The Inflation & Cost of Living Complaints Thread

[Jess]

3 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

My advice to you is to try and get into the market in whatever area you can afford. Most people don’t take this advice and simply wait until they can afford to buy in the area they want and work in. That’s not how you build wealth. I know a guy who bought a property in Kamloops years ago. He ended up selling it and had enough equity to buy a place in the lower mainland. He wound have never been able to buy the house in the lower mainland if he didn’t build up all that equity from the home in Kamloops. 
 

Remember, real estate prices go up everywhere in a rising market. So you are better off owning a home in Kamloops or even Quesnel or Prince George than to own nothing at all. If you simply wait and wait for the right moment you may never be able to get into the market and you will be a lifetime renter with zero equity when you retire. 
 

You can buy a house in Quesnel for $300k. With a $60k downpayment you may be able to cash flow. And then that $60k is now in the market and working for you to build equity in a home. If you can cash flow after your rent it out then you can still save money from your job for more of a downpayment on your next home. Maybe when you sell your home in Quesnel you still can’t afford a home in Vancouver. That’s okay. Buy a house in Kamloops instead and keep moving closer to the lower mainland. Eventually you will have the money to buy your place in Vancouver. 
 

As Rick Tocchet would say, it’s one bite at a time. 

 

Yeah, I currently work and live in Langley. I wouldn't mind living in Chilliwack (about 60-70% the cost of Langley apartments), but not if I'm working in Langley, so such a change would require a job change. It's also currently unlikely that I could find a job making as much as I currently do, so a job change would likely mean reduced income. It's definitely on my radar though and when I do get closer to being able to buy, I may also look for jobs further east to find significant savings. My parents and brother live in Abbotsford, so I'm okay with moving further east than Langley. If things don't go off the rails, I should be able to advance my career quite soon, thanks to finishing up my certification, so that may also open a lot of doors to higher income jobs, even further east.

 

I'm also very wary of becoming "house-poor" and don't want to leap headfirst without contigency plans and excess savings, so I don't want to just dump everything I have into barely making a 20% down payment.

[aGENT]

3 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 

Yeah, I currently work and live in Langley. I wouldn't mind living in Chilliwack (about 60-70% the cost of Langley apartments), but not if I'm working in Langley, so such a change would require a job change. It's also currently unlikely that I could find a job making as much as I currently do, so a job change would likely mean reduced income. It's definitely on my radar though and when I do get closer to being able to buy, I may also look for jobs further east to find significant savings. My parents and brother live in Abbotsford, so I'm okay with moving further east than Langley. If things don't go off the rails, I should be able to advance my career quite soon, thanks to finishing up my certification, so that may also open a lot of doors to higher income jobs, even further east.

 

I'm also very wary of becoming "house-poor" and don't want to leap headfirst without contigency plans and excess savings, so I don't want to just dump everything I have into barely making a 20% down payment.

 

Don't move. Buy investment property somewhere you can afford, that you can rent out. Ideally a home with a suite (2 rental units), a house with a suite + carriage house (3 rental units), or a duplex with a suite in each would be even better (4 rental units).

 

If you do it right, you should be able to cover your mortgage payments on your investment house, and maybe even have a bit left to cover some of your rent in the lower mainland (and/or save for inevitable home repairs etc).

[Jess]

2 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

Don't move. Buy investment property somewhere you can afford, that you can rent out. Ideally a home with a suite (2 rental units), a house with a suite + carriage house (3 rental units), or a duplex with a suite in each would be even better (4 rental units).

 

If you do it right, you should be able to cover your mortgage payments on your investment house, and maybe even have a bit left to cover some of your rent in the lower mainland (and/or save for inevitable home repairs etc).

 

Buy an investment properly while I'm still renting? I don't think you understand how far outside the realm of reality what you're suggesting is. A multi-unit home would take me 20 years to save up for, if even that, so I wouldn't be able to even start your plan until I was over 50. I'm lacking both the initial capital and the ongoing cash flow, not just one of them.

