Disqus - Latest Comments for ceartea

Re: You buy a house for half a million dollars and...

ceartea — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:36:56 -0000

I have yet to see how education is in any way related to the ethics of business or daily living. It has been my experience that every time I have been left holding the shitty end of the stick I wasn't to interested in what level of education the guy holding the clean end had.

Re: You buy a house for half a million dollars and...

ceartea — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:38:21 -0000

Good on you Gloria for addressing the added stress of general living problems that come with residing in the suburbs while wondering how the old pay check is going to stretch to pay for it all.

The same goes for acreage living. Just add two or three dogs, a dirt bike or quad for every household plus an assortment of livestock and the associated problems of manure from large animals such as horses.....

Talk about value added...(grin)

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:25:47 -0000

Got to agree with you.

In the real world we had same realtor from 2007 give us a ball park listing price for this year...$195K less

Reasons are money is tight and folks can't qualify ...yadda.... yadda

So I ask him whats the deal....thought prices were up.

Answer was they are but only on city property.

Guess we will be living in the old farm shack till they take us out feet first(grin)

As to prices going down I just paid $2.40 a lb. for a side of beef. Sixteen months ago same thing was $2.69 but house insurance went up $280.

Re: China Bust Scenario

ceartea — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:36:08 -0000

MLS®: C3403120

Ya know if a person is being paid to sell a 3.7 million property I would make sure they knew how to spell ..... check out the spelling of steel corrals.

But then again maybe steal is more fitting...lol

Re: China Bust Scenario

ceartea — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:32:56 -0000

So what do think of this handy little project to get the "clueless" into the market for a home and a rental property all in one handy little package?

http://www.pentictonherald....

So the Central Okanagan Foundation and its partners have stepped in with $1.35 million.
Thirty families or individuals like the Jennings-Ladds will receive a non-repayable grant of $45,000 toward the purchase of a home in the Sageglenn development on Chase Road in Lake Country.

“Working with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, there will be an opportunity for many of these homeowners to apply for a non-repayable second loan of $24,000 to put in secondary suites, providing an income stream and affordable rental housing in a market which cannot meet its present demand.”

Re: Real estate surge no ‘blip,' TD says

ceartea — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:51:47 -0000

I have a hard time believing that Alberta has overcome the unemployment problem when I read this.

"Vernon based Tolko Industries has announced it will indefinitely close its lumber operation in High Level Alberta. The closure will impact 290 direct employees and a further 300 woodlands contractors and their employees...."

http://www.opinion250.com/b...

Over 600 people are out of work in a town of approx 42OO. I sure feel for these folks as there are little if any opportunities for work outside of forestry or oil and gas.

Anyone who thinks they are more then a pink slip away from financial disaster should rush out and use their credit cards today, right after they get the heloc on their home for the new pick up and snowmobiles. Don't have a house? Well... if you are a hype junky now is the time to buy...NOT

Re: Real estate surge no ‘blip,' TD says

ceartea — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:06:05 -0000

I agree. I think TD has been advising caution in the real estate market more then others in the last couple of month. Maybe this out look has kept them off the now imfamous top 30 watch list
http://www.financialpost.co...

Re: Real estate surge no ‘blip,' TD says

ceartea — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:36:03 -0000

Good post gloria. Gets the old mind thinking on this how can it be question.

My best guess on why the prices are so high is that it could be related to anti-competitive practices in the real estate industry.

One may think this would only apply to the commission struture which to my best knowledge is governed by no other means then the support of those within the industry but whats to stop this practice from influencing the price of houses as well.

Yah...I know price fixing is illegal in Canada but so are drugs another multi million dollar industry
Just saying.

On the other hand, if the following info is in any way related to how consumers value things then I suspect a person could sell the average consumer anything for any price as long as it was guaranteed hassel free to do and could be paid for on the monthly plan.

The top web site searches were released today

http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/se...

1) Michael Jackson 2) Twitter 3) Swine Flu 4) Stock Market 5) Farrah Fawcett 6) Patrick Swayze 7) Cash for Clunkers 8) Jon and Kate Gosselin 9) Billy Mays 10) Jaycee Dugard

Google Top Search Terms

1) Michael Jackson 2) Facebook 3) Tuenti 4) Twitter 5) Sanalika 6) New Moon 7) Lady Gaga 8) Windows 7 9) Dantri.com.vn 10) Torpedo Gratis

Yahoo Top Search Terms

1) Michael Jackson 2) Twilight 3) WWE 4) M

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:57:06 -0000

This is one twist in condo development that I have a hard time understanding. If it is possible to buy a condo built on leased land now I wonder how long it will be before whole single family developments will be built the same way.....

Scary part is that the lease runs out before the 35 yr. mortgage

http://www.parkbridge.ca/land_lease.html

"""""....In a leased land community, the customer owns his home, and leases the land it is built on, usually for a term of 20 years""".......

http://vancouvercondo.info/2006/10/vancouver-ra...

