triplexpac posted:

You can get a house around Vancouver that you design & build yourself for $550k??

HookShot posted:

Yeah, this thread has basically become "poo poo on people who spend money in any capacity" at this point, with the occasional article about the housing bubble.

HookShot posted:

Yeah, this thread has basically become "poo poo on people who spend money in any capacity" at this point, with the occasional article about the housing bubble.

Franks Happy Place posted:

If everyone would stop taking the bait from the same angry loser posting the same dumb thing over and over again...

tagesschau posted:

I'm totally fine making fun of the people who think they're financial geniuses but who will be totally blindsided when it turns out that borrowing money without having an income to match is an incredibly stupid idea.

Franks Happy Place posted:

If everyone would stop taking the bait from the same angry loser posting the same dumb thing over and over again...

tagesschau posted:

I'm totally fine making fun of the people who think they're financial geniuses but who will be totally blindsided when it turns out that borrowing money without having an income to match is an incredibly stupid idea.

PT6A posted:

Yes, but people have increasingly been confusing that with "spending money with an income to match, and not going into debt" and attacking the latter anyway. Honestly, if you have the time and two six-figure incomes, why wouldn't you want to spend a lot of it on travel, for example?

PT6A posted:

Where are you vacationing that's so cheap, or have you been on like three vacations in your whole life? I think there's a reasonable middle ground between $20k/person/year, and a $40k lifetime limit.

Heavy neutrino posted:

I think I broke $5K on yearly trips to Cuba before I graduated college; that's pretty low.

Rick Rickshaw posted:

I've only flown on my own dime once, which was to Vegas for a wedding. Probably $2500~ total for that trip. Oh, and a trip to Yellowknife to visit family, but that was all on Aeroplan. Basically free, or $1k if I paid for the flight.

I visited California and Colorado through work, so that was all free. The rest of my vacations were sailing trips with my racing team where we drove, because we have to haul the boat by truck and trailer. I don't own the boat, luckily.

In summary, $2500 for Vegas, $3000 total for three sailing trips, I'd say. I've averaged to go somewhere far out of province once per year since age 21. Doesn't seem too bad to me. Maybe I should have borrowed $10k on student loans to go to Europe when I was in college?

I'm being cynical with that last remark, but I do realize I'm definitely on the lower end of the scale, and I lucked out with one trip that was paid for by work that I still count as an awesome vacation.

Gorau posted:

This is wishful thinking, especially on the auto front. The auto industry in Canada will probably never regain its prominence. Building stuff in Canada is not only more expensive then Mexico or the Southern U.S. in terms of labour, it's geographically more remote from the North American growth markets, and has far less access to international markets. Automakers have moved more or less to a single plant per model style of production. They want one plant to manufacture one style of car for as large a market as possible. Moving to Mexico in this case then makes sense. Mexico has better access to markets because of free trade agreements than Canada. Cars built in Canada can move duty free throughout nafta, but cars built in Mexico can move duty free in nafta, South America and a few Asian countries. This dynamic doesn't apply to quite all industries but it does to most.

When you add the challenges of expensive labour and expensive electricity it becomes obvious why companies aren't siting heavy industry in Canada, there's no logical reason they would. The dollar would have to fall far further than it has for our manufacturing industry to be really competitive, and even then, it's unlikely we would be the first choice because of market access issues.

PT6A posted:

I'd sooner die than cut out red meat.

As a side note, why is it so loving hard to find veal here when it's so easy to find regular beef?

sbaldrick posted:

The fact that veal has so fallen out of popularity makes me sad it's as it's yummy.

quote:

The economic downturn in Alberta is nothing new to Ryan Griffiths. The technician who works for the Ford Motor Co. in Airdrie, just north of Calgary, gets paid piecemeal based on every job he does. When the economy started to slow in 2008, he had to figure out how to make ends meet.

“That’s the running joke around here: How did you get through it last time?” said Mr. Griffiths, 45.

The simple answer is: save enough money so you have a cushion when times are bad. Most planners suggest savings should cover your living costs for three to six months. The worst answer is: to do what some people appear to be considering right now, panicking.

Real estate sales in Alberta are off as much as 30% to 40% from a year ago and listings are way up, creating one of the worst scenarios in which to sell your home. Prices haven’t dropped dramatically yet, so it remains unclear whether Albertans have bailed out of housing en masse.

After Alberta residential prices fell in 2008, they did recover – although it took about three to four years to reach the old peak.

Robert Brown, who just published Wealthing like Rabbits, says preparing for a downturn comes well before the economy turns and begins with staying out of personal debt.

“It’s tough if you lose your job in any circumstances, but it’s a lot tougher if you are carrying a lot of debt,” says Mr. Brown, adding savings should be occurring at the same time. “One of the best ways to prepare for that is living in a smaller house that suits your means.”

