOM):
I wish I could travel to VA. I would take in the US Civil War stuff without question. Bit of a buff as a result of my undergrad history studies. However, I remember recommending the arts scene in N.M. to Flop and that went over like a lead balloon.
Pres. Lincoln liked General U.S. Grant a lot because he would engage and take the fight to Lee’s armies.
A bunch of layabout Generals in Washington (political, back stabbing animals) went to Lincoln and told the Pres. that Grant was hitting the whiskey bottle hard.
Lincoln said, “Fine. Find out what he drinks and send him three cases.”
Right now, hanging in Cowtown waiting for the call back to the Athabasca oil sands and gainful employment.
Out to Okanagan Lake next week for 5 days of boating, golf, beer and BBQ.
As William J Bernstein puts it in his great guide for the young and how to build wealth, If You Can, if everyone tells you about a great restaurant with excellent service and to-die-for food, you should absolutely go. When everyone tells you to do something with your money, run like hell. Conformity has its place. But not when it comes to money.
Zoe: it’s your hubby’s job to deal with his relatives. You need to have a firm discussion with him, to have a firm discussion with them. Should these subjects be raised by them again, they need to understand there will be consequences.
#77 MF
Can’t remember who said this to me….but someone said women don’t look like women anymore (referring to western women)…
In my line of work i come across lots of Asian women, they remind me of Western women back in the 50’s…
I know what my friend means….it’s rare to see a ‘feminine’ western woman’, that would be considered attractive by the average hetero sexual guy. E.g, not overweight, long hair, wearing a nice dress, unmarked non suntanned skin, with a pleasant demeanour, ohhh and can cook.
Go to any mall. And you will be overwhelmed with ‘big beautiful women’ with short blue/purple hair, various pieces of metal stuck through body parts, baggy clothes, and covered in tats…oh God, what is it with tats…we have an epidemic of women defacing their bodies with huge amounts of tats….and just to top it all… A bitchy attitude and their faces permanently stuck in their iPhangs…
And to be fair us guys aren’t any better, very few masculine men around, metrosexual bearded freaks or middle aged guys of my generation with huge beers guts dressed like slobs and their balls in their wife’s purse.
What have we come to in the western world…
Btw….chicks dig jerks (aka bad boys) for a fling but don’t want to marry them.
It’s nice to see some non house-horny women on here btw….
“Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris.” – Mephistopheles
Misery loves company.
“I’ve had people call me vapid (to my face) for refusing to buy:” methinks the person who called her vapid doesn’t understand the meaning of that word.
#88 Smoking Man on 05.13.16 at 11:15 pm
For you Shirley valentine
https://youtu.be/_LBmUwi6mEo
—
Red Hot Jungle Man – the smokey stud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MBljztEeg0
Isn’t the best shut-down comment “So what is your net worth?” The herd is so indebted and financially illiterate that this should get them to clam up pronto. Remember to ask those debt-walkers about their car loan, LOC, furniture payments due in 2017, etc. Watch for them to avoid eye contact when the basic math is performed and one can ask with sincerity, “So you don’t really own anything?” Zoe can confidently discuss this dirty business with a sly grin knowing her 300k will keep chugging along, fortified with monthly contributions as a result of her positive net living expenses while revealing the illusion of affluence using simple math with her peers and family. Oh yeah, remember to ask them what their source of income in retirement will be too…online calculators are super fun, end of conversation.
Kate and Zoe:
I congratulate you on having the insight and not bowing to the pressures from others to purchase a home in this time of a ” feeding frenzy.”
It just amazes me how the masses just believe that houses can only go up and that one becomes a loser if one does not purchase. Every time someone in my workplace purchases a home, everyone congratulates them as if they are winners of a lottery. I have learned to shut up, because people roll their eyes if I make a statement to the contrary.
My daughter is having the same pressure from her in-laws to purchase. I am advising her to wait. I am hoping for a crash soon, so that I can say( or think… ) “I told you so ” to all those smug people who bought, thinking that they were such great investors.
As well, I am overwhelmed by all the massive homes people have. An old house in the GTA is bulldozed and people are building monster homes wherever they can. I visit seniors ( as part of my job) and cannot believe that many of them live in a huge home , mostly just two people, or even just one left, they can’ t walk to the basement or even upstairs. Yet, they refuse to sell.
These people could make a pretty penny if they sell, but they won’t , thinking that their homes will be worth more in the future.
Others have sold, moved to a luxury condo and are ” set” for the rest of their lives with the profits.
Or even renting a luxury condo.
Garth: I do see a market for luxury condos for seniors , when they are not able to do stairs or maintain a home due to physical issues. That will happen. If these seniors can sell their home now, take profits and then downsize, they are set . However, if they wait…
A question I have as well.
What is going to happen to all these oversized homes that have been built in Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Aurora , Newmarket and elsewhere in the GTA, when the aging population has to downsize into apartments or condos because they cannot manage .( it will happen.. Guaranteed. That or a nursing home) We will have too many. Are all the millenials going to purchase these at rock bottom prices because there were too many?
I remember a time about 25 years ago, when a woman could not sell her large home . So , she rented a ” blown up white elephant” and placed it on her lawn to raise publicity. It was in the local paper. She sold it cheap. ( I drive by that house, daily and wish I had bought it then) Anyways ,history does repeat itself, and there will be bargain” white elephants” in the future.
What surprises me, is the short memories people have who do not remember those facts. ( I am referring to in -law types who should remember when home prices did fluctuate)
Boom and Common,sorry to mislead I was only in Dallas for 6 hrs, or in beer time, just enough to get used of the taste of Samual Adams Boston Lager.
Just for the record my favourite city in Texas is San Antonio ,with its subterranean downtown it’s like Venice for cowboys.
I am safe and sound in Norfolk Virginia, I already told the wife to keep an eye out for some stupid signs to take a photo of and give to the boss.
Regarding WULLY, the dude just got his bum hairs singed so I hope he is taking it easy and catching up with family and friends.
I personally have had a couple of near death experiences and it can take months if not years for the fear to ease.
Heck, even reading some of the comments on here gives me nightmares…
M41BC
I’m firmly on side with Kate and Zoe. My response to ‘owners’: How large is your mortgage? A sizeable mortgage means the bank is effectively your landlord and you’re a tenant tasked with maintenance and expenses. How good is that? Then say something complimentary about their kitchen, garden, or whatever else that happens to catch your eye and move on.
I would love to brag about my after tax returns on my self-directed cash and TFSA trading accounts. Only, my homeowner friends don’t ask me. But the other day one of the bank tellers made a comment on my TFSA, the largest he’s seen. ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.’, he suggested helpfully.
Thank you. :)
My mom and brothers all own million dollar houses. I was joking one day and told Mom it’s so great because they can all dip into their equity and front me some. That’s what family is for.
They never bring up real estate, or talk about money.
Gotta love this emoji. Lightens things up a bit.
I guess emojis don’t work on garths comment section. :(
. .
U
#77
What bad boy drives an Audi?
http://www.bnn.ca/Video/player.aspx?vid=859440
Right back in Canada next week, for the first time in two years to do the family visiting thing so will report back on any changes we note. Visiting Montreal and TO.
For the 2014 visit we were shocked at the prices of everything even converted back to GBP and the low wages and the old cars on the road!! Expecting worse this trip. City living in Canada needs a couple income of $150,000 min.
Off to post Vote Leave flyers in folk’s mailboxes for the UK referendum. We may then have an economic collapse according to the IMF but at least it will be our economic collapse and not one engineered by the bloody Germans.
Garth may the lord be with you!
http://creditbubblebulletin.blogspot.ca/2016/05/commentary-ominous-portents.html?m=1
We all know it will end badly
Why are we in a hurry?
take it easy
Why should we be in a hurry?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtOAn1GuugU
Just rent
“Vancouver realtor accused of threatening a local businessman after he denounced her for encouraging a bidding war on a house she is trying to flip for a client – in a deal he worries could lead to tax evasion.” “I’m telling you – people above me are from Harbin [China] gangs. Gangsters, right? You don’t fxxxxx want to be alive.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-realtor-accused-of-making-threats/article30024457/
#63 Mr Wrong
I would’t call the lawyer the idiot. The idiot is the person insisting on spending the money on a frivolous claim. That idiot would not hire a lawyer giving sensible advice and would search to find one who will take their money to do what they want. There is always one.
