01-26-2017, 12:11 PM
A quick comparison: I rent at Kaufman, for $1580, for 2 bedroom 1 bathroom, all inclusive.
A 2 bedroom 1 bathroom at City Center is listed for $312K.
Its condo fees are listed as $458. I'll assume its electricity is similar to what my previous two bedroom rented non-inclusive condo was, $40. Taxes in kitchener for I see two tax rates I don't understand for kitchener (2.1% and 1.2%), which equal either $546 or $312. With a 5% downpayment, I could perhaps get $1472. 20% downpayment, down to $1308. So the most-in costs (no maintenance of non-condo things) might range from $2,118 up to $2,516, with ownership costing between $538 to $936 more than owning the same property.
Right now, all levels of government are biased towards 100% preservation and growth of the cost of housing, so it's become a safe, higher output investment (which is bad for a whole lot of reasons). But on the flip side, paying what I pay to rent versus to own, I can easily sock four figures a month into investments, of which I've averaged double-digit returns over the past five years. But I have to be responsible enough to save enough to cover not having the forced savings of a mortgage, just as a homeowner can't realize any returns on their home unless they are willing to accept a drastic reduction in lifestyle, moving to very different locations, etc., to unlock their returns (or they're part of the 25% of home sales, based on studies into "foreign buyer" price impacts [they're 5-10%], who are homeowners buying 2nd or beyond properties for investment, driving up the costs of homeownership for everyone else).
A 2 bedroom 1 bathroom at City Center is listed for $312K.
Its condo fees are listed as $458. I'll assume its electricity is similar to what my previous two bedroom rented non-inclusive condo was, $40. Taxes in kitchener for I see two tax rates I don't understand for kitchener (2.1% and 1.2%), which equal either $546 or $312. With a 5% downpayment, I could perhaps get $1472. 20% downpayment, down to $1308. So the most-in costs (no maintenance of non-condo things) might range from $2,118 up to $2,516, with ownership costing between $538 to $936 more than owning the same property.
Right now, all levels of government are biased towards 100% preservation and growth of the cost of housing, so it's become a safe, higher output investment (which is bad for a whole lot of reasons). But on the flip side, paying what I pay to rent versus to own, I can easily sock four figures a month into investments, of which I've averaged double-digit returns over the past five years. But I have to be responsible enough to save enough to cover not having the forced savings of a mortgage, just as a homeowner can't realize any returns on their home unless they are willing to accept a drastic reduction in lifestyle, moving to very different locations, etc., to unlock their returns (or they're part of the 25% of home sales, based on studies into "foreign buyer" price impacts [they're 5-10%], who are homeowners buying 2nd or beyond properties for investment, driving up the costs of homeownership for everyone else).