Canada Housing/Debt: Trust me, I'm a landlord.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Canada Housing/Debt: Trust me, I'm a landlord.

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

PT6A posted:

Well, yes and no. I lived in Quebec, and you're correct that tenants theoretically have more recourse against rent increases and such. Still, you have to (if I'm not mistaken) actually go to a hearing, and argue why the given increase is unreasonable given the circumstances, and you aren't guaranteed to win. You probably won't be pushed out with an instant $400/month increase, but over the course of years, if you aren't getting proper raises (or are on a fixed income), you can still be hosed.

Thatcher's pretty useless, I agree. Do you have pictures of an average council flat before, and then again after the sell-off, to show the difference in quality, or is it simply "common knowledge"?

It was basically horrible idea privatizing a somewhat successful public housing scheme:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_Act_1980
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/thatchers-legacy-a-shortage-of-affordable-housing/article11015971/

So despite Thatcher selling it as something that would help solve the problem of housing affordability it had the opposite effect due to price speculation and other dumb things seen in the current Canadian housing bubble.
For a comparison in the above articles a council flat that sold for 50,000 pounds in the mid 90s now increased to 250,000 pounds in 2013.

Also the other big problem with council housing was despite the speculators making piles of money, the local government could not get loans and build enough new public housing to keep up with the demand.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 00:22

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# ? May 26, 2024 13:07

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

I wasn't sure where to post this but on the taxonomy of "stupid things canadians do with their money", I thought this thread was most appropriate.

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/03/26/rcmp-fraud-ontario-charges/

ps: gently caress you globe and mail. you and your loving paywall can go to hell

quote:

RCMP charges 6 men accused of massive fraud that cost feds and thousands of investors millions

By John Greenwood

Six Ontario residents are facing charges after RCMP say thousands of investors and the Canadian government lost millions of dollars in an alleged...

Thousands of Canadians are learning the hard way that it pays to be wary when salesmen show up bearing investment opportunities that seem too good to be true.

The charged

�Vincent "Vince" Villanti (age 66) of Whitby
�Shane Davidson Smith (age 46) of Peterborough
�David Prentice (age 52) of Oakville
�Ravendra "Ravi"Chaudhary (age 65) of North York
�Andrew Lloyd (age 42) of Pickering
�Joe Loschiavo (age 49 ) of Etobicoke

The RCMP on Tuesday arrested six people in connection with what they allege is a massive fraud affecting people from across Canada, resulting in total losses of roughly $300-million.

Authorities claim the six people were the ring leaders of a sophisticated investment scam that promised potential victims - they came from all walks of life - a share in corporate tax losses that would entitle them to generous refunds from the Canada Revenue Agency that would be significantly greater than the original investment.

The only problem was the scheme was bogus. According to the RCMP, many of the companies that promoters claimed were involved were unaware of what was going on. Other companies were connected to the organizers and their tax losses were fraudulent.

Henry Tso of the RCMP's financial crime section said investors who were taken in by the scheme are facing direct losses of as much as $100-million, but they could be facing an even bigger bill if the Canada Revenue Agency decides it needs to get back about $200-million in tax refunds it has issued since the scheme began back in 2004 and which it now knows it should never have approved.

Inspector Tso declined to say whether investors will get any of their money back.

He said the main lesson here is that, investors need to do their due diligence. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Charged with fraud are Vincent Villanti, 66, of Whitby, Ont.; Shane Davidson Smith, 46, of Peterborough, Ont.; David Prentice, 52, of Oakville, Ont.; Ravendra Chaudhary, 65, of North York, Ont.; Andrew Lloyd, 42, of Pickering, Ont.; and Joe Loschiavo, 49, of Etobicoke, Ont.

The six, now in jail, are alleged to have collected "a percentage" of the fictitious losses, though police said it is unclear what they did with the money.

Inspector Tso called it a highly sophisticated scheme, put together by "very intelligent" accountants and lawyers. Investments were sold very professionally, through companies and brokers - including many who may have been unaware that it was a scam - that appeared legitimate.

Companies used by the six alleged ring-leaders include Integrated Business Concepts (IBC), Synergy Group 2000, Cason Global Wealth Association (CGWA) and IBCA 2009.