Panama Papers expose secret offshore firms of Vancouver developer Michael Ching, wanted by China for graft
(via the South China Morning Post)
I don’t understand what Linda’s problem is. She’s planning on moving up, and a down market is ideal for that.
Yes she gets less for her condo, but the more expensive place she wants to buy will offer an even better discount…
Got to get used to this east coast thing.
Normally I get up and there are some new comments to read while pouring vodka on my cornflakes.
Also message to MF…I think you jinxed Tony “two terms”Baloney by encouraging him by way of telling him you like to read his posts.
5 days later the dude goes and gets himself banned…nice work!
Maybe Obama himself can fill in for him ,since three terms is out of the question.
Where do you go after the White House?
If he writes to Garth saying he is thinking about buying a mouldy East Van bung, then we know that the Republicans were right to let him do nothing.
If Michelle Obama moved in my hood, I would no longer have the biggest pipes…
M41BC/VA
#90 WUL on 05.13.16 at 11:37 pm
FLOP (and BOOM):
I wish I could travel to VA. I would take in the US Civil War stuff without question. Bit of a buff as a result of my undergrad history studies. However, I remember recommending the arts scene in N.M. to Flop and that went over like a lead balloon.
Pres. Lincoln liked General U.S. Grant a lot because he would engage and take the fight to Lee’s armies.
A bunch of layabout Generals in Washington (political, back stabbing animals) went to Lincoln and told the Pres. that Grant was hitting the whiskey bottle hard.
Lincoln said, “Fine. Find out what he drinks and send him three cases.”
Right now, hanging in Cowtown waiting for the call back to the Athabasca oil sands and gainful employment.
Out to Okanagan Lake next week for 5 days of boating, golf, beer and BBQ.
//////////////////////////////////////////
Hey WULLY,yeah I’m not really a museum type of guy when on holidays.
I try to spend as much time outside as possible,however I did tour gallery row when in Santa Fe for spring break.
I am hoping to go and check out Williamsburg and maybe Jamestown in a couple of days to see a bit of the historical side of things.
Regarding the Civil war,is that the one where the north wanted only to watch sports channels and the south wanted to watch keeping up with the Kardashians and Real housewives of wherever?
Sometimes my wife and I re-enact that one…
M41BC
#48-Lobster – “Their labour participation rate is declining slowly. This is not a sign however, pointing towards more sluggish employment. It is simply a reflection of the latest demographic trend – that the boomers are dropping out. The Fed may raise rates sooner than you think.”
No and no. You can’t just make stuff up. It’s young people who aren’t working, boomers and those over 55 are working in greater numbers than ever before. Look it up.
As for rate hikes, even Garth no longer sticks his head out and says they’re coming, preferring to parrot what the “experts” say. Forget that the experts were wrong all last year until Dec 16th, when Yellen was forced to save face.
Then magically the stock market got off to its worst yearly start in history. I know, completely unrelated. This US economy is on fire. Need to cool it off. Just not in March. But June, yup “up she goes!”
Hah….Nigerians….you’re hilarious!
Actually, you need to write about how it’s the Nigerians that are fuelling the housing frenzy.
Yah…that’s it…the Nigerians……
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets.
https://youtu.be/a01QQZyl-_I
Well, at 54 years 9 months and having less than 3 months to decide, I’m in a bit of a quandary.
My pension plan gave my a commuted value of $1.03 million, of which, according to CRA rules, only $420k can go in a LIRA, and the rest will be paid in cash and subject to nasty taxes.
Fire away people.
Garth I’ll be emailing you.
It’s all taxable anyway. — Garth
@Zoe
There is only one rock-star electrician/engineer husband, and he is my wifes husband, you guys are an about 10y yrs to late. :)
Keep up the great work ladies! The reason it can be hard to be contrarian is the same reason there is a 1%, very few people if any have the ability to think critically and challenge the consensus. I rent, don’t care what others think, and am fully liquid and mobile. My wife doesn’t give a crap what people think, neither do I. That should be your outlook.
It has been mentioned in a few comments, the only difference between renting any buying today, is my landlords name is frank, and your friends families landlords name is td bank.
it is arbitrary – if you “own” but everything you “own” is fully financed you really don’t own anything. Loose your job, stop making the payments, you have not control. Ownership is complete control and the ability to call the shots, in the absence of that ability someone else controls
To #17 asking how many women of a “certain age” have the long grey locks, um, I do! It’s still mostly brunette, but with lots of grey! Just like the RE mania, I feel the same about the dyeing your hair – to me, it’s a waste of money, time, and product/resources. To each their own in that department!
F48BC
F48BC
My friend texted me yesterday, knowing that I don’t own a house to tell me that his house that he bought, $600,000 in the Lakeshore (Mimico) area of Toronto was just valued at $840,000 by the bank just two years after buying it.
I’m in no position to buy even a $600,000 home, but I just texted back, Congratulations, in two years it will be worth over a million!
Our society has become so narcissistic, that anything you can’t show has no value in many peoples eyes. Take social media, thirty thousand dollar millionaires posting all these great things, crying for attention and validation.
your investment account lacks the sex appeal of granite countertops, but when the poop hits the fan people will be wishing they took your approach instead of keeping up with the joneses. I don’t know a single person who is successful that cares about the joneses and material possessions over financial stability. I guess that is what makes them successful.
I’ll say it again – it is the housing bubble for sure, but the real canary in the coal mine is sub prime car loans, financed furniture and every other source of debt. People will pay their mortgage first, but everything else will suffer. the first indicator of a problem will be unsecured debt loan loss provisions at the banks and vehicle repossessions.
Sky on 05.13.16 at 10:01 pm
#46 IHCTD9 on 05.13.16 at 8:38 pm
Haters gonna hate
Niagara / Liberty Village
Median age: 35.20
Average Household Income: $135,385
———
135k household income is millennial(s) with money?
That’s the same as a couple in rural Ontario making minimum wage….
———————
You’re a joke.
Yeah, a couple who works at a fast food joint in rural Ontario is better off than one who makes 135k in Toronto.
Good job, good effort.
———-
No one outside the GTA would buy a 400 sf box hanging in the sky to live in.
No matter how cool the location is, no matter if they’ve “got money” as you say.
Stuff this size is a closet, or maybe to raise a few birds or rabbits. If stuff like these revamped shitboxes did exist outside the GTA, they would probably cost 10,000 or so. So the minimum wagers would spend .2 X their income on the house.
That’s POINT 2 percent.
The millennials “with money” (LOL!) will spend 2.3X that massive 132k urban income on their “home” (sorry, it’s hard not to laugh at that assertion!). That’s 11.5 times more than the minimum wagers…
If the minimum wagers spent 2.3X their income in rural Ontario, they could probably get an actual real house.
I know, context is a bitch isn’t it?
#119 Bytor the Snow Dog on 05.14.16 at 8:51 am
Well, at 54 years 9 months and having less than 3 months to decide, I’m in a bit of a quandary.
My pension plan gave my a commuted value of $1.03 million, of which, according to CRA rules, only $420k can go in a LIRA, and the rest will be paid in cash and subject to nasty taxes.
Fire away people.
Garth I’ll be emailing you.
It’s all taxable anyway. — Garth
———–
Don’t think there is much you can do – first world problems lol!
Maybe stuff the RRSP’s full to get some of the taxes back? Probably don’t have much room because of the pension though? Wife is in the same boat as far as RRSP room is concerned.
That family unleashed a lawyer after you? Are they Americans after all? Maybe next time change their names and don’t use their pic. are they regretting their purchase decision already? Then just don’t close.
That advertisement is very manipulative and dishonest.
Pretending you can buy a home by getting someone else (a parent) to do to.
Anyway to get them on the hook. I find that despicable. And so blatantly dishonest. Its NOT affordable if someone else needs to help buy it!!
ITs not ‘buying’ a home that’s the issue– its paying for it, and getting to the point where you actually do OWN it.
Such willful short term thinking.
