Quick move?

[ironphoenix]

Tomorrow, soul_diaspora are going to look very seriously at a townhouse in Kanata, and we might even sign. It's about a mile and a half from where I work.

It's a bit... scary? exhilarating? Both?

Advice welcome!

Comments

[metawidget]

Get a house inspector to take a look (you can make your offer conditional on an inspection); it costs $200-300, but it's worth it to get an idea of what you'll need to do to take care of the place in the years to come.

Walk around the neighbourhood while you're out there and try and pick up the vibe. Look inside the shops.

Also, variable-rate mortgages are your friend.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

*nods* Thanks!

You favor var-rate mortgages, so you don't think the prime rate will go up fast either, eh?

[metawidget]

250-300 basis points is a huge gap unlikely to close soon, and you're only committing to the variable rate for five years, usually. Even if the variable rate surpasses today's fixed rate in 2-3 years, you will have saved great gobs of cash in the meantime.

[ziggy-b.livejournal.com]

You can also switch from variable to fixed if rates start to look worrisome, but you can't go the other way. I can understand choosing the fixed rate if finances are tight and a person wants peace of mind by avoiding the risk, but if it's a matter of logic and numbers then go with variable. I went with fixed the first time (because of peace of mind) and variable the second, and I have no regrets for either choice but from now on I'll always choose variable. You'll always get speculative warnings of changes in fixed rates and can change over to fixed within minutes so there really isn't much risk.