Authorities acknowledge that the scheme was only one of many that get marketed to potential investors at seminars and conferences across the country, often advertised by email or even, quite openly, in newspapers. In the past, the schemes have focused on things like donations - inflated or even totally fake - that would, organizers claimed, entitle investors to a windfall tax refund.

Eventually the CRA and the police shut them down and the unscrupulous organizers moved on to different schemes.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 04:03

Lexicon: Jul 29, 2003; I had a beer with Stephen Harper once and now I like him.

^ Man, Canadians love the idea of an easy buck. I mean, all people do, but it seems like quite the Canadian proclivity.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 04:47

Lead out in cuffs: Sep 18, 2012; "That's right. We've evolved."

"I can see that. Cool mutations."

etalian posted:

It was basically horrible idea privatizing a somewhat successful public housing scheme:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_Act_1980
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/thatchers-legacy-a-shortage-of-affordable-housing/article11015971/

So despite Thatcher selling it as something that would help solve the problem of housing affordability it had the opposite effect due to price speculation and other dumb things seen in the current Canadian housing bubble.
For a comparison in the above articles a council flat that sold for 50,000 pounds in the mid 90s now increased to 250,000 pounds in 2013.

Also the other big problem with council housing was despite the speculators making piles of money, the local government could not get loans and build enough new public housing to keep up with the demand.

To follow on from this, there's some good information at the below link from a UK charity that helps the homeless.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns/why_we_campaign/the_housing_crisis

I won't deny that there were quality problems with some of the stock, but there are also plenty of council flats still around that are quite comfortable. And you hear horror stories about the quality of the newer free-market housing being built in the UK (again because of the housing under-supply caused directly by not building council flats).

Lead out in cuffs fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Mar 27, 2014

# ? Mar 27, 2014 05:24

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

You guys are cracking me up about the glory of english council housing. On the other hand, I found this: http://www.bdonline.co.uk/the-uks-top-10-council-estates/5058819.article

I've driven by Churchill gardens several times. It looks pretty awesome. I'd live there.

but, COUNTERPOINT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heygate_Estate

I've driven and walked by this shithole more times than I care to remember. What a complete and utter shithole. gently caress uk council housing.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 05:51

Rime: Nov 2, 2011; by Games Forum

I can't wait to see the leaky everything crisis that is going to develop in Vancouver within the next decade or so. I have a couple friends working in the lockup fields of construction and apparently some of the poo poo they've been working in has been just phenomenally bad. One of them wondered if we have building inspectors at all anymore.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 05:53

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

This is loving awesome.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 05:57

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Rime posted:

I can't wait to see the leaky everything crisis that is going to develop in Vancouver within the next decade or so. I have a couple friends working in the lockup fields of construction and apparently some of the poo poo they've been working in has been just phenomenally bad. One of them wondered if we have building inspectors at all anymore.

I know certain condos got sued in Toronto for windows literally falling on the street due to shoddy construction.

Not to mention other great gimmicks like fountains and pools on the roof.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 06:02

Rime: Nov 2, 2011; by Games Forum

etalian posted:

Not to mention other great gimmicks like fountains and pools on the roof.

Ahh yes, the seals of which will fail within ten years and cost the condo owners a stunning amount of money to replace, assuming maintenance catches it in time before it floods a half dozen units. :allears:

# ? Mar 27, 2014 06:05

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Cultural Imperial posted:

This is loving awesome.

that looks like SFU Burnaby

# ? Mar 27, 2014 06:05

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Cultural Imperial posted:

This is loving awesome.

it's very clockwork orange-esque

# ? Mar 27, 2014 06:08

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Rime posted:

Ahh yes, the seals of which will fail within ten years and cost the condo owners a stunning amount of money to replace, assuming maintenance catches it in time before it floods a half dozen units.

black mold galore too due to all the water damage

# ? Mar 27, 2014 06:10

Brannock: Feb 9, 2006; by exmarx; Fallen Rib

Cultural Imperial posted:

This is loving awesome.