@TCContrarian, post #59:
You’re quite right, a time will eventually come again when real estate is seen as a bad investment. That last happened in 1994-95. I remember back then seeing an article in the paper titled: A man’s home is his hassle, which clearly stated all the drawbacks of home ownership. It will be just like in 1998 when oil was $11 a barrel and some “expert” said: “there’s so much oil overflowing from storage containers out there that it could fall to $5/barrel” or in 1999 when gold was at $240/ounce and another “expert” said: ” the modern world has no use for gold anymore, it could drop to $150/ounce”. Back to housing, be patient, everything goes full circle.
As for Kate, Zoe, and others who are ridiculed for being sensible and not buying a house be patient and wait it out. Eventually reality will set in and the bubble will end. When that time comes you’ll get to rub it into their faces by asking questions like: do you still think housing is a good investment? Aren’t you glad YOU tied up all your money in that one asset? How mobile are you? For that reason, I’m EAGERLY looking forward to the correction coming.
@#109 mike lebond
I read the link. very interesting.
NOTHING about the Vancouver real estate “racket” surprises me any more and I cant wait til the govt. (CRA) actually starts doing something about it……but I wont hold my breath.
@#119 Bytor the snow Dog
You lucky dog……..1.03 mill .
Commute.
After watching one Cochrane developer throw up a series of townhouses on our street for the last couple of years, I’d say they’re 40-60% overpriced. They meet minimum standards, no more. Problems abound: cracked or slumping foundations, inadequate insulation (want to know what your neighbors are up to?), poor ventilation, gutters that empty onto the driveways (guess what happens during rain/freeze events) and appallingly lackluster response to any problems. There are currently 30 units for sale on that street, about 25 of which are brand new, and rents have dropped. Yet this builder advertises its awards. Sad.
It’s all taxable anyway- Garth.
Of course it is Garth but not I’d like to reduce that liability.
Legally, of course.
Stay in the plan and every cheque is 100% taxable. Commute, pay the tax, invest the rest and you can enjoy ROC income which will not be taxable. — Garth
#92 Chris in Nanaimo on 05.13.16 at 11:58 pm
Great post. Astute, insightful, with very well written descriptions. I agree fully. Upon first inspection, western women seem totally lost when it comes to understanding what the other sex values in a mate. However, TBH..they are NOT clueless, and are well aware of what we men have been programmed over millions of years to value. They just don’t want to accept this reality and will try to tell us/society otherwise through various channels (academia, the media, government).
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but if a man is to be with a eastern feminine woman, he better be a masculine man himself. This has nothing to do with tats and Audi’s (the filth western women seem to value) but more to do with character, confidence and integrity (what western women value…but feelings they try to repress). As you alluded to in your post, a lot of guys fall short on this responsibility because they are confused.
Funny story:
My GF went on Facebook one day and came across a post about “cleaning up your man’s dirty sink after he shaves”. The comments were 99.99999% negative and 99.99999% from women. “Let him clean up his own mess!”, “I’m no servant to any man!” etc.
My GF was legit appalled and shocked at this. She said “Why are they like that? Don’t they love their man?”
I just smiled and told her I loved her.
MF
Now did that “not” get in there?
“How”. Geez am I becoming Smoking Man?
#77 MF on 05.13.16 at 10:23 pm
#129 IHCTD9 on 05.13.16 at 12:11 pm
Well put. I find that Chinese women are most likely to have a WM husband/boyfriend compared to other Asian groups for some reason.
My girl is like the one your buddy married. Single, cooks, cleans, great with kids, family oriented AND attractive. Incredible mix.
These days I am noticing that a lot of my GF’s friends are refusing to date Canadian men out of what can only be described as fear. They view us as unlikely to make a commitment or marry, and think we are out for sex and nothing else. They are not totally wrong either. I’ve seen some of her friends, good filipinas who are well raised and sweet, get burned by some Canadian born fool trying to use “game”.
My theory: Canadian women have turned so feminist and masculine that we Canadian dudes are responding and adapting. We are, on average, confused about what masculinity is. When the real feminine women from the east (or south america) show up many guys revert to their “normal” learned behaviour to win over these girls… but end up scaring them away.
E.G. Canadian women like “the bad boy” who is tatted up, does drugs, complete douche, drives an audi, dates around etc. The real women from the east are repulsed by this type of guy.
MF
———————
I think the main thing with the guy I know with the Filipina wife is that they were both Christians. She is quite devout, he is run of the mill. But their theological alignment provided an immediate level of trust, and familiarity for her. She felt at home among his group of friends, and at his church. Sharing a religious conviction can have an amazing effect on folks from radically different cultures. She was not after a bad boy for sure!
A good example is my old Dad. He’s not much for immigrants LOL! One day we stroll down to the corner store which is owned by a Korean couple (he was an escapee from North Korea). They are Christans, and quite often the guy has his Korean Bible on the counter reading away when you walk in, and did this time. Dad asked later if that was a bible he was reading.
Fast forward a year and this Korean guy at a different store keeps popping up in the conversation with Dad from time to time. Turns out he was Christian, and Dad made a comment about him reading his Bible at the counter just like the guy down the road from me. They now have a connection and have a little chat from time to time.
IMHO, all the mixed culture is going to be largely gone in one more generation unless immigration levels skyrocket. First gen Canadian immigrants tend to be 99% Canadian, and 1% old country unless the parents actively tried to keep their kids old country while living here. I’m a first gen and all I know of my parents native language are the swear words.:)
#26 A box in the Sky on 05.13.16 at 7:22 pm
Yeah that’s like 60g’s each for a person in a couple…take off taxes and it’s more like 45g’s/year. Add in parent’s contributions to mortgage payments and you might hit 50g’s/year.
Real ballers their pal. Don’t forget to make sure the Kandos have a helicopter pad on the roof so you can land.
MF
#113 For those about to flop… on 05.14.16 at 7:22 am
I saw. Poor guy received my endorsement and then got emboldened. The deepest, darkest thoughts in his doomer mind starting to come to the surface. He couldn’t hold out anymore, couldn’t resist the temptation, he was salivating and then BOOM! Out came the extreme predictions:
Dow at 3000.
Negative interest rates in US.
etc.
I am contrarian too. Many of us on here are. I too believe the markets are manipulated, and are ripe for a collapse. However, I think I know where to draw the line between reality and fantasy (I hope).
MF
#134 MF on 05.14.16 at 10:32 am
#92 Chris in Nanaimo on 05.13.16 at 11:58 pm
Great post. Astute, insightful, with very well written descriptions. I agree fully. Upon first inspection, western women seem totally lost when it comes to understanding what the other sex values in a mate. However, TBH..they are NOT clueless, and are well aware of what we men have been programmed over millions of years to value. They just don’t want to accept this reality and will try to tell us/society otherwise through various channels (academia, the media, government).
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but if a man is to be with a eastern feminine woman, he better be a masculine man himself. This has nothing to do with tats and Audi’s (the filth western women seem to value) but more to do with character, confidence and integrity (what western women value…but feelings they try to repress). As you alluded to in your post, a lot of guys fall short on this responsibility because they are confused.
Funny story:
My GF went on Facebook one day and came across a post about “cleaning up your man’s dirty sink after he shaves”. The comments were 99.99999% negative and 99.99999% from women. “Let him clean up his own mess!”, “I’m no servant to any man!” etc.
My GF was legit appalled and shocked at this. She said “Why are they like that? Don’t they love their man?”
I just smiled and told her I loved her.
MF
—
What on earth are you two babbling about! The shaving blog is down the hall.
#113 & 114 Flopper & WUL
First off, Norfolk on the coast, a big navy town. I think you will enjoy Jamestown, Williamsburg, even Roanoke more. Careful with the Atlantic waters, they might still be rather cold this time of year.
WUL – Great to hear you have time & place for RnR. We all need time to re-order, re-assess things. Sounds like a good time for that. I have been watching the reports from Ft. Mac ugly, yes but it could have been much worse!
They will be back, it will take a bit of time, and much effort. These things always do.
Time, that wonderful elusive commodity! Use it wisely.
M64WI
#135 Bytor the Snow Dog
Wow. An opportunity here for you to well. Commute.
It’s what it will grow into afterwards that has the most value. Garth is correct.
Great opportunity!
My GF was legit appalled and shocked at this. She said “Why are they like that? Don’t they love their man?”
Cause love = being a slave to a slob? Does he clean up her razors in the shower?
No wonder you had to go off-continent to find someone.
