Fear and Ignorance in Vancouver - 34yr Old FTB Overpays For Condo; Inadvertently Becomes A Landlord - "It's a learning process that's so scary. No one can ever tell you what it's going to be like. At least I'm in the market and I'm learning."

Fear and ignorance can only drive a market for a finite amount of time. Over the next 5 years there will be a whole lotta learnin’ going on. -vreaa

This anecdote extracted from a Canadian Press story, ‘Homebuyers’ pain, mortgage brokers’ gain as tighter rules come into place’, by Derek Scott, 2 Apr 2010 -

“Buyer Leslie Urquhart said buying her first home was a horrifying ordeal. Urquhart, 34, began her six-month home shopping odyssey with one goal – to get into the market. But she quickly realized that was easier said than done. Increasing budgets, pressure from her realtor to commit to a place and finding a mortgage made her wonder what she had got herself into. Urquhart’s realtor urged her to use a broker, saying a broker could find a better interest rate than her bank. The broker did find a cheaper rate, but it was still too high for her to manage. Urquart was left somewhat cold by the experience with her broker. She said she was left in the uncomfortable position of putting her trust in someone she had only spoken with over the phone. “I never met with him, it was very impersonal,” she said. Although she eventually found a condo for $60,000 more than her original budget, she advised other first-timers to do their homework and prepare themselves for changes. “It’s a learning process that’s so scary,” she said. “No one can ever tell you what it’s going to be like.” In the end, Urquhart accomplished her goal of getting into the housing market, but she won’t be living in her new place as she had hoped. Instead, she will become a landlord, renting the place out while living in a basement suite at her parent’s house where rent is cheap. “At least I’m in the market and I’m learning,” she said.”