STFU!!!
This was a pretty productive thread minus the entire last page. FWIW, I have been a lot like Jason for most of my life... I've always rented, not because I couldn't afford a mortgage, but because I could invest my capital and earn a better return than I could on real estate. The bonus on top of that was that I was also always able to live in nicer places than I could afford.
To take an example, my current place in Woodwards. I'm in Gastown, 38th floor, 900sqft, 2BR unit looking straight at the water with
the kind of view that basically takes girls clothes off for you.
Rent = $2200/month
To buy, a reasonable expectation is to pay about $675k for this unit.
Assuming 20% down and 2.99% mortgage, this is going to cost you: $136,000 cash for the down payment, another $10k for transfer tax and legal fees. For round numbers, you need $150,000 cash in your bank account. Then on top of this, you are looking at a best case mortgage payment of $2313 over 30 years, then you add $412 for strata fees and $240 for property tax.
Own = $150k cash, $2965/month
You would need to expect that this property is going to appreciate at 6% per year to just break EVEN let alone earn an actual return on your money.
There's no way in the world I could justify buying this unit at these prices!
Mark