REbelle, REbelle… – “My 17 year old niece told me a bunch of her friends were thinking about going in together to buy a place and instead of renting when they graduate high school.”

“My 17 year old niece told me a bunch of her friends were thinking about going in together to buy a place and living there instead of renting when they graduate high school…
They are all smart so I’m sure they will eventually have good careers but currently they all have part time / summer mall jobs.
I told her it was the worst idea ever on so many levels and thankfully she agreed. Still, it shows you how brainwashed we’ve become.”
– an observer at VREAA 30 Aug 2012 8:51am

“I was on the bus recently and overheard a few young girls talking about buying a place when they go to university next year. The usual “rent is just throwing money away” and “I’ll sell it in a few years and make some cash” we’re part of the conversation. Yowza. 18 with a mortgage, a student loan, and a credit card… Sounds like a recipe for disaster.”
– Terminalcitygirl at VREAA 30 Aug 2012 10:47am

“She got three offers but the first two couples who put in an offer didn’t get approved for financing.”

“I had a chat with a colleague yesterday at lunch. She’s just relocating in Calgary and managed to sell her house pretty quickly. Interestingly, she got three offers but the first two couples who put in an offer didn’t get approved for financing.”
– Makaya at VCI 23 Aug 2012 2:28pm

“One of my deadbeat buddies from high school, who never held down a job or followed through on any type of ambition, just bought a place in Surrey, with 5% down.”

“So one of my deadbeat buddies from high school (never held down a job or followed through on any type of ambition) just bought a place in Surrey. With 5% down. He actually bought it in April and I only found out last week when I passed through town.
So that means we’re at a market top. It was official the day he closed.”
– RiskArb at RE Talks 29 Aug 2012 7:23am

CMHC – Profits fall; Claim losses “jump”.

“Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. saw profits at its mortgage insurance business fall sharply in the second quarter largely due to a jump in losses from claims. The rise in claims losses suggests that an increasing number of borrowers whose mortgages were insured by CMHC have been unable to make their payments and have lost their homes. Mortgage insurance pays the bank back when a borrower defaults.
In its second-quarter results, released Wednesday, CMHC said that its losses on mortgage insurance claims rose to $168-million for the three months ended in June, up from $144-million in the same period of 2011 and $154-million in the first quarter of this year.
That’s part of the reason why profits from CMHC’s core mortgage insurance business fell to $255-million, down from $341-million. The earnings were also hurt by paper losses on a mutual fund investment that suffered when international stock markets fell.
Part of the reason for the growing claims losses of late has been the dramatic increase in the amount of insurance that the Crown corporation has in force.”
– from ‘Jump in claims pinches CMHC’s insurance business’, The Globe and Mail, 29 Aug 2012 [hat-tip allen]

Olympian Task – Buying A Home In Canada

“The next milestone in Olympic marathoner Reid Coolsaet’s life doesn’t involve running.
“I’m looking to buy a house over there,” he said, pointing to a row of backyards that lines Westdale’s Churchill Park.
The 33-year-old Hamiltonian returned home last week from the Olympics after a little bit of traveling.
But the London 2012 games didn’t work out as Coolsaet planned. He came in 27th.
“I already had a 25 at the World Championship so I thought top 20 was really doable,” he said. “Hopefully a top 10.”
Coolsaet said he was confident at the start of the race, running the first mile at a pace that would have medaled.
But at 26 degrees, it was a hotter day than runners expected.
“I faded bad in the last 5 km, but there were guys who faded worse,” he said.
– from ‘Olympic runner returns home to Hamilton’, CBC, 28 Aug 2012

Filed under ‘RE References In Popular Culture‘.
– vreaa

Vancouver Restaurants: Crunch The Numbers – “Both establishments were located in downtown Vancouver, where rent prices feast on restaurant profits. MacKay was paying $40,000 in monthly rent for the two locations.”

Two high-profile restaurants run by celebrity chef Dale MacKay served their last suppers last Saturday and closed the doors for good. … MacKay opened Ensemble Tap, a casual restaurant, soon after opening Ensemble. Both were located in downtown Vancouver, where rent prices feast on restaurant profits. He was paying $40,000 in monthly rent for the two locations. “You crunch the numbers, you do your best to forecast and try to attain that,” he said.
“Ensemble did very, very well right off the bat. It was a success. We had good feedback but I went in a little under-capitalized into Tap,” said MacKay. “It’s a big space. It’s not Gastown or the East End. The rents are very, very high.”
– from ‘Top chef Canada, Dale MacKay closes his restaurants’, Mia Stainsbury, Vancouver Sun, 27 Aug 2012 [hat-tip 4SlicesofCheese]

“The agent in China was caught off guard as well – the brochure showed trees and ocean!!!”

“With regards to ‘Yu Living’ green condo at UBC south campus, my in-laws in China bought a place site unseen. They are furious now that the view overlooks a future BC Liqour store and Save on Foods. The agent in China was caught off guard as well – the brochure showed a trees and ocean!!!
They should not bought a place with so little advance research; they come from a generation that respected universities and assumed that they were buying into a quality life style for future grand kids.”
– ‘Not too happy’ at VCI 27 Aug 2012 6:02am

It’s easy to be happy with almost any property when prices are barrelling upwards.
When prices stagnate or start falling, owners become more critical of a property’s shortcomings.
Expect lots of stories like this in the downturn.
– vreaa