Honestly structures like those should be convex and not concave. The "stretching into the horizon" effect is very dystopian.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 06:31

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

Brannock posted:

Honestly structures like those should be convex and not concave. The "stretching into the horizon" effect is very dystopian.

Yeah that's why I love it. You couldn't pay me to live in that poo poo though.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 06:38

Brannock: Feb 9, 2006; by exmarx; Fallen Rib

I've always had a soft spot for Brutalism, and especially the 50s-70s "future architecture" look. It's kind of a shame that it's mostly died out and we're stuck with huge nondescript towers of glass and steel.

edit: Tell me you wouldn't want to live here:

# ? Mar 27, 2014 06:45

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

I would not want to live there, it looks like a nightmare to navigate, but maybe the inside is actually simple and straightforward?

# ? Mar 27, 2014 07:57

Bip Roberts: Mar 29, 2005

JawKnee posted:

I would not want to live there, it looks like a nightmare to navigate, but maybe the inside is actually simple and straightforward?

How often do you "navigate" your apartment building besides walking to your unit?

# ? Mar 27, 2014 08:22

LemonDrizzle: Mar 28, 2012; neoliberal shithead

Cultural Imperial posted:

You guys are cracking me up about the glory of english council housing. On the other hand, I found this: http://www.bdonline.co.uk/the-uks-top-10-council-estates/5058819.article

I've driven by Churchill gardens several times. It looks pretty awesome. I'd live there.

but, COUNTERPOINT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heygate_Estate

I've driven and walked by this shithole more times than I care to remember. What a complete and utter shithole. gently caress uk council housing.

This discussion would probably be better suited to a new thread on historical and modern social housing around the world, but neither of those buildings/complexes are representative of the UK's (former) council houses in general. Most of the council housing stock just looks like, well, regular houses or apartment blocks. People tend to think of the big concrete projects when you talk about council housing because they're so big and visually imposing, but they were always a small part of the overall picture; most of the stock looked more like this:

Unsurprisingly, when it became available for tenants to buy at a huge discount, the stuff like ^^^ that sold with a quickness while the unmortgageable concrete monstrosities generally did not.

e: for amusement value, compare the quoted market rent of �3k/mo on that listing to the �159/week that would have been charged by its former owner, the City of London corporation.

LemonDrizzle fucked around with this message at 11:58 on Mar 27, 2014

# ? Mar 27, 2014 10:35

Antifreeze Head: Jun 6, 2005; It begins; Pillbug

Dusseldorf posted:

How often do you "navigate" your apartment building besides walking to your unit?

Gotta think about the pizza man.

I don't know where that is, but that sort of thing would likely be a nightmare to heat in many parts of Canada.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 12:25

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

Brannock posted:

I've always had a soft spot for Brutalism, and especially the 50s-70s "future architecture" look. It's kind of a shame that it's mostly died out and we're stuck with huge nondescript towers of glass and steel.

edit: Tell me you wouldn't want to live here:

Did you know that this development was considered anything but a success?

# ? Mar 27, 2014 12:29

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/bmo-slashes-key-mortgage-rate/article17688398/

quote:

Just one week after Jim Flaherty stepped down, Bank of Montreal is shaking up the mortgage market, aggressively cutting its five-year rate to levels that caused the former finance minister to intervene last year.

BMO is now offering five-year fixed mortgages at 2.99 per cent, slashing its rate from 3.49 per cent. While that’s not the lowest rate in the market, BMO is the first big bank to move below the sensitive 3-per-cent threshold.

The last time a Canadian bank’s mortgage rates fell this low, in March of 2013, Mr. Flaherty stepped in and publicly called for “responsible lending” because he worried about an overheated housing market.

Asked whether Mr. Flaherty’s departure had anything to do with the bank’s decision, BMO spokesman Paul Deegan wrote in an e-mail that “the timing is driven by the fall in bond yields and that we are in what has traditionally been the busiest season for home buying.” Five-year Government of Canada bond yields have risen slightly over the past two months, but BMO looked back six months to make its decision.

Joe Oliver, Mr. Flaherty’s successor as Finance Minister, could not be reached for comment.

