The Canadian Economy.

Where do you keep your money...in Brasil? And do you think that it will be "safer" wherever else you keep it, given the fact that the current instability is quasi global?

 

I'm sure your money is soooo much better off in the exited states.

 

I'm sure the depth of this post will be lost on most people, however they'll soon come to experience the depth in the near future!!!

 

I'm not trying to stir the pot or anything, but if you can afford 4 or 5 Tim Horton's Franchise's (cash) you can easily afford a Ferrari F360 or an F430.

 

I don't see the relevance of whether I can afford a F430 or not? But, to answer your question yes I could afford to buy a new Ferrari (cash) right now. However, that would not help me or my family in the long run. I'll invest my cash into another business. Once this is done I may indulge in a Ferrari at the appropriate time. In the meantime I will enjoy my BMW 650 cab and two Range Rovers.

As I type this the News is reporting on the ailing auto industry. I think we were actually lucky to get out when we did. I don't know if other OEM suppliers will be as successful in getting paid by the Detroit 3 as we were. There are going to be extended Christmas shut downs at GM, Ford, Chrysler and this will cripple many suppliers.

 

Exactly!

 

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2008/12/03/the-bank-of-canada-s-mystery-assets.aspx

Here's an interesting article and graph with more detail about the Bank of Canada and their "mystery assets".........

Regarding Timmies......I have two clients that own franchises.......one has 2 stores and the other has 1 store....both live in the richest part of Calgary RE wise and are pretty well off. Thing is, I believe, and it is as they told me, that location matters the most.

wrs46........you have a PM.
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http://www.canadian-housing-price-charts.235.ca/

Scroll down mid way to see the graph of our Canadian house price declines from their peaks........and there's lots more to come.

 

http://housingdoom.com/2008/12/14/canadian-abcp-pyramid-built-pointy-end-down/#more-1883

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1071224&p=1

The Canadian ABCP market is still frozen and the agreement is in jeopardy unless the Bank of Canada pumps $9.5 billion into it.......watch for another jump in the "mystery assets" of the Bank of Canada.........more worthless toilet paper. You can't wipe your azz with a loonie though......but a fistfull of 50's and 100's will work just fine.

Get your money out of Canadian banks now, and out of the country before the government imposes restrictions on bank withdrawls and international transfers. Don't think it will happen ???......read your history and start with South Africa.

Oh yeah.......buy guns and ammo......works ever time. See Greece and Spain for reference.

Next week......I am buying a safe for what is left here. The only money in the bank will be what is needed for pre-authorized transactions.......such as rent, bills, etc.

 

Sort of........the apartment we live in is a super high security building........reminds me of the security on an air force base I once visited. I cannot go anywhere except my assigned floor........the electronic fob won't let me enter any unauthorized place. We have cameras everywhere and these electronic doors. And a 24 hour on-site security team.

The only thing missing is an armed doorman......but we've got that in Rio.

 

Sounds like you are in a serious car business.

 

I quit the car business 3 months ago.........currently looking for work.

 

If you have cash available and want to put your money into Real Estate, the best bet right now seems to be Apartment buildings. They have always been solid investments as long as buyers do their homework and buy quality buildings. Multi-family real estate is the only class of commercial real estate that has CMHC insured mortgages available. I just closed a large deal last week and the final rate on the mortgage was 4.09% with an 80% LTV ratio. You simply cant get this for an Industrial or Office property. The banks are quoting a 300 to 350 basis point spread on conventional financing which puts the rate at almost 7% and you would be lucky to achieve 60% LTV.

The upsides to owning apartments are:

- There not building any more large rental apartment buildings. Since rent control was introduced in Ontario (not sure about the western provinces), it pretty much killed the large scale multi-housing construction business. Demand has been increasing with more immigrants coming to major centres and the older population that are selling their homes and downsizing but don't want to pay condo fees, taxes, etc.

- Apartment buildings actually do better during times of economic turmoil. People always need a place to live.

- Cap rates are rising again after years of compression so prices are dropping.

- Condominum converison potential for most properties provide an alternative exit strategy.

Downsides:

- Rent Control in Ontario, this will never go away, but much worse in Quebec.

- Management Intensive. Think of the biggest pain in the ass and multiply by 2.

- Capital expenditures, in Ontario most of the buildings are older and require more money to maintain.


If you're unsure about going back into the stock markets, it may be a safer alternative for the next while.

 

I agree Tony. Most of my business now is from rental apartments.

 

All we need now is another referendum in Quebec and house prices will drop by the same percentage here as in the rest of "wealthy" Canada.

I have given up on selling my "spare" home (former residence that I put up for sale AFTER purchasing the new one) and plan instead to rent it out until prices stabilise again. Have to check first if/how this affects my capital gains tax exemption, though...

 

Jay, quick question if you don't mind answering. Do you know if this is similar in Ottawa? We've got a place we want to put on the market in the next few months and someone told me Renting it out could also be an option. Any idea on whether or not it's feasible. The way I see it, not a lot of people want to get a mortgage in these times, especially with the media doing what it's doing.

 

Never worked in Ottawa sorry. I can only speak for the Greater Toronto Area.

 

My Canada doesn't include those idiots. Methinks the rest of Canada would love to bid 'adios' to those spoiled brats.

 

Who exactly are you referring to?

 

Separatists.

 

Theyr' still a minority here (thank God), just nlike in Alberta and BC...

 

...from the BIG THREE....
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