Millennials: Avocados or homes?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Muta

Bingo.

Where??

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Locke

Where??

I walked into that one.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by blankall

Another reason to buy:

The ever increasing cost of rent. Over time, your mortgage principle will decrease. Rents will always increase. You need to factor the rent you'll be paying in 30 years into your decision to buy/rent.

I wish. I look back at how my parents mortgage payments got inflated away, and I don't see that happening to much of a degree at all on mine so far.

The biggest reason I own is I hate moving, and I like dumping thousands upon thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into stupid aesthetic projects.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by blankall

Another reason to buy:

The ever increasing cost of rent. Over time, your mortgage principle will decrease. Rents will always increase. You need to factor the rent you'll be paying in 30 years into your decision to buy/rent.

Rent has decreased so much in Calgary over the last ten years but in particular the last two...

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/c...site-1.3394638

[Locke]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Rent has decreased so much in Calgary over the last ten years but in particular the last two...

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/c...site-1.3394638

Anecdotally speaking (granted my sample is hundreds of local people) rent has been dropping regularly.

And I think renting is going to be an interesting situation in the future because I'm thinking a lot of people are coming to realize that retiring in Canada in a lost cause.

So instead of buying the house in the hopes of selling it for more than it cost in 30 years or so and leaving, why not pocket the difference in the meantime, pay the rent and then leave whenever you want?

Its an interesting scenario.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Locke

Its funny how people tend to gloss over this.

I've got a number of clients that are struggling to adapt their businesses right now.

People who fancied themselves as top-notch business people all of a sudden coming to the realization that what they built for themselves has more to do with the enormous energy boom and less to do with their skills. Especially in construction.

"Why dont people just hand me money anymore?"

I have the same problem in a lodge I'm in, a whole group of doofus's who are supposed to be looking after the 'less fortunate' have developed the attitude that because their houses have made them rich then obviously they are genius's at money and its the poors own feckless fault that they are poor and so they don't deserve help.

Amazing how quickly money turns people into d'bags

[Locke]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

I have the same problem in a lodge I'm in, a whole group of doofus's who are supposed to be looking after the 'less fortunate' have developed the attitude that because their houses have made them rich then obviously they are genius's at money and its the poors own feckless fault that they are poor and so they don't deserve help.

Amazing how quickly money turns people into d'bags

Its interesting the difference between people who earn their money and people who think that because they bought a house and its now worth more than they paid that they are geniuses.

Is it worth more than you paid? How much interest did you pay?

Even then though, the value of a house at any given moment has very little to do with who bought it. How much does its value have to do with you?

Are you willing to take the same amount of credit when you have to sell it for less than you paid?

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by Locke

Anecdotally speaking (granted my sample is hundreds of local people) rent has been dropping regularly.

And I think renting is going to be an interesting situation in the future because I'm thinking a lot of people are coming to realize that retiring in Canada in a lost cause.

So instead of buying the house in the hopes of selling it for more than it cost in 30 years or so and leaving, why not pocket the difference in the meantime, pay the rent and then leave whenever you want?

Its an interesting scenario.

That's pretty much what we are looking at... monthly cost of living on a beach in a place like Hoi-An Vietnam is like $1100... my wife and I could retire right now to there and not worry.

We are planning on doing 6 months here (during summer) and 6 months... elsewhere (SE Asia most likely) and should be financially independent to do that (or hell, live here all year) in the next few years.

It's amazing how much you're willing to save and choose to not spend money on frivolous things when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by nik-

They also made massive investments at the best possible time, during the crash, which subsequently blew up

They saved well, obviously, but were also incredibly fortunate.

I'm not sure I'd characterize buying at the bottom of the crash as "incredibly fortunate." You need to have the cash on hand, as well as the courage to buy.

