转： To start off, my fiancee and I take home roughly 70k/year after tax combined, both being fairly replaceable office admin types. In 2019, we purchased our first home together for around 340k. This was 50-70k more than I was comfortable with, but I was so naive about the market, and I was getting desperate. We had been a couple for about 4 years at the time, and would soon be engaged. Many seemed to think that we should be married first, but the idea of paying $1,200 for a low grade rental in our area disgusted me when we could get a mortgage at around $1600/month including taxes. Things would just be $400 tighter, right? At the time we bought, I wanted badly to move somewhere less expensive and try to "restart" our lives and put down some roots, but I knew my partner was deeply tied to her local family, and that option was put aside. I can't only blame her closeness to family; a big part of not making that decision was also fear, and the laziness it inspired. Part of the decision was also that I had a dog who had moved around Ontario with me for 10 years, he was my companion, and I desperately wanted him to experience life with a backyard. We also bought a bigger house than we felt comfortable with because everyone around us is having kids and our families pressured us with the logic "your family will grow, need to make sure there is enough space". The market was too hot to demand a formal house inspection, so instead we had a long-tenured commercial contractor friend of hours come and see any houses we were interested in. This person was amazing - noticed knob in tube in one house, bad foundation issues in another, etc. In the house we ended up with, he thought it was overpriced, but couldn't find any major issues. Once moving in, we realized a few things (you can skip this, it is just venting). Ice dams formed every winter in one corner of the roof, which if left, causes water to come into the house. This happened in year 1 but we've since installed a heating wire. We can tell the previous owners had the same problem, though. A large vertical foundation crack was hidden behind a piece of strategically placed furniture in the unfinished part of the basement. The furnace didn't work - we wouldn't have known because we saw the unit in summer, but it needed to be replaced year one. The downstairs bathroom "vented" into another room, the output ending hidden above a duct. Luckily it looks like they didn't use it, the entire bathroom was just "lipstick on a pig" and needs to be gutted. The deck and gaslines out back were all installed improperly, rotting/safety hazards. The fireplace didn't work and needs an expensive replacement. Every appliance that was included was garbage. Now I am not stating this as a "woe is me" pity party request: there is a lesson for people who are considering buying in this list.
Lesson 1: Get a proper inspection, and assume everything is in much worse shape than it appears. We were incredibly naive. Mid way through a troubling and expensive first year, I lose my beloved companion to cancer, which was both fast and violent/painful. Then COVID happened. Then my fiancee lost her job. What we came to realize was that you can't compare renting to owning by comparing monthly rent vs mortgage payments - the repairs needed be done and were constantly popping up, and we were spending roughly twice of what we would have a month (averaged over a year) just to keep up with maintaining the current value of the house.
Lesson 2: Do not compare rent to mortgage. Ownership includes huge, irregular costs, and weekly small costs which add up. You need to be able to afford rent comfortably while living a life style you enjoy to avoid a mortgage that even comes close, as the home will have many hidden costs added. This is where we come to the situation today...As of today, we have privately decided to call off our engagement, as our relationship was completely crumbled under the stress of the house, our finances, and everything else going on in life. Others may not be as affected, as some people are more resilient. Also, others may find these costs less brutal because they are handy; we aren't. For 3 years now, all of our spare cash has gone to saving for the next disaster or dealing with current ones. This means no vacations, no fun purchases, and a daily crunching of budget numbers to make sure the next big repair doesn't wipe us out.
I've lost my companion, I'm losing my partner, I've lost 3-4 years of my life to stress and unhappiness, I've lost 3-4 years of earning to simply maintain the value and integrity of the house. I was unprepared financially, unprepared from a maturity standpoint, unprepared to sacrifice years of my life. I am now left with a house which might break even, I'm 3 years older, and I can't remember really laughing or enjoying much of my life since buying this home.
Lesson 3: Take everything into account before you buy. Take into account what you may have to sacrifice. Go into this with a fighting attitude, and be aware that even a "turn key" property is still likely going to be a big commitment. Prepare for everything to wrong. My final comment would just be that this post is not meant to garner sympathy, or to scare off fellow "young" people like myself from taking the leap. I just hope that I can help them understand where I went wrong, and what I was naive about. If I could go back in time and speak to my past self, I would encourage them to be less of a coward about big life decisions, stop listening to what everyone is telling what you want, and if you do buy, leave a huge financial buffer so that you never end up bitter about how ownership is taking away your opportunity to experience other things in life. Don't be afraid to move if you need to, embrace that pioneer mentality.
