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talktoolooseI wanted to thank everybody for the kind of words of congratulations yesterday. I was actually reluctant to make the post because I have so many friends who are struggling with finances and debt; but then I realized how fucking patronizing that would have been of me!
The fact is, Snake and I have been incredibly lucky. When we started looking for a house, we quickly determined we couldn't afford one. Then things fell into place quite suddenly.
First of all, neither of us had any student loans or other debt. My dad was a professor at U of T which meant my tuition was basically free (it was counted as salary for him, so he did have to pay tax on that amount). Besides, a full-time year at U of T in 1982-83 was around $1,300. Translated into 2006 dollars, I'm sure that's still only around $1,600. Snake was a recent refugee when he started university and OSAP (The Ontario Student Assistance Programme) still had actual grants, not just loans. So his undergrad education was paid for by the government. Completely.
Then there was our down payment, most of which came from my parents. I grew up in a fairly spacious bungalow on a rather huge lot. When my parents bought it in 1964, it was on the outskirts of the city and didn't cost a lot. When they sold it in 1988, the property was so valuable, they were paid 12 times their original buying price by a developer who knocked our house down and built a mansion!. There was enough money to give me and my two siblings some (though not quite enough) down payment money for our houses and still allow my parents to buy their smaller house outright.
We found our house during a brief trough in the housing market in 1995. We were able to afford it only by using all the down payment money and then taking a usurious second mortgage at 12.5%. We got rid of that first and quickly as we could. Also, the second floor of our house was a separate apartment and we kept it that way for nine years which meant that our mortgage wasn't really more than our rent had been. By the end, our tenant had two boyfriends and her 10 year old child living up there and we were three down below. I'm glad those days are over!
In addition, we've both been lucky with our careers. I became a graphic designer by learning desktop publishing when it was still an oddity and basically kept ahead of the curve until I was established. Now people graduate with four-year design diplomas (and debt) and struggle to break into the industry.
I compare these circumstances to younger friends of mine who are all graduating university with terrible debts and who can't find work with their degrees. Allowing tuition fees to rise astronomically is one of the ways I believe our government has betrayed the ideals of Canada. There is no way that such a move can lead to anything but a higher-education system that serves only the rich. Furthermore, it puts increasing demands on a degree that it "pay back". This is a recipe for stagnation in the humanities and in pure scientific research.
I should also point out that even with our jobs and lack of other debt, we would be hard-pressed to find a house now in downtown Toronto (and, in fact, in most of Toronto) that we could afford to buy. Our house, like most places in th city, has doubled in value in 10 years (which sounds great but only if we could cash it in and still live somewhere we would consider acceptable).
The fact is, Snake and I have been incredibly lucky. When we started looking for a house, we quickly determined we couldn't afford one. Then things fell into place quite suddenly.
First of all, neither of us had any student loans or other debt. My dad was a professor at U of T which meant my tuition was basically free (it was counted as salary for him, so he did have to pay tax on that amount). Besides, a full-time year at U of T in 1982-83 was around $1,300. Translated into 2006 dollars, I'm sure that's still only around $1,600. Snake was a recent refugee when he started university and OSAP (The Ontario Student Assistance Programme) still had actual grants, not just loans. So his undergrad education was paid for by the government. Completely.
Then there was our down payment, most of which came from my parents. I grew up in a fairly spacious bungalow on a rather huge lot. When my parents bought it in 1964, it was on the outskirts of the city and didn't cost a lot. When they sold it in 1988, the property was so valuable, they were paid 12 times their original buying price by a developer who knocked our house down and built a mansion!. There was enough money to give me and my two siblings some (though not quite enough) down payment money for our houses and still allow my parents to buy their smaller house outright.
We found our house during a brief trough in the housing market in 1995. We were able to afford it only by using all the down payment money and then taking a usurious second mortgage at 12.5%. We got rid of that first and quickly as we could. Also, the second floor of our house was a separate apartment and we kept it that way for nine years which meant that our mortgage wasn't really more than our rent had been. By the end, our tenant had two boyfriends and her 10 year old child living up there and we were three down below. I'm glad those days are over!
In addition, we've both been lucky with our careers. I became a graphic designer by learning desktop publishing when it was still an oddity and basically kept ahead of the curve until I was established. Now people graduate with four-year design diplomas (and debt) and struggle to break into the industry.
I compare these circumstances to younger friends of mine who are all graduating university with terrible debts and who can't find work with their degrees. Allowing tuition fees to rise astronomically is one of the ways I believe our government has betrayed the ideals of Canada. There is no way that such a move can lead to anything but a higher-education system that serves only the rich. Furthermore, it puts increasing demands on a degree that it "pay back". This is a recipe for stagnation in the humanities and in pure scientific research.
I should also point out that even with our jobs and lack of other debt, we would be hard-pressed to find a house now in downtown Toronto (and, in fact, in most of Toronto) that we could afford to buy. Our house, like most places in th city, has doubled in value in 10 years (which sounds great but only if we could cash it in and still live somewhere we would consider acceptable).
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-16 05:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-16 07:56 pm (UTC)Since we still have a line of credit with the bank, there is still a lien on the house. This was very disappointing psychologically--not to be utterly free of them--but it's a good line of credit and by far the best kind of loan we can have for future renos or emergencies so we left it in place.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-16 06:09 pm (UTC)I managed to get a home loan for a certain amount about 3 months before housing prices doubled here! boo...did me no good at all.
I hope Canada doesn't follow America as an example of anything financially...I don't even think we have a financial policy here anymore except..."if it's stupid, bloated and will help the upper class, let's pass that". :(
no subject
Date: 2007-01-16 07:59 pm (UTC)Canada is doing a lot of careless, stupid things and squandering a lot of what made it special. For instance, America is doing more to fight domestic pollution and to protect its natural areas than we are at this point.
It makes me very, very sad.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-17 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-17 07:51 pm (UTC)In other news, my thanks to you and Bela for dinner. I'm just sorry I didn't get around to this before now.