BMO’s rate cut comes after Toronto-Dominion Bank lowered its four-year rate to 2.97 per cent earlier in March. Last week, shortly after Mr. Flaherty stepped down, Bank of Nova Scotia also slashed its mortgage rates, and instituted a special 2.94-per-cent four-year rate.

At least one credit union also moved its five-year rate to 2.99 per cent in February.

BMO’s decision came the same day that Canada’s biggest banks made it clear they are all but counting out the chance of a major correction in housing prices.

Despite doomsday scenarios from investors who are skeptical about the frothy real estate market, bank executives are now speaking with much more confidence about the likelihood that any correction, should one materialize, is likely to be a soft landing.

Their comments came one after the other at a bank conference on Wednesday.

“Do we see a major disaster in the housing sector? We don’t think so,” said Bharat Masrani, incoming chief executive officer at Toronto-Dominion Bank. In recent years, TD was one of the banks most concerned about a major price correction.

The bank CEOs and executives who spoke at the conference cited several reasons for confidence in the housing market: Sales-to-listing ratios aren’t out of whack; federal immigration policies have allowed for record numbers of household formations; unemployment is falling, so homeowners are better able to make their mortgage payments; and there hasn’t been a major uptick in mortgage loan losses at any of the Big Six banks.

Canada’s mortgage underwriting standards are strict, ensuring that people cannot buy houses they can’t afford, said David Williamson, head of retail banking at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

That’s not to say that home prices won’t fall. Many economists believe they will. Merrill Lynch, for instance, estimated that rising interest rates in 2016 could cause house prices to gradually decline 5 to 10 per cent over a couple of years.

Indeed, many experts say the market won’t truly be tested until rates do rise. But even then, while higher rates would immediately crimp affordability for new buyers, it would take years for most homeowners’ mortgages to be renegotiated at the higher levels.

It’s at that point that the real impact of Canada’s high consumer debt levels will become known. Canadians appear to be heeding warnings about piling on too much debt, and credit growth is now slowing. Some economists are hopeful that the debt-to-income ratio is near its peak and will start falling.

Even though mortgage lending isn’t a glaring issue, overall levels of consumer debt are still a concern.

“I think the more prudent question is consumer debt and not just housing itself,” TD’s Mr. Masrani said.

The banks, with their immense mortgage businesses, have a natural bias toward the perception that home prices are sustainable. But senior bankers also know that they would be in hot water if they failed to spot a pending housing crisis.

“Are we watching this very carefully? Absolutely,” National Bank of Canada CEO Louis Vachon said. “Are Canadians genetically immune to financial crisis? No. We’re not delusional. We’re not arrogant enough to take our eyes off the ball.”

This is so loving awesome. 2.99 mortgages are back!

# ? Mar 27, 2014 12:32

EvilJoven: Mar 18, 2005; NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?; Fun Shoe

gently caress it, I'm buying a house.

It's obvious now that our banks and government are going to allow the housing market inflate so bad and everyone who didn't max themselves out already is going to be left holding the bag.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 13:29

peter banana: Sep 2, 2008; Feminism is a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.

downtown Toronto & Vancouver houses for everyone!!!!

Edit: gently caress condos, and specifically gently caress Toronto City Council and planning. There could be good condos built, but that's not the business plan. I can't believe these developers get away with building condos that literally only one person can live in. It would be so much more beneficial to the city to build condos for families, so we can live the way families in Europe and New York City live, in apartments and condos. This city just lets the developers have their way and it makes me crazy. Just rubber stamp everything and don't consider whether or not it's good for the city. The Waterfront will be a ghetto a la St Jamestown in 15 years, I promise.

peter banana fucked around with this message at 13:34 on Mar 27, 2014

# ? Mar 27, 2014 13:30

Dreylad: Jun 19, 2001

Postwar development has always been prone to short-term thinking. Governments never thought to charge developers enough when they were building suburbs so the costs of maintain those suburbs would be sustainable over 40-50 years, and instead we've had to subsidize more and more development with tax dollars as older infrastructure breaks down.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 13:44

Lexicon: Jul 29, 2003; I had a beer with Stephen Harper once and now I like him.

EvilJoven posted:

everyone who didn't max themselves out already is going to be left holding the bag.

