tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554669300211186451.post8432866287168723454..comments2023-11-03T07:15:30.936-06:00Comments on A Canadian and Her Money: Housing Strategiesthe money divahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02728722430433817334noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554669300211186451.post-89502972130200644892013-09-20T03:42:32.608-06:002013-09-20T03:42:32.608-06:00Find yourself an Independent Financial Advisor and...Find yourself an Independent Financial Advisor and While you may think you’ve found the best deal at one place, you do not need to look around for other quotes.<br />Calgary Alberta Real Estatehttp://calgaryalbertahomesearch.com/real-estate-listings.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554669300211186451.post-46833817698278707782007-07-20T16:08:00.000-06:002007-07-20T16:08:00.000-06:00Yes, all amounts on this blog are in Canadian doll...Yes, all amounts on this blog are in Canadian dollars unless indicated otherwise.<BR/>MD:)the money divahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02728722430433817334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554669300211186451.post-79900798362688419812007-07-20T08:58:00.000-06:002007-07-20T08:58:00.000-06:00I recommend the great series of Not So Big House b...I recommend the great series of Not So Big House books by Sarah Susanka. There's about 7 books in the series now. It's roots are in architecture, but the books address why McMansions are so cold and uninviting and why a smaller house will invariably be better.<BR/><BR/>Paying off your mortgage fast is great if you want to be debt free as fast as possible. But is it the best way to increase your net worth? Probably not. With the average mortgage rate somewhere around 5%, it should be fairly easy to invest the extra monies at a higher rate. You'd need 7-8% since the mortgage rate of return is 5% after tax. But that is not difficult.Evan Noblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16440892926381893952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554669300211186451.post-5827792499740226582007-07-20T08:12:00.000-06:002007-07-20T08:12:00.000-06:00Let me throw something out there. From my vast exp...Let me throw something out there. From my vast experience as a former (20 year) realtor I would often advise first time buyers whether single persons or couple, to buy the most expensive house in they could afford with a basement suite. They would then live in the basement and rent out the house part for a few years. The income was higher and the benefit greater. Just a thought...ciaoRosittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05722304052321553692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554669300211186451.post-30250046344960842952007-07-20T06:38:00.000-06:002007-07-20T06:38:00.000-06:00Great post!! you make a lot of great points that ...Great post!! you make a lot of great points that really got me thinking.<BR/><BR/>It's taken awhile for my husband and I but we're finally realizing that, like you said, market forces will play the biggest role on your resale price, no matter what upgrades you make or neighbourhood you live in. We're in a market quite opposite to the rest of Canada right now (sideways or even declining RE prices) so it kinda hurts when you realize that the ~$20k we've put into our house won't be recouped if we sell now, and in fact, our house would sell for less than our purchase price 3 years ago.<BR/><BR/>But you know what? We bought something small and inexpensive, well under what we could afford. Also, we've been enjoying the upgrades (many of which were for energy saving purposes) over the years so we try not to dwell on the cost of the upgrades and appreciate that we've still spent much, much less on housing than we could have.<BR/><BR/>Now we're just working on trying to stay disciplined to not give in and "move on up". Sure I'd love a pool and my husband would love a garage but it's going to cost us a fair bit more month to month for many, many years.<BR/><BR/>I appreciate your insight on this post. It helps many of us with the discipline thing. :)tellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12633178159277993402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554669300211186451.post-46271282874035618692007-07-20T02:04:00.000-06:002007-07-20T02:04:00.000-06:00Hello. I agree that keeping costs down is a good ...Hello. I agree that keeping costs down is a good guiding principle.<BR/><BR/>Do you use Canadian dollars in all your blog's dollar amounts?<BR/><BR/>Thank you.J at IHB and HFFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com