What a weekend.  Thanks so very much to the many people who left me comments on my blog and facebook.

When all was said and done, yesterday I decided not to proceed on buying the gorgeous place.  The three main reasons were:

1. The rush factor.  As many commenters pointed out, and I agree, rushing into a financial decision of this size is simply not a good idea.  It probably was a fantastic opportunity, and a very fair deal.  But the point is, I don’t know that.  When I bought in Vancouver, I had all my ducks in a row (oops!  except naive about legal fees – ouch!), I knew the market, and had looked at easily 20 places.  When I bought  “the one” it was a well-informed, grounded choice.   I may regret not having jumped at this place, but I’d rather consistently make my financial choices as an fully informed woman.
2. The bank said I would get the mortgage, but only just.  It would nearly max me out on my ratios.  This would preclude any other opportunities for the foreseeable future.  That’s too tight for my comfort.
3. The last reason is extremely simple:  I realized it was a bit more space than I need, and would require a lot more furniture purchases.  I’m used to living fairly simply (although elegantly!) and I don’t have a lot of Stuff. I want to keep my life that way.  I would have had 3 unfurnished rooms in this place, and then knowing me I wouldn’t resist furnishing and then I’d need to go find myself a financial coach!

So thanks again, so much, for all your thoughts, support and well-wishes.

And that’s the end of this story!

Have a great week,

Nancy

I haven’t been planning to purchase a place here anytime soon, in part because I want to see how I handle this winter.  I’m giving myself full permission to return to Vancouver with my daschunds if we need to thaw out and can’t handle the ongoing cold and snow.

I was minding my own business on Thursday evening, greeting friends via facebook, when the ad appeared on the right.

Never did I think I’d consider a mobile home as a domicile, but, I mean look at those pictures!  In Yellowknife, either because we’ve had lame developers or in combo with difficult conditions (cold, isolation) for building, mobile homes are a-Plenty here and don’t have the connotations of The Boys.

PROS

1. It has the look and feel, nearly precisely, that I would want

• laminate
• wood stove
• soaker tub
• warm wood and white walls
• crown moulding
• stainless steel appliances (oh, to have a dishwasher again.  handwashing begone!)
• yard that does not require upkeep
• special bonuses:  the entertainment system (on my to-buy list, right down to the Bose audio system) and the persian rug runner down the length.  Seriously, it’s so.totally.me.
• 1.5 minutes away from Yellowknife’s best trail and lake
• close to the Co-op where I shop

2.  The monthly payments are only a couple hundred more than I’m paying for rent

3.  Unlike many people, I’m still gloomy about the long-term prognosis for the economy, and have been debating investing in real estate rather than stocks.  My hunch is that the north is going to continue to quietly boom and that real estate here is a good investment.

4.  I’ll verify this with an inspection (only 1 inspector up here apparently!  grrrrr) but it appears to be in good condition, including a 2007 furnace, a new fibreglass oil tank, and some kind of relatively new pvc (?) piping = not as likely to freeze.

5.  I estimate that in 3 years I’ll have built up about $20K in equity.

6.  It’s affordable.

CONS

1.  I hadn’t planned on this, at least right now, and don’t want to be rushed on at $250K choice.  The deadline, for reasons I won’t go into, is Tuesday (day after tomorrow).

2.  I’m not sure I can pull all my various funds together in time to get my down payment.

3.  The ceiling is rather low.

4.  I don’t know the market up here very well yet.   I suspect mobile homes don’t appreciate the way stick-built do.

5.  One huge, major issue.   The condo corp. is responsible for the roads and pipes and apparently they are well past the due-date for replacement, but the corp does not have the, oh, $20M or so needed.   Each person on the strata could well be on the hook for up to $50K, although then the equity would be higher as well – plus, their may be some federal funding available.

6.  My monthly costs will go up because I’ll now be paying heat, hot water and internet (currently included in my rent)

6.  And last, I’m just not sure I want to commit to a place yet.

Thanks to the fabulous Realtor in Vancouver, Urbanista, for some really great pointers on the real estate angle (like, lenders look at mobile homes differently).

Readers, any comments?  Ideas?  Objective thoughts? YIIIIKKKES!

Squawkfox? Krystal? Canajun Finance? Four Pillars? - opinions?

Back To School time!

A recent poll by visa uncovered a number of interesting tidbits about Canadians and our online back-to-school spending.

1.  Recession?   What recession?

Almost half (48 per cent) of online shoppers plan to make an online purchase between now and Labour Day; among these, the majority claim that they will be spending either more or about the same as last year:

• 30 per cent said they would spend more
• 49 per cent said they would spend the same amount
• 15 per cent said they would spend less
• 7 per cent didn’t know

2. A surprise to me was how few of us plan to purchase online – only 1 in 6 people.  Is that a reflection of the goods bought?  ie., pencils, binders, new gym shoes just aren’t online-type purchases?  (Q:  What do parents buy online these days for school?   A: Clothes/shoes 41% Books 26%, Computers & related electronics 22% Backpacks 10%)

3. I’m also skeptical about  how little people expect to spend for back-to-school (I wonder if there will be a huge budget/actual variance?)

• The average online shopper expects to spend approximately $318 online to prepare for the return to the classroom in September 2009
• Four in 10 online shoppers also plan to shop in retail stores for back-to-school, spending an average of $298

In fact, I wonder if group B below is my target market, whereas group D has a real grip on their finances?  (joke. maybe)

• $1-$99 13%
  $100-$249 23%
  $250-$499 11%
  $500-$999 23%
  $1000 + 14 %
  Don’t know 28 %

Any readers going back to school, or sending your kids to school?  How do these numbers stack up?

Thanks to Visa for providing these stats!

Also, readers, keep tuned –  I have a couple questions to ask Visa but it sounds like they may have a genuinely useful option for Canadians who want to buy from US sites (think:  Zappos.  Banana Republic) which don’t sell to us.

If you haven’t noticed, there’s been a quiet increase in federal spending in our high north.

• In 2007, Harper allocated $3Billion to purchase 8 ice-capable patrol ships.
• Just the other day, Canada and the US signed off on a deal to map the continental shelf under the Beaufort Sea.
• MacDonald Dettwiler (think: cdn arm of the space shuttle) just signed a $4M contract with the Cdn. Space Agency to come up with a concept for better satellite monitoring of the north.
• And Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has the Go for a world class High Arctic Research Station, starting with $2M for the feasibility study and an ultimate budget in the $85M range

All this, of course, is to politely underscore Canada’s sovereignty claims.  Growing up in Yellowknife, I little dreamed the Canadian north would one day be of such international interest.  But then I little dreamed of climate change either – and all the implications of an ice-free arctic ocean during the summer months, estimated to occur either next summer or within 5 years.

Two of the implications are:

1. Oil and Gas available – the Arctic is estimated to contain up to 25% of the world’s remaining reserves.
2. Northwest Passage created. (remember grade 6 social studies?  about the Europeans wanting to find a way to traverse the globe but encountering the impenetrable arctic, so going south instead?).

This means all kinds of interesting things.  Who gets to extract the oil?  And should the oil be extracted?  And are the waters between the Canadian islands Canadian waters (we say) or International (U.S. says)?

Keep your eyes lookin’ north, readers.   Things are – dare I say – heating up around here.

Photo Credit: Ezioman (photo taken in greenland)