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Friday Free-for-all! November 20th 2015

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155 Comments

Well, well, well…

you made it to the end of another work week and that means it’s time for another Friday Free-for-all here on VCI!

This is our regular end of the week news round up and open topic discussion thread for the weekend.

Here are a few recent links to kick off the chat:

–2 more years of price gains?
–Will we get some good mexican restaurants?
–Million dollar Canmore
–‘Millennial blindness’
–Wealthy oasis with slowing economy
–Teck to shed 1000 jobs here
–Lofty prices in historical context
–20% drop would be ‘devastating’
–

So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!

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Hamsteronwheel

@150

Squeak

Do you get a pension?

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ostritch

Squeak,

Please take your holidays and take care of yourself otherwise who will do it if not you? And then there will be no one to take care of anyone. You will just join us in the queue of waiting to be seen.

I wish you people in healthcare would speak up more in the media. This is the biggest crisis we are facing. There is nothing left in the system. I only know this because I have family working in healthcare too.

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trackback

[…] Southseacompany linked to this article: Why are Canadian mortgage rates rising? […]

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say whaaaa?

@150

Seriously though, you’re a true hero. Thank you (and please consider relocating to somewhere you’ll be appreciated and can have a reasonable standard of living).

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say whaaaa?

@150

But think of all the great ethnic restaurants the current system has enabled. Mmm, dim sum.

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squeak

“Airbnb works in Vancouver very well and is a big part of the problem. Friend in Yaletown gets about $11k a month for her 2 bedroom on Airbnb in Yaletown. She hasn’t bothered to have a real job in a couple of years now…” Wooow….Imagine getting 11 k for renting out an apartment.. $11k, how nice. per month. How was my day at work? Oh well..no meal breaks, did sneak a super quick potty break. Dealt with difficult families that don’t understand that we are already over worked and every second counts, please don’t waste my time with chit chat (that is a thing of the past), worked overtime and not paid for it of course. Yes, will work xmas and new years, despite pleas of having a seriously ill family member. Have vacation time, but not given time off… Read more »

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tedeastside

if you’re rich in Cali you can chill courtside with Jack Nicholson watching Kobe and the Lakers

if you’re rich in vancouver you can sit on a bench in Stanley Park and look at some trees..

what would you rather do

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Bear Vancouverite

@Hamsteronwheel “Tedeastside. Your anecdotes (though they rarely vary) do amuse me. However on this one you are wrong. Airbnb works in Vancouver very well and is a big part of the problem. Friend in Yaletown gets about $11k a month for her 2 bedroom on Airbnb in Yaletown. She hasn’t bothered to have a real job in a couple of years now…” I had a friend come to Vancouver 2 years ago for a business trip. He’s based out of SF and is in the tech industry. His friends came down with him and they rented an Airbnb at a cost of ~$1200/day so they could party and then head out to Whistler where they also rented a nice place on Airbnb. I expressed surprise at the cost, and he told me after he returned to Cali that it was… Read more »

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Bear Vancouverite

@133

“I rent a three bedroom top floor in east van 1600. Our friends are moving out of there whole house two bedroom. Offered it to us they are paying 1250 also east van. We said no because our next move is out of Vancouver.”

Why would you leave Vancouver if you are paying such low rent? Your landlord is literally subsidizing your living cost.

Where would you move to, and what would the rent, and housing costs be in the new location?

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Laibach

@136

“And why is the rich guy willing to let his health deteriorate and taking chances with complications when he’s got other options?”

Because guy is a cheap, opportunistic asshole.

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Shut It Down Already

Hamster, I hope your friend is completing those Form K’s, paying the move-in/out fees as per the bylaws, has adequate insurance, and is declaring for income tax purposes. Or do people only assume that foreigners don’t play by the rules?

