Quote:
Originally Posted by Mazrim
For those of you who already own houses, I'm happy for all of you since you'll be making some value on your properties in the next few years at least. For people like me who are scrounging up a down payment for their first home, it's a little depressing to watch houses become even less affordable, potentially in a big hurry if the Toronto and Vancouver situation spill out to other Canadian cities.
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I can't speak for what it's like in Canada, but here in the U.S. I would recommend and offer a bit of encouragement that deals and value can be found in older (and perhaps smaller) homes with a keen eye and an average amount of knowledge. Timing often plays an important role and you're right, it might be hard to get your "forever dream home" at the moment, but if you educate yourself on what to look for (i.e. something that won't be a Money Pit) and are willing/able to either do some work and renovations yourself, or at least save up for it to hire a contractor in the future, then I think you can definitely get something you'll end up liking.
I'm by no means a professional contractor and I'm not rich either, but over the last 10-12 years I've dabbled in various projects to get my homes into the condition that I want them. My first home I re-did my own bathroom with my father after buying tile at a discount from a friend - it wasn't perfect, but it turned out OK and was much better than that was there when we moved in. A few years later I bought pavers and stones and made my own patio and firepit in the backyard to enhance the outdoor living/entertaining space. Years after that, after saving and taking out a home equity loan, I got around to re-doing the kitchen through hiring some contractors - it was a bit late and I only enjoyed the new kitchen for a year or two before I sold the house, but the money I spent on the project I believe I got back in the eventual sale price of the house.
The home I'm in now I bought just under 3 years ago and thankfully I didn't have to do much to it, but I also re-did my bathroom again, converted my pool to saltwater, and adding sustainable rock landscaping around the home so that I don't have to replace it every year. There's also a ton of little things you can do that make a big difference and are inexpensive, but they make it feel like your own place and over time you start seeing it become your dream - for a hundred bucks or so I replaced all of my faucets, door handles and hinges, light fixtures, etc - when I moved in all of those things were either old and dingy, gaudy, broken, and so forth, and it may not seem like much, but you learn a little plumbing and electrical along the way through these DIY efforts and overtime it adds up, both in the value and condition of your home, and your own knowledge and experience (which will pay dividends later if and when you progress to a bigger/better/different home).
Anyway, didn't mean to ramble, but I hope that helps you remain positive - as someone who enjoys home ownership despite its ups and downs, I hope one day you get what you're looking for, sooner rather than later.