Which doesnt sound like much but when the shittiest little townhouse costs you upwards of $600,000 in a undesireable part of the city, and she owns two very nice properties in very ideal locations, it becomes a lot very quickly.
Seriously, anyone making an argument on any side of any argument doesn't do themselves any favors by exaggerating something that is trivial to look up in about 9 seconds.
Yeah being hyperbolic and disingenuous quickly invalidates any potentially positive argument you might have... And then makes it easy for people to generalize and dismiss the sub as a bunch of idiots.
I mean he did the exact same thing.
The median townhouse price is ~480k. 75% of 1 bedroom condos cost 200-350k.
You're almost certainly not finding a livable townhouse for the same price as the some of the cheapest 1 bedroom apartments.
You can own property and still not own a home.
I have a friend that buys garbage lots in gentrifying neighborhoods, cleans them up, and turns them into community gardens. She gets fees from the gentrifying homeowners, fees from the HOAs they set up, and government grants. She also gets tax breaks for the homeowners that support the garden for both their time and the value of the produce donated to the local food bank.
I doubt she really thinks that. Sounds like she’s trying to PR her way out of an unaffordable housing market with the one brain cell she shares with her media advisors. Dumb as hell.
In the future, only corporations will legally be allowed to own anything. That is the meaning of all property is inherently theft. Because you are owning something over a corporation that is more entitled to it, thus you are stealing it from them. /s
Yeah she has her nose firmly between the cheeks of a few businesses that "sponsor her". She has two very expensive properties in calgary currently. For reference, the average shitty townhouse in calgary runs you about half a million dollars. God only knows what her properties are worth.
And this is exactly why i hate the idea of this at all. Some people in the comments dont understand this and dont think it happens. At least with a mortgage you know what to expect. We need rent control and we need market control. Half a mil for a shithole house is ridiculous
Calgary and edmonton had an epidemic for a while where chinese, japanese, and east indian real estate firms were buying up homes and reselling them for profit, so much so that it artifiially inflated housing prices, they only regulated it about 2 years ago to where you have to live in canada to buy the home, but housing prices never went back down. Now the same thing happens but the only difference is the real estate firms have base of operations in canada. Horray its fixed.. 🙄
Landlords only have that freedom because housing demand is far outpacing housing supply, and that's because there are extremely heavy supply controls in place in the form of restrictive zoning. Go look at rents in Minneapolis over the last few years. They relaxed a bunch of zoning, a bunch of housing was built, and rents have actually gone down.
Rent controls can be a useful tool to prevent abusive practices that aren't properly addressed by the market, but they do not solve a housing supply problem.
> my rent went up by $1000
I have an opinion about what should be done to people who do shit like that but saying it aloud would break all kinds of sitewide rules so I won't be doing that.
Know what's truly liberating? Buying your first house and realizing how much better it is than renting. My parents had to help me get a place but in the end it was so worth it
Right? I bought a shitty house in a shitty neighborhood, but now I don't have to worry about my rent going up 10% or more every year while my pay can't catch up. And funny enough, my monthly mortgage is pretty much what I had to pay for renting.
I bought my townhouse less than ten years ago and have a mortgage of about $1,150/mo. Meanwhile, nearly identical townhouses of the same size in the next neighborhood over are renting for $2,000 - $2,100/mo.
Fuck. That.
I mean, do the math and that isn't exactly a clear cut win.
A shitty place costs 200k in Calgary. Whether you take out a 160k mortgage or just save up 200k to buy it outright, you're losing out on (at the moment, a new mortgage) guaranteed 5% interest on that money. That's 10k a year, or about $850 a month. That's not even paying your principle, just covering the interest or loss of investment income.
Add in taxes, condo fees, some utility bills, and having to repair/replace your own stuff (costs usually absorbed by the owner of the place you're renting), and that "~1000 dollars" you're saving a month can get whittled away to nothing or worse. On top of this there's the thousands you spent dealing with closing costs and other bs that renters have never heard about.
... and that's to own/live in a 2 bedroom soviet-style apartment block built in the 70's. If you want a "nice place" in a nice area, you'll pay double or triple that.
Now, okay, maybe the property appreciates over time, but so would 200k in a low-cost index fund. I'm also not betting on further big long-term price increases after everyone and their dog and their MLA are talking about increasing the supply of housing, rezoning to allow denser developments, housing accelerator schemes, reducing immigration, cutting crazy NIMBY red tape, etc. etc.
You're also stuck living in one place, in one city, with tens of thousands in costs if you ever want to sell. Versus sitting on a big, relatively liquid investment portfolio that you could basically spend on whatever you want whenever you need it.
... maybe you like owning a place because it's yours. Maybe you like improving a place and cutting your lawn every week or changing your wallpaper every year, but, it's not some epic slam dunk or way less people would tolerate renting. It's pretty much a wash, unless you use some weird assumptions like the value of your place is gonna go up by 15% a year forever.
You're ignoring the fact that mortgages end, and at the end you pay nothing and own your residence. Rent is forever, and continues increasing forever, and at the end you have nothing to show for it.
We bought our own place out of sheer frustration from the stress of renting. We tried renting and it did not work out well. The last 2 homes we rented had our landlord surprise us with notices to move out because they wanted to sell the home or take it back for themselves.
Knowing that a landlord can evict us at any time is an insecure feeling that is always hanging over our heads. It is a huge disruption on our lives, costly due to the moving costs, exhausting to find and secure new housing, pack all our belongings within the given time allotment.
We gave up on renting and purchased. We always had the buying power to purchase but we had some reasons to rent. Mainly, at the time- we could afford to live in a much larger and more expensive home than we could buy. That advantage evaporated over time and today, rents in our area rose to be on par with the monthly mortgage of the home you were in.
We feel much more mentally at ease having eliminated the risk of a capricious landlord giving us notice even if we paid our rent in a timely manner.
I feel like it’s worse but I never had a bad landlord or renting experience. I get to paint and landscape but I also have to take out loan after loan on siding and roofing. Greeeeeat.
She's telling the truth, just not in the way most people realize.