I think you are likely correct about this.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 13:45

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

quote:

Tara Perkins
@taraperkins
In reaction to BMO cutting 5-yr mortgage rate to 2.99%, new Finance Minister Joe Oliver says "I will continue to monitor the market closely"

https://twitter.com/taraperkins/status/449134681569902593

BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY

# ? Mar 27, 2014 15:15

Saltin: Aug 20, 2003; Don't touch

The Fed can and should respond to this with a further reduction in maximum amount CMHC is willing to insure. I think a move to something like 800k would have a profound affect on the market. Easily the best tool in a situation where the meta doesn't allow you to raise interest rates - it has demonstrated success in the million+ segment.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 16:04

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

https://businessincanada.com/2014/03/27/bank-of-montreal-five-year-fixed-rate-below-3-percent-canada-housing-bubble/

quote:

Canadian banks are starved for domestic loan growth, so much so that they’re willing to sacrifice their margins in a big way. When BMO’s 5-year fixed rate was last at 2.99 percent, the 5-year Canadian government bond yield was around 1.3 percent. Since then, the five-year yield has moved up 40 basis points. One analyst, however, did point out that skinny margin specials are not uncommon in the run-up to the spring season.

This is pretty stupid and irrational isn't it? Does bmo expect the housing market to keep going up or is some rear end in a top hat trying to make his numbers to collect a fat bonus?

# ? Mar 27, 2014 16:35

Lexicon: Jul 29, 2003; I had a beer with Stephen Harper once and now I like him.

Cultural Imperial posted:

https://businessincanada.com/2014/03/27/bank-of-montreal-five-year-fixed-rate-below-3-percent-canada-housing-bubble/

This is pretty stupid and irrational isn't it? Does bmo expect the housing market to keep going up or is some rear end in a top hat trying to make his numbers to collect a fat bonus?

It's all riskless profit to them anyway.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 16:40

EvilJoven: Mar 18, 2005; NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?; Fun Shoe

Lexicon posted:

I think you are likely correct about this.

How well protected are bank deposits in Canada? I have a decent chunk of cash in the bank but it's below the CDIC limit. What are the chances of it literally being seized by the government because 'GOTTA PROTECT BANKS AND HOMEOWNERS'?

# ? Mar 27, 2014 17:57

Lexicon: Jul 29, 2003; I had a beer with Stephen Harper once and now I like him.

EvilJoven posted:

How well protected are bank deposits in Canada? I have a decent chunk of cash in the bank but it's below the CDIC limit. What are the chances of it literally being seized by the government because 'GOTTA PROTECT BANKS AND HOMEOWNERS'?

I think the chances of that are pretty low (though any Cypriot pre-2012 would probably have said the same thing).

Higher taxes, higher national debt, lower CAD all strike me as relatively high-probabiilty future outcomes though.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 18:06

LemonDrizzle: Mar 28, 2012; neoliberal shithead

Lexicon posted:

I think the chances of that are pretty low (though any Cypriot pre-2012 would probably have said the same thing).

Even during the Cypriot bail-in, deposits of less than 100k euros were protected.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 18:18

ocrumsprug: Sep 23, 2010; by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

EvilJoven posted:

How well protected are bank deposits in Canada? I have a decent chunk of cash in the bank but it's below the CDIC limit. What are the chances of it literally being seized by the government because 'GOTTA PROTECT BANKS AND HOMEOWNERS'?

Federally it should be fine, similar provincial guarantees for credit unions are likely solid too but may be more at the whim of provincial finances. I don't really see a situation where the government comes and loots saving accounts. If for no other reason, that people don't have much money in them.

We aren't in a Cypress situation where our bank accounts pay 10+% interest so people have money there. The saving rate in BC is actually negative, and isn't much better across the country, so it isn't clear to me that looting them would net anyone enough to justify the political price they would pay.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 18:22

Mexplosivo: Mar 8, 2007; The monetary system is not ratified by society yet it shapes and dictates our entire existence...

ocrumsprug posted:

We aren't in a Cypress situation where our bank accounts pay 10+% interest so people have money there. The saving rate in BC is actually negative, and isn't much better across the country, so it isn't clear to me that looting them would net anyone enough to justify the political price they would pay.

