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

Tourists actually visit Alberta?

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/loonies-slide-has-tourists-flocking-to-alberta-as-industry-officials-hope-to-cash-in

# ? Jul 24, 2015 03:30

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 15, 2024 03:02

Risky Bisquick: Jan 18, 2008; PLEASE LET ME WRITE YOUR VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT SO I CAN FURTHER DEMONSTRATE THE CALAMITY THAT IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM.; Buglord

One would assume having the largest tailing ponds in the world would count for something

# ? Jul 24, 2015 03:35

Powershift: Nov 23, 2009

etalian posted:

Tourists actually visit Alberta?

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/loonies-slide-has-tourists-flocking-to-alberta-as-industry-officials-hope-to-cash-in

Of course, we've got the moutains and....a whole bunch of stuff that's not mountains.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 03:48

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Powershift posted:

Of course, we've got the moutains and....a whole bunch of stuff that's not mountains.

you can see the real life version of the Isengard scene from Lord of the Rings

Albertans did the above just so they could have truck equity

etalian fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Jul 24, 2015

# ? Jul 24, 2015 03:58

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

Canada Debt Bubble: Truck Equity

This needs to happen.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 04:02

Kly: Aug 8, 2003

etalian posted:

Tourists actually visit Alberta?

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/loonies-slide-has-tourists-flocking-to-alberta-as-industry-officials-hope-to-cash-in

sure, it has the mountains like BC but without the pretentious cunts

# ? Jul 24, 2015 04:04

Wistful of Dollars: Aug 25, 2009

Baronjutter posted:

I just made my last car payment this month which means I actually have 0 debts of any sort. It will be nice having an extra 900 a month. Going to build up my model train equity.

To cross-quote myself

El Scotch posted:

I went to pay off the remaining balance on my car this week.

$25 dollars.

The bank wouldn't let me pay off the last $25.

I now drive around in a vehicle I owe $25 on.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 04:14

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Kly posted:

sure, it has the mountains like BC but without the pretentious cunts

is it worse than the proud albertan who whines about other provinces stealing his money?

# ? Jul 24, 2015 04:55

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

Why wouldn't people want to TAKE AN ALBERTA BREAK

Baronjutter fucked around with this message at 05:47 on Jul 24, 2015

# ? Jul 24, 2015 05:05

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Baronjutter posted:

Why wouldn't people want to TAKE AN ALBERTA BREAK

I'd loving like to take a break from Alberta, if that counts.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 05:45

MeinPanzer: Dec 20, 2004; anyone who reads Cinema Discusso for anything more than slackjawed trolling will see the shittiness in my posts

triplexpac posted:

Screw you banks, I'm going to disrupt the system and take out a loan from this random app I saw in an ad!!!

That'll teach you for not giving me that 5th line of credit

I was sitting behind someone on a bus in Philadelphia a couple of months ago who in the course of the 20 minute trip managed to take out more than $1,500 in payday loans using different apps :eng99:

# ? Jul 24, 2015 06:44

Lain Iwakura: Aug 5, 2004; The body exists only to verify one's own existence.; Taco Defender

Baronjutter posted:

Why wouldn't people want to TAKE AN ALBERTA BREAK

I was curious about how the Alberta Heritage Fund was doing and realised that the Wikipedia article has a funny line:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Heritage_Savings_Trust_Fund

quote:

Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund (HSTF),[1][2] established in 1976[3]:10[4] by former Harvard-educated Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed[3]:10[4][5] had three objectives

Imagine if Ralph Klein was the one to have introduced the fund how that sentence would start.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 15:42

Dreylad: Jun 19, 2001

The badlands are a cool place to visit, as are going to see glaciers in Jasper or at Lake Louise before they all melt and disappear.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 15:57

The Butcher: Apr 20, 2005; Well, at least we tried.; Nap Ghost

Baronjutter posted:

Why wouldn't people want to TAKE AN ALBERTA BREAK

I wonder if there was ever even a single person who saw one of these and was like "You know what, dirty train car? You're right! I should book my vacation in Alberta!"

# ? Jul 24, 2015 17:07

The Butcher: Apr 20, 2005; Well, at least we tried.; Nap Ghost

Oh good, looks like we're out of the woods. Was getting worried for a second there.

The Globe and Mail posted:

Canada bouncing back, further rate cuts unlikely, economists say

The Canadian economy is already bouncing back from a slump in the first half of the year, but it remains vulnerable to further falls in oil prices and any renewed weakness in export demand from the United States, a Reuters poll found.