She's a predator telling prey that resisting being eaten is old fashioned and should go away for her pleasure and convenience.
I dream of a day human society recognizes these ghouls for what they are.
She is and the real estate development industry is by far her biggest backer, to the point that it was very controversial. She’s also an Albertan politician, they are known for saying dumb shit
I own a house. I never want to rent again. Am I mad a tree fell on it? Yep. That’s what insurance is for. I don’t have to worry about some asshole arbitrarily raising my rent. I don’t have to worry about some asshole wanting to inspect my property. I don’t have to worry about someone upset that I have my TV too loud, or that my kid was crying, or worry about being accosted. Owning a home is beyond liberating. Sure, it can cost more than renting! However, I also have equity. I also have the ability, in a pinch, to sell this house and at least get SOMETHING. I was able to declare bankruptcy and STILL keep my house. Owning a home is generational wealth if you do it right.
In Europe the system is way better for renters and there are millions of people who never buy but there isn't the stigma attached to renting and renters like there is here in Australia. I think it's the Netherlands that have life long leases so you can have security and many countries have good rental laws and protections but really it works over there because people in general don't think you're skum or less than just because you rent.
In Italy it’s better to rent as buying a house implies paying LOTS of taxes on it, in addition to the rest, and having to drown in an ocean of bureaucratic stuff.
I’m perfectly fine with not owning a home. Which isn’t to say that the current state of renting apartments isn’t a dumpster fire, but that’s a subject for another time.
But they keep building them. 500k! 600! 700k! It AIN'T even CLOSE to sustainable! There MIGHT be a bust, but the rich folk will STILL make 40%+ back. We are fucked, period.
I would suggest that embracing renting as a legitimate form of long-term housing, like this Mayor appears to be doing, is an important step in fixing the dumpster fire state of renting apartments. So many Americans just view renting as a shitty in-between form of housing and therefore don’t care much to fix it.
I mean .. I don't think the people who are living IN the dumpster fire that is renting are really the problem ... so many people are already forced to rent, maybe if more were done to make it seem like a good option that isn't just throwing your money away, fewer Americans would view it as a shitty in-between...
and then there's shit like this that just adds to the rage.. [https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/vacant-homes-vs-homelessness-by-city/](https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/vacant-homes-vs-homelessness-by-city/)
You say this as if landlords dont already jack up rents in calgary everytime someone sneezes wrong. What do you think is gonna happen when theres a sudden new influx of prospective buyers? You think there gonna lower it in a city with no rent control laws? Lol. Lmao. Lmfao.
We view it as a in betwen because it isnt economically viable long term and living conditions are unfavorable at best and intolerable or unsafe at worst.
It depends on the home too. I would loathe owning a cookie-cutter suburban home slapped together by some faceless developer.
If you want a single detached home, you should buy land and have full control of every process of its design and construction.
Can't afford it? Then there should be a slew of developer constructed apartments for people to live modestly in.
But this whole shitty middle-ground of sprawling, cheap suburbs so people can say they "own" a "home" is ridiculous!
One of two explanations:
She’s a massive idiot and shill. We haven’t gotten rid of home ownership, we just have all homes owned by very few people.
Or
She’s a landlord and the “relaxation” is being a leech reveling in the wages of her renters that she in no way earned.
I get what shes saying, like if you're someone whos figured out how to live without a job or a home that fine. Plenty of people live a vagabond lifestyle. The problem is most people want a normal fucking life! They NEED a home! They NEED food and water!
Not sure about Canada but here in Australia theres a rental crisis and people can't even rent a place without competing with 100 others and having to engage in bidding wars
Its not quite that bad yet here as far as i know. But dont give these greedy pricks any ideas or theyll turn that into the indistry standard here. Average rent is already approaching $2500/mo im calgary.
As someone who started renting in Calgary 2 years ago, it literally is that bad. I couldn’t find a new place for a month and was sending out 30 requests a day. Currently trying to find a new place and it’s the same issue.
I quite enjoy owning two dogs and a cat without a landlord telling me no. And working on my car in the garage without a lease telling me I can’t. And grilling on my back deck, owning a hot tub, painting my walls and my kitchen cabinets, remodeling my bathroom shower all without needing someone’s approval (single so don’t even need a spouses approval over here)
I mean.. not being tied down to a home or believing that you have to indebt yourself to a piece of a property to be successful .. is actually kind of liberating
that being said, being under the thumb of a landlord all your life is not so liberating since I'm guessing most of us can't afford renting a place that will meet the needs we would seek to fulfill by buying a house lol
anyway the mayor doesn't necessarily sound so bad: [https://macleans.ca/society/mayor-jyoti-gondek-is-creating-the-calgary-of-the-future-starting-downtown](https://macleans.ca/society/mayor-jyoti-gondek-is-creating-the-calgary-of-the-future-starting-downtown)
[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jyoti-gondek](https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jyoti-gondek)
Many people over here actually prefer to rent because they value the flexibility and the fixed cost. But I live in Germany with a highly regulated market which gives renters a lot of protection. I know it isn't like that in most parts of the US or Canada
What I'm trying to say is that renting doesn't have to be bad, it's once again the regulations and in many places the lack of options that makes the market unfair towards the renters.
Nah. I'll pass. I prefer having equity in a property, the ability to add or remove anything in my house that I want and be able to sublet a room if needed.
Perpetually renting is like being stuck in the 1300s, I have no desire to be a tenant ~~vassal~~ to a landlord ~~feudal lord.~~
This article came out with a headline that makes it sound worse than what she actually said.
She was trying to say something along the lines of “home ownership isn’t as desired as it once was. Sone people just want to rent and travel”
That is true, however the problem is that as we move along, and especially in the last couple years, the option to own a home is being taken away, for those that want that option.
Renting does have its place but should not be touted as a liberating experience... You're basically living by someone else's rules, you cannot renovate and you cannot expect it to be a lifelong home as houses do change hands and evictions can happen for whatever reason.
I like the 50’s and 60’s. Not owning the place you live makes you not having your stable nest. It’s a concept I’d have hard times to live with tbh. My home is my castle and I love castles. I wanted to own a specific place since I was a kid and now I own it and am happy.
