Does your mortgage keep you awake at night?
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Mortgages stress me out. I've had four over the years. The sense of freedom of no longer being indebted after I made my final payment was unbelievable. -
No, it doesn't keep me awake for the simple reason that we bought a home well within our means with a mortgage way lower than what the banks said we could borrow. The bonus: we had it paid off in ten years and had enough left over to put in a pool and buy a cottage without taking on more debt. Its a question of common sense and priorities.
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We don't have mortgage stress -- we paid off the house years ago. By pure dumb luck, we bought at the beginning of the upward "price correction" in the prairies. House price was 2.5 times our yearly household income, and less than the preapproved loan. We lived frugally, and any extra money went to the mortgage.
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We purchased our home within our means and have been able to keep up with the payments. We lived in Fort McMurray for four years, after they went through the downturn of the economy in the early 80's. Folks were turning in their keys then and walking away. People still don't learn from past mistakes.
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My mortgage doesnt currently keep me awake at night, even though I purchased in 2014 before the drop in oil prices.. I put the minimum down and put the rest of my money (from my previous sale) into my RRSP/savings account.
My spouse and I are very dilligent and save/pay all our bills and live within our means. The unfortunate part is not everyone is that smart... adn when the bubble bursts... lots of "average" people will be left in the cold wondeerring what happened with there lifes work. -
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Thanks for all the input so far. Keep it coming. In terms of yesterday's jingle mail story out of Calgary, I wanted to know:Is there anything that would make you send your house keys to the bank?What do you think of strategic defaults? -
My last payment put my mortgage under 100K. I am 39 and it will be gone when I am 45 without making any extra payments.
It doesn't keep me up. I would like it to be less but know its a lot less than many have. -
I do worry about paying off my mortgage. I wouldn't be out on the street, but you never know what can happen to the economy, so my wife and I are trying to pay off our mortgage as soon as possible. If the bubble burst, and I owed more than what the house was worth, I may walk away.
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Nope, paid it off a while ago. I agree with other comments on here about the outrageous cost for hydro. The incompetence of this Ontario government is beyond belief.
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Our remaining mortgage balance is about the same as a new mid-sized car. Our next renewal will be our last. I sleep just fine, thanks. -
Here's an anecdote from forum commenter, Mike Dube.As a 29 year old who has tried to get ahead (grad school, working up north, living within my means), I'm frustrated when housing stress is portrayed as the fault of everyone but the home buyer (i.e. government, foreign investment, rates, employers, etc.).My partner and I both make six-figure salaries, but rent a nice little place for $1000/month because we don't want to be crushed by a $700,000 mortgage when the bubble invariably bursts. When the market busts, we'll swoop in...
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Yes. 68 and still $79000 to go. Wife retiring in 3 short years. Live in a steel town with mill in financial trouble . . . again. Question life decisions with fear and frustration for the future. Bank LOC promise of never having to borrow money again meant it would never be paid off. Don't blame anyone but self for outcome.
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Great chat happening on @CBCNews Forum: Does your #mortgage keep you awake at night? cbc.ca/1.3440158 #JingleMailby Susan Sanei-Stamp via twitter 2/9/2016 6:46:53 PM -
These discussions always digress into East vs. West. Get off your pity party Alberta. Other provinces have suffered with low prices in their resources, manufacturing, and don't expect the rest of us to prop up the jobless. You lost your job-re-educate yourself. My husband lost his job as a pilot in the airline downturn, and took a job as a flagperson.
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Our mortgage doesn't worry us - but we have secure public sector jobs. We are watching now to buy a second/revenue property when the market is cooler.
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I don't because 3 years ago the bank ok'ed us for a $415,000 mortgage. We bought our house in Edmonton for $250, 000
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Here's another anecdote, this time from forum commenter, Samantha R.
I have a mortgage and I also have a full-time job, yet I still worry about the future of my mortgage. I don't believe that we need to point out the fact that even if you were or are smart about your money, you cannot predict your future.
Thoughts? -
3 years ago the bank ok'ed us for a $415,000 mortgage. We spent $250,000 on our house, took a year off for paternity leave & continue to sleep very well.
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Ask an American as many were in this position back a few years ago and I was close as I lived in CA when the market crashed. When you have lost your job along with almost everyone else, have no job prospects and the value of your house is underwater, there is really no other choice then to hand over the keys as nobody is buying.
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The difference between the 1980's jingle mail and now is ... there was no CMHC insurance back in the 80's ... these people think they can just turn over the keys and walk away ... you can't do that from a CMHC mortgage you are still on the hook for whatever excess the bank loses on the foreclosure. Seriously not a smart thing to do ... better to stay put and work with the bank to find a solution so you don't end up in an even bigger mess with CMHC.
