Search found 249 matches

by dusty2
14 Jan 2014 11:58
Forum: Financial Planning and Building Portfolios
Topic: New and Very Green
Replies: 29
Views: 3198

Re: New and Very Green

Since you're only 24 and have plenty of time, one strategy to try is to take 10% or 15% of your savings and invest in some start-up tech or penny stocks. Most will be losers, but you only have to hit on one new Apple or Google to make a big profit. Do some research, take some chances. Not many bond holders drive Ferraris when they're 40, risk takers do.
by dusty2
05 Dec 2013 11:38
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Bust 2013
Replies: 123
Views: 15151

Re: Housing Bust 2013

It's not too hard to figure out the price to rent ratio at least in Toronto. Say a new condo costs $350,000, the usual rent for that is about $2000/mth, but say $1800. So $1800 X 12 = $21600 or 6.17%. Subtract $5000 for maintenance and $1800 for taxes, it equals $14800 or 4.2% return free and clear from a $350,000 investment. Now add to that it's yearly appreciation, which I read 2 days ago was 11%, but say 5% and it's total is a 9.2% return. Maybe not good enough for idiot housing bubbleheads, but most people aren't complaining.
by dusty2
23 Oct 2013 10:28
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: value analysis - rent vs purchase
Replies: 70
Views: 9187

Re: value analysis - rent vs purchase

I don't know how anyone can say that renting is similar to buying a home. Renting isn't even an investment, it's like saying leasing a car or buying cable TV is an investment. As a home owner, there hasn't been a single year when the maintenance fees and taxes haven't been doubled or tripled by the rising value of my home. Another aspect of buying a home is getting something brand new. Renters - enjoy your bathroom, it's the same one the previous family coughed and puked in 6 months ago with the flu and left plenty of germs. Step into your shower - the one the tenant 2 years ago battled an infectious foot fungus. Here's your bedroom - where the young couple 5 years ago kept their pet rats, the wall to wall carpeting still has the bugs in it...
by dusty2
06 Oct 2013 11:27
Forum: Financial Planning and Building Portfolios
Topic: Leveraged investing
Replies: 51
Views: 4282

Re: Leveraged investing

There is plenty of leveraged investing going on these days and people are making great money. Buy a condo, put down 20%, figure a conservative 5%/year appreciation, ( presently 6.5% in Toronto) wait 5 years for it to be built, a $400,000 condo becomes a $500,000 condo. Only lunatics and idiot housing bubbleheads (presently batting .000) would use leverage to invest in the stock market, although buying the 5 banks might work.
by dusty2
23 Sep 2013 11:33
Forum: Financial Planning and Building Portfolios
Topic: Lumpsum going to Canadian Equities: DCA or all in, or?
Replies: 26
Views: 2843

Re: Lumpsum going to Canadian Equities: DCA or all in, or?

I'd say that the most important question for Jay to answer is if he owns a home and how much mortgage is left. If he owns a home and is single he could quit his job and live off the $300,000, with no worries. If he doesn't own one, the $300G's will buy him an oversized closet in Toronto with no parking even less in Vancouver. Since he says he's 40, he should have a home. $300G's should be used for a down payment on a house or condo if he doesn't have one. It's always the right time to buy a house.
by dusty2
11 Aug 2013 11:44
Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
Topic: Peter Schiff "The Real Crash is Coming"
Replies: 27
Views: 3438

Re: Peter Schiff "The Real Crash is Coming"

Perhaps the next financial crisis will happen when the U.S. stops borrowing about $700B/yr, as it does now. Japan just reached the $10.5 trillion deficit mark and the U.S. is at $14T, so 4-5 years years from now, when it hits $20 trillion it should be about the limit. The important information is what a person should do during a financial crisis. The answer seems to be nothing. Let everyone else panic. In the /09 collapse gold was like a deer in the headlights, not knowing which way to go. Maybe the best thing to do is to keep a cash hoard and wait for the next crash, buying when everyone's selling. Although it could be a long wait. I'd like to know what Schiff did during the \09 crash, action speaks louder than words.
by dusty2
04 Aug 2013 11:37
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Bust 2013
Replies: 123
Views: 15151

Re: Housing Bust 2013

Someone says that condos were overbuilt in 1989. Then as now a condo needed to be over 70% sold to get building approval, so the condos that were being built were already sold, not overbuilt. Back then a great salary was $50k and a normal salary was about $32k, so the mortgage seekers, wanting a $100k mortgage weren't getting the banks approval, since the mortgage would take half a person's salary. So, few approvals, few condos were being built. Even resales were hard to sell for the same reason. Prices dropped, but paying high mortgage rates was the problem, nothing to do with overbuilding.
by dusty2
25 Jul 2013 11:51
Forum: Financial Planning and Building Portfolios
Topic: Should I just suck it up and buy bond funds?
Replies: 42
Views: 4644

Re: Should I just suck it up and buy bond funds?