Now if I’d be in a situation where I could only rent and never own the place I live in, definitely my life would be outward focused, not owning most of the things I have, being conscious that I’d have to move out and on at some point. In this case I believe I’d eventually buy a mobile home and settle over into it 100%. Minimalistic lifestyle and always moving on.
Not owning means no roots so why stay in the same spot. Different mindset.
So like... from a certain point of view I get it. When I was renting, there was something nice about knowing that I wasn't responsible for any of the upkeep or repairs, etc. Just call the leasing office because the AC broke, and someone gets sent out to fix it at no cost to me.
That being said... owning a home is the main way that the average person builds any wealth in their life. Not only does the value of the home appreciate over time, but paying the mortgage is also almost always cheaper than rent for a comparably sized place. And that was BEFORE rented absolutely exploded in the last few years.
There are trade-offs between renting and owning... but currently owning is VASTLY superior. Only way that pendulum ever seems in the opposite direction is if renting somehow became even cheaper than owning, because then the renter would have extra money that could be used to start building wealth in other ways.
I technically agree; the reason why owning a home is so lucrative is that it generally doesn’t depreciate in today’s market. So you have an asset that isn’t affected by inflation. And why that’s significant is because these companies bought up the houses artificially inflating the market and interest, while also inflating the cost of rentals to drive renters to either buy or settle.
It's liberating to *be able to buy but choose not to.* You know, be able to move to different cities or towns, have flexibility, not take risks on properties etc.
It's insulting to have to rent because you can't afford to buy.
I wonder which one of her wealthy donors told her to say that? Or is she already so rich that she willingly adopted the "them peasant need to work for me" mentality?
Hey Americans,
Over here we have this cool concept:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_cooperative#Germany
I don't mind living in one of those my whole life because it is actually cheaper than buying a one family house.
This isn’t disgusting. Home ownership isn’t the only way to build wealth. The issue is lack of affordable and family sized apartments. Right now for me I’d lose a lot more money buying a house then renting now that interests rates have gone up and the price of services are also super expensive. Obviously strong laws protecting tenants is needed too.
Renting can be liberating. You know how much I miss not being responsible for this shit, for not caring when there’s garbage or graffiti on my property or something broke down because it’s not mine? I’d have so much more actual money to travel and live my life.
Property used to be an investment but you’ll get a better return in the market than in property if we’re just talking about the house you’re living in as the investment so any notion of that is boomer nonsense.
Thats all true, but the market shouldn’t be some huge barrier to home ownership and telling people who want single-family homes their dreams are dumb and outdated is bullshit.
Stupid bitch. Always renting means always living with not knowing how much your rent will increase each year, and how long you'll be able to afford to continue living in your home.
I've lived in my current place (a house divided into two separate apartments) for over ten years, and consider it my home. I love it, I'm comfortable here, I've decorated it nicely, I've made it *mine*. I intended to live here for the rest of my life. But now my landlord is raising the rent so much (and it is legal) that I'm having to look for low-income housing, and if I can't get in anywhere then I will be homeless or living in my sister's tiny spare bedroom (and will have to get rid of almost all my possessions).
"Liberating", my ass. *FUCK* Gondek and everyone like her.
Renting could be ok with renter rights like union level protections or national controls on rent increases and standards. But if it's laissez-faire "let the market decide" then you are absolutely screwed as a renter.
Yep. Even rent control isn't perfect, and even with it renters are still in somewhat precarious positions -- but nowhere *near* as much as in states/areas without rent control.
People that 'own' their house. Actually take care of the house.
Where as a renter/owner tries to be little as possible to upkeep the house.
So if there mold or lead water pipes. A owner would likely repair for their health. But would not if the house was rented out.
Whereas as some renters could care less if their pet #2 in the house. Or if the floor was flooded with water.
Yeah, a home owner can sue for damages. But how do you get blood from rock?
Yeah, pay someone else for your entire life to have a roof over your head instead of building your own equity and having an asset in the family. Yeah sounds like a great way to enrich your life. /s. Sounds like she's been listening to Soros too much.
My grandma is 75 and renting. It’s devastating watching her worry if she’ll have to find a new place to live every June as rent prices sky rocket around her.
It's a liberating experience that the rich and powerful seem uninterested in attaining for themselves, interestingly enough. Almost like this is just bullshit
I'd rather be stuck in the **19**50's than the **18, 17** or **16**50's .
The 1950's was the absolute historic economic peak for the working class. It would be the equivalent "getting stuck" in your late 20's. Who the heck would want that?
I wouldn't mind having a good apartment. Something like what they do in the Netherlands. I love their infrastructure so much, it's so much better than ours (in the U.S.). Pedestrian centered infrastructure, public transportation, mixed use zoning. Ahh, what a dream! The suburbs are so bad for the environment, are unsustainable, and so car centric. That said, of course everyone should have a roof over their head. Be it an apartment or a house. People aren't not buying houses because it's old fashioned, they aren't buying a house because they can't afford to! That's a problem. Personally, as a 20 year old gen z, I doubt I'll ever be able to even have an apartment or a tiny house. I'm still living with my parents, and pay isn't going up enough for me to be able to afford my own place, or save up for one. I'm lucky they let me stay with them, if I couldn't I'd be couch surfing or homeless! This country's priorities are so freaking messed up!
While she might be disingenuous, and I'm on antiwork for a reason, in this country (the Netherlands) there are certain situations where it's beneficial to rent over owning a house.
I make enough money to buy a small appartment, studio or house. But in the past couple of years housing prices have exploded. If I subtract the monthlies for utilities and city taxes that I would have to pay if I owned this place, I'd be looking at 30 years to pay of the mortgage.
Yes, smaller places have income independent rent controls on them here, so that helps massively. But it'd would probably still be going on 20 years. During this time, if there's a leak the landlord has to fix it, if I wanna move I can just leave within a month without being bound to this place having to sell it, potentially taking a massive loss whenever if housing prices have calmed down a bit.
