I understand what you’re saying but like I said, I thought that the latest news was indicating that “what’s to come” ain’t all that great.

“All in my opinion of course”

Your opinions have been fairly accurate over time.

The market moves always in anticipation of what’s to come, (not on what’s currently happening). A lot of companies will be putting out 1st and 2nd quarter results that will beat market expectations. These results will still suck, but just won’t be as bad as analysts thought.

Unless something significant happens to spook the market, I would expect more upward movement until the Dow hits the low 9000’s by this summer. When it gets there I would suggest shorting everything you can as there is a major resistance level between 9500 – 9700 that I’m 99.99% sure will not be breached. I fully expect to see the Dow between 3500 – 4000 when it finally bottoms.

All in my opinion of course

I’m impressed but not completely surprised. Apparently, cats can be trained to use a toilet so lights should really be a breeze.

“Our utilities are high, with four adults (and three dogs) living under one roof.”

Anyone who has ever tried to teach a dog to turn off the lights when they leave a room can relate. They are worse than children.

“With billions pumped into the economy from the feds and cheaper money ( to borrow) we had better see some gains or else.”

I suppose, but it’s this nearly constant refrain of “things are worse than we thought” that has me wondering how. I headed for the hills as this rally was just winding up and I’m a little sore with myself for running so fast.

Armoth,

That’s not sounding like much of an opportunity. Your payout is what they call an “interest differential.” They pretty much have you paying the difference between what you agreed to pay and what they can lend the money for today. If you were to tack that $12K on to the mortgage it would probably set you back considerably.

1400 sq. ft. 1920’s built two-storey.

Natural gas = 148 equalized (Was 188 until rate cut)

Electricity and water = ~155 (down from about 180 since we replaced our furnace)

Insurance = 90 (down from 115 or so when we bought)

Taxes = 210 (down a whopping five bucks this year)

Our utilities are high, with four adults (and three dogs) living under one roof. Our garage is fully heated, which contributes significantly to the gas bill.

With billions pumped into the economy from the feds and cheaper money ( to borrow) we had better see some gains or else.

The BofC has finally admitted that the recession will be longer and deeper than anticipated and at this moment there are too many industries and companies teetering on the edge of bankruptcy that can not survive being on life support for a couple of years. GM and Chrysler are finished from what we know of them.

Add in the job losses forecasted for the rest of the year I just can not trust the market yet.

The close: 7 weeks of gains on the TSX

Nice

Aby,

All depends on your situation. I’d need a lot more info to give my opinion.

and look for another investment..

mine are through the city. Its just me and my wife. Maybe our costs are lower cause I shower only once a week:)

You’re in the right ballpark for legal fees but I must be an energy pig because I’m paying more for utilities.

Again, don’t house renters usually pay their own utilities? If so, wouldn’t these numbers be best left out?

Wow!!! $250 for gas/water/power. Are those utilities through Sask power or the city? I pay a lot more than that. I noticed my bills had gotten a lot higher when they came and put that new digital meter on my house.

Also, real estate commissions here are very reasonable (about 3-4%, depending on the price of the home) compared to other provinces and the U.S., where 5% (and in Quebec, up to 7%!) is typical.

I have an average bungalow on the east side 1000 sq feet.

Gas -97 equalized

water and power 135

taxes 200

insurance 75

It does depend on size of house and where you the house is located. Some of the bigger homes in Willowgrove and Stonebridge (750k+) have taxes over 6000 a year ( ouch!) which almost gets into the neighborhood of my mortgage payments for the year.

Gail Vaz-Oxlade has a good arcticle about this – it doesn’t include a calculator – but does discuss some of the financial implications of both.

http://gailvazoxlade.com/blog/archives/201

I would think that the easiest way to make a fair comparison would be to use a rent figure that wouldn’t include utilities. Those costs will be consistent whether you own or rent, assuming that the house is similar. I believe that it is most common for renters os houses to pay utilities. Of course, the landlord is generally responsible for taxes. Make sense?

Here’s the calculator that was posted at some point.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/2007_BUYRENT_GRAPHIC.html

If you “Google” rent vs. buy calculators, you’ll probably come up with quite a bit right off the bat. This is one of my favorites (that is not US-centric):

http://tinyurl.com/czlnav

Keep in mind that calculating the expected appreciation of the property is tricky, as the property may not be appreciating for some period of time, which is unknown at present. Most calculators will not let you input anything less than zero into this box. Calculating the long-term inflation rate is currently also quite tricky, but has tended to be around 2%.

Costs are different for every house due to the state of the house and market adjustments in gas prices etc etc. Also, whether your in a condo or not makes a difference. These are the rough averages off the top of my head for most properties I’ve owned.

Mortgage – x dollars

Utilities – $300

Gas – $200

Taxes – $200 – $300

Insurance – $100

I think everything else you’d be paying if renting anyways.

Also I like to have at least a $200/mo budget for repairs that pop up. Anything I’m missing I’m sure others will remember.

On 2,100sqft for utilities I was paying: $300 property taxes (they were going up to approximately $420), $250 (equalized) for gas and around $200 (again, equalized) for electric and water. So if it’s a smaller home that you’re looking at, multiply these costs by the difference in sqft (±) and you should have a good approximation. Best of luck!

Have any of you come across any calculating tools that give a realistic cost comparison between the two? Or, would any of you be willing to share what your costs are per month?

Thanks.