Conquering Fear: An Independent Woman’s Story
By Angie Oliveira
I’d like to think that I’m an independent person, somebody who will try to do things once before asking others for help. I guess this is the stubbornness in me, but I firmly believe that you have to learn to take care of yourself before you let others take care of you.
I’m always dispensing this advice to my friends, my married sisters and especially my mom, who I think relies heavily on my dad. My relationship with my boyfriend is no exception. I bought a house before so I could live on my own, and the boy moved to England to pursue his dream to teach aboard.
Since then I’ve learned to kill ugly bugs and sleep in an old creaky house. I rarely play the damsel in distress act because I hate to appear weak, but there are certain things that I just can’t deal with, specifically mice.
Mice issues are inevitable especially when you live in an older neighbourhood in Toronto and are doing some kind of renovation. The problem first reared its ugly head when I started to gut the basement.
At that time the tenant upstairs had a huge amount of mice in her apartment and the current noise electronic rodent repellent devices weren’t just cutting it. It really didn’t affect me since I was still living in my parent’s cushy suburban home.
A rodent expert was called and the mice issue appeared to have dissipated by the time I moved in. The boy was living with me for 3 months and not a mouse in sight; that was of course until he moved abroad.
Once I found 2 mice stuck on glue traps in the basement. I called my dad in a panic who instructed that I had to cover them with a bucket just in case they broke free. I had to give myself a pep talk just to muster enough courage to do that. After a couple of “I can’t do this,” in a tone that should only be reserved for six-year olds, I finally screamed and quickly threw the bucket over the traps.
My parents cannot understand why I would be afraid of such a small thing as a mouse. My answer is exactly the same as to why my mother won’t drive on the highway, or why my father won’t stand in a body of water that is more than knee deep. It’s our phobia.
My dad is quick to remind me that mice are tiny creatures who “will never run to you, they will always run away from you”. Yes, I understand they are harmless, but they still creep the hell out of me.
I once again had to face my fear. I woke up to the sound of a mouse that was caught in a black box trap sitting in the corner of my bedroom.
It was 1:30am, I panicked and I had a “why-the-hell-did-my-boyfriend-leave-me?” moment. Yes, this so-called independent person is now wishing her boyfriend was around to help her. What else was a girl to do, so I called my dad. I had two options, cover the trap with a bucket to muffle the sound or move to the next room.
Realizing the noise wasn’t going to end, I did what any normal independent girl would do in my situation. I got up, moved to the next room and went to bed with my fingers in my ears.
I can deal with a mice problem, but it doesn’t mean I have to face it head on.
When does my boyfriend come back?
Home Is Where Her Heart Is
By Kathryn Haley
TD Canada Trust has conducted polls for women home owners for 3 years. Here are the findings of the latest survey according to the TD Canada Trust website.
Home is where her heart is: 3rd annual TD Canada Trust Women and Home Ownership Poll reveals the growing importance of having a place to call your own
TORONTO, January 20, 2010 – Although financial security continues to top the list of home ownership benefits, the comforts of home are increasingly important to Canadian women. According to the third annual TD Canada Trust Women and Home Ownership Poll, which surveyed women who have purchased a home independently, key features of home ownership, including being able to renovate to suit individual tastes and having a garden, are now more essential to Canadian women than they were in 2008.
When asked to describe the best things about home ownership, Canadian women said it is about making a house a home. Having a place of their own (34%), being able to decorate or renovate the way they want (34%) and having a backyard or garden (32%) were some of the responses that increased dramatically from the first survey conducted in 2008. Women had cited having a place of their own at 22%, being able to decorate or renovate the way they want at 14%, and having a backyard or garden at only 5% back in 2008.
“Even though the comforts of home have become increasingly important to women, the financial reasons for home ownership have also increased in importance,” says Chris Wisniewski, Group Product Manager, Real Estate Secured Lending, TD Canada Trust. This year 44% of women ranked financial security as the best thing about home ownership compared to 23% of a similar sample of women in 2008. Second on the list of best things about owning a home was not having to pay rent or pay other people (38% versus 13% in 2008). “It’s not surprising that the financial reasons for ownership have increased in importance for people. People are looking for ways to feel financially stable again and see home ownership as a way to build equity and invest in their future.”
The financial commitment of owning a home can be a double-edged sword; for many women home ownership offers a sense of financial security yet the financial responsibility can be a headache for others. Twenty-nine per cent of women say that the additional expenses and financial responsibility related to owning a home are their least favourite things about home ownership.
