A definitive sign of housing unaffordability is the trend of young adults teaming up with friends and family to buy houses.
Picking a house, decorating it and running it on a day-to-day basis are highly personal matters that can spark disagreements even among loving spouses. Add other people into the mix and you have the potential for a very complicated ownership experience.
And yet, people in the real estate industry say co-ownership of homes is definitely a thing. In an upcoming episode of our Stress Test personal finance podcast, we’ll speak to a mortgage broker who has worked with at least four sets of siblings buying homes together this year.
We’d also like to hear directly from people who have either bought a home with friends or family, or are planning to do so. If you’re willing to share your story, please contact Stress Test producer Emily Jackson at emilyjackson24@gmail.com.
Here are some of the things I want to know about co-buying:
- How do you make decisions about what maintenance and improvement expenses to take on?
- How are mortgage decisions made, ie variable versus fixed rate?
- What if buying partners have differing down payments to contribute?
- How are disagreements about noise, cleaning and other chores handled?
- How would it work if someone wants out of the shared ownership experience?
- How do you move up to a bigger home if your equity is based on half-ownership of a home?
In Season Two of Stress Test, we covered the trend of young adults moving out of expensive urban centres to small cities and towns. Since then, prices in many of these once-affordable communities have soared. Without a decline in house prices, co-ownership of a home may be the only alternative to renting in some cases.
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Rob’s personal finance reading list
Housing bubbles and troubles
A wide-ranging article on what’s happening in the housing market right now, including a discussion of the potential for a crash and what both owners and prospective buyers should do going forward.
Solving life’s money dilemmas
A long-time U.S. financial blogger has written a book that adds a new dimension to personal finance advice with answers to practical questions like whether to job hop or be a loyal soldier, whether to invest on stocks or real estate and whether to buy a fixer-upper house or something remodelled. Here’s the author, Sam Dogen, on how he approached the book.
The other side of bitcoin
Bitcoin has not avoided the upheaval affecting assets like stocks and bonds recently. CNBC reported earlier this week that bitcoin was off 55 per cent from its November peak, and that 40 per cent of bitcoin investors have lost money on paper. To me, the more interesting point raised here is that bitcoin prices have closed tracked the Nasdaq index, which raises questions about bitcoin as an inflation hedge and portfolio diversifier.
Tips for buying a family car
The average price of a new vehicle in Canada is about $44,000, which is a lot. Thoughts here on how to focus your vehicle search to get the best value. Interested in going electric? Here’s a helpful primer.
Q&A
Q: I’ve recently noticed a few friends sharing on social media about personal finance apps they are using for household budgets. Seems like it might be a useful tool and easier to navigate than spreadsheets. I’m wondering if it is worth paying an annual fee for an app, and are there some that are better than the rest?
A: Here’s a look at the best financial apps for Canadians, including a discussion of security.
Do you have a question for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can't answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length and clarity.
Today’s financial tool
A question posted on Reddit about where to find the best travel deals generated a lot of helpful responses.
The Money-Free Zone
I enjoyed this critical take by Globe arts reporter Brad Wheeler on the 1971 song American Pie by Don McLean, who did a concert in Toronto earlier this month. Now, for the song itself. C’mon, you know you want to hear it one more time.
Watch this
A portfolio manager explains why investing in ETFs covering popular investing themes are “like lighting your money on fire.”
In case you missed these Globe and Mail personal finance-related stories
- What mortgage rate should you choose right now? Three economists weigh in
- Can’t afford steak? Don’t even think about buying veggie burgers
- Buying a boat? Here’s what that could cost you
More Rob Carrick and money coverage
Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify. For more money stories, follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and join the discussion on my Facebook page. Millennial readers, join our Gen Y Money Facebook group.
Even more coverage from Rob Carrick:
- 🎧 Catch up on Stress Test: Are your parents giving you money? • Why it’s time to stop shaming the renting lifestyle • Is now the right time to buy a house? • Why are young Canadians leaving the cities they love? • Eating in: How COVID has shifted our food spending • Crisis-proof your finances? • Can you afford to live downtown? • The cost of kids
- ✔️ The housing file: The housing boom is ripping apart the financial fabric of Canada • Shut out: A well-qualified millennial home seeker throws up his hands after losing multiple bidding wars • Big city housing affordability is over – now what? • She sold her Toronto house to retire somewhere cheaper, but it didn’t work • How young adults and the whole country win with a tougher mortgage stress test for home buyers • Can’t afford your house? It’s likely not your fault
- 📈 Investing: Robo-advisers have grown out of the novelty stage. Here’s help in finding one right for you • The 2021 ETF Buyer’s Guide: Best Canadian equity funds • The 2021 Globe and Mail online brokerage ranking: Who’s best for investing … and answering the phone • Are these the stock market returns of a lifetime? • On the cusp of retirement and wondering about an ETF that pushes the limits on aggressiveness
- 💰 Your money: The five most important numbers for checking the health of your personal finances • Today’s freakishly low mortgage rates can’t last. What will pandemic home buyers do when they rise? • There’s a cost in money, isolation and family stress when seniors choose to remain in their own private homes • Taking CPP early can cost you $100,000 and limit your long term options • Fleeing the city for the suburbs? Watch out for higher property taxes, more cars and other costs
Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for Carrick on Money here.
