options for accommodation
Going to school has never been cheap, and one of the biggest challenges as a student - particularly as a married student - is to try and balance economy with quality of life.
Wesla and I have been talking for some time about finding a place that will cut some cost from our monthly budget. We are currently living on the U of L campus in the family townhouse section. This has some definite advantages. The most obvious one is our proximity to the school, we don't have to worry about transportation because I can easily walk to all of my classes. Of course, this comes with a price. Our place is small and it is on the higher end of the market price for rental properties (a price that is going up again come July 2005).
To consider moving is one thing, but to actually embrace the chaos that inevitably follows is wholly another. I can remember the day when I could pack all I owned into the hatch-back of a compact car. I have since come to realize those days will never come again, ever. Wesla and I believe that in order to make a move worth our while we would have to be saving in the neighborhood of $150/month. After doing a little research it has become clear to us that this will be possible in one of two ways: rent a smaller place (likely a basement suite), or rent a larger place (ie. a house)and find some roommates.
We are currently in the process of weighing all our options. Ideally Wesla and I would love to purchase a house, however that whole issue of saving up a down payment never seems to stop nagging us. Who knows how things are going to work out, I guess we will have to wait and see.
Wesla and I have been talking for some time about finding a place that will cut some cost from our monthly budget. We are currently living on the U of L campus in the family townhouse section. This has some definite advantages. The most obvious one is our proximity to the school, we don't have to worry about transportation because I can easily walk to all of my classes. Of course, this comes with a price. Our place is small and it is on the higher end of the market price for rental properties (a price that is going up again come July 2005).
To consider moving is one thing, but to actually embrace the chaos that inevitably follows is wholly another. I can remember the day when I could pack all I owned into the hatch-back of a compact car. I have since come to realize those days will never come again, ever. Wesla and I believe that in order to make a move worth our while we would have to be saving in the neighborhood of $150/month. After doing a little research it has become clear to us that this will be possible in one of two ways: rent a smaller place (likely a basement suite), or rent a larger place (ie. a house)and find some roommates.
We are currently in the process of weighing all our options. Ideally Wesla and I would love to purchase a house, however that whole issue of saving up a down payment never seems to stop nagging us. Who knows how things are going to work out, I guess we will have to wait and see.
posted by Jason at 2:26 p.m.
3 Comments:
I can relate to you man - for me saving money on rent is always a bonus. If you save $100/month - that's $1200/year - it adds up fast.
The price of housing is ridiculous and is going up all the time that when the time comes if we want to buy we'll get some crap hole for $100,000. At this point I'll probably rent for the rest of my life.
Renting though has it's advantages. No taxes, free yard care, etc. I know you often have to share adjacent space but sometimes it's not so bad. If I wasn't married I think I'd find the cheapest place I could find and simplify my life. For me just having a bed to rest my head on his fine for me.
Buying a house to me isn't always the best either. Upkeep is continual as is renovations, landscaping and preventative maintenance. People keep telling me but oh - it's an investment. Well from what I see, people keep on buying house after house and when they're old sure they'll have a few hundred thousand - so what - you gonna take that with you.
Sorry for the long comment - I could talk about this forever.
CMHC offers a $0 down payment option, and you can have your fees added into your morgage.
All you need to worry about is your "Total Debt Ratio".
And in a city, you need not worry very much about resale for the future.
How's that for some fun talk :)
Estelle
Wesla and I have checked into the zero down option, the only drawbacks are a slightly higher interest rate (we were quoted at 6.05%) and you are locked in for a five year term. Unfortunately, at this point even with the zero down I don't think we would be able to swing the payments. It seems like the bottom line for us right now is to pay off our car, then we can seriously consider making a move a purchasing a house.
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