For 3 years now, all of our spare cash has gone to saving for the next disaster or dealing with current ones. This means no vacations, no fun purchases, and a daily crunching of budget numbers to make sure the next big repair doesn''''''''t wipe us out. [\quote]
In 2019, we purchased our first home together for around 340k. This was 50-70k more than I was comfortable with, but I was so naive about the market, and I was getting desperate. We had been a couple for about 4 years at the time, and would soon be engaged. Many seemed to think that we should be married first, but the idea of paying $1,200 for a low grade rental in our area disgusted me when we could get a mortgage at around $1600/month including taxes. Things would just be $400 tighter, right?
At the time we bought, I wanted badly to move somewhere less expensive and try to "restart" our lives and put down some roots, but I knew my partner was deeply tied to her local family, and that option was put aside. I can't only blame her closeness to family; a big part of not making that decision was also fear, and the laziness it inspired.
Part of the decision was also that I had a dog who had moved around Ontario with me for 10 years, he was my companion, and I desperately wanted him to experience life with a backyard. We also bought a bigger house than we felt comfortable with because everyone around us is having kids and our families pressured us with the logic "your family will grow, need to make sure there is enough space".
The market was too hot to demand a formal house inspection, so instead we had a long-tenured commercial contractor friend of hours come and see any houses we were interested in. This person was amazing - noticed knob in tube in one house, bad foundation issues in another, etc. In the house we ended up with, he thought it was overpriced, but couldn't find any major issues. Once moving in, we realized a few things (you can skip this, it is just venting).
Ice dams formed every winter in one corner of the roof, which if left, causes water to come into the house. This happened in year 1 but we've since installed a heating wire. We can tell the previous owners had the same problem, though. A large vertical foundation crack was hidden behind a piece of strategically placed furniture in the unfinished part of the basement. The furnace didn't work - we wouldn't have known because we saw the unit in summer, but it needed to be replaced year one. The downstairs bathroom "vented" into another room, the output ending hidden above a duct. Luckily it looks like they didn't use it, the entire bathroom was just "lipstick on a pig" and needs to be gutted. The deck and gaslines out back were all installed improperly, rotting/safety hazards. The fireplace didn't work and needs an expensive replacement. Every appliance that was included was garbage.
Now I am not stating this as a "woe is me" pity party request: there is a lesson for people who are considering buying in this list.
Lesson 1: Get a proper inspection, and assume everything is in much worse shape than it appears. We were incredibly naive.
Mid way through a troubling and expensive first year, I lose my beloved companion to cancer, which was both fast and violent/painful. Then COVID happened. Then my fiancee lost her job. What we came to realize was that you can't compare renting to owning by comparing monthly rent vs mortgage payments - the repairs needed be done and were constantly popping up, and we were spending roughly twice of what we would have a month (averaged over a year) just to keep up with maintaining the current value of the house.
Lesson 2: Do not compare rent to mortgage. Ownership includes huge, irregular costs, and weekly small costs which add up. You need to be able to afford rent comfortably while living a life style you enjoy to avoid a mortgage that even comes close, as the home will have many hidden costs added.
This is where we come to the situation today...As of today, we have privately decided to call off our engagement, as our relationship was completely crumbled under the stress of the house, our finances, and everything else going on in life. Others may not be as affected, as some people are more resilient. Also, others may find these costs less brutal because they are handy; we aren't.
For 3 years now, all of our spare cash has gone to saving for the next disaster or dealing with current ones. This means no vacations, no fun purchases, and a daily crunching of budget numbers to make sure the next big repair doesn't wipe us out.
I've lost my companion, I'm losing my partner, I've lost 3-4 years of my life to stress and unhappiness, I've lost 3-4 years of earning to simply maintain the value and integrity of the house. I was unprepared financially, unprepared from a maturity standpoint, unprepared to sacrifice years of my life. I am now left with a house which might break even, I'm 3 years older, and I can't remember really laughing or enjoying much of my life since buying this home.
Lesson 3: Take everything into account before you buy. Take into account what you may have to sacrifice. Go into this with a fighting attitude, and be aware that even a "turn key" property is still likely going to be a big commitment. Prepare for everything to wrong.
My final comment would just be that this post is not meant to garner sympathy, or to scare off fellow "young" people like myself from taking the leap. I just hope that I can help them understand where I went wrong, and what I was naive about. If I could go back in time and speak to my past self, I would encourage them to be less of a coward about big life decisions, stop listening to what everyone is telling what you want, and if you do buy, leave a huge financial buffer so that you never end up bitter about how ownership is taking away your opportunity to experience other things in life. Don't be afraid to move if you need to, embrace that pioneer mentality.
看标题还以为mortgage 太高op又失业结果房贷还不上foreclosure鸡飞蛋打了呢，结果一看就是钱不够买了个fix-upper然后断断续续节衣缩食修了三年？这有啥好抱怨的,对老中来说为了买房三年不乱花钱不度假也叫事 平时都说加拿大房价高，这一对众位数收入的couple咬咬牙省点钱就上车了，看来也形式也不是很严峻