I've been going to Toronto the last few weekends to look at condos for sale and apartments for rent. To make a long story short, my dad has been schooling me on the global economy crisis and strongly encouraging me to rent for 6-12 months. Ultimately I decided to buy because I was able to find exactly what I was looking for, am able to make affordable monthly payments, and can see myself living there for 10+ years. As long as I can stay employed, I don't care if the housing market crashes and prices plummet.
Below is some of the criteria I gave to my real estate agent:
- Queens Quay area (waterfront)
- New building that allows small dogs
- 1 bedroom + den for home office
- Breathtaking views of lake and city where I can see the CN Tower
- Walking distance to subway
- Walking distance to parks, boardwalk, restaurants, bars, etc.
- Balcony
- Ensuite washer & dryer
- Dishwasher
- Modern interior (granite counters, nice finishes, etc.)
- etc.
We looked at about 9 condos before we found the perfect one. I had to go back to my bank several times while making offers to see how much higher over my pre-approved amount I can go. The seller wouldn't budge and I ended up paying close to list price. Still, I'm very pleased with my purchase and move in the day after I move out of my Orillia house.
My dad is pretty disappointed that I didn't wait 6 months, and thinks I'm going to bankrupt myself. He doesn't realize that the mortgage payments are affordable (within my gross debt ratio), otherwise the bank wouldn't have allowed it. The bank is making me pay my car off with some of the profit from the sale of my Orillia house. I don't have any debts other than the mortgage. I will have almost the same amount of left over money at the end of the month as I do here in Orillia. If the housing market crashes, so what. The payments will stay the same for 5 years. All the websites I read and people I talk to seem to think that Toronto condo prices are going up this year. If a unit like this were any more than it was, I probably could not have afforded it.
Below is a picture standing at the door of the bedroom (larger than my current bedroom!). The second picture was taken standing near the bedroom window. The view from the living room is exactly the same.
A couple guys came by tonight to buy my home theater at full asking price. They also wanted to buy my couch, kitchen table & chairs, and microwave! I sold it all to them except the kitchen table & chairs. If they pay what I want for it, they can have those too. Now I get to start with fresh decor.
Working from his IJW office just North of Toronto,
Ryan de Laplante can be found developing software in
Java by day, and obsessing with technology at home by
night. Ryan has been designing and writing software for
IJW since 1998 and is very passionate about his work.
Nice looking place you've got there!
I'm not a financial consultant, banker or lawyer but as I understand it, this line:
just isn't true.
Here is how I understand it:
It's true that the bank would much rather you pay back your loan but if you can't they still have themselves covered. The way banking works is they get to loan out 9 times their current assets and earn interest on those loans. If you want to research this yourself, it's called "fractional reserve banking". Your signature on the mortgage document is a saleable, willable asset to them. So long as they are earning sufficient interest on the 9N additional dollars they get to lend out, then even if you declared bankruptcy tomorrow and didn't give them a penny, they are still MAKING money.
Assume a brand new bank with $100 dollars in it. You go to that bank and borrow $900. The money is then spontaneously created out of thin air with a keystroke and they have to retain the $100 in the vault. You owe them, say, $1000 including interest so they now have a total of $1100 in assets now. ($100 cash + $1000 contract). Their lending power (and consequently their ability to make money) goes up. They can now lend out as much as $9900 and make money on that. Sounds crazy? That's because it is! ..but it's how things actually work.
Here are some videos on the subject. They come off as conspiracy theories but as far as I can tell, the information in them is accurate and applies equally to Canada and Britain as to the United states:
1. Corrupt Banking System - Cartels Robbing the Public
2. Corrupt Banking System - How "Money" is Created
3. Corrupt Banking System - Money is Debt
4. Corrupt Banking System - Monetary Reform
5. Corrupt Banking System - Warning About the NWO
Here's a comedy routine that explains the international sub-prime mortgage problem in very accessible terms and explains how high-risk mortgages get sold to international investors who don't necessarily know what they are buying.
By the way, to say that the money is "created out of thin air with a keystroke" is a slight over-simplification for clarity. What actually happens is the regional bank borrows the necessary money from the "Bank of Canada" which isn't Canadian at all. It's actually a privately owned international reserve bank which lends the government and regional banks of Canada all of its currency AT INTEREST which is why we have inflation! They are the ones that actually create money out of thin air.
Here's a 4-part series on International Reserve banking:
Money, Banking & The Federal Reserve ( part 1 of 4 )
Money, Banking & The Federal Reserve ( part 2 of 4 )
Money, Banking & The Federal Reserve ( part 3 of 4 )
Money, Banking & The Federal Reserve ( part 4 of 4 )
Here's a retired schoolteacher from Alberta who researched all of this stuff from a Canadian perspective.
THE CRIME OF THE CANADIAN BANKING SYSTEM: Bill Abram (part 1)
THE CRIME OF THE CANADIAN BANKING SYSTEM: Bill Abram (part 2)
Gerald Grattan McGeer: Bill Abram snowshoefilms #3
Posted by Craig Burnett on March 18, 2008 at 12:47 PM EDT #
Posted by Mom on March 19, 2008 at 02:21 AM EDT #
Posted by Ryan de Laplante on March 19, 2008 at 08:14 AM EDT #
Posted by Ryan de Laplante on March 19, 2008 at 08:30 AM EDT #
Looks like you found a really nice spot, is that on the esplanade?
Posted by james on March 19, 2008 at 11:40 AM EDT #
Nice place you have there!! My cousin used to live in this area. She loved it. Good luck!!
Posted by Jo Atkinson-Cornthwaite on March 19, 2008 at 12:36 PM EDT #