In fact, getting more advice when talking to experts and asking even more questions is something most women surveyed wished they had considered when buying their first home. When asked which topics they wish they knew more about when they purchased their home, 40% of women wished they had more knowledge about the fees and costs associated with purchasing a home, 32% wanted more information about the expected annual expense of owning a property and 30% wanted more information about mortgage options.
About the TD Canada Trust Women and Home Ownership Poll
The TD Canada Trust Women and Home Ownership Poll surveyed women 18 years of age and older from across the country, to explore home ownership behaviour among women. The survey was conducted by Angus Reid Strategies with English and French speaking Canadians using the Angus Reid Forum. The sample size includes 1,000 women who have purchased a home independently. The answers from 361 women aged 20 to 45 were used to compare to the 2008 poll which surveyed this age group exclusively.
So what do you think? Do you agree with the results? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Independent Women Understand the Benefits of Buying a Home
By Kristin Woolard
It’s becoming more and more apparent that women are increasingly taking the reins when it comes to home purchases. There is a growing trend among single women – and, more precisely, professional single women – who are becoming independent homeowners. In two recent TD Canada Trust National Polls, the results definitely support this notion.
A recent IPSOS-Reid survey focused on women aged 20-45. The poll shows that the average age of first-time buyers was 29, 82% were single women, four in five had no children and almost half had obtained a university degree.
The Home is where her heart is: 3rd annual TD Canada Trust Women and Home Ownership Poll reveals the growing importance of having a place to call your own. Chris Wisniewski, Group Product Manager, Real Estate Secured Lending at TD Canada Trust was quoted as saying, “Even though the comforts of home have become increasingly important to women, the financial reasons for homeownership have also increased in importance.”
In this late-2009 poll, 44% of women ranked financial security as the best thing about homeownership compared to 23% of a similar sample of women in 2008. Second on the list of best things about owning a home is not having to pay rent or pay other people period (38% in 2009 versus 13% in 2008).
More people are looking for ways to become financially stable again after the economic downturn of 2008, and investing in real estate and building equity for themselves are ways to invest in their future – building financial security.
Women are taking advantage of the low rates and recognizing homeownership is more affordable. For only a couple of hundred dollars more a month they can own a place of their own where they can decorate and renovate to suit their own taste or even have a garden if they so choose.
Seeking expert advice
One of the amazing things about women looking to invest in real estate is that they are getting more advice before they make the decision to enter the market. They are seeking out mortgage experts and real estate agents, and building a plan for the perfect entry into the market. They are making lists of areas in which they are interested in purchasing, itemizing amenities they would need in their ideal neighborhoods, ensuring they have all the facts around closing costs and fees associated with making the purchase, and securing a mortgage.
Buying a home is an immense decision and can feel overwhelming. The professionals you decide to use should feel right. Ask friends and family for referrals to someone they’ve used before, and take the time to interview Mortgage Brokers and Realtors to get a good sense of their professional style, experience and personality. You will be working with them closely – possibly for months – so interactions should feel comfortable, and they should be knowledgeable and responsive even to the smallest question.
The more prepared you are, the smoother the experience will be so do a little research on your own over the Internet to get a good idea of what types of properties and areas are of interest to you. Make a list of questions to ask your Broker or Realtor – and keep it on hand so you can add to it as more questions arise.
Interest rates are the lowest they’ve been in history and they are set to go up. Most industry professionals believe that when they do start to rise – as early as this July – they will go up fairly drastically. There has never been a better time for women to make the decision to get into the real estate market to find the perfect place to call home.
Kristin Woolard is a Mortgage Broker with Dominion Lending Centres BC Mortgage Group based in Port Coquitlam. She can be reached at: 604-939-8777; kwoolard@dominionlending.ca; www.kristinwoolard.ca
Saving For A Down Payment: 3 Tips to Get You Started
By Sheila Walkington
When it comes right down to it there are a lot of good financial reasons to buy a home. Not only do you build up equity every month by paying down your mortgage, but also having a mortgage free home in retirement is one of the best financial plans anyone can make. And there are a lot of very real emotional reasons why people want to own too, like wanting roots and a place that is all your own.
But, does it still make sense to buy a home? In Vancouver, prices have gone up considerably over the last 5 years. You might think that would be a deterrent, but our record low interest rates still prove to be a serious enticement to buy real estate. And, what other investment can demonstrate such a high tax free return on investment and give you shelter from the rain in the colour scheme of your choice?
There is no doubt, be it a condo apartment, a townhouse, a carriage house or a bungalow with a white picket fence, it’s a BIG investment. And it can feel like an overwhelming endeavor. It is important to remember that buying a home, particularly if it is your first, is actually the last thing you want to do – sequentially speaking. The first step is dreaming, then goal setting, followed by researching, and of course saving.