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I recall that in the eighties, some opportunists incorporated companies to take over the mortgage in exchange for a monthly rent. The corporations then defaulted on the mortgages, and when the banks foreclosed, promptly declared bankruptcy. I believe that loophole has now been closed. ????
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I regretted being snide about still continuing to sleep. Today we have almost infinite access to debt & the expectation that your abilities to pay it of is just as infinite. There seems to be a disconnect some where
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Here's a comment from Anwar Abd Elnaser.
The problem is that government including federal and provincial governments are not workin to make greedy banks lower their rates. The rates are still hiking despite this problem. Banks are the only sector that is making money despite the budget deficits and the losses in every other sector
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Central banks, government policy, banking system, real estate speculators, little or no financial literacy education in the schools, parents of Millennials, entitlement, socio-economic negative mood... lots of blame and finger pointing to go round. Bottom line, as many others have said, it falls on personal responsibility to make good decisions and sometimes circumstances outside our control force us to make tough decisions to survive - like using 'jingle mail' in Alberta
That's from forum commenter, Don Watson. Do you agree? Disagreed? -
I have seen many people assume more and more debt by climbing the "property ladder". Even people who get closer to paying it off, instead opt to move onto a bigger and better house, maintaining their debt. I think the problem here is people's attitudes towards money, not the government's problem. I am personally frugal and it is frowned upon, but I expect to be mortgage free next year at 41.
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For families, I believe that you should live on one income and save the other. If you can't, you are living beyond your means.
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Why wouldnt it keep you awake. You overpaid 40 to 60% for the property you know it aint worth what you paid for but you still bought into the scam
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I think its rather awesome what they are doing. Nice little F#ck you through the mail. Cheers. The banks can own all the empty houses. :) To be really effective they should do it on mass scale.
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I worry that I will find myself, after years of saving and hard work the time missed with family and friends and all the other sacrifices made, with a house I'm paying for that was extremely over priced when I bought it so I'll unable to sell when the time comes
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Forum commenter Brando weighs in.
The economic pain people are feeling because of falling oil prices is sad. If Calgary had an alternative economy those who were downsized in the oil patch would be able to get another job in the area, and keep making payments on their homes. The conservative government had a short sighted focus on oil that left the area vulnerable. If they had plowed some of the monies they spent courting European countries to accept bitumen on alternative energy programs, perhaps it would be possible.
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Some of you have been pointing the mortgage blame elsewhere. Some have said you are responsible for your own. My question for you...
- Is there anyone to blame for out-of-whack mortgages? Or is that on us? What do you think?
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What is really perplexing how much cheaper a home in the US is compared to Canada factoring in all the conditions and the market. It doesn't make sense that I can buy a nicer home for a LOT less in many parts of the USA, and compared to Canada, the US economy is booming. Something's not right.... which makes me worry even more - that a HUGE housing bubble in Canada will burst this year.
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well i hate to say it but don't the banks bear some responsibility for giving mortgages to people who fake their info and the machine okays it and the bank ???...wheres the due diligence? The honest people don't qualify thus can't own homes.....never owned in 60 years ....i only prequalify for a $67000 property
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No, my mortgage does not keep me awake at night. In fact my partner and I just upped our payments by 10% and changed our payments to accelerated bi-weekly payments to be rid of it even quicker. We intend to up the payments even more in the future.
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A widespread mortgage default will affect every Canadian whether they have a mortgage or not. We worry about our kids with mortgages, and if job loss would impinge on their ability to pay. We have no mortgage, but would certainly assist them through difficulties. However, that would deplete our own retirement savings. Governments helping others would tax the rest.
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Nope because I didn't foolishly overspend and bought a home I could afford. We have been first time home owners for 1 year now and my mortgage here in Toronto is cheaper then the rent we were paying for a 2BDR apartment.
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I don't even think about it. My house's value could go to 0 and I still would sleep quite comfortably.
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This is a thought from forum commenter, Rob.It doesn't matter. We can talk until we are blue in the face. Fact is, the banks don't care. This is an Economy reset, and with that there will be collateral damage. No institution, politician, or corporation is working on a plan right now that directly impacts us with the really bad mortgages.We will default after paying years of top heavy interest. They will sell the homes cheap, boost the buyers market again in doing so. Sucking us into another top heavy mortgage.
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We are going to wrap up the forum shortly. Any final comments, anecdotes, questions, concerns? Weigh in!
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No, I sleep soundly. I bought what I can afford and mortgage payment is based on my monthly rent as if I was renting.
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And that's all the time we have for today's forum.Thanks for all your comments, insights and thoughts on mortgages. As I mentioned, the forum format is our new experimental attempt to encourage a different kind of conversation on the site.I'll be rounding up some of your best and most insightful comments and including them in this article which will be updated later today.We'll be back with more forum discussions tomorrow. Have a great rest of your Tuesday!
