We've been looking into buying a house recently, two years after we
sold our house in the US. We've been renting a house in Canada ever
since, and I kind of like it.
I've seen two schools of thought on rental vs. home ownership - if
you own a home, and pay off the mortgage eventually (in Canada
typically 25 years), it is an investment that can be cashed in when
you retire so as to buy a smaller house, or move into a retirement
community. On the other hand, if you rent a home, you avoid paying
property taxes and maintenance, and can invest the money you would
have spent on a down payment and home in other ways. However, rental
is subject to the home owner deciding to sell the house out from
under you, or even deciding to move in themselves. In Quebec, you
must get six months' notice by law, even still you end up having to
move. It's less of a stable living arrangement.
So I'm on the fence, but I do like the fact that in two years we've
been able to completely get out of debt and have started to actually
save and invest some of our earnings. If I was perhaps 10 years
younger I might be more enthusiastic about owning a home again, but
at 50 the prospect of just barely paying off a home mortgage by 65
is a little depressing. A 15- or 10-year mortgage means higher
monthly payments, so that means basically the home would be our sole
investment. That worries me, especially with home prices on the rise
as they are, I have to think the bubble will pop in Canada as it did
in the US, and I'd rather have 20-years buffer for home values to
recover than 10.
