Absolute Conundrum - West vs. East

OpnSrc

Electoral Member
Feb 17, 2006
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Western Canada
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Absolute Conundrum:

Background:
I work for a very profitable environmental firm. My wife is a housewife. We have no children. We are young (my wife 21, me 31). I have been out west many times (I love it). My wife has never been west of Ontario.

The Set up:
My wifes mother offered to loan us $30,000 bucks as a down payment on a house (we have been renting) with small easy to make monthly payments.
My employer offered my a position a the Toronto office (right now I am based in London, ON) for a salary of $40,000 a year plus perks, bonuses and benefits.
I am a credit risk and only qualify for a Conventional Mortgage not a High Ratio Mortgage. Meaning, we need to have 25% or more down on whatever house we want to buy in order for the banks to Mortgage us.
My wife and I can only afford a place at about $100,000.00. There is nothing within 1 1/2 hours of Toronto in the price range worth looking at.

Decision Time:
Do my wife and I take the job in Toronto and decline a once in a lifetime loan (it won't happen again) and continue renting.

or

Do my wife and I throw caution to the wind and move to Alberta (where we can afford a place) and find work there?

**The option of staying where we are currently is not applicible as my company is transfering my department to Toronto.


What would you do any why?
BTW .. we have family and friends in both places we care about equally.

Edit: We have also thought about buying where we are now... but favour the idea of moving as work greatly restricts staying.
 

Jay

Executive Branch Member
Jan 7, 2005
8,366
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$40,000 a year plus perks, bonuses and benefits.

Depends on your salary now and what does a bonus mean.

40K isn't a good wage in Toronto unless your wife makes more than that...

100K houses near Toronto are out of the question.


Stay near London with that 30K or go west.


Why don't you get the loan if you go to Toronto?
 

OpnSrc

Electoral Member
Feb 17, 2006
109
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16
Western Canada
www.purevolume.com
Re: RE: Absolute Conundrum - West vs. East

Jay said:
$40,000 a year plus perks, bonuses and benefits.

Depends on your salary now and what does a bonus mean.

40K isn't a good wage in Toronto unless your wife makes more than that...

100K houses near Toronto are out of the question.


Stay near London with that 30K or go west.


Why don't you get the loan if you go to Toronto?

I make 32,000 a year now in London...
Calgary has better options for my line of work than London Area - and much better pay if I land the right job.

We still can get the loan in Toronto ... but the payments combined with rent make it impossible to take the loan.

Gross: $40,000 plus...
Bonuses: $2000 at christmas
Perks: Company truck (gas paid for), 40 bucks a day for "meals" and birthday recognition (20 bucks)
Benefits: Full health, dental, drug plan and retirement plan


Calgary and London have option to work for same company but at 32,000 bucks.
 

Jay

Executive Branch Member
Jan 7, 2005
8,366
3
38
Although $40 a day and 2k are nice perks it still doesn't make living in Toronto possible. Property values are the issue.

London doesn't have the exact same problem Toronto has with property values so either you stay here Or move.

32k isn't so bad for this region and if your wife works....
 

Said1

Hubba Hubba
Apr 18, 2005
5,338
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Das Kapital
Re: RE: Absolute Conundrum - West vs. East

OpnSrc said:
Jay said:
$40,000 a year plus perks, bonuses and benefits.

Depends on your salary now and what does a bonus mean.

40K isn't a good wage in Toronto unless your wife makes more than that...

100K houses near Toronto are out of the question.


Stay near London with that 30K or go west.


Why don't you get the loan if you go to Toronto?

I make 32,000 a year now in London...
Calgary has better options for my line of work than London Area - and much better pay if I land the right job.

We still can get the loan in Toronto ... but the payments combined with rent make it impossible to take the loan.

Gross: $40,000 plus...
Bonuses: $2000 at christmas
Perks: Company truck (gas paid for), 40 bucks a day for "meals" and birthday recognition (20 bucks)
Benefits: Full health, dental, drug plan and retirement plan


Calgary and London have option to work for same company but at 32,000 bucks.