Buying a bond fund with rates this low isn't smart, especially if the person doesn't need the money for a long time. A dividend fund is a lot wiser. A bond fund is an investment in nothing. A dividend fund is an investment in capitalism, which is the system we're part of. The reason why interest rates are so low is to get people to invest in companies that will grow. Bond funds represent dead money, not really investments at all, it's guaranteed to lose money, compared to inflation.
by dusty2
25 Jul 2013 11:33
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Bust 2013
Replies: 123
Views: 15151

Re: Housing Bust 2013

Someone says they're making an 'offer on a lease' , I guess that means that they're offering to pay less rent per month than the owner wants. Why would a condo crash affect a person who's renting? The last time a correction occurred mortgage rates went to about 18%, so there is no need to worry about that these days.
by dusty2
18 Jun 2013 17:17
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Bust 2013
Replies: 123
Views: 15151

Re: Housing Bust 2013

All the inventory in the pipe line, sold or unsold will keep the prices low. Someone who's thinking that it's going to be a good time to buy when interest rates go up, isn't using good judgement. It's better to buy while there's still something good to choose from, while the rates are low. If the rates go up, it's not that bad for real estate, which goes up matching inflation, but non-house owners pay a losing price. If I was going to buy I would feel good about buying now.
by dusty2
16 Jun 2013 11:28
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Bust 2013
Replies: 123
Views: 15151

Re: Housing Bust 2013

Right now you can buy a 640 sq/ft condo, with parking in downtown Toronto for $350K.Which is plenty of room for one person, not too bad for two. I'd call it cheap. One reason it's cheap is because Toronto has the most condos beingbuilt in N. America, which helps to lower the price. About 130 condos presently being constructed, New York, with 3 times the population 88. Which is why a 640 sq. ft. in their city costs about $700,000 - no parking.It's because Toronto has so many condos being built that the prices are low.
by dusty2
19 Apr 2013 11:37
Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
Topic: Gold
Replies: 1077
Views: 191878

Re: Gold

Maybe a good way to buy some gold is to buy the best Rolex gold watch you can afford. You're not only getting the highest quality, best name and one of the best made watches, but it's something that is nice to look at and own. Which might be a reason to hang on to it and make some money in the long run. Check out the Rolex watches on E-bay - some of them have gone up by 20 times or more their original cost. Another way might be to buy a nice piece of gold/ diamond jewelry from Cartier or Tiffany's. Keep both these items stored for 20- 30 years and they should produce a good profit. Like they say, buy the best and you won't regret it.
by dusty2
14 Apr 2013 11:30
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: Change of strategy to preserve capital?
Replies: 18
Views: 1543

Re: Change of strategy to preserve capital?

I noticed that gold bullion was down $63.00 on Friday. Take a look at Barrick Gold now at about $23.00, there were a lot of gold bugs recommending this stock when it was double the present price. Maybe when\if it hit's the low teens or even single digits it will be worth buying. One bank in NY has their gold prediction for next year at $1425, compared to the present $1500.
by dusty2
20 Mar 2013 11:17
Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
Topic: "Theft, pure and simple"
Replies: 182
Views: 12582

Re: "Theft, pure and simple"

The Cyprus incident makes a good case for keeping a lot of one's savings in gold. It reminds me of all these Canadian nit-wits, piling all their savings into RSP's and TFSA accounts and registering them with the tax man, thinking they're so clever. When it comes time to cash out, they'll wish they only had to take a 6.75% haircut instead of the 30% they'll get.
by dusty2
17 Mar 2013 11:20
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Buying a property in Mexico?
Replies: 27
Views: 13636

Re: Buying a property in Mexico?

I hope that those people buying condos came up with a low-ball counter offer before signing on the bottom line. Like the $120,000 price - offer $90,000- see if he bites. A couple of things I didn't like about Mexico. For a lot of the time during the day, it's too hot to go outside. Basically getting sunburnt after 10-15 minutes. Any trip outside is a zig-zag from one bit of shade to the next. So there is a lot of time spent indoors. Trouble is, the only thing on TV is Mexican soap-operas and other things in Spanish. Not too good. I'd take Florida any day.
by dusty2
10 Mar 2013 11:32
Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
Topic: Black news
Replies: 626
Views: 124133

Re: Black news

I'd like to know how the CRA knows what flights are personal or not. Plenty of business people have cars provided by their company, I wonder if the CRA has information on whether they're trips are personal or not. Probably a large percentage aren't. It would be pretty hard to prove whether a trip was personal or not, since it would be mostly the CRA's opinion. When a person owns companies in England and North America, owns a jet, then he uses it to visit both countries, the CRA should stop wasting taxpayers money.
by dusty2
09 Mar 2013 11:30
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Buying a property in Mexico?
Replies: 27
Views: 13636

Re: Buying a property in Mexico?