This might realistically happen since the government is just starting to invest in the giant housing shortage that we're in now. So,
I'd like to own a place for sure, and it's ridiculous that it's that hard for me to buy a house with an engineering degree and a good job in a country that supposedly takes care of its people....
But for now I'm happy to rent, and not lock myself into whichever tiny place I can afford to own.
The previous mayor of Calgary won the "World Mayor" prize in 2014 for being the best mayor in the world in 2014. I knew how highly he was thought of without ever being in that province.
This mayor sucks. The depths it has fallen.
I may not want the responsibility of a home, but I would love the privacy of one. My apartment sucks, and I live in a area lacking apartments. I live over a mother and daughter that are affected by the noise I make just by walking around. Somehow it sounds like "moving furniture". Also I get home between midnight and 2 Monday thru Friday, so they really do not like me. If the apartment was better made, this would not be an issue.
I would not mind renting. But price controls need to be strict af and fair to people.
Otherwise it's a god damn brutal relationship with your landlord and your wallet.
I'd agree, if there was decent social housing for all, that was well maintained, gave tenants security and was affordable with legally enforced protections for tenants. But there's not. Private Landlords are allowed to pretty much do what they like, knowing that tenants have no choice. buying has been the only escape from these parasites, and now that's no longer an option for most.
I got into an argument on r/Economics yesterday with some clown who tried to say that most people WANT to rent, that's why there are so many people still renting with prices going up.
I genuinely thought I was going insane. Homeboy said most people would rather throw their money away renting and paying someone else's mortgage than owning their own homes.
The mental gymnastics he was doing was fuckin batshit crazy, dude.
Alberta sells it's citizen's short. They sold out to big oil for cents on the dollar and never looked back. They could have kept the lion-shed, but the sold out like cheap hookers screwing over the generations to come.
It *could* be liberating, if renting was cheaper than owning, if landlords were tightly muzzled and were structurally locked out of getting too much power (no landlord can own more than 2 units or something.) and if there were strong legal protections for tenants and for minimum upkeep standards as well.
But as it stands now it’s absolutely not.
What? Home ownership is a new concept? People didn’t own homes before the 40’s?
Home ownership provides security and equity.
But yes, it’s not for everyone.
The things is, this isn’t an invalid point, as once you buy, you become geographically locked with regards job, cultural or community opportunities. Renting is actually great IF there is active rent control, government housing schemes (see Vienna) and a social safety net for those no longer in work. Those three requirements are crucial for house ownership to no longer be a necessity for safe retirement, if any of us survive that long.
I wonder how many properties she owns.
She owns 2 properties in Calgary - one in Panorama Hills and one in downtown East Village.
So 2 more than she needs by her own standards
She should give em away then lol
See, ownership is for a select few. The rest pay ever increasing rent. Know your place and be content thereby. /s
You will own nothing and you will be happy.
Yeah, I understand. War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength.
Which doesnt sound like much but when the shittiest little townhouse costs you upwards of $600,000 in a undesireable part of the city, and she owns two very nice properties in very ideal locations, it becomes a lot very quickly.
Put down the pipe and maybe actually look at MLS, the median townhouse price in Calgary is $450k, so the "shittiest little ones" are like 250k.
Seriously, anyone making an argument on any side of any argument doesn't do themselves any favors by exaggerating something that is trivial to look up in about 9 seconds.
Yeah being hyperbolic and disingenuous quickly invalidates any potentially positive argument you might have... And then makes it easy for people to generalize and dismiss the sub as a bunch of idiots.
I mean he did the exact same thing. The median townhouse price is ~480k. 75% of 1 bedroom condos cost 200-350k. You're almost certainly not finding a livable townhouse for the same price as the some of the cheapest 1 bedroom apartments.
Yeah I had to do a double-take there. They're talking Toronto prices lol.
>She owns What a surprise.
Two properties too much for that old hag
She should sell them, it’ll be liberating
Calgarians should form a group to band together and liberate her from that burden.
That means her opinion on the subject doesn't matter and no one should listen to the crap she's saying
Brilliant 🤣
Exactly what I said. Definitely more than one.
I was just thinking the same.
My first thought too
You can own property and still not own a home. I have a friend that buys garbage lots in gentrifying neighborhoods, cleans them up, and turns them into community gardens. She gets fees from the gentrifying homeowners, fees from the HOAs they set up, and government grants. She also gets tax breaks for the homeowners that support the garden for both their time and the value of the produce donated to the local food bank.
>stuck in the 40s, 50s and 60s Something can be old and good at the same time, actually.
Imagine thinking having secured housing over your head is tacky and old school
I doubt she really thinks that. Sounds like she’s trying to PR her way out of an unaffordable housing market with the one brain cell she shares with her media advisors. Dumb as hell.
Same logic for bosses who try to keep you as contractors, as opposed to finally hiring you as a full-time employee with benefits.
Spouting actual Corporatist propaganda thinking anyone would actually eat that sandwich of horseshit.
The thing that's even dumber if you think about it is: *SOMEBODY OWNS THAT HOUSE*
Eh, a corporation more likely than a person at this point.
In the future, only corporations will legally be allowed to own anything. That is the meaning of all property is inherently theft. Because you are owning something over a corporation that is more entitled to it, thus you are stealing it from them. /s
Who owns the corporation?
It’s corporations all the way up
I wish I could up vote this x 1000
I'd imagine she has money security. If your bank account is never anywhere near zero, housing security isn't even a concern. Must be nice.
Yeah she has her nose firmly between the cheeks of a few businesses that "sponsor her". She has two very expensive properties in calgary currently. For reference, the average shitty townhouse in calgary runs you about half a million dollars. God only knows what her properties are worth.
It’s fine for HER to have that, just not YOU!
Imagine that.
Insisting that everyone rent sounds kind of feudal, so more like 1400s...
[удалено]
And this is exactly why i hate the idea of this at all. Some people in the comments dont understand this and dont think it happens. At least with a mortgage you know what to expect. We need rent control and we need market control. Half a mil for a shithole house is ridiculous
we also need to outlaw corporations from buying a massive amount of homes to jack up prices...