[aGENT]

3 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

 

Buy an investment properly while I'm still renting? I don't think you understand how far outside the realm of reality what you're suggesting is. A multi-unit home would take me 20 years to save up for, if even that, so I wouldn't be able to even start your plan until I was over 50. I'm lacking both the initial capital and the ongoing cash flow, not just one of them.

 

Not if you buy out of the lower mainland. Prince George for example. Buy a property, rent it out. The rent covers the mortgage (and like I said, if you do it right, some left over). It's not remotely out of the realm possibility. Have the property cover your mortgage costs, continue renting just like you're doing now. Build equity.

Edited December 30, 2023 by aGENT

[The Arrogant Worms]

1 hour ago, aGENT said:

 

Not if you buy out of the lower mainland. Prince George for example. Buy a property, rent it out. The rent covers the mortgage (and like I said, if you do it right, some left over). It's not remotely out of the realm possibility. Have the property cover your mortgage costs, continue renting just like you're doing now. Build equity.

You still need cash on hind to put a down payment.  Not many have that in the bank.

[chris12345]

5 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 

Yeah, I currently work and live in Langley. I wouldn't mind living in Chilliwack (about 60-70% the cost of Langley apartments), but not if I'm working in Langley, so such a change would require a job change. It's also currently unlikely that I could find a job making as much as I currently do, so a job change would likely mean reduced income. It's definitely on my radar though and when I do get closer to being able to buy, I may also look for jobs further east to find significant savings. My parents and brother live in Abbotsford, so I'm okay with moving further east than Langley. If things don't go off the rails, I should be able to advance my career quite soon, thanks to finishing up my certification, so that may also open a lot of doors to higher income jobs, even further east.

 

I'm also very wary of becoming "house-poor" and don't want to leap headfirst without contigency plans and excess savings, so I don't want to just dump everything I have into barely making a 20% down payment.

Extremely unpopular opinion but I moved outta the West Coast. The math just didn't make sense to stay.

 

Significantly higher wages and lower housing costs = goodbye. 

[aGENT]

24 minutes ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

You still need cash on hind to put a down payment.  Not many have that in the bank.

 

Sounded like they had "something" saved for down payment. More a problem with the overall cost/mortgage. Buying somewhere cheaper should help with that.

 

6 hours ago, -AJ- said:

Sadly, the only likely answer for me will be a lot of patience. Years ago, I dreamed of owning an apartment by the time I was in my early 30s, but as time goes on, it looks like that might not be until my 40s.

 

Used to be that my only issue was saving up enough of a down payment to make lenders happy, but now, due to the interest rates and prices, the mortgage payments are high enough that even if I did have enough for a down payment, I could barely afford to stay afloat while being a homeowner, and that's with an above-average salary. Unless rates or prices change, I'll just have to wait a very long time to save up enough (far more than 20%) to get the payments low enough to manage.

 

[Jess]

21 minutes ago, chris12345 said:

Extremely unpopular opinion but I moved outta the West Coast. The math just didn't make sense to stay.

 

Significantly higher wages and lower housing costs = goodbye. 

 

Is that really unpopular? West coast costs should be driving tons of people away. I will say, however, that in my experience, the west coast offers far higher paying jobs than further east like Abbotsford or Chilliwack.

[Jess]

58 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

Sounded like they had "something" saved for down payment. More a problem with the overall cost/mortgage. Buying somewhere cheaper should help with that.

 

 

 

Yeah, I have something, but not nearly enough yet. Will still be years before I have enough to consider buying.

[MattJVD]

1 hour ago, chris12345 said:

Extremely unpopular opinion but I moved outta the West Coast. The math just didn't make sense to stay.

 

Significantly higher wages and lower housing costs = goodbye. 

Depends on the field, for sure. My pay went up 20% when I moved from Edmonton back to Victoria. And the change in job was lateral on the responsibilities/qualifications side.

 

That said, I was only able to afford a house in Victoria because I got into the very reasonable Edmonton market with a low interest rate. Even with less than 5 years paying that mortgage down, I was left with enough for a down payment in Victoria when I sold in Edmonton.

Edited December 30, 2023 by MattJVD

[chris12345]

3 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 

Is that really unpopular? West coast costs should be driving tons of people away. I will say, however, that in my experience, the west coast offers far higher paying jobs than further east like Abbotsford or Chilliwack.

