Mortgage Down payment

[freefreefree]

How did you came up with your first mortgage downpayment and how long you had to save it for? I started saving mine since I entered post-secondary. I didn't save any money for it before then because I didn't realize the importance of it then , and I worked any jobs that I could grab and fited my schedule to make the money, and watched my spending in everyway, and saved for ~8 to 9 years (I know that long). Share your story with us.

[MortgageQueen]

We cut our budget in 1/2, put the rest in the bank, plus utilized RRSP's. Between the 2, I think we had $21k. That was about 18 yrs ago. We didn't pay for TV, cell phones, PVR, notebooks, Ipods, newer cars, or eating out. Gas was cheaper.

It seem as each year passes, there's another "must have" in electronics on the list. It's amazing the money-suck those things are.

We bought a piece of land nobody wanted (because they had no imagination), put a modular home on it. (looked like any other kind of home) and sold it for $100k profit 4 yrs later. All we did was dig a pond and some landscaping. Ta da! House flipping can be profitable. I have friends that make their living that way.

[mulock]

I graduated university in 2001, which was a recession year so no job prospects, so I decided to move overseas and taught English for 6 years. I used the money I made teaching to quickly pay off all my student loans within 2 years and banked the rest.

I also maxed out my RRSP contributions until I hit $25,000, and took advantage of the TFSA account by using it as an investment account and bought up stocks during the last big recession (BMO stock was $23/share and today is over $73/share).

When I moved back to Canada I created a budget for 2 years of "Save One, Live One" whereby I banked one entire paycheck a month and use the other for all other costs (food, gas, rent, utilities, insurance, etc). That was not easy.

On Oct. 18 2013 I bought my first house and put down a downpayment of 37% (thus avoiding having to pay the CMHC insurance). I actually pick up the house keys today at 10 am (1h45min from now).

[Retiree]

Congratulations, Mulock. That's quite an accomplishment that came out of hard work and self-discipline.

We bought our first house in 1973, when it was a seller's market. We bought for $22,000 with $6,000 down. At the time, I made about $4,000 (gross) a year and my husband made about $6,500 a year (gross). We saved our down payment in about a year and a half. $1,000 came from wedding gifts and the rest we saved by renting a furnished house with an apartment on the upper level that we were able to sub-let. That reduced our rent significantly. That also enabled us to save my pay while living on my husband's pay.

Many of our newly married friends would not have lived in a furnished place and wondered how we didn't want to have our own new things to start off our married life. When we did buy that first house, we moved in with our own recliner chair and television. We purchased a bedroom suite and stove and fridge to move in and furnished the rest with second hand furniture which we replaced as we could. Now, in retirement, we feel well off and that is due in part, I think, to our modest start.

[mcandlish]

I've been saving for 2 years and i'm only at 7k, seems like buying my own place is out of reach for my generation. I'm also a single mom of one child, I don't want an extravagant home, just a small townhouse would be nice. Hoping in another two years I will have 15k which would be sufficent.

[Retiree]

Wow, mcandlish, 7K in 2 years and a single Mom, to boot! You are doing great. Keep your eyes on the goal and you'll make it.

[lizzie bargain]

I think my Mum lent me the down payment for my first house and I paid her back on top of the mortgage.

[freefreefree]

interesting stories you shared. We all worked hard.

[secheltsaver]

I told my 19 year old daughter I would use my credit to finance a house if she wanted to save a down payment and be co-owners.I have a great job,but had supported 2 households for over a decade,so wasn't in a position to save one myself.She did it!when she was 23 we bought our house,with a CMHC backed 40 year mortgage and a minimum down payment.5 1/2 years later,we have paid off almost 100,000 by making double payments and putting extra on the principal when we could.It all adds up over time and before you know it,you've got enough to start househunting.Mind you,this is no palace,but the land is now worth more than we owe,and it's our home

[matty's mom]

I maxed out the RRSP match program that my company had, as well as saved. I was 37 when we bought our first home, married for 3 years. Actually, I bought my second home first. I bought one for my in laws. They were in a tough place, and where we were renting was a great situation. I bought them a small home with a small mortgage in a rural area in NL. Pop pays the mortgage etc. They were (and are) VERY happy with being there. But true to life, we needed to move VERY quickly after. Our rental situation went from great to bad with just one tenant move in, and a landlord that didn't want to address ta serious issue. So then we were house hunting without the year to recoup any of our expenses for the NL home. To top it off, I was on mat leave. OUCH! So I had to use my limited RRSP's etc. to find a home. DH is a contractor so we bought a foreclosure. We had to pay CHMC insurance for the house. We paid 60% of supposed market value. But it needed a complete overhaul. HOWEVER: we have new weeping tile, french drains & pit (which means all new sod), all new plumbing, all new electrical, new- everything. It is a good thing that it is a small home. (2+1 bedroom bungalow). My mortgage is crazy flexible, which helps ALOT! In our case, paying the CHMC insurance was okay- because we allowed for it in our reno budget. It was a necessary evil, but it spurred us to be more careful with the interest from the mortgage and reno costs etc. DH and I have no intentions of putting more money into this house than it is worth.

[MortgageQueen]

I've been saving for 2 years and i'm only at 7k, seems like buying my own place is out of reach for my generation. I'm also a single mom of one child, I don't want an extravagant home, just a small townhouse would be nice. Hoping in another two years I will have 15k which would be sufficent.

Wow Mcandlish! You're doing great! You should be proud of what you saved so far. There's not a thing wrong with that! I know it seems like forever, but it'll be worth it in the end. Keep up the good work!