After the economy contracted in the first three months of the year, the second quarter also got off to a weak start, suggesting Canada, a major oil exporter, may have been in recession in the first half of 2015.

But economists, none of whom predicted such an outcome when polled on the outlook six months ago, forecast gross domestic product is already re-accelerating to a 1.7-per-cent rate, followed by 2.2 per cent in the fourth quarter.

A Reuters poll taken last week after the Bank of Canada shocked markets for a second time this year with an interest rate cut to dull the sting from falling oil prices found that the new rate of 0.5 per cent will likely be the floor.

Rates are expected to rise late next year, bringing policy in Canada back in line with the United States, its biggest trading partner. The Federal Reserve is expected to lift rates for the first time in nearly a decade in September.

�Until we see a meaningful sign that U.S. growth is really benefiting Canada, the economy is going to be under meaningful pressure,� said Benjamin Reitzes, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

That may be a tall order, given that there is no major acceleration in U.S. growth forecast on the horizon and any potential perceived benefit from a weaker Canadian dollar may already have taken place.

While a rate hike from the Fed might weaken the loonie further, that will only provide moderate support for the Canadian economy, said Emanuella Enenajor, senior economist at Bank of America.

�It is hard to say that the Fed rate hike is actually going to be positive for the Canadian economy and would motivate the [Bank of Canada] to move in lock-step.�

BoC Governor Stephen Poloz is optimistic the economy will regain momentum in the current quarter, helped by stronger U.S. demand for non-energy exports, a view which economists polled mostly shared.

The latest Reuters survey predicted that the Canadian economy will grow 1.3 per cent this year and 2.1 per cent next year, a significant downgrade from the 2.0 per cent and 2.2 per cent forecast in the last poll in April.

But that is still an optimistic full-year view given most now suspect a mild recession took place in the first half. Inflation is expected to stabilize around the BoC�s 2-per-cent target by the end of next year.

Some economists said the bank�s latest rate cuts could pose a risk to Canada�s financial stability by encouraging already over-indebted households to pile on more loans and further inflate an already extremely expensive housing market.

Canada�s economy sailed with only mild damage through the worst of the global financial crisis in 2008 that brought a booming U.S. housing market to its knees.

But while the U.S. housing market is recovering from a historic crash that took prices down by a third or more, the unrelenting rise in Canadian house prices has sparked fear among some economists of a sharp correction.

The average Canadian home price has more than doubled over the past decade. But this is complicated by the varying speeds of regional housing markets across the country, including the red hot cities of Toronto and Vancouver and the slowing oil-exporting province of Alberta.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/canada-bouncing-back-further-rate-cuts-unlikely-economists-say/article25652240/

# ? Jul 24, 2015 17:18

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

The Butcher posted:

I wonder if there was ever even a single person who saw one of these and was like "You know what, dirty train car? You're right! I should book my vacation in Alberta!"

Oyen sounds wonderful! Big events this weekend are the farmer's market today and the waste station being open tomorrow!

Make sure you visit the Co-op and maybe you'll catch a glimpse of their most famous citizen, women's hockey coach Melody Davidson as she shops for bread and milk.

It's a metropolis compared to Lavoy, which is only notable as it happens to be along the Yellowhead at a point where you know you are almost exactly an hour out of Edmonton.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 17:23

OhYeah: Jan 20, 2007; 1. Currently the most prevalent form of decision-making in the western world

2. While you are correct in saying that the society owns

3. You have not for a second demonstrated here why

4. I love the way that you equate "state" with "bureaucracy". Is that how you really feel about the state

The Butcher posted:

Oh good, looks like we're out of the woods. Was getting worried for a second there.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/canada-bouncing-back-further-rate-cuts-unlikely-economists-say/article25652240/

I dont get it. There is no objective marker that would give basis to a positive economic forecast. It sounds like some guys went :thumbsup:

and everyone said "OK that's good enough for me, keep on rocking".

# ? Jul 24, 2015 17:23

Tipps: Apr 18, 2006; party in the front

business in the back

etalian posted:

you can see the real life version of the Isengard scene from Lord of the Rings

Albertans did the above just so they could have truck equity

Switch the pictures around and you have a pretty good before and after of Sudbury, ON. :unsmith:

Speaking of Sudbury, a family friend got in touch with me this morning to ask me the best way for her son, who plans to move from the Sudburian suburb of Azilda (population 14,000) to Vancouver in October, to find a place to stay in the city. His budget? 800$/mo for rent+food+utilities.

