How did you buy your first house?

[Natalia Smith]

I would love to buy new home but interest rates are very high. But information shared in above thread is genuinely very informative it will help me in future. This information is not important only for me rather to everyone who are planning to buy their own house.

[brunt]

I would love to buy new home but interest rates are very high. But information shared in above thread is genuinely very informative it will help me in future. This information is not important only for me rather to everyone who are planning to buy their own house.

Actually, interest rates right now are at, or near, all-time lows. Long-term averages are far closer to 7% than the current 3-4%.

Here's a graph of historical interest rates in Canada:

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Source: http://www.alitisinvestmentcounsel.com/why-alitis

As you can see from the graph, mortgage rates have been falling pretty well continuously since 1981, with just a few jaggies in the downward trend.

[mrsmac]

I just bought my first home with my fiancé (not his first home). I am 22. I am in University and work full time and my fiancé has a really good paying job. We came to a point where we needed to buy and it was a bit of a leap. We had a thousand or two in savings, which was tricky because we didn't know how we would save up the 5% down when we needed a place sooner rather than later. We got a cash back mortgage through ATB. We used that cash for the down payment.

After being in the house for 9 months now, I wish we would have done some stuff differently. I wish we would have paid down debts like credit cards, rather than racking them up. The lovely bank decided we needed a $15,000 line of credit along with our house. Which ended up paying off a high interest loan and a credit card. In some ways I wish we wouldn't have taken it and just kept on doing what we were doing. Every month some how we make it all work. Like I said we needed a house… so we didn't have a lot of options and neither of us wanted to continue renting.

As much as we are working hard to make a living, I can say nothing feels better than coming home to a house that is yours every single night.

[chillys-willy]

Bought when we were finally settled after MANY moves at 31. Hubby 32. Just before 2nd bambino arrived. If I knew we were able to stay in a place longer, I would have purchased a house earlier. As it was, found really cheap places to rent before the house so don't think we lost anything and we saved a 25% downpayment on the house. We also had a large cash leeway which was good because DH lost his job shortly after buying. He was able to get another job 3 months later but the extra cash tided us over. (especially with me on mat leave) I researched like crazy before buying . Negotiated my mortgage and fees alot. I am considering buying a house for my children to live in while attending university but still not sold on the idea. I believe first years should live in rez. It solidifies friendships for life but gives you a comfort zone. You are still adjusting to living away from home but someone makes your meals. Always a mom.

[momof5boys]

I would love to buy new home but interest rates are very high. But information shared in above thread is genuinely very informative it will help me in future. This information is not important only for me rather to everyone who are planning to buy their own house.

Interest rates are LOW right now.......we've had a mortgage in the past with 9% rate and now have a very temporary LOC for 3.5%. I believe interest rates aren't going to stay low forever and so we aim to have the LOC done by end of next year.

[Shirnette]

I migrated to Canada from the Caribbean in 1988 as a teenager. Knowing what " not having it all" at an early age prepared me for my current life. I bought my house as my 35th birthday gift to me 7 yrs ago(with plans of a family in mind in future). I had finished university, paid off my student loans, had a few remaining months of car payment, I had no kids, was single & was making good money( I started saving religiously since I had a PT job @ Zellers , formerly Towers in 1989..I even saved the surplus from student loans unlike others who used the $$ to go to Cancun on spring break etc.) I had enrolled in a payroll savings plan, invested in GICs, bought RRSPs etc. I used coupons & bought on sale. I had travelled by then to Europe, the USA & throughout the caribbean( thank goodness as I haven't gone on a trip in a while but I will soon- not having any regrets though)..

I was renting in Mississauga & though ppl kept telling me to buy, I was scared being single & kept thinking what if... Well years went by & nothing changed except the rent kept increasing. I understood the concept of home ownership & started visiting sales centres as I wanted to buy new. I gave up my apt & decided to rent a room from a very close friend( superintendent was disappointed & said I was such a great tenant for 9+ yrs & he wished me all the best) so I could save more $$ for a huge down payment to avoid CMHC fees/ mtg insurance. By doing all this,I was able to put down a large down payment so I have a conventional mortgage. Although I had received a notice of termination from my employer towards the end of the process, I wasn't laid off until 4 months after moving in. I had savings & got a package so I was ok. I love to prepare for "a rainy day "so to this day, I save hard( that's why I'm home with DS for a couple months extra after 1 yr mat leave + DH provides for us too)..I still live at the same house ,have renovated(basement being completed ad i type) & have no plans if moving right now. It's all about being knowledgeable about the whole process & being ready mentally & financially otherwise it may be an unpleasant experience. Fingers crossed for continued blessings.

[gingergirl]

Good for you! What an inspiration. I hope you can pay your mortgage off soon!

