May 17

Star 3, Truth 0

The descent into media hell continues. Not long ago the nation’s biggest paper, the Toronto Star, announced a 65% plunge…

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May 16

Soft Landing, Part Deux

Two months ago a work crew screwed cement board onto the front of a mid-town Toronto semi, then glued face…

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May 15

Soft Landing

If I wasn’t such a rube, I’d swear there was a conspiracy. Break out the tin foil. What a coincidence. The…

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May 14

Why Life Isn’t Fair

I have a little test for you. Apply for a mortgage on these terms. You have enough cash on hand in…

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May 13

The Man Who Loved Short

Alicia has a problem. She finds me uncle-ly. “Hi Uncle Garth – Yes that’s what my husband and I think of…

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May 12

Investing with James

Breaking news: Remember what I told you last week, that all mortgages of more than 25 years would be banned in…

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May 10

Anticipation

Shopping in the Milton Wal-Mart and get an urge for 100% financing? Call Shak. Now. (Thanks to Nick Aziz) “After a long…

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May 9

Busting The Banks

Remember when F murdered the 30-year mortgage last July? Well, it didn’t exactly happen the way the elfin deity had…

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May 8

Protection

You know the market’s in trouble when houses get the same treatment as flat screen TVs. But this is exactly…

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May 7

The Sure Thing

Two Thursdays ago Tom strode out of the yard for the last time, went home and mounted his off-white hard…

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May 6

Not Again

‘Why would you want to do that?’ I asked. Henry wasn’t expecting a question. He’d called my cell phone late…

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May 5

Hicks

We stood is a semi-circle watching the dog. Seemed like a reasonable thing to do on a day when the…

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May 3

The Gospel Of Buy

Gregg says he’s been arguing with a real estate agent friend in Vancouver, “who is absolutely convinced that residential real…

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May 2

Star 2, Truth 0

“Christina Cleveland was feeling overwhelmed by the process of buying her first home.” So began a feature story in the Toronto…

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May 1

Choices

Most Canadians are in questionable financial shape. Most of them are responsible for this. Almost none will admit it. This…

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Apr 30

Gen Homeless

It was 2004. Three years after Nine Eleven, four years past the dot-com bust. Nobody in Miami or Vegas or…

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Apr 26

All in this together

A brief follow-up on the woman starring in yesterday’s post. Kerri-Lynn McAlister is an exec at an online company selling…

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Apr 24

The New Eden

“They sure had some interesting things to say about you.” The two investment bank dudes from NYC sat across from me…

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Apr 23

Seriously?

The world, of course, is nuts. Savings accounts paying a quarter of one per cent. Houses people can’t afford. Mortgages…

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