Looking for a house in BC (Fraser Valley) - Half a million for what???

[woodcarver]

Hey Gigy, I dont know how old you and if you have ever experienced the vagaries of the market ??
I am an oldie and have owned houses for most of my adult life and own my present home outright but I have been through times especially here on the island when a house was anything BUT an investment ,through most of the eighties . I bought a house for $125,000 and sold it two years later for $95,000 after spending abot $ 25,000 on it , plus two years mortgage ,plus real estate fee's , plus lawyers fee's . This was also true of the Ontario market where people got carried away with the real estate boom and lost their shirts when it slowed down.
Presently rental costs have no where near reached their true value related to the dizzy new heights reached in the housing market .
These figures are academic if you can afford your payments and intend to stay in your new home for a long time .
The difficulties arise ,if you need to move ,the interest rates rise and the market makes a downward correction at the wrong time .
The U.S . housing market is looking very shaky.
History particularly recent history is no guarantee of the future .

Just a few thoughts ,


..............................Dave

[andsoitgoes]

Originally Posted by woodcarver

Hey Gigy, I dont know how old you and if you have ever experienced the vagaries of the market ??
I am an oldie and have owned houses for most of my adult life and own my present home outright but I have been through times especially here on the island when a house was anything BUT an investment ,through most of the eighties . I bought a house for $125,000 and sold it two years later for $95,000 after spending abot $ 25,000 on it , plus two years mortgage ,plus real estate fee's , plus lawyers fee's . This was also true of the Ontario market where people got carried away with the real estate boom and lost their shirts when it slowed down.
Presently rental costs have no where near reached their true value related to the dizzy new heights reached in the housing market .
These figures are academic if you can afford your payments and intend to stay in your new home for a long time .
The difficulties arise ,if you need to move ,the interest rates rise and the market makes a downward correction at the wrong time .
The U.S . housing market is looking very shaky.
History particularly recent history is no guarantee of the future .

Just a few thoughts ,


..............................Dave

that's what happened to us and our condo.

We sold, BARELY, at just over 80. Right now, a condo 5 doors down is selling for 180.

But that's a condo market. We weren't there for good, and with a house - we WILL be there to see our kids grow up and go to school. It's not a fly by night sort of thing and I refuse to go somewhere to hang around for a few years then leave. My aprents did that, and I don't want that for my girls.

[Aquattro]

Just a thought...everyone here is paying a mortgage. Just some people are paying someone else's mortgage. If you can do the down payment, always try to buy. With the income from a suite, you shouldn't be much worse off than renting. And sure, the market may very well dip down, but it always comes back stronger. So buy a house as a long term investment and you'll be sure to see a return on it. Eventually.

[woodcarver]

Brad, You make a very relevant comment about factoring in the revenue from a suite . I have always thought this is an excellent way for a young couple to enter the market into a bigger property with the potential for subsequent larger increases in value than the small starter home , paid for with the rental income . Of course this is not for everyone with the hassle of finding suitable renters etc. and have some one living in your home .
The market does seem superheated but to some extent is only playing catch up when looking at housing prices globally.

Nick , I have four children ( all now with their own families ) and concur with you over the importance of the stability afforded your young ladies when attending school,making friends and so forth.
I wish you well in your search and , as a previous poster illustrated be a little wary of long mortgages . It is very educational to look at amortization tables and see how little the difference in payments is between say a 30 yr and 35yr term when you will be paying a whole five years more at the full ,mortage!! The witchcraft of compound interest and amortization formulae

After all ,it's only money

........................Dave

[kellehar]

being from b.c and posted to Edmonton and having to put up with (them)"we're are you from" (me) " Victoria B.C" (them) Ha Ha you mean Bring.Cash." Been Dealing with that for 6 years. But now with the housing market no better here and costing 3 to 4 times as much in utilities then B.C. I finally have the last laugh with them. Well kind of as Im in the same situation as you where I would like to buy, tired of giving my money to somone else when I could be putting it back into my own pocket But un able to buy with the cost being so retarded that an honest working person would put himself in poverty or not even have the means to even atempt to purchase. I dont think I'm im rich but I consider my self stable as I usually pull in 57k+ a year. I could just imagine how hard it is for the young couples trying to make it out there. Anyways dont mean to rant but I feel for you as im in the same boat and will have to wait like alot of people till the market goes down or wages and salaries catch up to living costs.

Justin