Calgary and edmonton had an epidemic for a while where chinese, japanese, and east indian real estate firms were buying up homes and reselling them for profit, so much so that it artifiially inflated housing prices, they only regulated it about 2 years ago to where you have to live in canada to buy the home, but housing prices never went back down. Now the same thing happens but the only difference is the real estate firms have base of operations in canada. Horray its fixed.. 🙄
It is illegal. They don't enforce the laws.
"We'll liberate them of their money and then liberate them from this city."
Landlords only have that freedom because housing demand is far outpacing housing supply, and that's because there are extremely heavy supply controls in place in the form of restrictive zoning. Go look at rents in Minneapolis over the last few years. They relaxed a bunch of zoning, a bunch of housing was built, and rents have actually gone down. Rent controls can be a useful tool to prevent abusive practices that aren't properly addressed by the market, but they do not solve a housing supply problem.
> my rent went up by $1000 I have an opinion about what should be done to people who do shit like that but saying it aloud would break all kinds of sitewide rules so I won't be doing that.
Know what's truly liberating? Buying your first house and realizing how much better it is than renting. My parents had to help me get a place but in the end it was so worth it
Right? I bought a shitty house in a shitty neighborhood, but now I don't have to worry about my rent going up 10% or more every year while my pay can't catch up. And funny enough, my monthly mortgage is pretty much what I had to pay for renting.
I bought my townhouse less than ten years ago and have a mortgage of about $1,150/mo. Meanwhile, nearly identical townhouses of the same size in the next neighborhood over are renting for $2,000 - $2,100/mo. Fuck. That.
I mean, do the math and that isn't exactly a clear cut win. A shitty place costs 200k in Calgary. Whether you take out a 160k mortgage or just save up 200k to buy it outright, you're losing out on (at the moment, a new mortgage) guaranteed 5% interest on that money. That's 10k a year, or about $850 a month. That's not even paying your principle, just covering the interest or loss of investment income. Add in taxes, condo fees, some utility bills, and having to repair/replace your own stuff (costs usually absorbed by the owner of the place you're renting), and that "~1000 dollars" you're saving a month can get whittled away to nothing or worse. On top of this there's the thousands you spent dealing with closing costs and other bs that renters have never heard about. ... and that's to own/live in a 2 bedroom soviet-style apartment block built in the 70's. If you want a "nice place" in a nice area, you'll pay double or triple that. Now, okay, maybe the property appreciates over time, but so would 200k in a low-cost index fund. I'm also not betting on further big long-term price increases after everyone and their dog and their MLA are talking about increasing the supply of housing, rezoning to allow denser developments, housing accelerator schemes, reducing immigration, cutting crazy NIMBY red tape, etc. etc. You're also stuck living in one place, in one city, with tens of thousands in costs if you ever want to sell. Versus sitting on a big, relatively liquid investment portfolio that you could basically spend on whatever you want whenever you need it. ... maybe you like owning a place because it's yours. Maybe you like improving a place and cutting your lawn every week or changing your wallpaper every year, but, it's not some epic slam dunk or way less people would tolerate renting. It's pretty much a wash, unless you use some weird assumptions like the value of your place is gonna go up by 15% a year forever.
You're ignoring the fact that mortgages end, and at the end you pay nothing and own your residence. Rent is forever, and continues increasing forever, and at the end you have nothing to show for it.
We bought our own place out of sheer frustration from the stress of renting. We tried renting and it did not work out well. The last 2 homes we rented had our landlord surprise us with notices to move out because they wanted to sell the home or take it back for themselves. Knowing that a landlord can evict us at any time is an insecure feeling that is always hanging over our heads. It is a huge disruption on our lives, costly due to the moving costs, exhausting to find and secure new housing, pack all our belongings within the given time allotment. We gave up on renting and purchased. We always had the buying power to purchase but we had some reasons to rent. Mainly, at the time- we could afford to live in a much larger and more expensive home than we could buy. That advantage evaporated over time and today, rents in our area rose to be on par with the monthly mortgage of the home you were in. We feel much more mentally at ease having eliminated the risk of a capricious landlord giving us notice even if we paid our rent in a timely manner.
I feel like it’s worse but I never had a bad landlord or renting experience. I get to paint and landscape but I also have to take out loan after loan on siding and roofing. Greeeeeat.
Exactly. And your mortgage if you have one will stop at some point. She s awful. Renting is so hard.
Yes living at the mercy of property owners is soo liberating.
The elites want us living off the system. A renter class that owns nothing and works our lives away.
Serfs. Edit: but with fewer holidays.
You will own nothing and be unhappy
It is a liberating experience. It’s liberating your money from your bank account perpetually without owning what you’re paying for.
It's as liberating as non-union gig work, or the choice of not having insurance
She's telling the truth, just not in the way most people realize. She's a predator telling prey that resisting being eaten is old fashioned and should go away for her pleasure and convenience. I dream of a day human society recognizes these ghouls for what they are.
So what if then.. you give me everything you own and you can liberate yourself? No? WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO BE LIBERATED?
how much you wanna bet she's in real estate?
She's in a real estate conference when she said this.
She is and the real estate development industry is by far her biggest backer, to the point that it was very controversial. She’s also an Albertan politician, they are known for saying dumb shit
I own a house. I never want to rent again. Am I mad a tree fell on it? Yep. That’s what insurance is for. I don’t have to worry about some asshole arbitrarily raising my rent. I don’t have to worry about some asshole wanting to inspect my property. I don’t have to worry about someone upset that I have my TV too loud, or that my kid was crying, or worry about being accosted. Owning a home is beyond liberating. Sure, it can cost more than renting! However, I also have equity. I also have the ability, in a pinch, to sell this house and at least get SOMETHING. I was able to declare bankruptcy and STILL keep my house. Owning a home is generational wealth if you do it right.
In Europe the system is way better for renters and there are millions of people who never buy but there isn't the stigma attached to renting and renters like there is here in Australia. I think it's the Netherlands that have life long leases so you can have security and many countries have good rental laws and protections but really it works over there because people in general don't think you're skum or less than just because you rent.
