Comments on: Why I Will Never Be Able To Own Property

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 17 May 2010 01:13:59 +0000

@Dan – Nope, I put in the housing costs as monthly! The problem is my student loan debt, combined with the fact that RBC calculator counts your credit card and line of credit limits as if you owe all that money, which I don’t. I don’t carry a balance on my credit cards and I’ve never once touched my line of credit (I got it as a safety net when I thought I was going to be postdoc and might need it until my postdoc paycheques were set up). When I use the Vancity calculator, which just asks how much you owe, not what your limits are, I can get more, but still not enough to buy anything in Vancouver.

By: Sarah in Ottawa

Sarah in Ottawa — Sat, 15 May 2010 23:30:19 +0000

Gah! Why won’t your blog let me post?! I want to say this:

That is hilarious, but it cannot possibly be right. Just to see, I went to the TD Canada Trust “How much can I afford” tool, and plugged in your numbers (based on conversations we’ve had on debt repayment — I ballparked it). Based on that (and down payment of $20k), they will lend you $180k for a property with a 25 year amortization, bi-weekly payments of $783.

What calculator did you use?

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 15 May 2010 23:22:07 +0000

Hey Beth,

I thought I’d check this out to see what I might get and at first I had the same dismal results (despite already having a mortgage with RBC). Then I noticed that the housing costs need to be entered as monthly, and I had entered the total for the year by mistake. That seemed to fix things for me. Hopefully that improves your results as well.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sat, 15 May 2010 23:04:56 +0000

Aw man – sorry to hear that! Housing prices must suck in your neck of the woods

By: chris

chris — Sat, 15 May 2010 22:59:53 +0000

ME TOO. *sigh*