I set a goal to have my first house before I was 30yrs old. I was 29. My husband and I bought RRSPs at work. In fact at my first job at 19yrs old as soon as I could (and on advice from my mother)- I started to buy RRSPs. Then a program started and was fairly new in 1999 that you could use RRSPs towards a home purchase up to $20K which gave us the majority of our down payment. We put down $35K of $220K so we still had to go in to high risk meaning we had to buy mortgage insurance (what a rip off). Funny thing is this year is our last to have to pay back (or they add an equal amount as extra income to your taxes). That is 15 years we have had this house.

We paid off the house in 2009 and what a great feeling that was! I used my paycheque to pay the mortgage every 2 weeks and I renegotiated 5 year mortgage rates hard! We started at 8% and last 1 year mortgage was at maybe 3.4% I think. In between it was about 4.5% but kept the payments the same so paid more principal then interest. My husband paid the other bills and car loan. Our goal was to pay it off so we own it. To not be beholden to the bank is an amazing feeling knowing as long as you pay your taxes it's yours.

Also my mother grew up in the second WW in Germany and was very poor. Her family had to rent. I always took to heart the stories she told about the ones who owned houses even with a small lot could have a goat or chickens and could plant a fruit tree and veggies! Her family were always reliant on the government or neighbours who owned to be generous. They had to rent a piece of grass and bought a goat for milk etc. I know it seems far fetched but it happened in this life time and it could happen again. It was important for me to have a house with a yard. Now I can plant a non GMO garden and I have 3 fruit trees.

Personally I would NEVER buy a box in the sky i.e. a condo- and have to pay 'property tax' on that box and have to answer to a condo board when they tell me my maintenance fees are doubling. No thank you.

Also advice my mother gave me (she is a wise woman) to buy a house with a basement apartment because if you ever lose your job or run into hard times you could still pay your mortgage and bills if you had to. There came a time I needed that basement apartment and was so glad I had it! Also renters can help pay your mortgage even if you weren't in hard times.

Anyway we decided to stay in the house because all of Toronto is so crazy expensive we don't want to get into a mortgage again. We live in Toronto but not right downtown.

Just as an aside there was a house in 2004 we were looking at. Around Jarvis between Gerrard and Dundas a small one way street 3 story detached beauty it was a Manse actually 5 huge bedrooms 3 fireplaces etc. and a 2 bedroom basement apartment. I told my husband I would work 3 jobs to get ad keep that house as I knew one day that house would be over 1 million... a great investment and amazing address walking distance to the Eaton Centre and to work. It was listed for $479k but they were only taking your 1st best offer. I wanted to go in at $500K (even though it was way more then we should have been able to afford) but we had a drink and tried to decide our offer. We went in with $489K it sold for $501K to a gay couple who already lived a few streets over and knew the value. I still mourn the loss of that house and when I check the Toronto Real Estate Board sight- I look for it. Well turns out in 2009 the house went back on the market $1.3 million!!! We actually put an offer about $300k less knowing exactly what they paid for it. Of course it was rejected but my instincts were right it took 6 years and it almost tripled in value.

So sometimes you win an sometimes you loose. BTW I checked for the Manse house listing today again no such luck. LOL

I migrated to Canada from the Caribbean in 1988 as a teenager. Knowing what " not having it all" at an early age prepared me for my current life. I bought my house as my 35th birthday gift to me 7 yrs ago(with plans of a family in mind in future). I had finished university, paid off my student loans, had a few remaining months of car payment, I had no kids, was single & was making good money( I started saving religiously since I had a PT job @ Zellers , formerly Towers in 1989..I even saved the surplus from student loans unlike others who used the $$ to go to Cancun on spring break etc.) I had enrolled in a payroll savings plan, invested in GICs, bought RRSPs etc. I used coupons & bought on sale. I had travelled by then to Europe, the USA & throughout the caribbean( thank goodness as I haven't gone on a trip in a while but I will soon- not having any regrets though)..

I was renting in Mississauga & though ppl kept telling me to buy, I was scared being single & kept thinking what if... Well years went by & nothing changed except the rent kept increasing. I understood the concept of home ownership & started visiting sales centres as I wanted to buy new. I gave up my apt & decided to rent a room from a very close friend( superintendent was disappointed & said I was such a great tenant for 9+ yrs & he wished me all the best) so I could save more $$ for a huge down payment to avoid CMHC fees/ mtg insurance. By doing all this,I was able to put down a large down payment so I have a conventional mortgage. Although I had received a notice of termination from my employer towards the end of the process, I wasn't laid off until 4 months after moving in. I had savings & got a package so I was ok. I love to prepare for "a rainy day "so to this day, I save hard( that's why I'm home with DS for a couple months extra after 1 yr mat leave + DH provides for us too)..I still live at the same house ,have renovated(basement being completed ad i type) & have no plans if moving right now. It's all about being knowledgeable about the whole process & being ready mentally & financially otherwise it may be an unpleasant experience. Fingers crossed for continued blessings.