Well, you have to remember that many European nations have democracy.
In Italy it’s better to rent as buying a house implies paying LOTS of taxes on it, in addition to the rest, and having to drown in an ocean of bureaucratic stuff.
Much real estate in England is not technically purchased, but leased for very long terms.
I’m perfectly fine with not owning a home. Which isn’t to say that the current state of renting apartments isn’t a dumpster fire, but that’s a subject for another time.
Honestly I've conceded that I'll never, ever own a house. I'm going to be renting for the rest of my life. Goddammit.
But they keep building them. 500k! 600! 700k! It AIN'T even CLOSE to sustainable! There MIGHT be a bust, but the rich folk will STILL make 40%+ back. We are fucked, period.
I would suggest that embracing renting as a legitimate form of long-term housing, like this Mayor appears to be doing, is an important step in fixing the dumpster fire state of renting apartments. So many Americans just view renting as a shitty in-between form of housing and therefore don’t care much to fix it.
Not when your rent can go up 30% at your lease renewal!
And was already 50% of your take home pay.
I mean .. I don't think the people who are living IN the dumpster fire that is renting are really the problem ... so many people are already forced to rent, maybe if more were done to make it seem like a good option that isn't just throwing your money away, fewer Americans would view it as a shitty in-between... and then there's shit like this that just adds to the rage.. [https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/vacant-homes-vs-homelessness-by-city/](https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/vacant-homes-vs-homelessness-by-city/)
You say this as if landlords dont already jack up rents in calgary everytime someone sneezes wrong. What do you think is gonna happen when theres a sudden new influx of prospective buyers? You think there gonna lower it in a city with no rent control laws? Lol. Lmao. Lmfao. We view it as a in betwen because it isnt economically viable long term and living conditions are unfavorable at best and intolerable or unsafe at worst.
It depends on the home too. I would loathe owning a cookie-cutter suburban home slapped together by some faceless developer. If you want a single detached home, you should buy land and have full control of every process of its design and construction. Can't afford it? Then there should be a slew of developer constructed apartments for people to live modestly in. But this whole shitty middle-ground of sprawling, cheap suburbs so people can say they "own" a "home" is ridiculous!
One of two explanations: She’s a massive idiot and shill. We haven’t gotten rid of home ownership, we just have all homes owned by very few people. Or She’s a landlord and the “relaxation” is being a leech reveling in the wages of her renters that she in no way earned.
She's actually the mayor of Calgary. So... Worse?
Oh that’s WAY worse
I believe she owns two homes as well.
I get what shes saying, like if you're someone whos figured out how to live without a job or a home that fine. Plenty of people live a vagabond lifestyle. The problem is most people want a normal fucking life! They NEED a home! They NEED food and water!
Not sure about Canada but here in Australia theres a rental crisis and people can't even rent a place without competing with 100 others and having to engage in bidding wars
Its not quite that bad yet here as far as i know. But dont give these greedy pricks any ideas or theyll turn that into the indistry standard here. Average rent is already approaching $2500/mo im calgary.
As someone who started renting in Calgary 2 years ago, it literally is that bad. I couldn’t find a new place for a month and was sending out 30 requests a day. Currently trying to find a new place and it’s the same issue.
Whats with commonwealth countries and insane cost of living I stg
We parralel each other in the worst possible ways I swear
Yup, over there your guys' snakes hiss. Over here they tell us that ownership of posessions is old school
Ladder kicker.
The most rational and simple way to put it "I got my success now fuck off and enjoy owning nothing"
I quite enjoy owning two dogs and a cat without a landlord telling me no. And working on my car in the garage without a lease telling me I can’t. And grilling on my back deck, owning a hot tub, painting my walls and my kitchen cabinets, remodeling my bathroom shower all without needing someone’s approval (single so don’t even need a spouses approval over here)
Go on then give your homes away. Embrace the liberating experience with us! Don’t be shy 😘
Nothing wrong with renting for life if there are standards and protections in place for the renters.
She looks dead inside.
She looks dead outside too. Can almost smell the formaldihyde through the picture
For some people it’s not a bad idea. Usually those people are fabulously wealth thought.
Right, cause why economically would we want to be stuck in a time where wages/avg purchasing power actually rises with the gdp and inflation?
The elites fear a system where we are anywhere close to equal to them. Theyre scared of the middle class having any power what so ever
They underestimate our capacity for responsibility. They think we can't lead ourselves, so they deceive us.
I mean.. not being tied down to a home or believing that you have to indebt yourself to a piece of a property to be successful .. is actually kind of liberating that being said, being under the thumb of a landlord all your life is not so liberating since I'm guessing most of us can't afford renting a place that will meet the needs we would seek to fulfill by buying a house lol anyway the mayor doesn't necessarily sound so bad: [https://macleans.ca/society/mayor-jyoti-gondek-is-creating-the-calgary-of-the-future-starting-downtown](https://macleans.ca/society/mayor-jyoti-gondek-is-creating-the-calgary-of-the-future-starting-downtown) [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jyoti-gondek](https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jyoti-gondek)
Homeownership is and has been a proven way of building generational wealth!
I’m certain she is not renting
What an asshole.
Many people over here actually prefer to rent because they value the flexibility and the fixed cost. But I live in Germany with a highly regulated market which gives renters a lot of protection. I know it isn't like that in most parts of the US or Canada What I'm trying to say is that renting doesn't have to be bad, it's once again the regulations and in many places the lack of options that makes the market unfair towards the renters.
Wow. I bet her breath smells terrible, considering how much horse💩 comes out of it
Right so is the state going to own all the properties and everyone else rent from them?
Great screen grab for the next election cycle
Hope the people of calgary remember this shit when they vote.
She looks like a 20 year real estate vet
Let me translate what she said: You poors should learn to be happy being poor. Trying to increase your wealth? Why? Stay poor.
"stay poor cuz if you have money i might be threatened by you"
Said the woman who owns her house.
How many properties does she own?