Adults clean up after themselves.
I understand it is politically incorrect and racist to say that HAM is a huge distorting influencer in the Lower Mainland British Columbia real estate market. As a REALTOR® I am privy to the outcomes of disciplinary hearings against REALTORS® who breach the ethics and fiduciary duties of our profession, by a long shot the bulk of which are allegedly committed by licensees with last names resembling Yang, Woo, Chung…
There IS something distorted happening in that market. It is spilling over to the more rural areas of British Columbia and Vancouverites sell out to those willing to pay the price and more to smaller communities where they too put a similar pressure on those smaller community markets.
It’s a World Market getting bigger/smaller . Don’t expect it to abate until such time as the Big Cull commences. Big Cull? War, famine or disease and then… a new order will restore balance. Doom and gloom? Not so much. I’d say optimism actually.
When we shifted from hunter gatherers to agrarians need a medium of exchange (money) we started down the slippery slope of more, more, more. Then the industrial revolution, GMOs, Technology all growing exponentially satisfying the lust of our monetary based economy. We all know it is an unsustainable model. We just keep kicking the can down the road that eventually will come to a cliff we can’t avoid.
Suck it up Buttercup. Might as well laugh as cry because there really isn’t a damn thing we can do about it.
As a “developed” world we may see the writing on the wall with respect to the ills of our ways but there is 80% of the world that is hell bent on getting what we have, living like we live… in Disneyland. And they are too hell bent and preoccupied on acquiring that to slow down and see what we see. The train has built too much momentum to avoid the eminent carnage of the wreck ahead.
#143 DM in C on 05.14.16 at 11:01 am
I met her in Toronto. She moved her two years ago.
That’s Toronto, ON, Canada, North America if you didn’t study geography.
Also it was a random facebook post, nothing i did.
You should work on your reading comprehension.
MF
Culture in Decline
Vancouver realtor accused of making Threats
A Tale of Two Worlds
@#147AK
Old “news” .
refer to #109.
Same link.
Just signed up for an Online Brokerage account (the green guys). Had a good chat with an investor on the phone.
He signed off saying… “Have a great day.. and welcome to the Capital Markets.” Love it! Goodbye single asset “Housing” strategy.
six years, the trio painstakingly worked to cultivate Charles and May Liu’s confidence. Over the course of some 1,000 meetings, their investigation — dubbed “Operation Royal Charm” — would pull the agents deep into a tangled Chinese underworld spanning coasts and continents.
Smoking Dragon, Royal Charm
https://www.icij.org/project/tob
triads
https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2005/August/05_crm_426.htmacco-underground/smoking-dragon-royal-charm
=======
…. was making more money in bribes than in salary.
https://www.icij.org/node/460/bat-finds-partner-asias-most-notorious-criminal-organization
#143 DM in C on 05.14.16 at 11:01 am
My GF was legit appalled and shocked at this. She said “Why are they like that? Don’t they love their man?”
Cause love = being a slave to a slob? Does he clean up her razors in the shower?
No wonder you had to go off-continent to find someone.
Adults clean up after themselves.
———-
“Acts of service” are one of the five “love languages”. Some of you non feminazi’smodern types here may know what I’m talking about.
I say this sipping on a coffee my hard left, NDP voting, feminist wife made me because she saw me out working on our deck in the rain and thought she would call me in for a break.
Of course, modern day femminazis with their heads filled with cement are unfamiliar with acts of service, words of affirmation, gifts, or probably any other expression of love.
Hey Garth, tell me more about these pec chisels. Can you get them at home depot?
Who said this about China?
“Capital investment, production safety, stock market management and internet finance regulation all require high skills, and with any misjudgment, imprudent choice or lax supervision, there will be problems or even big problems serious enough to affect social stability”
“In recent months, a slew of major accidents happened regarding production safety, the stock market and internet finance, ringing alarm bells one after another”
“While China was the second-biggest economy in the world, its economy was “big but not strong” and faced “outstanding problems of unwieldiness, puffiness and weakness”.
“The main symptom is limited innovation, and that’s the Achilles’ heel of China’s [macro] economy”.
If you guessed some snotty US capitalist, you’d be very wrong. The speaker is none other than China’s president, Xi Jinping, in a speech reported in the official Communist party newspaper. The People’s Daily also carried a recent front page article suggesting China needed to rein in its credit binge and scale back productive capacity in line with demand.
What happened to inscrutable Orientals?
Ironically perhaps, he raised the issue of outsourcing:
“He gave the example of Chinese consumers shopping overseas for daily products such as electric rice cookers, toilet covers, milk powder and even baby bottles to show that domestic supply did not match domestic demand.”
Or maybe Chinese consumers just don’t trust domestic quality controls.
Nevertheless, these signals blowing in from the very top of the Chinese totem pole suggest the Party is beginning to bite the bullet on uncontrolled capital investment and credit growth. This suggests they believe they can navigate the risks of mass unemployment, perhaps by incubating a stronger consumer economy.
While this would be welcome news for the world, my enthusiasm is restrained by the knowledge that most of the present Chinese economy consists of highly politicized state-owned enterprises. Command economies don’t seem to do a great job of efficiently allocating consumer goods. Ask any Russian or former East German.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1943469/xi-jinpings-stance-chinas-economy-laid-bare-he
RE #152 IHCTD9 The Five Love Languages
The book is bunk, just opinion no fact. If you are looking for real information about what makes relationships work try anything by the Gottmans–all evidence based. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is a good start.
#139 MF on 05.14.16 at 10:45 am
#113 For those about to flop… on 05.14.16 at 7:22 am
I saw. Poor guy received my endorsement and then got emboldened. The deepest, darkest thoughts in his doomer mind starting to come to the surface. He couldn’t hold out anymore, couldn’t resist the temptation, he was salivating and then BOOM! Out came the extreme predictions:
Dow at 3000.
Negative interest rates in US.
etc.
I am contrarian too. Many of us on here are. I too believe the markets are manipulated, and are ripe for a collapse. However, I think I know where to draw the line between reality and fantasy (I hope).
MF
=================================
Ya; i expect Dow correction too; 14,000 by the end of the year.
#123 WiseGuy
Why would the bank have the house appraised unless he is refinancing? And the Bank has no interest in a low valuation to provide the highest refinancing possible. Good luck to him.
REIT penatration on King W.
Allied we stand.
https://www.bisnow.com/toronto/news/commercial-real-estate/Allied-Expands-Its-King-West-Kingdom-40433
“Nearby, Allied recently bought 460 King West (above), formerly Global Village Backpackers hostel, for $15M. Allied now owns everything on the west side of Spadina between Adelaide Street and King West, and most of the entire stretch on the north side of King West between Brant and Spadina.”
#156 ES on 05.14.16 at 3:14 pm
can you elaborate bit more on that $idu 14K.
why it would go that low
how / free fall vs slow decline
what will be catalist: trupm presidence or hilari guns confiscation?
and some stuf like that doesnt have to be scientific, anegdotal is just fine.
(1st 1/4 of 2013 $indu 14k)
#156 ES on 05.14.16 at 3:14 pm #139 MF on 05.14.16 at 10:45 am
=================================
Ya; i expect Dow correction too; 14,000 by the end of the year.
====================================
Nice rounded number.
I am expecting a Dow 19,000 by the end of 2016..
#155 edgy on 05.14.16 at 3:03 pm
RE #152 IHCTD9 The Five Love Languages
The book is bunk, just opinion no fact. If you are looking for real information about what makes relationships work try anything by the Gottmans–all evidence based. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is a good start.
——–
Gottmans stuff is too biased and overly concerned about receiving the feminazi stamp of approval for me.
#122 Westcoast Woman on 05.14.16 at 9:17 am
To #17 asking how many women of a “certain age” have the long grey locks, um, I do! It’s still mostly brunette, but with lots of grey! Just like the RE mania, I feel the same about the dyeing your hair – to me, it’s a waste of money, time, and product/resources. To each their own in that department!
F48BC
F48BC
/////////////////////////////////////////////
With a name like west coast woman,you are probably the last person I thought would need to use the GAP code,but I appreciate the support and I’m not familiar with your name so welcome or welcome back.
Also good to see you are comfortable in your own skin,or should that be hair…
M41BC
Before anyone gets mad I understand it’s not a travel blog but I found this story interesting.
