2.1 million? Are you kidding me?

i'm waiting for when pedro comes back to say "i told you so".

the curious thing will be to compare property values from say 2008 when people started saying the sky is falling to what teh prices may actually bottom out at.

if someone bought a place in say 2008 for like $500K, it's worth say $950K now and "crashes" to $650K then they still come out ahead.

That's generally how the RE market has gone.

I have a close friend who's pride is getting in the way of him making a good decision- to buy what he can afford on a familly income of $100K before taxes, because he doesn't want to live in a little shithole condo where your neighbours are living on top of you. Plus he plays the "what if" game, as in "what if" the market crashes.

Meanwhile, he's renting out a basement suite w/ his wife and son.

To my way of thinking, you've not only pissed away ~10K-$12K a year paying a lease or rent, but you damage your leverage exponentialy down the line by not adding an asset to your portfolio. You don't need to be rolling in it to build a portfolio, but you do need to be smart, and plan.

You can play it safe and die poor, or you can take risks and die poor. If you are young, you have to find a way to get into the market…at $60K a year, get yourself into the smallest piece of property you can if you have to, and build your asset.

To my way of thinking, you've not only pissed away ~10K-$12K a year paying a lease or rent, but you damage your leverage exponentialy down the line by not adding an asset to your portfolio. You don't need to be rolling in it to build a portfolio, but you do need to be smart, and plan.

So you're betting that real estate prices do not drop 10-12K a year, on say a 300K apartment?
I'm betting on the opposite, and could easily see prices down 50K in 5 years.
What's the difference between throwing it away to rent vs capital?
The asset you should be building is the extra 1000$ a month you should be saving comparing price to rent vs owning. (Which seems to be most peoples problem)

The asset you should be building is the extra 1000$ a month you should be saving comparing price to rent vs owning. (Which seems to be most peoples problem)

lol.

What kind of mortgages do you think people are carrying?

Sure, maybe if you're renting 1 room in some dirtbag Commercial shitbox.. But there aren't a lot of houses for rent in the price range you are implying [HTML_REMOVED]$1000/month.

Its great if it works for you, but if everything was wonderful for everyone all the time, everyone would move to wherever you are and drive up the prices your real estate and clog your recreational places (like has happened in the Okanagan). Location, location, location. Supply and demand.

Isn't that exactly what I said? Although, granted I said it better as I was able to insult 3X at the same time.

One thing to consider is, if what we both agree that it is likely that people will be spreading out and looking for the next great place to be, why not get ahead of the game- buy in the less popular places now before they become horrendously expensive as well.

For example, my little slice of heaven has also gone from cheap to barely affordable in the matter of 6-7 years. It is just no where near the same scale of the LM. (e.g. - our town is in the process of selling 44 acres in town to a developer - for subdivision purposes - for the price of an east van tear down)

So you're betting that real estate prices do not drop 10-12K a year, on say a 300K apartment?
I'm betting on the opposite, and could easily see prices down 50K in 5 years.
What's the difference between throwing it away to rent vs capital?
The asset you should be building is the extra 1000$ a month you should be saving comparing price to rent vs owning. (Which seems to be most peoples problem)

I'm betting not, but more importantly, it is almost "without risk" to take the risk and buy in.

Buy now, 5 years later, the property drops by $50K…but in 5 years you have a $250K asset that you didn't have before. In that 5 years, you would have spent $50K in rent, minimum. By buying in, you are paying down a reasonable amount of interest, so even with a loss in value, you would be ahead by buying in.

I don't know what the future holds, but I can base my predictions on what I see happening in the economy now and what I think will happen over the next 5-10 years. I have always looked at it that way.

I know this: buying in to a 2800 sq. ft home in 1998 for $227K was easily the best financial decision I've ever made, because that move gave me the first bit of asset leverage to make several other real estate investments in the years that have followed. All have or are paying off. There have been dips- 2008 through 2010 was a nice one- but over time, the assets have grown and multiplied, all because in 1998 I took a risk that many at the time felt I had no business taking.

You can take the risk now, or the bigger risk of waiting for the next 5 years, wasting your money, or trying to save it, hoping the real estate values will drop enough to make the risk of holding out worthwhile.

Personally, I like to think I make sound, analytical decisions in these areas. It's worked for me.

One thing to consider is, if what we both agree might happen is going to happen (people spreading out and looking for the next great place to be), why not get ahead of the game- buy in the less popular places now before they become horrendously expensive as well.

I did just that - 100 feet from the woods where the singletrack winds up the mountain, 20 minutes from a ski hill, 90 minutes to Whistler, a 5 minute walk to hiking trails and sea kyaking, kids can walk to school … all 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver. But that was back then, this is now.

close proximity to biking [HTML_REMOVED] boarding, walking distance to everyday amenities (shops, markets, etc), and generally all the cool stuff that comes with a major urban center - a diverse array of great restaurants, pubs, arts [HTML_REMOVED] entertainment venues, and all the associated events. i'm a big fan of (good) urbanism, and we've got a pretty nice example here. the fact that it's snuggled up against the north shore mountains is what makes it an unbeatable combo - for me. the most compelling alternative place i've seen so far is nelson, but i'm not sure i like the isolation of the location.

yep; there's a steady stream of bikes coming out of that place. yapped at a guy w/ a nice m9 the other day.

Thats what I like about living here in Duncan, 3 major trail networks within 10 minutes of my house. Sure I'm not I'm pretty damn far from mount washington but I'm not a winter person so it's fine by me!

But I'm close to all the shopping I need, and with Victoria/Nanaimo literally a 40 minute drive away, I'm close to all the "big city" restaraunts and entertainment stuff. It seems like it's quicker for me to drive to Victoria than it is for someone to bus from one area of van to the other.

You can play it safe and die poor, or you can take risks and die poor. If you are young, you have to find a way to get into the market…at $60K a year, get yourself into the smallest piece of property you can if you have to, and build your asset.

Truer words were never spoken.

Thats what I like about living here in Duncan, 3 major trail networks within 10 minutes of my house. Sure I'm not I'm pretty damn far from mount washington but I'm not a winter person so it's fine by me!

But I'm close to all the shopping I need, and with Victoria/Nanaimo literally a 40 minute drive away, I'm close to all the "big city" restaraunts and entertainment stuff. It seems like it's quicker for me to drive to Victoria than it is for someone to bus from one area of van to the other.

You must have a freaking fast car.

Anyone with ambitions here is leaving for where the grass is greener.

I like it here fine, but job prospects are non existent and cost of living is way out of whack because of it.

Pretty hard to buy a home if you have zero income.

You must have a freaking fast car.

Takes me 45 minutes max to drive into downtown victoria.

Whereas bussing and using the skytrain is a huge pain in the ass cause of waiting for busses(and missing busses), transfers, waiting for skytrains, all that bullshit. Takes longer to get somewhere that is actually a shorter distance than Duncan to Vic.

when there inst an accident that shuts the road down for 5 hours.

which seems to happen once a weekend.

when there inst an accident that shuts the road down for 5 hours.

which seems to happen once a weekend.

Hahahaha true enough. At least once the barrier goes in it'll only shut down ONE side of the highway when a retard inevitably drives into it.

Lack of barriers wasn't the problem, lack of driving skill was.