I wouldn't be in the market for Mexican property, unless it was 'mad money' or money that can can be flushed down the toilet without worrying. Even then, I'd prefer a 911 Porsche safely tucked away in my garage. A person would have to be a bit mad or courageous to convert $120,000 looneys into Mexican Pesos. Since the Mexican police are crooks, whoever is guarding the gated community can't be trusted. Sort of like buying a condo in Egypt, wait 5 years and you've got Syria. Condo's could go up in price (a long shot), but the Peso drops in value.
by dusty2
02 Mar 2013 11:44
Forum: Financial Planning and Building Portfolios
Topic: Young Investor Seeking Advice
Replies: 65
Views: 2633

Re: Young Investor Seeking Advice

Probably the most important factor a young investor should consider is if his parents own a house and how many siblings he has. A $300,000 house appreciating at a modest 3% percent\year is $9000. Figure out 20-30 years compounded to see about what you'll inherit tax free. All the REITS, bonds and ETF's won't beat it. Hopefully your parents aren't a couple of idiot housing bubbleheads and you'll be ok, that's if they don't have 10 kids.
by dusty2
23 Feb 2013 11:41
Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
Topic: Black news
Replies: 626
Views: 124133

Re: Black news

It's kind of a strange defence for Black, he's not saying that his legal points were correct, but that he had the wrong lawyers. So he's admitting that his conviction was correct, but he needed better lawyers to get him off. Maybe he's also saying that his Canadian lawyer wasn't that great. Apparently his lawyer Eddie Greenspan came out screaming and yelling about a great injustice done to Black that put the jury off. Since Greenspan is one of Canada's top lawyers, footing the bill for 6-8 weeks in Chicago, in a high-profile case like that would probably be in the millions as well. It would have been a whole lot cheaper and smarter if he'd asked the American lawyers their opinion before he got in trouble.
by dusty2
07 Feb 2013 11:29
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Buying Property In Phoenix, AZ
Replies: 236
Views: 27039

Re: Buying Property In Phoenix, AZ

Buying a house and holding it 20-30 years, with tenants, is like buying a car and renting it out for the same time and expecting it to become valuable. Both will have to be completly rebuilt, before selling, cancelling out any profit. A smarter idea would be to forget the house and buy vacant land. A really smart idea would be creating value on that land, like building storage units, a car wash or retail space. Then again, a person can do the same thing in Canada. I forgot, Arizona is a 'bargain', sort of like Nortel stock was a bargain at $50, after it was $110 and Mexican condos were a bargain 10 years ago. Wonder how that worked out for those clever bargain hunters?
by dusty2
05 Feb 2013 11:22
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Buying Property In Phoenix, AZ
Replies: 236
Views: 27039

Re: Buying Property In Phoenix, AZ

The idea seems to be buying some used house that is deemed an investment, renting it for a few years and selling at at a profit. So the person is an absentee landlord, with his capital sitting 1000 miles away, while the tenants are trashing the place. Meanwhile, the owner is paying about 3 levels of taxes, property management, fixing any damages, paying insurance and hoping the place doesn't burn down. It would probably be more sensible to buy a new home, a condo would be best and just leave it vacant, even then, there's still taxes and maintenance fees. The smartest thing to do would be to forget the whole idea.
by dusty2
09 Jan 2013 11:33
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Are any TV hockey fans left?
Replies: 339
Views: 15279

Re: Are any TV hockey fans left?

Toronto's laughing at the other pathetic CFL teams after their recent Grey Cup win, not to mention a probable World Series win and parade next October.
by dusty2
31 Dec 2012 11:30
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Are any TV hockey fans left?
Replies: 339
Views: 15279

Re: Are any TV hockey fans left?

The NHL players are like a group of socialist-commies, 24 year old millionaires whining about their pensions. Now that they're buddy buddy 'comrads' expect them to be blowing kisses to each other during games. The NBA had to stop their pre-game love-ins, where the opposing teams spent 10 minutes handshaking and hugging each other, while the paying customers looked on wondering if players would visit opponent's showers after the game. One good thing about a shortened season, if it comes to that, is that each game is more important than in the 80 game season. Although, playoff games well into June is stretching things a bit.
by dusty2
28 Dec 2012 11:33
Forum: Financial Planning and Building Portfolios
Topic: Does a young investor need bonds?
Replies: 56
Views: 3538

Re: Does a young investor need bonds?

Bond investing is kind of like investing in your own money. The result like an inbred deformed child. Someone says that no one can predict what the future bond price will be but that's not true, since the bond rate will always be less than the inflation rate, so a bond investor is always guaranteed to lose money compared to the inflation rate. The smart thing to do, for a young investor, is to invest in the companies that are selling bonds and in turn using that money to create wealth, which are mostly the banks.
by dusty2
23 Dec 2012 11:34
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Bust 2012
Replies: 233
Views: 20227

Re: Housing Bust 2012

The 80's seems to be a sort of 'golden time' for housing bubbleheads -when market crashed! Mortgage rates of 20% will tend put a damper house prices. Maybe it's worth noting that all the houses that people walked away from are now worth 3 or 4 times what they were worth then, so walking away was an economic disaster. With rates now at all-time lows no one is walking away. All those homes with prices pushed down by 20% mortgage rates were screaming bargains looking back. If rates rise, I'm sure it will be the case again. Another reason to ignore bubbleheaders stupid advice.