They are going to change the name of 8 schools in the Houston area to get rid of the Civil War era names.
The parents are apparently fine with the names but the PC crowd have lobbied for the change.
I would be more concerned with George Zimmerman trying to get a payout for the gun he shot Trayvon Martin with…
M41BC
#140 Interstellar Star Stuff
My GF went on Facebook one day and came across a post about “cleaning up your man’s dirty sink after he shaves”.
——————————
My wife always makes dinner because she cooks well and I don’t. But I vacuum, clean bathrooms and pick up after her fairly often. (I’m the neat freak in this household). She knows and appreciates that.
People living together need to get comfortable with doing half the work, all the time, regardless of traditional gender roles.
It’s called being adult about things.
I did this so you don’t have to. I scanned the part of the recently released “Panama Papers” that supposedly highlights offshore accounts “connected” to Canadians. Having done a tour of duty as a avenging angel for CRA and another as a black hatted advisor to tax avoiding miscreants, I assumed I would know what I was looking at.
I was underwhelmed. I don’t expect to see a lot of Canadians doing the perp walk over these particular releases though if you were from Khazakstan and hiding money from the boss, it might be a little stickier.
Although the media tend to hyperventilate over stories like this, what the media knows about tax law can usually be written on a bubblegum wrapper. First of all, it is perfectly legal in Canada and in most advanced countries to have an offshore account or trust if you report it. Canadian tax law sets out the rules and if you follow them, no problem.
Most legal offshore structures hold assets in a trust where a trustee controls them on behalf of the ultimate beneficiary. If you have an RRSP at the bank, the RRSP is a trust managed by the bank for you, the beneficiary.
Offshore trusts are expensive so you need a lot of assets to make it worth while. The costs of screwing it up can be big so few wealthy people do it without top drawer legal advice and are therefore unlikely to be attacked by CRA. Tax benefits can include compounding trust income at a low tax rate and/or converting income to capital gains in the long run.
Unsanctioned uses of offshore trusts and bank accounts include hiding beneficially owned shares from securities regulators and assets from wives and creditors. A typical stock promotion game is to set up a shell corporation with one set of shares issued to a promoter in his own name and another set he owns through a discreet offshore entity. When the stock has been run up and has crashed again, he will have unloaded his offshore shares at a huge profit but, as he has never sold the shares in his own name, he can show his sorry investors that he has shared their pain. Another reason to stick with ETF’s.
Overall this is what I found on the list. A very senior Vancouver broker appeared at least three times, almost certainly as a trustee for clients. There were family trusts almost certainly reported to CRA and lawyered up the wazoo. There were a few accounts that were opened and closed within three years which I would review for links to illicit stock promotion. There was an apparently disproportionate number of accounts with what looked like East Asian or South Asian names but, as it was not clear how they were “connected to Canada”, it was difficult to guess what they represented. If I were CRA I would wonder if some of these were immigrants who had checked their valuables into Panama before coming aboard.
I found no recognizable politicians or entertainers but trusts can be controlled by other trusts in other jurisdictions so name spotting is not that easy if someone is really trying to hide. I did find a guy called Martin Chambers who might coincidentally have the same name as the former lawyer who was doing heavy time in the US for money laundering. The Papers revealed he had an interest in some Vancouver real estate but if the RCMP didn’t already know that, they weren’t really trying.
#155 edgy on 05.14.16 at 3:03 pm
RE #152 IHCTD9 The Five Love Languages
The book is bunk, just opinion no fact. If you are looking for real information about what makes relationships work try anything by the Gottmans–all evidence based. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is a good start.
@
The book is very helpful. I’ve used the information for about 20 years and helps to explain people’s behavior in all forms of relationship. Highly recommend it.
#121 & #124 mathman
Right on! Great posts. You and your wife make a good team.
I do admire successful marriages even though living with a woman is much too high risk for me. It is extremely important for one to know their risk tolerance. Especially for a man like me who is unable to compromise (live under anyone’s rules but my own).
FLOP:
Actually, there is a large dollop of travel here every day. The Head Honcho takes us daily on a trip A Mari Usque Ad Mare, from the peeler bars in Nanaimo to the pastoral serenity of Pictou County, back to the mean streets where the bankers mug savers in Hogtown and north to ice cream parlours in Caledon. Once in a while we get a toe dipped into the oil fields of Iran and NE Alberta.
The raucous din of the steerage section is replete with contests among and comparisons between Rio, Dallas, Vancouver, Seattle, London, NYC and Estevan. Subways, food, economies, employment prospects, dog walking parks and local levels of femininity.
So, keep us posted on your whereabouts and to return to the financial focus of our Gracious Tour Guide, just mention the price of a pizza and beer in your locale.
#161 IHTCD9 (Even though you typed moniker in like SM)
Choreplay ALWAYS gets you laid, according to the Gottmans, right?
Garth, do I have enough to take me on as a client should I decide to do what I wanna do?
Re #122 With a name like west coast woman,you are probably the last person I thought would need to use the GAP code,but I appreciate the support and I’m not familiar with your name so welcome or welcome back.
Also good to see you are comfortable in your own skin,or should that be hair…
M41BC
—————————————————–
Hey, I’ve posted a few times! Chose the name because, well, I’m a grown-up female and happen to live on this side of the country. No stereo-types implied but I guess it’s innate to the name :-) True to my skin (no tats, not that that’s anyone’s business but the blog seems to have taken a strange jaunt into what’s masculine and feminine, hey, again, how about live and let live!).
Because of this blog I have a small TFSA with funds that are diversified, have some RE but stayed at the lower end of the market as somewhere to live rather than an investment (although wouldn’t mind if it turned out be one!), oh, and my husband and I make coffee for each other!
Oh, and the other good news is that our early 20’s daughter is NOT getting a down-payment from us, but is putting a % of her small income into her own TFSA each paycheque. Makes a mother proud!
F48BC – rides a Honda motorcycle
This just popped up on my Facebook feed.
http://xoocca.com/property/mls-c3486530-toronto-ontario-annex-3-bedrooms-4-baths-semi-detached-christiebloor-289-barton-ave-m6g1r5
Not only is this another example of insanity – $1.2 million for a semi-detached – what struck me was the property taxes. How can a realtor seriously post taxes as being $2,000? Those were probably the taxes from the last assessment prior to any renovation and even that seems much too low. The City of Toronto calculator shows $8,500 for a house assessed at $1.2 million. Won’t that be a shock to buyers who don’t do their homework.
Of course here in Kanada the land of corruption a graft were got robbed with our 3rd World transit system payment system upgrade in Toronto.
Score: Public Unions, contractors 1. Taxpayers .
http://spacing.ca/toronto/2014/01/15/presto-technology-sold-washington-d-c-raises-questions/
““By the time it is fully developed, Presto will be among the more expensive fare-card systems in the world, and more than $700 million may have been paid to the contractor for developing it,” former Auditor General Jim McCarter said at the time. The original ten-year contract with Accenture, signed in 2006, was worth $250 million.”
…which is being provided in the USA for a fraction of our cost:
“The issue with the Washington deal is whether Accenture has used any of the intellectual property developed for the lucrative the Metrolinx project to cross-subsidize its winning bid for the Metro contract.Metrolinx officials say they were aware that Accenture was bidding for the Washington contract, but insist that they didn’t know the final price of the contract.
The issue with the Washington deal is whether Accenture has used any of the intellectual property developed for the lucrative the Metrolinx project to cross-subsidize its winning bid for the Metro contract.”
Just spoke with my “work neighbor’ across the street from my place of work.
He’s Chinese and rented there for 11 years and the building went up for sale. 2 mil. He couldnt swing the financing.
Two businesses in the same neighborhood called the realtor to discuss price, etc.
No return call.
They both phoned several times over several days.
No return call.
The place sold 2 WEEKS ago for 2 mil to an offshore buyer……..but there’s still no “sold” sign on the realtor sign.
Potential flip pending?
Stay tuned.
One wonders if and when the CRA is going to start auditting ALL the realtors in the Lower mainland. This “gravy train” is a runaway…………
https://jaysanalysis.com/2016/05/04/alex-jones-all-star-economic-roundtable-rand-paul-tarpley-nic-cage/
This is satire, good impersonations.