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southseacompany

“Rising mortgage rates could put damper on housing market”, Globe & Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rising-mortgage-rates-could-put-damper-on-housing-market/article27466110/ “Mortgage rates are on the rise in Canada, a trend that could cool the housing market even as the economy struggles to recover from the effects of low oil prices.” “Lenders have already begun boosting their mortgage rates from their September lows. Five-year, fixed-rate mortgages, which represent the largest share of Canadian mortgages, have risen by as much as 20 basis points in the past two months as Canadian government bond yields have moved higher. ” “While the increases are small, they represent a significant reversal from the trend that has shaped the mortgage market for much of the year. Mortgage rates plunged to historic lows on the heels of two Bank of Canada interest rate cuts in January and July, helping to boost national resale home… Read more »

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Hamsteronwheel

Tedeastside. Your anecdotes (though they rarely vary) do amuse me. However on this one you are wrong. Airbnb works in Vancouver very well and is a big part of the problem. Friend in Yaletown gets about $11k a month for her 2 bedroom on Airbnb in Yaletown. She hasn’t bothered to have a real job in a couple of years now…

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southseacompany

“Housing prices expected to cool starting in 2016 and beyond: TD”, BNN

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2015/11/24/Housing-prices-expected-to-cool-starting-in-2016-and-beyond-TD-.aspx

“Housing prices are expected to cool starting next year – with the biggest hit coming to homeowners in B.C. and Ontario, TD Economics predicts.”

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Oracle

Dentist offering service to 5 yr old refugee is a lead story on huffington post.

Wonder if that dentists works for free on the homeless or poor. Not likely.

Dentists are going to make a killing as refugees get 100% dental benefits.

Loot Canada.

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History

http://astrologyking.com/han-star/

The Sun joins Han on December 1

Fixed star Han, Zeta Ophiuchi, is an enormous star near the left knee of the Serpent Holder, Ophiuchus Constellation. The traditional name Han comes from the Chinese state of Han, 韓. The star ζ Ophiuchi itself is called 天市右垣十一, Tiān Shì Yòu Yuán shíyī, which means the Eleventh Star of Right Wall of Heavenly Market Enclosure.

Fixed star Han is of the nature of Saturn and Venus. It brings trouble and disgrace.

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tedeastside

Airbnb might work in actual tourist destinations like SF, London and Rome
but Vancouver is a pathetic backwater that wishes it was a destination

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VanRant

@136
Canada needs immigrants who gives not takes, thats why I am for banning HAMs altogether.

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paulb

New
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Sold
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TI:9319

http://www.paulboenisch.com

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space889

– Uhm…isn’t that what every major corp is doing? Global wage arbitrage? I mean if you have two equally good plumbers who can reno your master bath, one charges $100/hr and the other charges $50/hr, why would you hire the $100/hr guy?

And why is the rich guy willing to let his health deteriorate and taking chances with complications when he’s got other options? Just to save some $$? That doesn’t make sense.

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VanRant

Talked to a rich HAM. He said, why would he set up a factory in Canada, over in China, he is paying his foreman $300 cdn/month. Meanwhile in Canada, he is waiting for his free surgery. Suckers we are!

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ChinaOne

We need more money for child poverty in Richmond. We qualify for more we have no income in Canada. We need money to heat our $4 million home so no left over.

Money back home off limits. We bring with Union Pay hehe. You touch then you racist.

Raise child benefit rate for us. You worker need more tax to pay.

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Funkey monkey

I rent a three bedroom top floor in east van 1600. Our friends are moving out of there whole house two bedroom. Offered it to us they are paying 1250 also east van. We said no because our next move is out of Vancouver.

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space889

– According to the bears & rental experts on this blog, yes people do pay that but only the moron and idiots.

The smart bears here do their homework, prep their cases on just what a dream tenants they are, know just how close to financial disaster the amateur landlords are, and how to twist their balls into accepting their lower bully counter-offer with a smile. Most of the bears are renting the main & top floors of Van West SFH and whole houses in Burnaby for that amount apparently.

Oh yeah, I guess dangling some carrots about staying long term, locust & Asian invasion apparently helps too.

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space889

– Given that most of them can go to any EU country at any time without any visa or immigrations or work permit issues, and cheaply, it’s little wonder they don’t come to Canada and deal with all the entry hassles and wait – 1 to 3 years wait is common.

And I second your wish for more Dutch & Scandavian women 200%. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the Asian women, but variety is spice of life, and most of them lack the tall volturous look and attitude.

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