That and Canada doesn't use the euro or any other currency they don't fully control and can devalue instead of looting savings accounts.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 18:40

Franks Happy Place: Mar 15, 2011; It is by weed alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the dank of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by weed alone I set my mind in motion.

Your savings are fine, but the banks also won't get all of their CMHC claims back, because there's no way a stringent review of their books will find all of those loans were properly documented and income-verified. So, I wouldn't own any bank stocks if I were you.

In other news, the BC Liberals just tabled a bill that would release a bunch of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve to development. This is less than a week after they tabled a tweak to the condo marketing laws so that if a developer pre-sells a project and it later turns out what they were selling is bullshit, as long as they totally didn't mean to lie, I swear honest!, they can't be sued by buyers.

The development industry is going hog wild up in this bitch. I guess that's what happens when 50% of Christy Clark's leadership bid fundraising come from developers.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 18:55

Rime: Nov 2, 2011; by Games Forum

In the shower this morning I briefly wondered how much private funding we could get for a series of short attack ads about the BC Liberals and all the terrible things they've done.

Eg: "In 2003, the RCMP raided the home of Premier Christy Clarke in connection with the sale of BC Rail, a sale later found to have robbed the province of millions. What is Christy hiding today?" followed by "The BC Li(e)berals. Do we really need another 5 years?".

You could spin this out to all sorts of high profile issues: Parks defunding, healthcare budget cuts, BC Ferries, Hydro rates being raised because of attempts to privatize it, TFW rates being the highest in the country, etc. Just a super intensely dirty attack campaign dredging up everything the Liberals have done to screw the citizens of BC for the benefit of their friends and multinational corporations.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 19:05

Franks Happy Place: Mar 15, 2011; It is by weed alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the dank of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by weed alone I set my mind in motion.

Rime posted:

In the shower this morning I briefly wondered how much private funding we could get for a series of short attack ads about the BC Liberals and all the terrible things they've done.

Eg: "In 2003, the RCMP raided the home of Premier Christy Clarke in connection with the sale of BC Rail, a sale later found to have robbed the province of millions. What is Christy hiding today?" followed by "The BC Li(e)berals. Do we really need another 5 years?".

You could spin this out to all sorts of high profile issues: Parks defunding, healthcare budget cuts, BC Ferries, Hydro rates being raised because of attempts to privatize it, TFW rates being the highest in the country, etc. Just a super intensely dirty attack campaign dredging up everything the Liberals have done to screw the citizens of BC for the benefit of their friends and multinational corporations.

http://www.shd.ca/

# ? Mar 27, 2014 19:06

Rime: Nov 2, 2011; by Games Forum

^ I'm talking putting it on Radio, if not television. Hence "I wonder how much funding..."

# ? Mar 27, 2014 19:10

Wasting: Apr 25, 2013; The next to go

EvilJoven posted:

gently caress it, I'm buying a house.

It's obvious now that our banks and government are going to allow the housing market inflate so bad and everyone who didn't max themselves out already is going to be left holding the bag.

It is starting to look like this, yes

# ? Mar 27, 2014 21:26

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# ? May 26, 2024 13:07

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

LemonDrizzle posted:

This discussion would probably be better suited to a new thread on historical and modern social housing around the world, but neither of those buildings/complexes are representative of the UK's (former) council houses in general. Most of the council housing stock just looks like, well, regular houses or apartment blocks. People tend to think of the big concrete projects when you talk about council housing because they're so big and visually imposing, but they were always a small part of the overall picture; most of the stock looked more like this:

Unsurprisingly, when it became available for tenants to buy at a huge discount, the stuff like ^^^ that sold with a quickness while the unmortgageable concrete monstrosities generally did not.

e: for amusement value, compare the quoted market rent of �3k/mo on that listing to the �159/week that would have been charged by its former owner, the City of London corporation.

To get back off-topic to the Vienna model, one reason why it works so well is that you have multiple firms bidding on the project since the deal helps both a developer and also the government.

So instead of hideous buildings you actually get something much closer to class A quality for public housing.

# ? Mar 27, 2014 23:59

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Canada Housing/Debt: Trust me, I'm a landlord.

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