Housing blues

Great Moments In Socialism It's Probably Nothing 31 Comments

I don’t really understand why  a 76 year old had what must have been a hefty mortgage or HELOC in the first place, but the recent jump in interest rates resulted in a massive and unpleasant lifestyle adjustment for him. I’m sure he’s not the only one who’s going to feel the pinch.

“Previously, the money I was spending on my mortgage was approximately $1,000 a month. And in the last year, that has climbed to $2,600 a month,” said Cufflin, who was tapping into a home equity line of credit, which he spent on the house.

He makes $2,200 a month through government support.

“[That] is prohibitive for somebody on a single income. So it just left me now in a position where I had to consider the possibility of selling the home.”

31 Replies to “Housing blues”

  1. Poor choices obviously. At his age there should be no mortgage.
    If you’re still in an mortgage at 65 you should think of selling and move to a community that has less expensive options for housing. Also start living a more fiscally frugal lifestyle.

  2. I know these stories are supposed to make me feel sorry for these people, but I find the opposite reaction happening. Stupid people making stupid choices – especially at 75 – just makes me realize how many truly clueless people there are in the world. I’ll save my anger for when the NDP suggests taxpayers should bail out financial and irresponsible home owners.

    1. Love your reply………..There is NO reason anyone of retirement age should have any mortgage that is for sure………BUT you are right…IF the DIPPERS have anything to do with it, we would ALL HAVE TO DIG INTO OUR POCKETS to help the poor homeowner that doesn’t know how to manage $$$$……..

  3. This guy is an absolute financial slob. No sympathy whatsoever. Hasn’t paid off a house in 32 years and has a HELOC on top of that. Where are his life savings? He also just got a 10% bump in federal support (CPP, OAS).

    If he really is in financial trouble he should rent a place outside of the city.

  4. Sounds like bad decision making. Does Canada have reverse mortgages? They are not so good in a rising interest rate environment, but they allow a person to remain in their home.

    1. He may not have enough equity for a reverse mortgage. ZIRP and NIRP sucked in a lot of people lacking in common sense, your average LPC/NDP voters for example.

  5. “He blames his situation on the Bank of Canada’s recent series of interest rate hikes.”

    It’s always somebody elses fault.

    1. That’s like always blaming the dam operators for letting some water go instead of letting it destroy the dam…maybe not build on a flood plane, so to speak?

      Or at least blame the people responsible for shoveling trillions of dollars out the door and inflating the M1 money supply…

  6. I have no sympathy for boneheads.
    Maybe the antique collector should have been paying more attention to his future than the past.

    1. Yeah I notice that “he sold the antiques he was willing to part with and put the rest in storage”. He made his choice. His antiques are more important than owning a home. No sympathy here.

      1. Antique market has been crappy for the past 10 years or more. Certainly not a good ‘investment ‘

  7. Maybe one of his antiques will make a lovely coffin one day. The only real use they will be to him. Sell the damn things. You can’t see and appreciate them when they’re in storage.

  8. So, the CBC chose to report about the Trudeau Liberal-NDP and Bank of Canada’s mortgage crisis by picking a person that people wouldn’t have a lot of sympathy for : an older white guy from Calgary and obviously has mismanaged his money for most of his life. In this way the CBC evoked the exact response they intended – It’s his own damn fault. The CBC chose to ignore people who readers could sympathize with.

    This allows them to shift the entire blame onto an individual without talking about the root causes like rapid money printing causing inflation, increased carbon taxes, or unsustainable immigration levels without an increase in housing supply and all around bad governance. No discussion about Tiff telling people in 2020 that he all but guaranteed the interest rates would stay low or Trudeau encouraging people to use debt to “invest” in renovations or education.

    IMO, the Trudeau government and CBC are once again using psychological manipulation to deflect from government failure. And, why not, it works great because people generally don’t question if they’re are being manipulated.

        1. Yes, they lie and manipulate. It’s who they are. Their job is to protect Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada. People should always remember that.

          But, it’s Canadian viewers naivety and gullibility that never ceases to amaze me. They take the bait hook, line and sinker.

  9. 3 decades he’s been paying on that house and it’s still not paid off? What did he buy, a mansion? I have zero sympathy for anyone that stupid.

  10. He has sold his house, and presumably paid off the mortgage. Now he wants to rent in Calgary, which has a tight housing market. He’s retired. Let him move to a double-wide in rural Alberta. Calgary is a ****hole, anyway.

  11. Playing Devil’s advocate, there could be many reasons he is in this financial predicament. He may have been divorced late in life and lost most of his equity paying out his ex and his lawyer to keep his home. He may have suffered an illness that prevented him from maximizing his earnings later in life and antiques are the only remaining pleasure he has in a life gone sour. As the Naked City television show used to say during the opening credits, “There are a thousand stories in the naked city”.

  12. LOL!!!! Are old people stupid now too? I’m old but still working not taking any pension (I have NO private pension) and I was raised that you can’t retire unless your home is paid off. Granted, not everyone elected to buy a home so I guess they resigned themselves to renting their last days out. Our home is almost paid off save for a small amount on, whaddaya call it, HELOC which is there cuz we helped our daughter buy a home. Ain’t retirin’ til that is paid. The world is just too full of stupid these days. Also, family. Can’t figure much to cause you to never speak to family members. Family is that rock your foot finds when you’ve waded too far out at the beach and the rock allows you to keep your head above water for a rest. Never take family for granted. Make nice even with asshole parents.

  13. In promoting the “own nothing and be miserable” WEF plan for us, the CBC (aka MinTru) looks for all the “woe is me” losers it can exploit.

  16. I can’t summon much sympathy. Your house is essential, you shouldn’t be buying antiques or ATVs or boats or shiny baubles if you have a mortgage.

  17. Anyone at age 76 who still has a mortgage obviously has been living above their means for a very long time. CBC does crappy sob stories.

    I have not had a mortgage since I was in my mid 40’s, paid cash for all cars always, bought a seasonal home, and have gifted my children roofs with a few rules. I am good at math and economics, and taught them the basics at young ages, like how TV ads gave them incorrect information, how to find better information, how to shop and how to save part of their money for another day; had to do tough love once each when they made poor choices, but that was a lesson too. I have enough for retirement and leaving some funds for kids and grandchildren. They are fine too – lessons learned!

    1. I had enough for retirement 20 years ago. Government policies reduced my cash flow on an annual basis. Now, while not having to scrimp just yet, the increase in interest rates is promising for future revenue, but the inflation of the currency and government debt is a very serious problem for all Canadians.

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