:allears:

Even dumping all 800$ into rent, there are only ~20 listings on padmapper at that price unless you go into the subrubs, all of which are either AirBnBs or illegal basements nowhere near skytrain lines. And with school starting next month, they are all going to get snatched up asap and rent will cycle up due to landlords milking the influx of new students.

Good luck!

# ? Jul 24, 2015 17:58

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

800 a month for rent alone he could mayyyybe do if he lived in squalor with a shared bathroom, but for total living expenses jesus no. Did they do any research before deciding to come to Vancouver? Sudbury is a hole and moving away from it is always going to be +EV, but why Vancouver??

# ? Jul 24, 2015 18:00

Rime: Nov 2, 2011; by Games Forum

800 is only doable if you're splitting with at least three people, and even then your rent will be north of $500.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 18:09

The Butcher: Apr 20, 2005; Well, at least we tried.; Nap Ghost

OhYeah posted:

I dont get it. There is no objective marker that would give basis to a positive economic forecast. It sounds like some guys went and everyone said "OK that's good enough for me, keep on rocking".

These also being the same guys they asked for a forecast 6 months ago and not a single one of them was correct. Might as well just use a magic 8-ball and write your story based on that. Journalism!

# ? Jul 24, 2015 18:34

Lain Iwakura: Aug 5, 2004; The body exists only to verify one's own existence.; Taco Defender

http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21657817-new-research-suggests-it-debt-not-frothy-asset-prices-should-worry

quote:

Sorry to burst your bubble
New research suggests it is debt, not frothy asset prices, that should worry regulators most
Jul 18th 2015

WHEN Chinese shares plunged earlier this month, the government tried frantically to limit the damage. It pumped cash into the market, capped short-selling and ordered share buy-backs. Although China was unusually heavy-handed, it was hardly the first country to try to bolster stock prices for fear of the economic harm a crash could bring. Alan Greenspan, as chairman of the Federal Reserve, famously created the �Greenspan put� by giving investors the impression he would cut interest rates to stop stockmarket routs.

The underlying rationale for these interventions is an idea that until recently received surprisingly little scrutiny�namely, that stockmarket busts are very damaging for the economy. The link seems clear enough in the case of the crash of 1929, which led in short order to the Depression. But it is also easy to point to contrary examples. The bursting of America�s dotcom bubble in 2000 wiped out $5 trillion in market value, equivalent to half of GDP. Yet it was followed by a shallow recession.

Not all bubbles, it would appear, are equally bad. According to two new papers*, the crucial variable that separates relatively harmless frenzies from disastrous ones is debt. In many cases, though certainly not all, stockmarket manias fall into the less worrying category.

Writing for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Oscar Jorda, Moritz Schularick and Alan Taylor examine bubbles in housing and equity markets over the past 140 years. The most dangerous, they conclude, are housing bubbles fuelled by credit booms. The least troublesome are equity bubbles that do not rely on debt. Five years after the bursting of a debt-laden housing bubble, the authors find, GDP per person is nearly 8% lower than after a �normal� recession (ie, one that is not accompanied by a financial crisis). In contrast, five years after a stockmarket crash, GDP per person is only 1% or so lower. If the stock bubble comes alongside a big rise in debt, the damage to GDP per person is 4%. The paper does not explain why housing bubbles are more costly, but a fair inference is that, whereas equity investments tend to be concentrated among the rich, plenty of people lower down the income ladder have wealth tied up in housing.

That makes sense. Stockmarket routs typically harm the economy via the �wealth effect�. When people see that their assets are worth substantially less than before, they spend less, leading to weaker demand and, ultimately, weaker investment. Debt can make this worse. Those who have borrowed to invest may be forced to sell assets to avoid defaulting, further depressing prices and wealth. Banks that have lent to investors or accepted shares as collateral will also suffer losses. That forces them to rein in their lending, harming the economy even more.

In a paper for the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Markus Brunnermeier and Isabel Schnabel take an even longer view, examining 400 years of asset-price bubbles. Be it tulips, land, housing, derivatives or shares, they find that the consequences of a bursting bubble depend less on the type of asset than on how it is financed. High leverage is the telltale sign of trouble.

What does this mean for central banks? Before the financial crisis, the debate boiled down to �leaning versus cleaning�. Activist sorts argued that the monetary guardians should lean against the wind by raising interest rates when asset bubbles grew. The opposing camp, exemplified by Mr Greenspan, countered that it was too difficult to spot bubbles in advance and too costly to tighten monetary policy erroneously, so it was best to wait for them to burst before cutting rates to help clean up the mess.