Canadians have not been heeding that advice. Debt reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter, relative to income. Statistics Canada says the debt to disposable household income ratio is 163.3%, much of it attributable to housing costs. The International Monetary Fund cautioned this month about Canadian debt being too high.

You may be able to finance a larger house, but it often comes with expenses that go beyond basic mortgage payments, including taxes, heat and hydro, Mr. Brown warns.

One strategy to prepare for a downturn is to have a line of credit, which would be harder to get approved once you’ve lost your job.

“I’m uncomfortable suggesting a line of credit is the best way to prepare for that. I have to be the guy on the other side of the fence who says, ‘Being in a position where you don’t need a line of credit’ is a better position,” says Mr. Brown. “Borrowing when you’ve lost your job is not the preferable way to go.”

Selling off assets is a possibility, but if everybody is thinking the same thing “you take a hit on price,” as people will discover if they sell houses in Alberta today, said Mr. Brown. “Maybe you don’t have to sell off big-ticket items but things that are inside your home,” he says.

Mr. Griffiths won’t be one of them. Instead of just owning his home, he’s bought rental properties that produce a healthy income, so he’s better fortified against a downturn.

“Work was slower so I just dug in a little more. My hours were down,” said Mr. Griffiths, who estimates he lost about 20% of his job-related income in 2008.

His wife works, which helps diversify his household income and ultimately means if one spouse loses their job, the household still has money coming in.

Having a spouse stay at home, especially to care for children, is for many a philosophical choice but there is little doubt it helps spread the risk. If both breadwinners work in different parts of the economy that further mitigates any risk.

Edmonton-based certified financial planner Al Nagy said one of the first things you should do if a boom goes bust is “put the blinders” on, because you don’t want to do anything drastic based on headlines.

“People move money in the wrong places in the wrong time and it’s the worst thing you can do,” he says, adding getting a defensive portfolio can be costly. “People don’t want to hear from their adviser, ‘Just hang tight. And hold on for the long-term.’ They got sick of that in 2008.”

One of the key issues is liquidity. “How are you going to get that liquidity? You have to prepare for that in advance,” said Mr. Nagy, adding it could mean cash but it could also mean accessing money from your tax-free savings account, which doesn’t penalize you for withdrawals.

Like other advisers, he says don’t panic. “It doesn’t mean you can’t revisit your cash flow, consolidate assets, simplify your portfolio. You may need to stretch a loan out. Just be smart about it and avoid things like credit cards,” said Mr. Nagy.

Mr. Griffiths says he won’t be selling his home or any of his other real estate assets any time soon. “I know where my next meal is coming from. It’s human nature to get caught up in the hype,” he says, adding he’s established a large equity position in his home to cushion any blow.

A little preparation doesn’t hurt either. He drives a 1998 Ford Escort Wagon and his wife has a 2002 Ford Explorer. “It gets us to and fro,” he says, adding no car payments means more savings – the ultimate safeguard.

Cultural Imperial posted:

http://business.financialpost.com/2015/03/23/what-to-do-when-the-housing-boom-turns-to-bust/


get hosed alberta

namaste

PT6A posted:

I just saw a commercial for Target on what I can only assume is an American channel.

How in gently caress's name did they not figure out that Canadians were only shopping there for low prices and, occasionally, better selection than exists in the Canadian market? How did they think they were going to compete in the Canadian market with poo poo prices?

meatcookie posted:

*sigh* FB post last night from some long-time friends of ours with 1.5 incomes, 2 small kids and a dying vehicle
'ZOMG we're buying a house!"
In Victoria.
Now.

w/in 15 minutes, 10 'likes' and 3 comments of "oh you guys are going to LOVE being homeowners, welcome to the club!!!!"
Experience tells me that speaking up is not likely to end well.
Really disappointed, I thought they were smarter than that.

Sassafras posted:

100k down and that's a $1300 payment - pretty affordable for anyone with remotely decent employment.

Sassafras posted:

Maybe this is just the "living in Vancouver" talking, but there are a bunch of houses pretty close to downtown Victoria for sub-400k. Price have been falling there for years already.

100k down and that's a $1300 payment - pretty affordable for anyone with remotely decent employment.

Franks Happy Place posted:

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Mortgage underwriters are preparing for a flood of delinquencies from Alberta: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/genworth-braces-for-downturn-in-alberta-real-estate-1.3007917

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Where are you supposed to get remotely decent employment in Victoria?

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Mortgage underwriters are preparing for a flood of delinquencies from Alberta: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/genworth-braces-for-downturn-in-alberta-real-estate-1.3007917