Post: #1

I am in my 40's with no real attachments.

I have a company pension from my former job, it is worth a paltry $20K and is increasing slowly. If I leave it I will get $330 per month when I retire at age 65 or 67, not sure but then again age of retirement might be age 70 or more by then.

My question is - do I take the money and transfer it into a RRSP (401K)?

Do I buy property in our over-inflated real estate market? Toronto.

What would you suggest?

Post: #2

don't buy a condo in toronto, there is enough demand to fill the next 5 years...

Post: #3

Can you buy real estate in the U.S.? The housing market and interest rates are down right now, so I think it's a good time to buy, especially if you're willing to hold a property for 10 + years.

Post: #4

(02-19-2012 11:51 PM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  Can you buy real estate in the U.S.? The housing market and interest rates are down right now, so I think it's a good time to buy, especially if you're willing to hold a property for 10 + years.

I am not sure but the economic future for the USA looks kind of bleek, no!

If I take the money out then I am taxed on it as income.

Post: #5

(02-20-2012 12:17 AM)rudebwoy Wrote:  

(02-19-2012 11:51 PM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  Can you buy real estate in the U.S.? The housing market and interest rates are down right now, so I think it's a good time to buy, especially if you're willing to hold a property for 10 + years.

I am not sure but the economic future for the USA looks kind of bleek, no!

If I take the money out then I am taxed on it as income.

I'm sure there might be ways around it. I have some people in finance that I can arrange to meet up with you to give you some sound advice on what to do with your money.
I'll hit you up with the details.
In terms of buying real estate in Toronto, why not buy something in Ajax or somewhere out of Toronto where you get more bang for your buck?
It seems buying property in Toronto would have been better done before this huge swarm of people.
I also know a dude who I go lizard hunting with who does well with real estate. He can advice you where to actually put your money down.
Again, I'll hit you up with the details.

Post: #6

How long are you planning to live? Seriously, is there a "aw fuck it age" beyond which you will embrace the end? Any history of heart disease and similar should also be taken into account.

When you hit your pension you will earn those 20k "back" in 3 years. If you think you'll live a lucid to74 you made a 200% gain.

Post: #7

(02-20-2012 02:15 AM)Vicious Wrote:  How long are you planning to live? Seriously, is there a "aw fuck it age" beyond which you will embrace the end? Any history of heart disease and similar should also be taken into account.

When you hit your pension you will earn those 20k "back" in 3 years. If you think you'll live a lucid to74 you made a 200% gain.

Well I know it is silly but the "aw fuck it age" is 50, but based on my family history I have another 50 years to go. lol I see no reason why I should not live until 74 at least, my old man is turning 70 this year and he does not have a wrinkle.

So I guess you are saying, take the money!

Post: #8

Take the money and see what you can do with it.

Too many 'what if's' waiting for retirement.

Post: #9

I don't know about the Toronto real estate market, but I know that the Vancouver real estate bubble is due to pop. Probably similar.

Post: #10

Whatever you do, do not buy real estate in TO. Instead, think of investing in places that are booming and where you would see yourself enjoy living. What I'd suggest you, is keep putting as much as you can into your retirement account for the next 2-3 years while you take small mini retirements of 1-2 months in various places around the world that you would enjoy living. The goal of those mini retirements will be to get a taste of living in those places while keeping your eyes and ears open for opportunities and getting a feel of the place. Whichever place you like the most, spend more time there, at least 6 months before pulling the trigger and buying something. Places I would suggest are Bangkok, Brazil (2nd and 3rd tier cities like Joao Pessoa, Belo Horizonte, Sao Luis), even the south of Spain provided you have a bigger budget for your real estate investment but the living there is not as expensive as one might think while the quaity is pretty good. Colombia would be another good option. Same for Uruguay. But these are all general suggestions. You will have to do some soul searching to come up with your own short list of places and then, start spending time in each of them. But whatever you do, forget TO for all the obvious reasons. The Philippines is another excellent region, specially in Davao or Cebu.

What you want in your selection is a place that's easy on the eye, good weather, first class amenities or easy and cheap access to them when needed, abundance of feminine women not poisoned by the feminazi poison and an overal cheap cost of living. At least thats' my criterias for selecting a place. Hope this helps amigo.

Post: #11

VP - I agree with you in regards to buying property (condo) in Toronto, I have been waiting to long for this bubble to burst and pretty sure this will not be my retirement spot.
I do love Europe but as we know it can be a bit expensive to live in.
I am interested in Brazil, not just for the women but the culture. I have always wanted to go since I was a little child, it just seems like a colourful place.
What would the cost be in these 2nd/3rd tier cities? Housing etc.

Post: #12

20k is a small amount to get into the real estate game. Even with minimum 5% down, max u could afford is 400k. Then you would have to be cool with carrying that mortgage

As for outside Canada, you would need to have local intel or you would get screwed

I still say take the Money and run but need to consider other vehicles for your money. If bent on real estate maybe need a few partners on a project

Post: #13

Start playing the financial markets, baby-steps.

I would not get into real-estate. Real-estate requires time, patience and MAINTENANCE. It's a pain in the butt and politicians and bankers greedily exacerbate real estate bubbles for their own sinister reasons. You CAN make money off of it, but the headache is NOT worth it.

It's not the 90's-00's anymore, everyone is indebted to the hilt so I doubt past retursn on r/e will be the same going forward. Really, really doubt it.

