Thankful
I bought my first house for $138 thousand. It had only one bedroom, but it felt huge. It was a duplex, and I rented out the second floor to two librarians. They were very quiet.
I was 28 when I moved to Ottawa, and making less than 100 grand - very roughly the same age and income as my daughter. There is no way she can get a place for $138 thousand, or anywhere near that amount, even a small place, even in Montreal, even with someone else paying the other half.
So we are helping her; it’s either that or wait years, maybe even decades, for her and her partner to amass funds. They are far from have-nots, but salaries have not grown like houses. They are moving now, and we are assisting, along with the unofficial in-laws. Hence the shortness of this post!
Yes, I was from another era. I worked hard, often 60-hour weeks. But many people work those hours and can never afford to buy a home. That’s why I am thankful.
See you soon!
I was a single mum and lived very much "insecurely" for years but finally scraped together enough money at age 40 to buy a condo in Toronto in 1994 for myself and my 15 year old daughter. Married 5 years later and moved to the States. Because I had bought it by raiding my retirement savings under the gov't's then rules for the down payment, I had to pay that back from my proceeds so only walked away with a couple of thousand dollars. Still, I was very grateful for those four years we weren't at the mercy of landlords raising their rents or selling properties out from under us.
Showing empathy for us who are in a challenging home owner market is refreshing.
I’m honestly hope this shifts mindsets of parents don’t want to help their kids- who they think they are teaching a lesson. But don’t realize there is a real gap