I had some cash on hand after the crash (not much), which I invested against the strenuous - verging on hysterical - objections of my family. Made 170 per cent return. But it was a calculated risk, not incredible good fortune.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I'm not sure I'd characterize buying at the bottom of the crash as "incredibly fortunate." You need to have the cash on hand, as well as the courage to buy.

I had some cash on hand after the crash (not much), which I invested against the strenuous - verging on hysterical - objections of my family. Made 170 per cent return. But it was a calculated risk, not incredible good fortune.

Bit of this bit of that? Even a calculated risk can net you a loss.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Rent has decreased so much in Calgary over the last ten years but in particular the last two...

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/c...site-1.3394638

Calgary also has no jobs and had a rental market that was previously characterized by horrible gauging. So yes, I'd agree it's probably a bad idea to buy a house in a city with unlimited land at the peak, just prior to a major recession.

Longterm though, rents always do go up. In Calgary, in particular, a random 10 year sample isn't representative. You're better off looking at 30+ years.

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

MMM is much more BS though. He sells early retirement but pulls the wool over people's eyes by ignoring the fact he has a major money making website. He tries to claim all of his success is purely due to his frugality while working and frugality in general.

I think that most reasonable people can see through that part of MMM's persona and claims.

What MMM (tries to) obscure more regularly though is that his $25K a year living budget (or whatever the number is) does not count or include the value of his work or barters.

For example, he will take his family to Hawaii and not claim it as an expense, rationalizing that it was paid for by doing home improvement for someone on the island. Thus, he's living a much more expensive lifestyle than he is claiming to live, and hoping that his readers don't notice.

[GP_Matt]

I just had someone turn down a really good job offer because they have only been in their house for a few years and are currently underwater. It was a solid career move for someone getting started. In his situation, renting would have been a far better financial move.
That said, I was pretty overextended when I bought my first house but that was at the start of a boom in Grande Prairie so my salary grew quickly as did the house value which jumped 50% between breaking ground and my possession date. Ten years later it is worth less than I could have got the day I moved in.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by blankall

Calgary also has no jobs and had a rental market that was previously characterized by horrible gauging. So yes, I'd agree it's probably a bad idea to buy a house in a city with unlimited land at the peak, just prior to a major recession.

Longterm though, rents always do go up. In Calgary, in particular, a random 10 year sample isn't representative. You're better off looking at 30+ years.

Property tax always goes up too. So do utilities. So do renovation costs and maintenance expenses. Your insurance might go down though. If you don't use it. Anything on a thirty year time line will be effected by inflation too.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Property tax always goes up too. So do utilities. So do renovation costs and maintenance expenses. Your insurance might go down though. If you don't use it.Anything on a thirty year time line will be effected by inflation too.

HA! ha ha! HAHAHAHAHA!
nope.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

HA! ha ha! HAHAHAHAHA!
nope.

Mine dropped .90 cents this year! .90 sweet sweet cents. So yeah...joke's on you man!

[Fuzz]

Please tell me who you are with, mine went up about $250, never had a claim.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Property tax always goes up too. So do utilities. So do renovation costs and maintenance expenses. Your insurance might go down though. If you don't use it. Anything on a thirty year time line will be effected by inflation too.

Home Insurance? I dont think my home insurance has ever gone down and I've never made a claim.

Its not like over time they've presumed that I've become a more responsible home-owner and am thus less likely to experience the kinds of things that static buildings tend to experience.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Mine dropped .90 cents this year! .90 sweet sweet cents. So yeah...joke's on you man!

How can it drop nine-tenths of a cent?

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

How can it drop nine-tenths of a cent?

Cause I don't have a cent symbol on my phone. It mucked up my whole thing.

Wawanesa is the broker I think. But the difference is very minimal flood insurance. It's an acreage with super minimal coverage all around.

Or I live in a car and just got the good driver discount.

The urge to own proper is pretty strong. A friend just sold in auburn bay, lost 110k and is going to do it all over again. We had the rent vs own discussion and he gets it. But he's just not into other people's houses. I hope this one works out.