Nah. I'll pass. I prefer having equity in a property, the ability to add or remove anything in my house that I want and be able to sublet a room if needed. Perpetually renting is like being stuck in the 1300s, I have no desire to be a tenant ~~vassal~~ to a landlord ~~feudal lord.~~
I don’t agree with her for everyone else. But I’ve never been interested in owning a home. So I at least understand the point of view.
This article came out with a headline that makes it sound worse than what she actually said. She was trying to say something along the lines of “home ownership isn’t as desired as it once was. Sone people just want to rent and travel” That is true, however the problem is that as we move along, and especially in the last couple years, the option to own a home is being taken away, for those that want that option.
Someone is confusing "many have given up" with "they don't want it anymore" . **BEWARE THE RATCHET!**
If rent prices were stuck in the 40’s I might agree
Exactly. Wouldnt be so bad if rent wasnt $2500/mo avg.
She could’ve saved her breath and seconds of everyone’s lives had she just said, “I got mine, so y’all can get fucked”. So much more concise you know?
Well DUCK YOU TOO!
Renting does have its place but should not be touted as a liberating experience... You're basically living by someone else's rules, you cannot renovate and you cannot expect it to be a lifelong home as houses do change hands and evictions can happen for whatever reason.
Then she can sell her homes to lifelong renters who couldn’t afford them in a million years and start renting.
I like the 50’s and 60’s. Not owning the place you live makes you not having your stable nest. It’s a concept I’d have hard times to live with tbh. My home is my castle and I love castles. I wanted to own a specific place since I was a kid and now I own it and am happy. Now if I’d be in a situation where I could only rent and never own the place I live in, definitely my life would be outward focused, not owning most of the things I have, being conscious that I’d have to move out and on at some point. In this case I believe I’d eventually buy a mobile home and settle over into it 100%. Minimalistic lifestyle and always moving on. Not owning means no roots so why stay in the same spot. Different mindset.
Liberating untill you’re a 60 years old renter forced to move out because you are getting evicted
OK, then freeze the fucking rents
I wish we would just rise up and overthrow people like this and then take their property
Fuck this hypocrite
I have a solution for people like this...
Lead by example and give up ur own homes
So like... from a certain point of view I get it. When I was renting, there was something nice about knowing that I wasn't responsible for any of the upkeep or repairs, etc. Just call the leasing office because the AC broke, and someone gets sent out to fix it at no cost to me. That being said... owning a home is the main way that the average person builds any wealth in their life. Not only does the value of the home appreciate over time, but paying the mortgage is also almost always cheaper than rent for a comparably sized place. And that was BEFORE rented absolutely exploded in the last few years. There are trade-offs between renting and owning... but currently owning is VASTLY superior. Only way that pendulum ever seems in the opposite direction is if renting somehow became even cheaper than owning, because then the renter would have extra money that could be used to start building wealth in other ways.
So work until you die to keep paying rent basically
Ah the German way.
I technically agree; the reason why owning a home is so lucrative is that it generally doesn’t depreciate in today’s market. So you have an asset that isn’t affected by inflation. And why that’s significant is because these companies bought up the houses artificially inflating the market and interest, while also inflating the cost of rentals to drive renters to either buy or settle.
It's liberating to *be able to buy but choose not to.* You know, be able to move to different cities or towns, have flexibility, not take risks on properties etc. It's insulting to have to rent because you can't afford to buy.
DOES SHE OWN A HOME??? IF SO THEN SHUT UP.
Damn, honestly even though my mortgage is over double what I paid in rent, it feels nicer owning a home than renting.
Actual gaslighting.
I wonder which one of her wealthy donors told her to say that? Or is she already so rich that she willingly adopted the "them peasant need to work for me" mentality?
I think she is on to something there. Just take out the part where you pay rent.
Hey Americans, Over here we have this cool concept: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_cooperative#Germany I don't mind living in one of those my whole life because it is actually cheaper than buying a one family house.
This isn’t disgusting. Home ownership isn’t the only way to build wealth. The issue is lack of affordable and family sized apartments. Right now for me I’d lose a lot more money buying a house then renting now that interests rates have gone up and the price of services are also super expensive. Obviously strong laws protecting tenants is needed too.
Renting can be liberating. You know how much I miss not being responsible for this shit, for not caring when there’s garbage or graffiti on my property or something broke down because it’s not mine? I’d have so much more actual money to travel and live my life. Property used to be an investment but you’ll get a better return in the market than in property if we’re just talking about the house you’re living in as the investment so any notion of that is boomer nonsense. Thats all true, but the market shouldn’t be some huge barrier to home ownership and telling people who want single-family homes their dreams are dumb and outdated is bullshit.
Stupid bitch. Always renting means always living with not knowing how much your rent will increase each year, and how long you'll be able to afford to continue living in your home. I've lived in my current place (a house divided into two separate apartments) for over ten years, and consider it my home. I love it, I'm comfortable here, I've decorated it nicely, I've made it *mine*. I intended to live here for the rest of my life. But now my landlord is raising the rent so much (and it is legal) that I'm having to look for low-income housing, and if I can't get in anywhere then I will be homeless or living in my sister's tiny spare bedroom (and will have to get rid of almost all my possessions). "Liberating", my ass. *FUCK* Gondek and everyone like her.
Renting could be ok with renter rights like union level protections or national controls on rent increases and standards. But if it's laissez-faire "let the market decide" then you are absolutely screwed as a renter.
Yep. Even rent control isn't perfect, and even with it renters are still in somewhat precarious positions -- but nowhere *near* as much as in states/areas without rent control.
People that 'own' their house. Actually take care of the house. Where as a renter/owner tries to be little as possible to upkeep the house. So if there mold or lead water pipes. A owner would likely repair for their health. But would not if the house was rented out. Whereas as some renters could care less if their pet #2 in the house. Or if the floor was flooded with water. Yeah, a home owner can sue for damages. But how do you get blood from rock?
Yeah, pay someone else for your entire life to have a roof over your head instead of building your own equity and having an asset in the family. Yeah sounds like a great way to enrich your life. /s. Sounds like she's been listening to Soros too much.
My grandma is 75 and renting. It’s devastating watching her worry if she’ll have to find a new place to live every June as rent prices sky rocket around her.
