KLM Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Sandman, does your new place have rental income in the basement? That is very popular in TO but not in other areas in Ontario. It should be though as it is a great idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Yeah I guess I should have added the difference between interest and rent. We bought another semi-detached house in Mississauga...another under-valued property ( ~$35,000 less than comparable properties). It is unkept; when we bought it the grass in the front yard was up to my waist! I have already fixing it up. We are hopeful for a greater turn around on this place (assuming the T.O housing bubble doesn't burst in the next 4 years!) Did similar except at an investment property. Bought an older property 4 years ago for $350K with a fair amount of land. Dumped $100K in upgrades into it and sold it a year later for $535K. Will probably do something similar in the next little while as i look to move closer to school (while renting out current house) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Probably not the best idea to buy property at the moment. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/07/13/housing-prices-fall-td.html We're been hearing this since fall of 08. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 If you do want to make renovations on a house that needs TLC, it think you can make a good profit. The question is, do you? I know lots of people who love to do that sort of thing, and frankly without my residency schedule I may have considered it somewhat, but right now it sounds like a whole lot of work - so yeah, you make a profit, but it pays for your hours of work! Otherwise, if the plan is to buy for 4-6yrs, then it's a gamble in terms of making or losing money, when you take all costs into consideration. My husband and I almost bought a house before starting residency. The idea was, we're in the town where we hope to stay for good and we have a decent income, so why go through the trouble of moving twice and why not invest into a house, which long term makes sense financially? We made a few offers and after TONS of complications and stress and an inspection that didn't go as we hoped, we bailed and rented an apartment. I actually think it was a blessing in disguise. Initially, I was looking forward to having my own place, but now that I think about it, with our crazy schedules, I love to have landlords! I really appreciate that they came to paint our entrance the other day when it had to be done (and while I was post-call), that if the toilet leaks or anything breaks or wasn't built right initially, I just call them, and unless it was real negligence from my part I don't have anything to do about it. I also like that whenever we decide we want to move, we just have to give a 2 months' notice, pack up and go. We do still plan on buying a house someday, but for now this incredibly low maintenance place is perfect for us. It's a bit different from your situation since our initial plan was to get a bigger house, with a backyard (ie lawn to mow), a driveway (ie something to plow - or find someone who will plow it, which is hard in this area), and our own roof (which ended up being totalled on a 3yr old house, one of the main reason we bailed). So in an appartment-style condo, I'm guessing there's way less maintenance. But still, if you work 100hrs in a week, it's nice to have none at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 I didn't read all the post, so I might be re-iterating some of the same stuff. I'm not going into the market stuff, cuz that's something that you'll have to figure out on your own (although i think its a little overpriced now). But in terms of buying vs. renting as a timing in your life...I went to UofT and within my class, I would say that maybe 1/3 bought a place (although it was cheaper in my day!). Basically it worked out well for everyone who matched to Toronto for residency. You're going to be in Toronto for at least 4 years, which is about short to medium term. If you're in residency for another 2-5 years, then you're starting to look at medium to long term. But you can't really guarantee where you're going to be for residency! If you want something super competitive, then you may need to sacrifice Toronto as your first choice location for you specialty and then owing may be a headache. On the other hand, if you're here for 9 years, then you might be kicking yourself for not having bought a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLM Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Julie, even condo apartments can be a hassle when you are working 100 hours a week. You are wise to rent. Smurfette, I suppose, if you are in Toronto for 9 years, owning makes sense especially if your other half is not in medicine. I'm just hoping we don't have a big housing bust. I do worry about this bubble we are experiencing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moo Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 I think renting versus buying is really different depending on where you live. Its better to rent in some US cities than to buy. In San Francisco, for instance, some places RENT for as much as 4000 - 10,000 a month (and this includes some 1 bedroom condos) so it's definitely not for the poor. This is more than the monthly payment on my mortgage on a 1.3 million dollar townhouse that I just bought in Vancouver! My best friend from med school, doing a fellowship at UCSF rents a 2-BR for about 2000 a month and he can't afford to buy as he doesn't have a downpayment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 I think renting versus buying is really different depending on where you live. Its better to rent in some US cities than to buy. In San Francisco, for instance, some places RENT for as much as 4000 - 10,000 a month (and this includes some 1 bedroom condos) so it's definitely not for the poor. This is more than the monthly payment on my mortgage on a 1.3 million dollar townhouse that I just bought in Vancouver! My best friend from med school, doing a fellowship at UCSF rents a 2-BR for about 2000 a month and he can't afford to buy as he doesn't have a downpayment. Pretty sure i'd feel like killing myself if a townhouse cost 1.3MM and like you, i could afford it but i guess you dont have that many options livimg where you are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anxious_101 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 I must admit, there are some sound arguments and perspectives brought up in this thread. The overriding opinion seems to be to not buy. My realtor also thinks a price pullback will likely happen next year. Perhaps better to buy then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyboy Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 haha, trusting a realtor is just like trusting a stock broker. It really depends on where ur. The bottom line is the price isn't going to move downward too much. With QE1 and QE2, $1 two or three years ago is not same as today... If u can afford to buy, do so when the price already drops quite a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 haha, trusting a realtor is just like trusting a stock broker. True, but when the realtor is telling you it's not a good time to buy... it's kind of like a pharm rep telling you to not prescribe their product... I think I would trust that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyboy Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 >>pharm rep telling you to not prescribe their product<< It is not a real estate we're talking about. In real estate, they're talking about whether the market will go up or down in the next few years. We don't have the same analogy in Pharmacy. We cannot buy a Pharm product and hope it will go up. It is human nature to buy when the price is up and to sell (or not to buy) when the price is down. Typically, greed and fear. Like I said before, if you have the down payment, and just wondering whether the market will be up 4 years from now. You should go ahead and buy if you live in an area when market has been down, the risk to reward ratio is to your favour. Don't wait until you cannot afford it, or the down payment is beyond your reach. I don't really see that we're back to 80' where the interest rate is high and the mortgage amounts is more than the house price. With USA and Europe, I see the dollar are depreciated much faster, and the only way to beat that is buy some properties or Gold. Just my 2 cents. Take it with a grain of salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheech10 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 >><snip>... You should go ahead and buy if you live in an area when market has been down, the risk to reward ratio is to your favour. ...<snip> Is there anywhere in Canada where the market is down recently? Certainly not in Toronto or Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLM Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Is there anywhere in Canada where the market is down recently? Certainly not in Toronto or Vancouver. I don't think so. Even in good old Thunder Bay the market is okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 One thing about planning to rent your place out to someone is that not all renters are great. Your renter could stop paying his or her rent - it will take forever to evict them and require all kinds of effort on your side, as with residential tenancies, the laws are generally in favor of the tenant. If the person turns out to be some sort of deadbeat, you may never get the money back. Alternatively, your tenant could simply trash the place and take off - again, good luck getting any sort of compensation. They could break something and you may find that it's difficult to prove it's their fault, so you end up footing the bill. Or it could be a complete nightmare, as happened to a landlord opposite my place, where the tenant almost burnt the place down. Just saying that being a landlord is not necessarily a piece of cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLM Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 You are so right Jochi. Even I, who live with my renters, have to watch everything but do not want to make much of a fuss. I would be very nervous if I had to rent the place out without my living there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 You are so right Jochi. Even I, who live with my renters, have to watch everything but do not want to make much of a fuss. I would be very nervous if I had to rent the place out without my living there. Yeah the absent landlord problem. My landlord has serious problem getting new tenants as he is not even in the same city (quite the possibility with CaRMS). That just makes the situation that much more unstable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.