Shifting the focus to debt changes the terms of the debate. As Frederic Mishkin of Columbia University has written, policymakers must distinguish between bubbles inflated purely by exuberance and those pumped up by debt. The latter are also easier to identify: credit issuance is abnormally fast and underwriting standards slip. In such circumstances, regardless of the level of asset prices, the case for intervention is strong.

That still leaves the question of what central banks should do after a stockmarket bubble has burst. Those that come to the rescue of collapsing markets are stoking moral hazard. Investors, believing that the central bank will always provide a backstop, are more likely to take unwarranted risks, as American ones did in response to the Greenspan put. Nevertheless, given that stockmarket bubbles accompanied by lots of debt, as in China, can cause severe economic damage, letting them burst without any succour is not a good option either.

Over to the finance minister

One option is to boost the broader economy through a spurt in government spending. Direct intervention to prevent the stockmarket from falling is more problematic, since it gums up price signals, preventing overvalued shares from returning to more reasonable levels. Halting stocks from trading, as seen recently with nearly half of listed Chinese companies, does not eliminate the problem but simply masks it. It was as if America had enacted a moratorium on selling homes after the subprime crisis.

Intriguingly, China�s interventions did put one strand of academic theory into practice. Roger Farmer of UCLA has argued that central banks should buy stocks to keep falling markets at reasonable price-to-earnings (PE) ratios. The Chinese central bank did this by providing cash to a stock-buying fund. Crucially, Mr Farmer says that central banks should then sell their holdings when PE ratios climb too high. That sounds like wishful thinking. In China as in other countries, the central bank often seems more intent on laying a floor for stocks than erecting a ceiling.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 19:03

cowofwar: Jul 30, 2002; by Athanatos

What student actually has a place to themselves? Both my wife and I rented rooms in a shared house for undergrad or grad school.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 19:05

Rime: Nov 2, 2011; by Games Forum

I know professionals in their thirties still splitting houses in Vancouver. Because they aren't retarded, and it saves them $12k+ a year compared to renting a place alone. That poo poo adds up, yo.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 19:11

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

cowofwar posted:

What student actually has a place to themselves? Both my wife and I rented rooms in a shared house for undergrad or grad school.

I did.

I'm rich, bitch!

Some of my friends certainly did, as well.

(it helps that Montreal isn't terribly expensive)

# ? Jul 24, 2015 19:27

Mr Luxury Yacht: Apr 16, 2012

Yeah, you can get a one bedroom in a decent location in Montreal for what you'd pay for a share of a 4 bedroom in Toronto.

Montreal is hella cheap.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 19:39

Juul-Whip: Mar 10, 2008

Alberta's nice.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 19:42

Slim Jim Pickens: Jan 16, 2012

Tipps posted:

Switch the pictures around and you have a pretty good before and after of Sudbury, ON.

Speaking of Sudbury, a family friend got in touch with me this morning to ask me the best way for her son, who plans to move from the Sudburian suburb of Azilda (population 14,000) to Vancouver in October, to find a place to stay in the city. His budget? 800$/mo for rent+food+utilities.

Even dumping all 800$ into rent, there are only ~20 listings on padmapper at that price unless you go into the subrubs, all of which are either AirBnBs or illegal basements nowhere near skytrain lines. And with school starting next month, they are all going to get snatched up asap and rent will cycle up due to landlords milking the influx of new students.

Good luck!

The lowest conceivable rent in Vancouver proper is like 550 for a basement that smells like mothballs. That's a two-person place, as well.

I don't understand why anyone moves to Vancouver at this point.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 20:17

sbaldrick: Jul 19, 2006; Driven by Hate

Baronjutter posted:

I've been in some of these units. In a lot of ways the finishes are worse than my 60 year old apartment, the only better things are in-suite laundry and maybe "better" kitchen counters, that's it. People paying an extra $400 or so a month just for in-suite laundry to save them a few bucks a month.

in-suite laundry is great and totally worth it over the long term given that my last apartment building charged 6.25 to do a whole load.

THC posted:

One of the new Canadian high tech success stories is Mogo Finance Technologies, which is basically Money Tree for the iPhone generation. Their ads promise to "Disrupt Your Debt" with loans up to $35k and interest rates over 200%. Its better than your typical usurious loan because they have an app. Not sure how it's even legal but I guess they're like Uber and they just don't give a poo poo if it's legal or not.

I though they where headquartered in Ottawa for a second and run by one of my old dot com buddies and I could get a sweet VP job from them

# ? Jul 24, 2015 20:42

Rime: Nov 2, 2011; by Games Forum

Slim Jim Pickens posted:

The lowest conceivable rent in Vancouver proper is like 550 for a basement that smells like mothballs. That's a two-person place, as well.