Oops, must have posted at the same time. Didn't see this. :oops:
 

Jay

Executive Branch Member
Jan 7, 2005
8,366
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I thought you guys lived in igloos out there?

Igloos go pretty cheap on the market.... :)
 

Said1

Hubba Hubba
Apr 18, 2005
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LittleRunningGag said:
Good luck trying to buy a house for $100,000 in Calgary.

What's wrong with trailers???

Now I know why they're so popular down south, tha'ts all I can afford.....If I could afford a house....I mean trailer.
 

Jay

Executive Branch Member
Jan 7, 2005
8,366
3
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All real estate is.

Week dollars mean strong assets.


Right Toro? :)
 

LittleRunningGag

Electoral Member
Jan 11, 2006
611
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Calgary, Alberta
members.shaw.ca
Said1 said:
LittleRunningGag said:
Good luck trying to buy a house for $100,000 in Calgary.

What's wrong with trailers???

Now I know why they're so popular down south, tha'ts all I can afford.....If I could afford a house....I mean trailer.

I don't know about trailers but I'll ask the wife, she works in real estate. All I know is that we're lucky to be paying $600 a month for a basement suite below a day home for six kids (age 2-6).
 

Said1

Hubba Hubba
Apr 18, 2005
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Das Kapital
Wow. When we left, my mother was paying $300 for a two bedroom apartment near Steven (Sp?) ave. This place had a pool, hot tub (outdoor) pool table, shuffle board, weightroom. It used to be a hotel, so it had drink machines in the stairwells. What kid wouldn't love it! We left in '88. I think.


I know, I know. 20yrs ago. Quite.
 

Said1

Hubba Hubba
Apr 18, 2005
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LittleRunningGag said:
She says, "Some are priced over 200k; the lowest I see is 50k. Thats all I can find."

8O

We live in Lynnwood, thats just north of Ogden. We got a hell of a deal considering the size and price.

For a trailer?? It must be on the cleanest man-made body of water near the city. :D


Which reminds me, what does Chestemere Lake look like now?
 

Said1

Hubba Hubba
Apr 18, 2005
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LittleRunningGag said:
Said1 said:
For a trailer?? It must be on the cleanest man-made body of water near the city. :D

Which reminds me, what does Chestemere Lake look like now?

Chestemere? I've never been but I hear its full of half mil plus housing. So pretty snobby, I'm guessing. :lol:

Half mil plus?? I feel like phoning my mother. :D

Aside from one of the parks (I forget the name, downtownish) it was one of the only place to go swimming in a lake that wasn't an hour or more outside the city. My parents had friends who owned a cottage, otherwise I doubt we'd be able to go there much.

We used to go to Silvan lake a lot. Went to Eagle Lake once too, but I'll spare all that story. :D
 

LittleRunningGag

Electoral Member
Jan 11, 2006
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I think that Silvan is even worse for property prices. Its insane. I was talking to the wife the other day about it and she mentioned that one of the homes that came across her desk was a home in Forrest Lawn that went for over 200k. In Forrest Lawn.
 

Kreskin

Doctor of Thinkology
Feb 23, 2006
21,155
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Do the math closely. At 40k your maximum monthly housing expenses shouldn't be more than $1,065.00. Your after tax monthly dollars are about $2710.00. That leaves you about $50 a day for transportation, investing, groceries, insurance, telephone, discretionary etc. If you're buying anything close to a fixer upper you'll have money falling out of your pockets on a regular basis. If you're looking at a condo, read carefully the strata minutes. Often major expenses loom at the whim of a political council.

I can't speak for Alberta or Ontario but in BC 100k will buy you a small garage or apartment in drug zone. If you have kids on the horizon, multiply all your expenses and problems by 2. The housing market is very high, you could be paying a premium for low value. Renting will look pretty good if the market goes south. Be careful. Get a budget calculator and really do the math and homework.