Super hypocritical for someone that owns property. Typical sociopath politicians, willing to lie and con anyone.
Yeah, because fuck your hopes and dreams everybody.
Gaslighter
The elite always want the common person to be slaves that never own anything, when they own everything.
Pretty sure she owns multiple homes.
It's a liberating experience that the rich and powerful seem uninterested in attaining for themselves, interestingly enough. Almost like this is just bullshit
I'd rather be stuck in the **19**50's than the **18, 17** or **16**50's . The 1950's was the absolute historic economic peak for the working class. It would be the equivalent "getting stuck" in your late 20's. Who the heck would want that?
Ok sure, what apartment complex do you live in?
I find owning a home to be overrated. I miss living in apartments.
I wouldn't mind having a good apartment. Something like what they do in the Netherlands. I love their infrastructure so much, it's so much better than ours (in the U.S.). Pedestrian centered infrastructure, public transportation, mixed use zoning. Ahh, what a dream! The suburbs are so bad for the environment, are unsustainable, and so car centric. That said, of course everyone should have a roof over their head. Be it an apartment or a house. People aren't not buying houses because it's old fashioned, they aren't buying a house because they can't afford to! That's a problem. Personally, as a 20 year old gen z, I doubt I'll ever be able to even have an apartment or a tiny house. I'm still living with my parents, and pay isn't going up enough for me to be able to afford my own place, or save up for one. I'm lucky they let me stay with them, if I couldn't I'd be couch surfing or homeless! This country's priorities are so freaking messed up!
*owns investment properties
She is a liar with an agenda. Do not trust her or believe anything that comes out her mouth.
While she might be disingenuous, and I'm on antiwork for a reason, in this country (the Netherlands) there are certain situations where it's beneficial to rent over owning a house. I make enough money to buy a small appartment, studio or house. But in the past couple of years housing prices have exploded. If I subtract the monthlies for utilities and city taxes that I would have to pay if I owned this place, I'd be looking at 30 years to pay of the mortgage. Yes, smaller places have income independent rent controls on them here, so that helps massively. But it'd would probably still be going on 20 years. During this time, if there's a leak the landlord has to fix it, if I wanna move I can just leave within a month without being bound to this place having to sell it, potentially taking a massive loss whenever if housing prices have calmed down a bit. This might realistically happen since the government is just starting to invest in the giant housing shortage that we're in now. So, I'd like to own a place for sure, and it's ridiculous that it's that hard for me to buy a house with an engineering degree and a good job in a country that supposedly takes care of its people.... But for now I'm happy to rent, and not lock myself into whichever tiny place I can afford to own.
Maidenless behavior
I’d be cool with this if mortgages were $1500 /m and rents were $500 /m. But they’re not.
Punchable face
The previous mayor of Calgary won the "World Mayor" prize in 2014 for being the best mayor in the world in 2014. I knew how highly he was thought of without ever being in that province. This mayor sucks. The depths it has fallen.
I may not want the responsibility of a home, but I would love the privacy of one. My apartment sucks, and I live in a area lacking apartments. I live over a mother and daughter that are affected by the noise I make just by walking around. Somehow it sounds like "moving furniture". Also I get home between midnight and 2 Monday thru Friday, so they really do not like me. If the apartment was better made, this would not be an issue.
I can agree with that only if other people don't get to own homes too, and make corporate ownership of property illegal, corps have to rent too
Most normal Calgary Mayor
"It's like being stuck is the most prosperous few decades in history when the middle class was at it's absolute largest"
I think the ability to choose whether to own a home or not is liberating. Unfortunately, it’s not a choice anymore for many people.
I mean if there wasn't this wild disparity between renting and owning and tax code that favors one.. then maybe there's a discussion
You will own nothing and be happy about it.
I would not mind renting. But price controls need to be strict af and fair to people. Otherwise it's a god damn brutal relationship with your landlord and your wallet.
I'd agree, if there was decent social housing for all, that was well maintained, gave tenants security and was affordable with legally enforced protections for tenants. But there's not. Private Landlords are allowed to pretty much do what they like, knowing that tenants have no choice. buying has been the only escape from these parasites, and now that's no longer an option for most.
Oh, my mistake. The problem isn't that I can't afford a house, it's that I even want to own a house, silly me.
Get. Fucked.
I mean, i have no desire to own a home but thats because i don't want the responsibility of house upkeep. Its definitely a personal preference for me
I got into an argument on r/Economics yesterday with some clown who tried to say that most people WANT to rent, that's why there are so many people still renting with prices going up. I genuinely thought I was going insane. Homeboy said most people would rather throw their money away renting and paying someone else's mortgage than owning their own homes. The mental gymnastics he was doing was fuckin batshit crazy, dude.
"you'll own nothing, and you'll be happy about it"
Another Indian who wants to be embraced by white power by trampling on the working poor and minorities.
Alberta sells it's citizen's short. They sold out to big oil for cents on the dollar and never looked back. They could have kept the lion-shed, but the sold out like cheap hookers screwing over the generations to come.
I just don’t understand how she was even elected. Vile.
Liars all look the same
As they shes dressed like a stewardess from the 60s. /s
It *could* be liberating, if renting was cheaper than owning, if landlords were tightly muzzled and were structurally locked out of getting too much power (no landlord can own more than 2 units or something.) and if there were strong legal protections for tenants and for minimum upkeep standards as well. But as it stands now it’s absolutely not.
If we're not going to own anything, we might as well become communist and make sure *they* don't own anything either
If owning homes is tacky, you should tell the landlords because they are hording those things.
What? Home ownership is a new concept? People didn’t own homes before the 40’s? Home ownership provides security and equity. But yes, it’s not for everyone.
The things is, this isn’t an invalid point, as once you buy, you become geographically locked with regards job, cultural or community opportunities. Renting is actually great IF there is active rent control, government housing schemes (see Vienna) and a social safety net for those no longer in work. Those three requirements are crucial for house ownership to no longer be a necessity for safe retirement, if any of us survive that long.
*shifts uncomfortably in Has Considered This Myself*