Vancouver raises False Creek lease rates 700%

Don't know how this worked out but if this was even considered by the city it is a scary thought

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:45:19 -0000

I agree in missing Radley and Bearclaw and others such as Jim and Squid.

They and the bloggers still here have taught this resident old phart a lot about how the world works today .Being a lunch bucket, workboot guy all my life I had little if any ideas on the workings of the stock market etc. Over the years they have taken the time to answer my questions on all things financial to the best of their knowledge and for that I am appreciative.

I now notice that I have a slightly different prospective on things then other guys my age when we get to debating the world in general in the coffee shop and I do believe reading this and other blogs plus the links posted has helped me to open my mind a little.

Thanks to you all for putting up with me(grin)

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:06:44 -0000

In hard times, some British Columbia towns are turning to homemade currency

http://www2.macleans.ca/200...

"....For the past few months, businesses in the tiny port town of Comox, on Vancouver Island, have been trying something a little different when it comes to the currency that ends up in their tills. Along with loonies, toonies and colourful Canadian bills, many have been accepting something called Community Way Dollars, which instead of the usual miscellany of faces on the back feature a photo of snowy mountaintops.

This new, alternative currency is the brainchild of Michael Linton, who’s been busily trying to encourage businesses and shoppers to use the money to buy and sell local goods and services. After working out printing hiccups, Linton says that there are now approximately $80,000 Comox Community Way Dollars circulating the valley, creating something akin to a big collective credit system that people can use to supplement regular dollars in these tight economic times. Local businesses donate the dollars to community organizations and charities, which in turn put them into the hands of individuals and into circulation. It cost $4,000 (in real money) to get up and running, and is solely managed using Google spreadsheets.

“I’m fed up with people saying there isn’t money,” says Linton, “There is money, you just have to create it.........”

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:54:50 -0000

I agree with Mike

Retired People my age who come from a working class back ground do not usually buy homes as a rule and we do not sell them unless a health issue comes up.

My generation were of the belief that everyone should own their home and have it paid for as soon as possible. Also we did not use our homes as a bank. It is my opinion that only the greatest fool would take a loan out on a paid for home to buy toys, go on vacation, buy a rental investment etc.

What more could a person want in retirement then good health, a home in good repair that is paid, a few bucks in the bank and the pension. To the best of my knowledge most working guys from my era have this.

The ones who are suffering are the ones who took out HELOC's or got themselves some kind of fancy financial planner and started messing around in something they knew nothing about.

All those gray haired gods and goddess's you see in the adds living the freedom 55 retirement life style are not very realistic or representative of working folks.

In the real world we like to be near our kids and live in the same home in the same neighborhoods we have lived in for years in a community we are familiar with.

That being said ,for the first time in my life I would advise young people to hold off on buying a home right now. Things are just to iffy out there and there seems to be way to many folks involved in this real estate thing all trying to get their hand into the buyers wallet.

It's been my experience that when business dealings get real complicated that is the time to walk away.

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:13:39 -0000

Debt is the real enemy.I would like to see anyone stand up and say they are in control of their present or future life when they owe four to five times more then their yearly income.

The biggest enemy next to debt is age. There is little hope for retirement if one enters their 60's in debt.

What the hell does "sitting in cash" mean to someone who lives pay chq. to pay chq or a family man who has lost his job and has his EI running out.

Most young working folks with familys who live in the real world do not have the luxury of spare cash to "sit in".

'...Some people here should be living cautionary tales..."

And whats wrong with that.....If it is caution that keeps a man working at a steady job to look after his family, providing a modest but stable and safe home instead of chasing investment rainbows that could crap out at any time, I would think to err on the side of caution would be a good thing.

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:45:23 -0000

Passinby... you have a point about negative postings as everyone likes to hear good news so I googled good news Alberta Nov 2009 just for fun

The headline is an attention getter but on reading further the good new is not so uplifting after all

Alberta's economy in good postion, says ATB economist

http://www.albertalocalnews...

“The Alberta economy is in a very, very good position right now as the onslaught of a global recession is bearing down upon us.”

Many European countries are also in dire straits, he added, and even the Chinese economy is slowing down.

The coming recession, suggested Hirsch, could be the worst in a generation and a defining historical event on par with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Canadians will be somewhat insulated because of the strength of our banks, he said. That’s the result of a tough regulatory system that prevented them from overleveraging like their American counterparts did.

“Canadian banks are still very well capitalized.”

The falling loonie, which is the result of declining commodity prices and nervous investors buying up U.S. treasuries, has been a “nice tonic” for Canadian exporters and manufacturers, said Hirsch. But in three to five years the Canadian dollar should again be trading around par, thanks to the strong fiscal situation created by the federal and provincial governments paying down their debt in recent years.

Fears of a global recession have driven down energy prices, said Hirsch. He predicts continued volatility, with oil trading in the US$60 to $80 a barrel range over the next few years.