David Bach, author of Start Late, Finish Rich has a great story that illustrates the journey one man took to buy his first home. The story begins with the man giving all sorts of excuses as to why he couldn’t possibly buy a home: in debt, wife having a baby, etc. But, David challenged him and said, “What if you absolutely had to buy a house in 18 months – what would you do?” The man thought about it for a minute and said, “I guess we could move in with my wife’s dad, pay down our debt and start saving for a down payment.” As he was talking, he starting thinking, “Hey we could do that!” And so they did. Two years later they achieved what they thought was unimaginable. In reality, it was the minute the man let himself imagine it was possible that it all came together.
Moving in with your family or getting married to be able to afford a house may not be the answers that work for you, so start to think about what solutions will work for YOU. Here are some tips to get you started on the path to home ownership.
3 Tips to Get Ready to Buy
1. Set a goal: The trick is to make sure your goal is true to your heart and achievable. Something like ”I want to buy a condo in the Mount Pleasant area by Spring 2011”.
2. Make a Plan: A plan is a list of action steps you need to take to make your goal happen. For example:
· Pay down debt by December 2011
· Save enough for a 10% deposit by Spring 2012
· Make a list of priorities you want in a home (i.e. balcony, near transit, fireplace, den, etc)
· Ask for raise at work at the next review
3. Start Saving: Pretend you own a home now. If your current rent is $1,000, and you figure your mortgage., maintenance costs and property taxes would be $1,650 per month if you owned a home, then start to set aside $650 into a savings account each month to cover your “pretend” condo fees, maintenance costs, taxes etc.
If it feels too tight, that’s a very real indication that you need to make some adjustments to your spending – and you’ll know this long before you’ve signed on any dotted line.
If you can do it, in a year you will have saved $7,800 towards your down payment and you will have had plenty of practice living on the budget of a homeowner!
Sheila is a Money Coach and her aim is to motivate and educate people to take control of their finances. To discover how you can get on track with your own home buying goals, sign up for Money Matters Getting your Financial House in Order Money Coaching Package and find your own way home.
Small Is The New Big: A New Attitude For Changing Times
By Marianne Amodio
I was a renter for many years. When I moved to Vancouver, that hardwired dream of single family home ownership was socked away into the “it can never be” part of my brain and I tried to forget about it. As the years went on, that elusive dream came back again and again. Finally, I decided that if I had to vanquish the home of my dreams, well, maybe I could still get something.
I knew that I couldn’t afford a traditional home. So I went looking for something else: something old, unrenovated, even ugly. Something, that maybe, through some hard work, I could turn into a home that was truly mine. I remember when I first went through the apartment I now own; there were about 5 other people, most of whom walked away with a look a disappointment on their faces. The place was indeed ugly. It hadn’t been touched since the 1970s when it was first built. But the neighborhood was great. There was a skylight! And this old quirky functioning wood burning fireplace. I began to examine the possibilities.
Through months of stressful and rewarding renovation, I can now proudly say that my home is complete. It suits my family perfectly because all our needs were thought out and designed for. The spaces are small, but they function well and they look good. And when I take my few steps to my backyard (otherwise known as “the seawall”), I am reminded that living smarter might actually be better than living bigger. When we think of the words “custom home” we think immediately of large mansions for the wealthy; something that is perhaps out of our reach. There is no doubt that my home is a custom home: designed for me and by me.
Over the past year or so, there has been a shift in attitude that we can all feel and see. People are beginning to embrace notions of thoughtfulness, environmentalism and thinking more and more about what is enough to keep them happy. The days of excess, of the idea that bigger is better and wanting more and more has weighed on our pocketbooks and likely, on our spirits. We are in a quieter, more reflective time this is easily perceptible in how we choose to build, or the home we choose to buy. Small is the new big is a philosophy that espouses quality over quantity: that a small amount of a higher quality material is more valuable than a large amount of a cheaper material; that a small space that is designed with you and your family in mind is more valuable than an anonymous “great room” and that your surrounding community plays a large role in what we call “home”.
We are a generation caught between the new and old ways of living. Most of us grew up in houses in single family neighborhoods where the bigger car, the bigger house, the bigger tree house was indicative of status and our value as people. Now is the time to embrace the new ways of living: through creative thinking and innovative planning we can live within places of comfort, warmth and longevity. It doesn’t have to be big; it just has to be smart.
Marianne Amodio is a registered architect with the Architectural Institute of British Columbia and principal of marianne amodio architecture studio, a practice specializing in custom single family and multi-family homes, renovations, additions and laneway housing. Her website is at www.maastudio.com.
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