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.
Thanks, Wendy, for sharing a personal glimpse into the different generational experiences re: housing affordability. It's a source of sadness and anxiety especially for 'boomers' who experienced single parenthood, family breakups, and/or persistent financial 'precarity' in an increasingly gig-based economy and now struggle to help their adult kids--those who've experienced education/training or work disruptions during the pandemic (not to mention soaring postsecondary costs in past 25 years), volatile labour markets, erosion of purchasing power, less job security... And so on. It's disheartening, to say the least, for people of modest or few means who hoped to give their 'kids' a good start in life. My main financial goal as a single 'elder-mom' is to ensure that my 2 adult kids get a downpayment, mortgage relief (or equivalent) when I kick the bucket.
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
Wife and I moved to Halifax from Montreal in 1973. We each got hospital jobs with fair pay but lots of on call work too. We bought our first house that year for $47 thousand and paid it off 10 years later. We moved 3 times in Halifax and them moved to a 3 bedroom rental apartment in Toronto to be close to our eldest daughter. Every time we moved, we had a garden and still have one in TO.
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
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.
Thanks, Wendy, for sharing a personal glimpse into the different generational experiences re: housing affordability. It's a source of sadness and anxiety especially for 'boomers' who experienced single parenthood, family breakups, and/or persistent financial 'precarity' in an increasingly gig-based economy and now struggle to help their adult kids--those who've experienced education/training or work disruptions during the pandemic (not to mention soaring postsecondary costs in past 25 years), volatile labour markets, erosion of purchasing power, less job security... And so on. It's disheartening, to say the least, for people of modest or few means who hoped to give their 'kids' a good start in life. My main financial goal as a single 'elder-mom' is to ensure that my 2 adult kids get a downpayment, mortgage relief (or equivalent) when I kick the bucket.
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
Hi Wendy,
Wife and I moved to Halifax from Montreal in 1973. We each got hospital jobs with fair pay but lots of on call work too. We bought our first house that year for $47 thousand and paid it off 10 years later. We moved 3 times in Halifax and them moved to a 3 bedroom rental apartment in Toronto to be close to our eldest daughter. Every time we moved, we had a garden and still have one in TO.
My mother-in-law helped us with the downpayment and my dad, our realtor, axed his commission. We'll help our kids whenever we can.
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