On a Vancouver based site it is unpopular.

 

I mean a real move, gotta go further than Hope. When I worked in Van I used to joke there was an entire country east of Main Street.

 

As the previous poster mentions depends on the field of work regarding rates of pay. 

[Jess]

29 minutes ago, chris12345 said:

As the previous poster mentions depends on the field of work regarding rates of pay. 

 

Fair point. I'm an accountant, so the big city is the epicentre of those kinds of jobs.

[Junkyard Dog]

Crazy amount of houses in Edmonton for 1/3 to half the price of the same sort of house here in the lower mainland. Red deer too. 

 

Use to be the same in Calgary but people started moving there.  Not as many as a few years ago. Still see a decent amount though

 

As much as I love the lower mainland Alberta is looking like a real possibility for me.

 

For the 4-5 years as I have cheap rent, I'll still be in BC.  Maybe the bubble deflates a bit but probably wouldn't be enough to warrant buying a first home here and I reckon if it deflates here it will deflate in Alberta as well. 

[Junkyard Dog]

32 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

 

Fair point. I'm an accountant, so the big city is the epicentre of those kinds of jobs.

 

Edmonton has a ton of cheap places 1/3 to 1/2 the price in the lower mainland houses.

 

If you don't mind the dry cold. 

 

Calgary has some but not as many.

[Jess]

15 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

 

Edmonton has a ton of cheap places 1/3 to 1/2 the price in the lower mainland houses.

 

If you don't mind the dry cold. 

 

Calgary has some but not as many.

 

Yeah, I'd have looked more seriously into Alberta if staying close to family wasn't so important to me.

[Junkyard Dog]

Our premier in regards to immigration, TFWs and international students. 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-premier-david-eby-trumpets-transformative-housing-initiatives-as-he-looks-back-on-2023-1.7067997

 

Quote

We hit a record on national population growth due to immigration this year. What are your thoughts around the increase in population here in B.C. through immigration for the next few years?

 

I have a huge level of anxiety about the growth that we're seeing in B.C. I know I'm not alone. Immigration is a huge benefit for our province. We have an aging population, there's lots of jobs that we need filled and we are very grateful for the people that are choosing to locate here.

 

But the numbers are such that we can't support these folks. We're seeing significant exploitation of international students and temporary residents by employers, by landlords. We really need the federal government to be a better partner on this. We can not control the number of people coming in at the provincial level. The only way we're going to be able to get our hands around this exploitation issue is if we work with the federal government.

 

 

My cousin who is a TFW living with me and my siblings was exploited by an employer along with like 50 other TFWs. They worked a few days and were laid off and told they could try and get the money they earned but would probably be deported. Probably a rough version of the story since I wasn't told it in detail. 

 

I can find out what employer and post it here. Not sure how I can react in a proper manner. A little ticked off since he's having trouble finding work and my father had the bright idea of bringing him here without first getting a work visa. 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Junkyard Dog

[Bob Long]

6 hours ago, chris12345 said:

On a Vancouver based site it is unpopular.

 

I mean a real move, gotta go further than Hope. When I worked in Van I used to joke there was an entire country east of Main Street.

 

As the previous poster mentions depends on the field of work regarding rates of pay. 

 

I'm not sure it is, you are doing what you have to. I lived in 3 provinces before moving to BC. You are making the kinds of choices more people need to consider, particularly if they are younger.

[Bob Long]

5 hours ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Our premier in regards to immigration, TFWs and international students. 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-premier-david-eby-trumpets-transformative-housing-initiatives-as-he-looks-back-on-2023-1.7067997

 

 

 

My cousin who is a TFW living with me and my siblings was exploited by an employer along with like 50 other TFWs. They worked a few days and were laid off and told they could try and get the money they earned but would probably be deported. Probably a rough version of the story since I wasn't told it in detail. 

 

I can find out what employer and post it here. Not sure how I can react in a proper manner. A little ticked off since he's having trouble finding work and my father had the bright idea of bringing him here without first getting a work visa. 