If you want mobility, which i think should be a goal in and of itself, start playing the financial markets, baby steps. Read up on your daily newspaper business sections, read the economist, get a feel for the currents and the times and follow your local stockmarket.

I am personally broke and strapped for acsh precisely because I bought in appartment. But with the little money I did invest I made over 20% in a month. And I'm a beginner. Had to use that money to hire help renovating the apartment - otherwise I would've made 200% in three months.

Post: #14

(02-21-2012 11:17 PM)ElJefe Wrote:  Start playing the financial markets, baby-steps.

I would not get into real-estate. Real-estate requires time, patience and MAINTENANCE. It's a pain in the butt and politicians and bankers greedily exacerbate real estate bubbles for their own sinister reasons. You CAN make money off of it, but the headache is NOT worth it.

It's not the 90's-00's anymore, everyone is indebted to the hilt so I doubt past retursn on r/e will be the same going forward. Really, really doubt it.

If you want mobility, which i think should be a goal in and of itself, start playing the financial markets, baby steps. Read up on your daily newspaper business sections, read the economist, get a feel for the currents and the times and follow your local stockmarket.

I am personally broke and strapped for acsh precisely because I bought in appartment. But with the little money I did invest I made over 20% in a month. And I'm a beginner. Had to use that money to hire help renovating the apartment - otherwise I would've made 200% in three months.

Thanks but you made 20% in a month, you cannot make that anywhere else. Please tell me more?

When you say the financial markets do you mean stock market, I am opposed to this completely.

Post: #15

Stock market, money market, you name it. Check out Entropy's thread.

I'm not advocating going in blind. But I think the time you spend educating yourself will earn you great rewards. With real estate, I suspect the good days are long gone AND the amount of effort in maintenance real estate takes is just exhausting, unless you pay for that shit, which is expensive.

I made 20% when the stock market where I lived tanked by oct 2011 - to me, it was an obvious over-reaction. So I went long in a super-trashed stock - all the analysts had targets at least twice the spot price. I rode it for the first few weeks, but had to sell to pay for renovating my apartment (see the irony?). A month after I sold, the stock jumped 100% in two weeks.

The stock market has risen drastically the past few weeks, but I think this reflects reality better. Pessimism is being replaced by optimism in the US, for sure, so it's good to be long, i'd say.

Post: #16

For transparency, I would prefer Real Estate in a heart beat.

I don't understand the stock market and therefore limit my exposure to it. If you think you understand it, that's different.

With the impending default of Greece, more reason to be cautious.

While Toronto condo market in particularly the higher end is at risk of a correction, getting a rental property that has positive cash flow (servicing your debt) in a smaller place like hamilton, orangeville etc etc is never a bad move. In that situation, you have income covering all expenses so less concerned about market fluctuations. You can hold onto that as long as you like and unload when the market is right.

Post: #17

Rudeboy,
Cost of living in the 2nd and 3rd tier cities in Brasil are a lot lower than say in Rio or SP where the cost of living is as high or even higher than TO or even NYC. Provided you learn the lingo and want to build a social circle, in a 2nd tier city in Brasil, I'd say 3-4k/month would give you a very nice lifestyle. In a 3rd tier city, make that 2-3k/month. By nice lifestyle, I mean nice pad, in decent area of town, going out 4-5 times a week, eating out most of the time, going to a nice beach/or travel to nearby place once a month alone or with a girlfriend. A few years ago, a friend of mine, she bought a nice penthouse in the heart of downtown Curitiba for about 72k Reais or about 45k$. I'm sure if one were to pound the streets heavy and build a solid social network of trustworthy local friends, you could find similar deals in the 50-60k range without a problem in those 2nd and 3rd tier cities.

Agreed with Bixx on the stock market, if you understand it well, get into it, if not, don't get seduced by a smooth talker to get into it. The only winner would be him unless a total fluke. A much better alternative is real estate. When I was living in BKK and LOS, I saw a lot of condos starting at 1M Bahts (about 30k$). I'd reckon with 40-50k, you could get yourself a nice pad in a good part of BKK no problem. Spend an extra 5-10k and you can have it fully furnished and pimped really nice. My plan is to pay off my mortgage in TO in the next 3-4 years and then, start buying places in different parts of the world such as Brasil, Thailand, south of France, south of Spain etc...and then, get the hell out of this s.hole once and for good!

Post: #18

Trading the financial markets is hard. Exceptionally challenging and incredibly fustrating....until you've mastered it; after that, it then becomes very fulfilling...this year, i should cross the $500k barrier....before you get excited about that number, think about this: i have worked an insane, and i mean, an insane amount of hours to get this close. Hard to imagine that i started all this in 2006 just after university with only $1,053...but getting to that level where you are consistently profitable is going to be years of hard, laborous, almost Sisyphean task. It is pure mental pain. It is not for the faint of heart. Unless you are made of sterner stuff....please, stay the fuck away...you will end up giving your money to the brokers, the market markers and counter-parties to your trade, who ever they happens to be.

***if you know what you are doing...especially, trading the bonds and currency market...the situation in euro/greece is good stuff. really good stuff for my account balance.*** e.g. How i went about profiting from the disaster in japan after fukushima.


anyways...i leave you with this video:

Post: #19

Take it out and invest it in multiple ETF's (including Emerging Markets ETFs)
A REIT or two
& Gold.

Whatever you do, don't go in fixed income.