B.C. condo owner says soaring interest rates forcing him to sell
He doesn’t want to move. He just doesn’t think there’s another option. South Surrey resident Adam Cantor has lived in the same condo for 14 years.
“It’s been fantastic,” he said. “Anything and everything you want is within walking distance.”
But last week, Cantor put his place on the market after learning his payments will soon double.
“Selling for me right now is realistically, the only option in order to not take my entire pay cheque,” he explained.
Cantor said his fixed five-year mortgage is coming up for renewal in January and though he’s going through a divorce, he was able to make payments until the rates increased significantly. That increase, he said, will mean going from paying about $1,900 a month to almost $4,000 on a mortgage for the same term.
“It was shocking to kind of know what I would have to pay in order to stay in a place that I’ve been here for so long,” he told CTV News.
He said he looked at getting a roommate, but worried about a budget that left him financially dependant on a tenant to make ends meet.
Mortgage planner Sharon Davis believes that while everyone’s situation is different, it’s important to seek professional advice and weigh all options.
“It’s going to be tough for the next short while, but you know, it’s not going to be tough forever,” Davis said, explaining that homeowners may need to take a closer look at their monthly budgets.
“Do you have a car payment that maybe could be reduced? Could you maybe consolidate some lines of credit, some credit cards?” she asked.
“If you can save a little bit here and a little bit there, it might make your payment not as bad as it feels,” she explained.
She said some clients are looking at short-term rates.
“We are expecting, in the next couple years, that rates are going to come back into check. They’re not going to stay at these highs for this very long period of time,” Davis said.
As for Cantor, he wants to have enough left over each month to go out with friends and family or take a vacation.
So once he sells, he expects to become a renter and potentially move further out for lower cost housing until he can afford to buy again.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.