#169 Bytor the Snow Dog on 05.14.16 at 6:15 pm
Choreplay ALWAYS gets you laid, according to the Gottmans, right?
———-
Haha, But they’re sort of right on that one if put in the right context.
Be good to the kids, be good to the pets, keep busy around the house, look after yourself, and a guy is going to get more sex than he knows what to do with.
Be a real man, do what comes natural, and what you know is right.
Has nothing to do with tackling the honey do list.
IMHO of course.
#171 Julia on 05.14.16 at 6:46 pm
This just popped up on my Facebook feed.
http://xoocca.com/property/mls-c3486530-toronto-ontario-annex-3-bedrooms-4-baths-semi-detached-christiebloor-289-barton-ave-m6g1r5
———
Am I reading that right? The lot is only 17 feet wide?
Two out of 3 decks on my house are wider than this guys whole lot!
This blog dog stopped in to pay respects at our mecca the Belfountain General Store. All went well enjoying your Costa Rican coffee and what I thought was a great cookie until one of the Amazons pointed out it was a doggie treat.My fault for trying to look youthful by not wearing my glasses. Nice place to relax on the way back from cottage land.
Garth
I know you the YVR RE drives you crazy!
Here’s some local crazy Chilliwack RE news: 3 deals just happened I know of personally.
– a 1965 gramma special house on the not so good side of town asking $419k – sells for $602! Van people
– a nice house in Yarrow sells for $125k over list
– a promontory house: ask $499k- sells for $610
I’ve been in construction trades for 30 yrs seen lots of ups and downs, have never seen anything this stupid!!
People are actually insanely paying way way more than this dirt is worth!
I predict a hard ass crash landing! When?…. Is a good question.
Lol
Thanks Old Man for the clip.
It’s a slow Saturday night.
The narrator thinks it was a mistake. It wasn’t. Trust me, disclosure coming soon. This fall. In Las Vegas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ_UOITvbVs
#168 WUL on 05.14.16 at 6:04 pm
FLOP:
Actually, there is a large dollop of travel here every day. The Head Honcho takes us daily on a trip A Mari Usque Ad Mare, from the peeler bars in Nanaimo to the pastoral serenity of Pictou County, back to the mean streets where the bankers mug savers in Hogtown and north to ice cream parlours in Caledon. Once in a while we get a toe dipped into the oil fields of Iran and NE Alberta.
The raucous din of the steerage section is replete with contests among and comparisons between Rio, Dallas, Vancouver, Seattle, London, NYC and Estevan. Subways, food, economies, employment prospects, dog walking parks and local levels of femininity.
So, keep us posted on your whereabouts and to return to the financial focus of our Gracious Tour Guide, just mention the price of a pizza and beer in your locale.
////////////////////////////////////////
O.k WULLY,be careful what you wish for.
This is what me and my mascot got up to today.
After 2 hrs sleep I went and had a kick ass brunch and then caught the ferry(1.75) across to the city of Portsmouth.Walked along the main drag and then checked out the old town with various styles of houses similar to Savannah and Charleston with not quite the charm but also no tourists.
Walked along the waterfront facing back to Norfolk to the naval yards and a photo of a ship I remember from back in my old school days was looking back at me.
It was the USS Monitor,the old iron clad one that used to cook the soldiers inside.
I thought of you because of the history and Boom when I was there because there is old battleship tied up called USS Wisconsin and believe it or not the number painted on the side is 64,so M64WI was right before my eyes.
After this I got thirsty and found a German beer garden with over 400 beers on tap,I wussed out and only tried two $5 each.
Later on caught the ferry back and after some down time watching golf took the wife out for Mexican and ordered a jumbo Margarita that was so strong I might as well went behind the bar and guzzled it straight out of the bottle(7.25)
Staying downtown ,waterfront for 70 bucks a night (Thanks Hotwire!)
Also not planning on getting my wife to clean the sink after I shave not just because I’m on holidays but thats what big boys do.
They clean up after themselves…
M41BC
The truth is out there.
https://youtu.be/p7PbXqR2zyM
#115 Mark M on 05.14.16 at 8:15 am
I don’t make things up.
Here is the link: http://www.businessinsider.com/labor-force-participation-rate-march-2016-2016-4
“…about half of the drop comes from structural, demographic factors: The baby boomers, an immensely large cohort of Americans, are getting older and starting to retire.”
And specifically, you can refer to the August 6, 2015 Report (click the link referred to in the article – Analysis by the Council of Economic Advisors). It’s all there.
You don’t have to agree with what’s said in the article and the report. But they are there for you to read.
http://www.rosskay.com/vancouvers-ponzi-scheme.html
what i was an about to say was/is irrelevant…
Laylawas Pattie Boyd Harrison, i would never guess…
probably until late 2000s i would probably never figure it out how good guitarist Jeff Back is.
For some reason Gary Moore always made close to top of my list…
My beter half (Tal Wilkenfeld)absolutely dont like her her.
but for some reason Mike Oldfield hold a top spot as guitarist in simpelton mind of mine…
and my all time favorites MARK KNOPFLER
correction
my better half IS NOT Tal Wilkenfeld
TYPO
The odds of oil getting above 60 dollars U.S. a barrel in the next several years are slim to none. Alberta needs 80 plus dollars U.S. a barrel to stop the slide in housing prices. Sell all Alberta property now. Things should get a lot worse after the U.S. election with commodities and the Canadian dollar making new lows.
Just watch those suckers lossing their dough…
http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/chinese-real-estate-investors-are-reshaping-the-market/
..it also happens that the biggest suckers are also..ta-daaa… the immigrants . Watch those being taken to the cleaners soon.
..the world is full of suckers:
http://globalnews.ca/news/2460329/toronto-real-estate-board-predicts-homes-sales-to-soar-in-2016/
..I am huge long shorts on HCG 48 for October :)
I’m drooooooolllliiiinnnnggggggggggggg !!!!!
Calgary will be fine. The population is sitting well over 1 million people and the natural growth rate will keep pushing that number higher and higher (like bacteria, or any metropolis) Its a beautiful modern city with predominately younger people, its full of lots of entrepreneurs, and people that have made lots of money over the past booms. It has great geography, mild winters, friendly people, low crime, rates and a world’s best mayor.
Unfortunately oil directly impacts ~35% of the local economy (from city of Calgary 2015 outlook thing dont remember exact number and too lazy too check). But down significantly from the last major oil bust in the 80’s ( i think 50 something then?).
I would like to see the world venture away from oil and into renewables (these also support jobs and likely more than oil). Do you know anyone who drives an electric car? What do you think made the plastic that your scrolling past this comment with? Is that going to be replaced by Elon Musk in your life?
Winnipeg is a city. Does it have oil? What do people do there? Sell each-other goods and services? Insurance policy’s?
I am 29, and have lived in this area my whole life. In my short working life here i have been able to acquire a nice concrete box that will outlive me 4 fold and is half payed off, a sick car that goes real fast, and enough savings and investments to last me several years should i loose my job. My job by the way is in the construction industry and I worked 240 hours last month and haven’t had a day off or even more than 1 week vacation since this oil price fiasco started. The company I work for hasn’t even layed off a single person. This isn’t typical and it could change yet, but i don’t think it will.
I am long YYC
!
#23 bigtowne on 05.13.16 at 7:18 pm
“Retail had a big loosing week and only Amazon seems able to keep a straight face. I was shopping up in Vaughan with my Italian familia at the Piazza del Sole where there are still several available vacant store fronts after months on end being empty?
Vaughan folks are a wealthy hood and extrovert types tend to spend so kind of begs the question..not shopping in town or has everyone gone online?”
Possibly, but humans generally like to buy in 3-D. My money is on:
– the impossible debt burdens of most of the general population;
– stupid high retail prices;
– when times are tough, even the rich slow down their spending;
– second-hand shops have gone seriously mainstream and the finds are generally not only very good, but sometimes mind blowing. Last week, I scored a Tiffany sterling bangle in showroom condition, hallmarks and all, for .25 cents. It was completely tarnished but when polished, revealed not a scratch.
I’m seeing luxury cars in the parking lots. Treasure hunt or just getting the necessities of life, you save so much, the prices are not even equivalent to paying the tax at retail.
