The House on Lake Minnetonka that Never Was

“Alas, all the houses on Lake of the Isles would remain a movie-like dream I would run through my mind as I’d run around the lake, while the houses on Lake Minnetonka would be just a laughable, comical, even cartoonish delusion of wealth, stability, and happiness.

But then something happened.

21 Replies to “The House on Lake Minnetonka that Never Was”

  1. I remember struggling to make double and early payments to eliminate my mortgage early and then later when I lived in the US for a period of time that included the credit collapse of 2007-8, no one I knew or ran into had paid off their mortgage, mostly due to US mortgage interest tax deductibility. That, ease of credit, and loose scrutiny all contributed to a worse situation in the US, not that Canadians are now slackers when it comes to high personal debt.

  2. I am not sure why anyone would bother paying off a mortgage. I had nine houses and never paid one off. I did take some good equity gains over the years.

    1. To old white guy from another old white haired guy…. We have had at least 16 or 17 new homes over the years and always paid off the mortgages in the early years when we did not have that much cash. But I would say since 2005 we always paid cash for a home both in USA and Canada. Same with new vehicles. Why pay interest when you can pay it off . Makes for a much more relaxed life not worrying when will your mortgage interest go up? Peace of mind..:)

      1. I had peace of mind and considered a mortgage a tool to make profit. Still have that peace of mind and adequate cash flow to live what most would consider a good life. If you managed to pay cash for 16 or 17 you must have flipped them with very little equity.

        1. hey old guy…….this is the grey haired guy again….hahaha, some people are so jealous of other people’s wealth….unless you KNOW the situation those kind of comments are very telling about the commenter. #1 we did not FLIP houses, we lived in them for at least 1 year. ie for you: in 2014 bought a new place for $500,000, exactly a year later SOLD it privately for $650,000.00 . Gotta love CAPITALISM don’t you think… 🙂 in 2016 bought the new house for $555,000.00 but now worth $869,000.00…. Not moving again as I am tired of making $$$$$

    2. Need to live somewhere, like to have money left at the end of the month, good investment?

      We paid out the house over a year ago. Don’t miss the substantial monthly outlay. Family home, not so big, good neighborhood, nice place to live for the rest of our lives.

      We now have that money to improve our life, whether it be travel, entertainment or just good solid investments in our future.

      1. I know that you still pay taxes, heat and water, maintenance and other costs. I started leasing 13 years ago and put all that aside and let someone else fret the small stuff.

        1. You will be leasing forever while covering someone else’s equity build up (mortgage payment), and still covering the taxes, maintenance and utilities in that payment. TANSTAFL

          All I cover now is the taxes, utilities and maintenance. And I do most of the maintenance.

          Local house rental here is $1800 / month for a similar property. Our taxes and utilities are ~$850 / month. That’s almost a Grand in our pockets each month just based upon a rental. Because we were rushing the payout it was actually $2,000 back into our pockets, and we still had a good lifestyle then.

          1. you are the smart guy around here. Good for you. You are right on all points. Funny how “some” people do not understand that?? Have a great day!!

  3. Remember being in Florida around 2008 and being stunned at every street in this lovely Sarasota area just a blizzard of “for sale” signs, “open house” and wondering what is happening. My buddy bought a nice home for $136k that originally sold for $325k. We sold our house in Toronto 3 years ago and now rent a nice apartment with good investments. Always thought the US was smart to allow interest deductions for everything on your taxes and all your kids went to university as most of us here in Toronto never did but all had good jobs. Not anymore.

  4. Great Article. I have on numerous occaisons cruised the shoreline of Shushwap lake in the Blind Bay area….always an interesting activity to say the least. And heard similar Stories from my very good friends that live there.

    Recently sold our 2000 sq ft home, Kids went out on their own, and we bought a 950 sq ft upgraded condo in S. Calgary….’bout the only thing I miss is my garage…but not that much. Its amazing how much adaptation one can accept in life and make it work – in the end not even missing the previous so called luxury- benefits.

  5. “I cannot emphasize enough how envy, jealousy and greed ruins millions of people’s lives. You simply see somebody who you THINK has more than you and at best you envy that person to become like them, but more likely you envy that person and hate him”
    And yet there it is and what the hell is it doing there; that old #10 on the 10 Commandments list or as they’re better known today ‘The 10 Suggestions’.
    “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”

    1. “And yet there it is and what the hell is it doing there…”

      Its there because churchmen generally are a bunch of priggish scolds, who simply wag their finger and quote the Bible at you. I refer to the “virtuous” churchmen who aren’t skimming the church roofing fund and banging the church secretary on the side.

      Mr. Clary has actually explained -why- the Tenth Commandment is a Commandment. This makes him a pearl without price, and worth ten of the normal priests/parsons I’ve seen. You boys should re-post this thing far and wide.

      1. It was a joke Mr. Phantom.
        I was referring to the 10th commandment’s inclusion in the bible because it is likely the most important economic principle revealed in the bible and arguably the very foundation of a free market capitalist system.

  6. That was a fine post Captain. Very good. Very wise words at the end, and I think the attitude to life that you suggest is a combination of learning from life itself, and good guidance from parents.

    Somewhat related, I have also observed that rich liberals don’t seem to have many quality friendships that have depth whereas conservatives do.

  7. I thank God every day, for my … low maintenance … wife of 36years! We’ve never had to keep up with the Joneses or the Wongs

  8. The whole objective of people like that is to be noticed. Oscar Wilde summed up that mentality quite nicely when he said that if there was something worse than being talked about it’s not being talked about.

    I’ve known that sort of thing throughout my working life. One example was my first employer after I finished my B. Sc.

    The entire objective of being with that firm was to be promoted as high and as fast as possible through the pecking order. Whether one actually knew what they were doing or talked about was immaterial–it was the impression that one did which mattered. (Think of the character of Don Draper from the TV series Mad Men.) Actually doing anything tangible counted for even less. If asked a question, and one didn’t know the answer, make one up and make it sound credible.

    Years later, at the institution where I used to teach, a certain department head resigned under mysterious circumstances. It wasn’t until later that we all found out that the administrator in question didn’t have the qualifications that the person claimed to have earned. Up to that point, nobody asked any questions and that individual had built a good reputation. It was only when things didn’t quite seem to be the way they appeared that things started falling apart.

    In other words, to earn the admiration and, sometimes, respect of people, put on a good front. What actually happens behind the scenes is nobody’s business.

  9. mtg payments.
    mine is a wee tad under 500 bucks. you saw it, *500 bucks P.I.T.*
    but I share the floor space with 2 tenants to make ends meet.
    for the last 4 years, my tax acct has WRITTEN OFF *ALL* the rental i/c.
    basic deduction covers most of the rest.
    ‘tax and squander’ may be the LIEberal mantra, but guess whut TURD 2.0, *you dont get to squander my taxes ’cause I gots ways to keep yer GODDAMN LIEBERAL paws off it*.

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