I don't understand why anyone moves to Vancouver at this point.

Where the gently caress else are there jobs in western canada? I mean, poo poo, you'll pay the same rent in Bella Coola or PG but you'll only be paying it if you're on welfare.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 20:43

HookShot: Dec 26, 2005

I had my own place in University but then I lived in Vanier

# ? Jul 24, 2015 20:44

Juul-Whip: Mar 10, 2008

sbaldrick posted:

I though they where headquartered in Ottawa for a second and run by one of my old dot com buddies and I could get a sweet VP job from them

Hope you're not too attached to that soul of yours

# ? Jul 24, 2015 20:48

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

sbaldrick posted:

in-suite laundry is great and totally worth it over the long term given that my last apartment building charged 6.25 to do a whole load.

I know when we were looking to get a unit that had in-suite laundry meant renting a newer condo. Which meant that for the same size unit it was about 400-500 more expensive a month. And on top of that you'd be living in some idiot's investment condo they could kick you out of any time vs a purpose built rental building with a professional landlord that totally wants you to stay for 10 years.

There's a new batch of rental buildings in town in the last few years that have in-suite laundry, but once again you're paying like 400-500 more a month. Laundry is nice but I'm paying about $16 a month on the laundry in my building, it's just not worth it. I'd have to do 100 loads a month to make in-suite laundry be worth it.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 20:49

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

Rime posted:

I know professionals in their thirties still splitting houses in Vancouver. Because they aren't retarded, and it saves them $12k+ a year compared to renting a place alone. That poo poo adds up, yo.

I know this is the something awful thriftiness one-upmanship thread, but it's hardly a mark of a retard to be a thirty-something professional and not want to deal with roommates.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 21:34

sauer kraut: Oct 2, 2004

Why is in-suite laundry such a huge deal and 400-500$ extra, are y'all lugging your dirty laundry down to the damp basement like it's 1939?
My washing machine cost half that and it's been running for 8 years now. You just need a water/grey water hookup and 2ftx2ft of space next to the toilet or the dishwasher.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 21:53

Gorau: Apr 28, 2008

So the Feds just kicked in 1.5 billion to the north and south east LRT lines in Calgary. I may actually see the north and south east legs of the LRT get built in my working lifetime. Obvious a sop to shore up the votes in Calgary, but got drat it's needed.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/tories-announce-1-5b-for-green-line-lrt-project

Edit for a little more content: I wonder if this means that the CPC has finally realized that Canadian cities and desperate for mass transit and all need a poo poo ton of investment or if it's just a convenient excuse to shovel money at their constituencies. Who am I kidding, of course it's an excuse. Despite that, it'll be interesting to see how development changes with these new lines in the city. All the other train lines have brought some sort of densification, it'll be interesting to see what this one brings.

Gorau fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Jul 24, 2015

# ? Jul 24, 2015 21:56

Juul-Whip: Mar 10, 2008

They want to hold onto Calgary. Conservatives don't give a gently caress about transit or anything else unless they think it'll help their electoral chances.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 22:10

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

sauer kraut posted:

Why is in-suite laundry such a huge deal and 400-500$ extra, are y'all lugging your dirty laundry down to the damp basement like it's 1939?
My washing machine cost half that and it's been running for 8 years now. You just need a water/grey water hookup and 2ftx2ft of space next to the toilet or the dishwasher.

Most condos built before the 80's didn't have it and right now only new "luxury" apartments have it. A lot of older condos actually want to add in-suite laundry but it ends up being impossibly expensive to re-plumb everything as well as deal with the venting (it's often the venting that kills it). If your building wasn't purpose built for it, it's not going to happen. I just go down 2 flights of stairs to get to our laundry room, probably less walking than someone with a big house.

It's 400-500 extra a month because new construction is more expensive to buy or rent. There's apartments 400-500 more than mine that are smaller and don't even have laundry but people rent them for some reason, because they're "new".

At least we aren't living in NY where most buildings don't even have shared laundry and you have to shlep to the nearest laundromat.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 22:20

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Shared laundry loving sucks and I don't think I'd go back to a building without in-suite laundry, unless there were no other choice. I'd rather put up with less room, at a higher price, for not having to leave my apartment to do laundry.

# ? Jul 24, 2015 22:22

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 15, 2024 03:02

bring back old gbs: Feb 28, 2007; by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

It's nice to use up your dryer to get the wrinkles out of a single shirt, cant really do that economically with coin op

# ? Jul 24, 2015 22:23

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

«‹›1518 »