A few weeks ago, I bought Oneida Tudor Plate flatware, complete service for 8 in perfect condition for…wait for it…$5.00. No tax.
There is so much great stuff out there in second-hand land that and the quality better than the junk from places we import too much from.
Until rates normalize, consumers will continue to bargain-hunt and buy off of the grid. No choice. In our home, saving must continue apace and what will give is retail. And restaurants – home cooked is vastly superior and healthier anyways.
Raising rates would give everyone more confidence. Gouging the responsible with ultra-low rates absolutely kills it.
Even the rich love a bargain. In fact most do.
Probably more than the average person.
#37 IKnow on 05.13.16 at 7:47 pm
“The PRC-land-owning gang had sights set in vancouver and Toronto but not Calgary.
That’s how there are different stories from different citizens.
The Chinese model is the ultimate upper bound to RE land value.
If prices don’t go down ‘there’ then don’t expect things will be different in selected districts in this 2nd largest country on Earth”
…..approximately 5% of which is arable and most of the population is jammed up against the US border. So, dig, baby,dig. Oh yeah, that’s not working out too well right now……..
limited partnerships : housing bubbles?
“Scottish offshore companies”.
…”One of the properties, in Leith, is home to more than 3,600 companies – including several named in the global probe into alleged looting of the Moldovan banks. ”
Background: Scotland as an offshore tax haven
Welcome to the world of offshore Scotland, Europe’s unlikely tax haven, where council schemes play a role most people associate with palm-fronged beaches of Caribbean fiscal paradises.
loophole
Thousands of limited partnerships have been created in Scotland in recent years to satisfy a nearly insatiable desire for the firms in eastern Europe, where they are advertised as tax avoidance vehicles.
“The unique firms – typically sold off the peg – alongside parent partners registered in more traditional tax havens like the Seychelles, Panama or Belize – do not need to pay tax in the UK if they do no business here….Crucially, unlike their English and Welsh counterparts, Scottish limited partnerships or SLPs do not need to provide full financial reports. ”
The speaker of the Moldovan parliament leaked an independent report naming SLPs, including one based in an unglamorous address in Pilton, Edinburgh, as being the vehicles for the fraud. Moldova had to bail out the banks. The rescue package cost the country the equivalent of one eighth of its gross domestic product.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14490064.Background__Scotland_as_an_offshore_tax_haven/
https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2016-86.html
operating from 2006 -2013
fraudulent “shell factory” enterprise—a scheme to create and sell public “shell” companies to people who, for whatever reason, need publicly-traded companies that have no real business or purpose.
#176 IHCDT9
#171 Julia on 05.14.16 at 6:46 pm
This just popped up on my Facebook feed.
http://xoocca.com/property/mls-c3486530-toronto-ontario-annex-3-bedrooms-4-baths-semi-detached-christiebloor-289-barton-ave-m6g1r5
———
Am I reading that right? The lot is only 17 feet wide?
Two out of 3 decks on my house are wider than this guys whole lot!
**********
Without a driveway that sounds about right. Not sure what that garage is.
Looked it up and this may be the before photo.
https://www.zolo.ca/toronto-real-estate/289-barton-avenue
#191 maxx on 05.15.16 at 7:31 am
#37 IKnow on 05.13.16 at 7:47 pm
“The PRC-land-owning gang had sights set in vancouver and Toronto but not Calgary.
That’s how there are different stories from different citizens.
The Chinese model is the ultimate upper bound to RE land value.
If prices don’t go down ‘there’ then don’t expect things will be different in selected districts in this 2nd largest country on Earth”
…..approximately 5% of which is arable and most of the population is jammed up against the US border. So, dig, baby,dig. Oh yeah, that’s not working out too well right now……..
/////////////////////////////////////////
I think it is a common misconception that Canada is number 2 on the size list.
If you minus the water and just go with land mass,I think from memory it comes in at number 5.
I think Antarctica is bigger as well but it is obviously not a country.
Canada could always do what they do in the Middle East and use landfill to build on but with so much land in most cases it would be pointless.
Anyways ,off to Virginia Beach.
Not going to wear budgie smugglers…
M41BC
#budgiesmugglers
#googleit
#182-Lobster
Your article sites aging boomers as being half of the reason for the low labor force participation rate. The St. Louis Fed produced a study last year, they came to a different conclusion;
“Despite the similar trends in youth, prime-age and pre-retirement participation rates, the U.S. is the only country in our sample experiencing a recent decline in the aggregate labor force participation rate. This is explained mostly by a larger-than-average drop in the labor force participation of prime-age males, a decrease in the participation of prime-age women and a lower-than-average increase in the participation of pre-retirement-age workers in the U.S. economy. Aging also played a role, as the share of the population between ages 25 to 54 (the group with the highest level of labor force participation) experienced a larger-than-average drop.”
As for the Fed raising rates sooner than we think, everyone on here, led by Garth, thought it was happening years ago, and as recently as Dec believed 4 hikes were on the table for 2016. So no.
Interesting that every data point the “data dependant Fed” looks at was better last year and earlier in the year and yet “liftoff” wasn’t until Dec 16th. Then March comes around and nothing?
How would this 7 year old recovery fare with a 5% Fed Funds Rate? You know the answer, and that should make you rethink your hypothesis.
Here is an excerpt of a message post argument I had with someone. The article was about the CIBC report saying that flippers are not really a problem. I really should learn to stop these conversations when they drift into this.
Commenter: Of course the banks would say it’s not a problem. People from China buy our real estate flip it back to us for profit and all profit goes to China. What are we left with? Inflated prices.
Me: So don’t buy real estate at inflated prices. Prices only go up as long as there are buyers willing to pay.
Commenter: LOL?
Newsflash: people need a place to live.
What do you mean by “WILLING”? You mean HAVE TO? Have you looked at STATISTICS of how much an average house costs in this country compared to 20 years ago?
Its not because people are WILLING to its because they HAVE TO if they want to have a home in a city.
Thats like saying if food became even more expensive for people not to buy food because people will only buy food at prices they are willing to pay.
Me: Renting is a place to live.
See, that’s the problem. You drank the “have to buy” koolaid and are the prime example of why house prices are inflated. As long as people see renting as a bad thing, they will overpay for houses. Nobody HAS to buy. In fact, in a lot of markets right now, it makes much more sense to rent.
Commenter: I am extremely educated and you sound so dumb it’s ridiculous. People need a place to live and people need to eat. Statistics show that basic needs have gone through the roof over the past 30 years and wages have remained stagnant.
Everyone who is working is entitled to a place to own, not just live in. I love how you act like only the rich are allowed to own something. Because of the corrupt system.
And you’re so ridiculous that you point out my very point. If it makes more sense to rent that just shows how overpriced housing is in comparison to peoples wages. They should not have to rent.
You’re one of those people that would own a slave if you could. The bottom of the barrel of humanity.
Me: “Entitled” to own? LOL Therein lies the real problem of inflated real estate.
************
The reason families and others apply so much pressure towards self declared renters and bubble avoiders is plain and simple.
They know they’re done like dinner……and they realise that they only hope that remains is to suck every single other person into the bubble with them. People who can see thru the RE bullshit being spewed 24/7 by the RE owned media are like “climate change deniers”…….we know it’s a scam and a fraud on society and we refuse to participate……..which is why those fools who played all their chips now realize the errors of their ways and they cannot utterly stand to see people who get it.
#190 maxx on 05.15.16 at 7:10 am
Until rates normalize, consumers will continue to bargain-hunt and buy off of the grid. No choice. In our home, saving must continue apace and what will give is retail. And restaurants – home cooked is vastly superior and healthier anyways.
Raising rates would give everyone more confidence. Gouging the responsible with ultra-low rates absolutely kills it.
———–
You got that rate normalize confidence bit wrong, soon when rates start to raise, it will be… and home cooking is so over rated especialy if you are “working poor”.
When person is with limited cash and time, that person have to get most calories for dollar spent. So they to gravitate towards “halfway” prepared foods packed calories, that is also loaded with sugar, salt, gluten, carbs, you name bad stuff and it is on a ingredient list somewhere. I’ll steer clear from estrogen packed food. that is for some other day.