Your turn

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:36:14 -0000

south of the boarder they are populated by the haves and the have not's

In Canada it's the have's and the have's more that are in charge of the retail market.

Amazing what cheap and easy credit terms can do for an economy. Why build and sell when it is easier to import and buy.

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:14:32 -0000

Glad someone pointed this out.

I suspect those two new posters have about as much interest in the topics here as I have in playing the stocks with the newest wheeler dealer "praise the market and send me the money" gadget or watching a teeny bopper program on the tv.

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:08:00 -0000

This is an interesting read on how the U.S is considering a bill similar to ours.First time I have ever seen our neighbors to the south admit to considering direction from the way Canada is governed

"How Canada runs its own consumer finance protection agency..."
http://www.allbusiness.com/...

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:38:58 -0000

LOL

Here's my $1. Virtual money seems to be the currency that the gov. is most familiar with. (grin)

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:12:37 -0000

Bad...I hear you. Tough as the new do nothing pass the buck way of doing business is on younger folks it is worse for us old phartz.

Here's a laugh for you younger fellows. Had a muffler installed about 10 years ago. Rusted out so I went back to the garage where I got it installed to get my replacement as it had a lifetime warranty.

Young fellow told me to quit giving him a hard time and move along. I was so PO'ed I brought all the parts at Canadian Tire and put the new exhaust system on myself.

Being retired I got time for this but the young working guy is so pressed for time they just have to suck it up and kiss the garage's ass to take their money.

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:06:22 -0000

For the life of me I can't see anything different here(with the exception of government backing taking the risk out of holding the debt) then what caused the housing bubble in the first place.Can't help but think I am missing something here and I have read this article three times.(sigh)

Wall St. Finds Profits by Reducing Mortgages

http://www.nytimes.com/2009...

"...While homeowners save money, the arrangement shifts nearly all the risk for the loans to the federal government — and, ultimately, taxpayers — at a time when Americans are falling behind on their mortgage payments in record numbers...."

"...Last December, the couple got a letter saying that a firm had purchased the mortgage on their home in Pico Rivera, Calif., from Chase Home Finance for less than its original value. “We want to share this discount with you,” the letter said.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Mr. Alva, a 62-year-old janitor and father of three. “I kept thinking to myself, ‘Something is wrong, something is wrong. This sounds too good.’ ”

But it was true. The balance on the Alvas’ mortgage was ultimately reduced to $314,000 from $440,000.

The firm behind the reduction remains a mystery. The Alvas’ new loan, backed by the F.H.A., was made by Primary Residential Mortgage, a lender based in Utah. But the letter came from a company called MCM Capital Partners.

In the letter, MCM said the couple’s loan was owned by something called MCMCap Homeowners’ Advantage Trust III. But MCM’s co-founders said in an interview that MCM does not own any mortgages. They would not reveal the investor that owned the Alvas’ loan because they had agreed to keep that client’s identity confidential.

Michael Niccolini, an MCM founder, said, “We are changing people’s lives..........”

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:55:46 -0000

Who cares if the market is slow in Calgary when the real deals are to made state side.

...."Canadian investor Arthur Wong is buying condos in Las Vegas and Phoenix like a shopper at Costco: In bulk, with slashed prices.

Wong, president of Optimus U.S. Real Estate Fund, has bought 60 condos at heavy discounts from developers in financial trouble. Wong paid about $62,500 each for 18 Las Vegas condos that once were priced at about $250,000 apiece.

"This could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for real estate investment," said Wong, whose Calgary, Alberta-based fund has already invested $5 million cash and will spend millions more in the U.S. Southwest over the next several months.

While foreign real estate investment in the first six months of 2009 was lower than last year's level, real estate agents from New York to Las Vegas say purchases have increased rapidly in recent months.

Foreign investors have long been attracted to U.S. residential real estate, drawn by the market's stability compared with other countries. But the dollar's descent in the past six months has made makes homes even cheaper for foreigners, and prices are showing signs of stability.

International investors bought 154,000 homes and condos in the 12-month period ending in May, down nearly 10 percent from 170,000 for the same period a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors reports..."

http://www.presstelegram.co...

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:18:37 -0000

Good post Stormy

And while we are at it lets also remember these Canadians

WW 1 approx 60,000

ww 2 44,198

Korean war 1,558

And the count is still going here

http://www.mysteriesofcanad...

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:52:12 -0000

great post... the whole stock market thing kind of reminds me of a big monopoly game being played with no go to jail cards

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:43:14 -0000

Not mentioned in these stats. are a lot of self employed heavy construction fellows who depend on oil and gas for work. I expect the sheriff will end up holding more paper on equipment then the work force by the time the dust settles.

Just wish all the paper pushers would get out in the real world and see how the working blue collar class are dealing with lay offs, wage and hour cut backs, increasing grocery and utility costs etc.

But then again...who would be interested in that data. as there is no way to profit from it.

Re: Weekend Open Thread

ceartea — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:49:52 -0000

Yawn and by the way the Q on your key board is not working (grin)