 

I have an issue with Eby complaining about international students. The province has let our post secondary institutions turn into diploma mines. UBC has grown fat and dependent on international money and the province was there for the ride. If Eby really cares he can require UBC and others to stop this, and reform how we deliver education in BC. 

[chris12345]

7 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 

Fair point. I'm an accountant, so the big city is the epicentre of those kinds of jobs.

Nice......same. I made way more when leaving Van!!!! So much money out there go get it!

 

You can get $100k more per year easily in Alberta but it's not my favorite place to live even though the scotch is cheaper.

[bishopshodan]

I believe if you are willing to move you can build up equity. Move, flip, upgrade, move, flip upgrade, move... 

It really worked out for me. Wife and I did it a few times over 25 years while also investing in small rentals along the way. Even got a group together at one point for a side investment as we couldnt afford otherwise.

We ended up on a dream 2 acre waterfront on the island. It is worth a lot now. Like, a lot. However, I hope to never sell. As i have made it, nowhere better to go for me.

 

These days it's much much harder but I think it can be done. However if you plan to breed, I'm not so sure. That makes the hill a lot steeper. 

There are a lot more hurdles in the way for those starting out. I really hope things get better. But I am, and always will be an optimist. If i had to start out again, I would be off to Alberta or wherever I could start building up that equity....and remember, no kids.

[MattJVD]

7 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 

Fair point. I'm an accountant, so the big city is the epicentre of those kinds of jobs.

Hey, me too! It's a great field

[chris12345]

18 minutes ago, MattJVD said:

Hey, me too! It's a great field

Lots of work for sure!

[Bob Long]

1 hour ago, bishopshodan said:

I believe if you are willing to move you can build up equity. Move, flip, upgrade, move, flip upgrade, move... 

It really worked out for me. Wife and I did it a few times over 25 years while also investing in small rentals along the way. Even got a group together at one point for a side investment as we couldnt afford otherwise.

We ended up on a dream 2 acre waterfront on the island. It is worth a lot now. Like, a lot. However, I hope to never sell. As i have made it, nowhere better to go for me.

 

These days it's much much harder but I think it can be done. However if you plan to breed, I'm not so sure. That makes the hill a lot steeper. 

There are a lot more hurdles in the way for those starting out. I really hope things get better. But I am, and always will be an optimist. If i had to start out again, I would be off to Alberta or wherever I could start building up that equity....and remember, no kids.

 

there are so many great towns in Canada, I'm surprised it doesn't happen a bit more, but its also hard to do. It seems so daunting the first time you strike out somewhere. It also feels like you have all the time in the world, but I remember turning 40 and looking back at 30 like it took a minute to get there. 

 

I don't know if I'd move to AB tho... maybe Canmore or Jasper.

 

If I were young and doing it over again, I'd be looking hard at programming and employers that allow remote work. That to me seems like maybe one of the best ways to make $ and start of in a smaller community.

 

The other opportunity I've seen is in quality assurance auditing - its all travel as you go to locations to audit companies, and then go home and write reports. You can do this from anywhere. Any industry that requires any ISO certification requires it. It might sound boring on paper, but its fascinating to dig into how companies operate. 

 

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

14 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 

Is that really unpopular? West coast costs should be driving tons of people away. I will say, however, that in my experience, the west coast offers far higher paying jobs than further east like Abbotsford or Chilliwack.

 

Moving away from the west coast has an added benefit: you won't have to worry when the next tsunami hits.  That is, unless you've reached the eastern seaboard - then all bets are off!  

[The Arrogant Worms]

Lived on the Island for 65.5 years.   Love the weather we have here.  I have a great doctor and sense of community where I live.

 

There are some cashiers still working that remember me bringing my son in to get groceries with me before he could walk or talk.

 

Can't see us ever leaving.

 

Too hard to make friends when you are older.

 

At one point we thought about moving to Wash State until my wife talked to some Pharmacist there and was told that they are told to make profit their #1 priority over patient care.

 

One of my good friends from high school is moving back here after spending the last 35 plus years in Bermuda which will be nice.  One of his sons just bought 15 acres of waterfront property in Nova Scotia and he and his girlfriend are moving there as they both work from home.

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by The Arrogant Worms