I personally know “health conscious anti-gmo crusaders” moms that buy soy milk for their kids, because is “healthier”. Unfortunate truth soy is gmod as much as corn, bananas and other non seadles stuff.
In my whole life i’we seen/eaten only one banana with seeds in that i remember… Until i got on this continent i never ever sow seedless fruit!
I remember reading or watching on a youtube about when cake mix came out for the first time while back only thing needed to be done was to add water and to bake it. sales were disappointing so whoever was make it did some research and find out that women don’t buy it because didnt felt like made from scratch. so co. “changed” a “recipe”, they made new packaging and add a line add an egg and mix in a instructions. After that cake mix was sold as they expected.
I know i am lying when i say “i make pasta sauce, kids love it” but i do it anyways.
More accurate statement would be i greatly improve taste of pasta sauce in a glass jar by preparing and adding and extra ingridients, so that content in a jar doesn’t taste like its made out of petroleum….
did i ever go on a tangent here….
@ #152 IHCTD9 on 05.14.16 at 1:59 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/DSXLe
That’s it? I’ve been renting since 2011, and loving every minute of it. I’ve gained so much by renting in the moribund Kelowna market that it would take a serious correction/crash for me to even consider buying.
The way I see it, the wife and I are getting PAID to live in our luxury condo downtown. Paid by divvies and capital gains, while being generously subsidized by a place that would cost us at least double to own in the SAME building.
Is it any wonder I’m a huge fan of this blog?
Carney getting the heat in England:
“If we’re potentially going to alter the path of interest rates or other instruments of monetary policy because of certain things manifested, we have a duty to explain that to the British people and to Parliament,” Carney told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show. “The bank’s comments on these issues have been in the context of testimony to the House of Lords, testimony to the Commons committees, and inflation reports and associated press conferences around those reports, so it’s in our daily business.”
He spoke days after Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg told Sky News that the governor “should be fired,” and minutes after the Conservative energy minister, Andrea Leadsom, described the BOE’s comments last week as “incredibly dangerous.”
#187 M
Just watch those suckers lossing their dough…
http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/chinese-real-estate-investors-are-reshaping-the-market/
..it also happens that the biggest suckers are also..ta-daaa… the immigrants . Watch those being taken to the cleaners soon.
……
Interesting comment in the article:
“Predictably, when Yan’s study was published, a chorus of voices, including former developer Bob Ransford, jumped to criticize Yan: “The danger is intolerance, racism, singling out certain groups of people saying they’re to blame for this,” said Ransford. But such labels have failed to muffle the debate, particularly as more and more Chinese-Canadian voices have begun calling out white developers and academics for making the claim. Fung, the software engineer, says he’s among those “deeply pissed off” by what he considers a slur: “The only people claiming racism are white Anglo-Saxon males—that’s it. These are the same guys trying to label Andy Yan—whose grandparents paid the head tax—a racist? It’s absurd.”
@#202 Snoopy
Re Carney’s comments
Sounds like Carney wants to “exit” before “Brexit”.
#198 Keith in Calgary
“They know they’re done like dinner……and they realise that they only hope that remains is to suck every single other person into the bubble with them.”
———————————–
I don’t think so. You shouldn’t attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by ignorance.
They’re just illogical, innumerate people who believe in the magic of raising oneself up by the bootstraps and they wish for their loved ones to share in their perceived bounty.
It’s the same unfortunate human dynamic that brings us tragedies like Jonestown. But that was people’s lives. This is only drywall and two by fours.
may 15 2016
it snowed in Oakville, ontario
#196 Mark M
I do not know exactly how much the Fed would have to raise their rates.
My point is: Watch for US inflation rates to rise, especially the wage inflation component.
At this point in time, the Fed is already behind the curve. And that my friend, is my humble opinion.
#197 Julia
Nobody HAS to buy. In fact, in a lot of markets right now, it makes much more sense to rent.
——————————
“That is illogical”, said Mr Spock. Somebody has to buy of there would be nothing to rent. Real estate is an asset like any other. It has a current market price and an anticipated return.
Sometimes it helps to take things to their logical conclusion. In theory, if absolutely everyone owned, then everyone’s property would have a cap rate of exactly zero.
That’s a poor investment indeed unless it’s value were guaranteed to continually rise against all other properties. It could only happen with continuous real improvements which themselves eat capital.
Friend got in on a pre-build for 2 BR townhouses in Bloor West Village at 550k in the summer of 2014, they’re not even finished construction and places are already reselling at 700k+.
But Mark tells us real estate peaked 2 years ago in Toronto.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CidlzlQU4AAPNRf.jpg
pre-build for 2 BR townhouses in Bloor West Village at 550k in the summer of 2014, they’re not even finished construction and places are already reselling at 700k+.
u ppl buying over priced RE in YYZ are dum
My point is: Watch for US inflation rates to rise, especially the wage inflation component.
At this point in time, the Fed is already behind the curve. And that my friend, is my humble opinion.
i think you’re right
http://ml-implode.com/fulllist.html#lists
2006 over 380 mortgage lending companies
=====================
A.G. Schneiderman Announces 20 Felony Charges And Civil Suit Against Major New York City Landlord Steven Croman
Croman, Owner Of 140 Apartment Buildings Throughout Manhattan, Faces 20 Felony Counts, Including Grand Larceny, Criminal Tax Fraud, And Falsifying Business Records; Mortgage Broker Barry Swartz Also Charged
Cases Allege Croman Pushed Rent-Stabilized Tenants From Their Apartments And Obtained Loans Based On False Accountings Of Rent-Stabilized Tenants In His Buildings
#192 jess on 05.15.16 at 7:53 am
limited partnerships : housing bubbles?
“Scottish offshore companies”.
…”One of the properties, in Leith, is home to more than 3,600 companies – including several named in the global probe into alleged looting of the Moldovan banks. ”
======================
That was interesting but I think I would take it with a heaping helping of haggis. Partnerships are never taxable. They must allocate their income to their partners in each fiscal year so they offer no inherent tax advantages. In order to become a limited partner, you must register your name with the relevant regulatory agency so either you have outed yourself or you still have to pay up to hide behind an offshore entity (or two in the case of a limited partnership).
What you do get is a relatively cheap way to set up a Scottish bank account. If you are wiring money from Moldova, a Scottish destination might attract less attention from banking authorities than the Cayman Islands. However I doubt Scottish bankers would tell Interpol to take a hike if they came around wanting to know who set up the account. I am not saying the Moldovan banks didn’t get scammed but I don’t see how Scottish LP’s made it all possible.
The more entrepreneurial blog dogs might like to know that Canada has similar limited partnership laws so if you want to compete in helping out our Moldovan cousins, there might be an opportunity.
Okay, back to the Nigerians. At least they’re funny.
—
How exactly are Nigerians funny, Garth?
http://meme-lol.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Jokes-2014-Nigerian-Prince.jpg
andrew
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/10/the-billion-dollar-moldovan-bank-scam-scottish-limited-partnerships-and-the-uks-anti-money-laundering-mess.html
http://www.intellinews.com/scottish-shell-companies-at-centre-of-1bn-moldovan-bank-fraud-scheme-500446586/?source=moldova&archive=bne
http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/13414235.The_Moldova_Connection/
#199 NoName on 05.15.16 at 9:32 am
“….did i ever go on a tangent here….”
…and a very cute little tangent it is too…
No one in Canada or elsewhere in the developed world ever need feed on the vomitus that is processed food. Cooking whole food takes no more time than cooking sludge poured from a container of riotous colour. The time and money argument is pure myth reinforced by mainstream media, fed to the masses by big agro.
Lobster &WalMark – “My point is: Watch for US inflation rates to rise, especially the wage inflation component. At this point in time, the Fed is already behind the curve. And that my friend, is my humble opinion.”
“i think you’re right”
The next financial crisis, which is really just an extension of the last one, is already here. How many times do you guys have to be fooled by the Fed before you realize there are NO substantial rate hikes coming?
0% and QE 4, that’s where we’re headed.
#215 – “How exactly are Nigerians funny, Garth?”
See http://www.scamorama.com
What these anecdotes tell me is that western women aren’t as strong and confident as they claim to be. Why would you care about peer pressures from a bunch of broke acquaintances when you have 300k in liquid assets?
I praise my lucky stars for marrying an eastern european woman who missed out on all the western brainwashing.