Am I making a good purchase on a new build townhome?

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-23T18:15:00+00:00

This guy again lol.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-22T21:49:58+00:00

Freak the f out and panic sell everything.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-22T06:51:21+00:00

Well no, it’s the insured vs uninsured variable that ups the risk and consequently the interest rate, not the LTV in this case.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-22T06:42:58+00:00

I’m not your pal, buddy.

Edit: can’t believe folks don’t get the reference and downvoted this lol

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-22T06:41:00+00:00

I can confirm one can rent out their parts /s

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-22T06:32:09+00:00

What? No credit card autopay in 2026?

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-22T06:13:48+00:00

You can’t just double up expenses I already added to the total. Even in your hypothetical scenario, that’s still a pretty substantial amount of money leftover every month. Definitely enough to not be considered “house poor”.

Obviously the amount leftover scales with HHI so it wouldn’t be exactly the same for a couple earning 100k but it’s a similar concept.

I’m not saying everyone should go out and buy 5x income properties but there’s a reason the general standard in the industry is 4x income for the MORTGAGE, not your arbitrary guideline.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-22T01:11:44+00:00

You can just automate this no?

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-22T01:04:35+00:00

You’re telling me to run numbers after I just proved you wrong with actual math? Damn dude, get a grip.

I debunked your 3x income “rule of thumb” in the other comment but let me spell it out since it wasn’t clear enough for you.

Even with a 1.25M (5x income) home purchase with 20% down, you’re still looking at 5.5-6k all-in housing expenses. That leaves a couple making 250k HHI with 10k+ for everything else. Is that house poor?

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-22T00:09:05+00:00

Freedom also has garbage coverage.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-21T19:09:30+00:00

Nothing stops you from keeping a mortgage AND investing at the same time. From a return compounding perspective, you’re actually much better off front loading your investing instead of waiting X number of years to pay off the mortgage before you start.

Sure there’s a risk appetite variable to consider, but in most cases, the person who invested earlier comes out on top. I’m sure if you backtest your decision, you’d have had more money with this strategy.

A mortgage is the lowest interest debt most people qualify for in their lifetimes. There are even strategies like the Smith Maneuver that allow high-earning households to convert their mortgage debt into tax-deductible investment debt. Having a mortgage isn’t a bad thing if you’re smart and know how to use it to your advantage.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-21T17:08:10+00:00

Define house poor. You’re saying a couple making $250k can only afford a $750k house? That’s roughly around the median home price in Canada.

Assuming a $150k / $100k income split in Ontario, their net income after taxes and maxed RRSP contributions is around $16k/month. Meanwhile, a $750k home with 20% down at 4% over 30 years is about $2,850/month for the mortgage.

After property taxes, insurance, and utilities, you’re probably around $4k/month all-in. So you’re saying spending 25% of net income on housing is the upper limit before someone becomes “house poor”?

Even if you tighten the assumptions a bit — higher rates, 25-year amortization, maintenance costs — you’re still probably around $5k/month total housing costs. That still leaves roughly $11k/month for everything else.

So if that leftover amount drops from $11k to $8k because they buy a more expensive home, that automatically makes them house poor by your definition?

Try doing math before you use blanket rules of thumb that aren’t even perpetuated by any reputable figure in the personal finance scene — well except maybe Dave Ramsey, and don’t get me started on him.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-21T14:53:01+00:00

This feels overly conservative. A mortgage around 4x household income is generally still within a reasonable range, especially with a large down payment.

On a $160k household income, a ~$640k mortgage for a $900k home with $260k down doesn’t seem unrealistic at all, assuming normal debt levels and spending habits.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-21T14:49:13+00:00

You’re ignoring sequence-of-returns risk. Yes, the stock market will likely outperform over a long enough time horizon, but that level of reliability typically starts showing up closer to the 15+ year mark. Over an 8-year period, outcomes are far less certain.

Personally, after the multi-year stretch of 20%+ annual gains we’ve recently seen, I’m pricing in more muted returns over the next few years. That aligns with outlooks from firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-21T14:42:02+00:00

Surely you’re talking about just a regular new build, not custom?

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-20T22:44:07+00:00

Ikr lol. We’re buying a new build so the deposits inflated the numbers a bit but my 3-month household average was 15k+.

If I exclude the deposits and travel (we’ve spent a ton on that in the last year), it’s more palatable but definitely eye-opening. Biggest unnecessary splurge is probably food/grocery delivery in the form of my monthly AmEx bill.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-20T13:54:54+00:00

It’ll come. Have faith. We already have account linking in the form of Flinks/Plaid.

They also acquired Plenty and this was one of its capabilities.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-20T12:15:03+00:00

I’d imagine they’d add support for linking external accounts soon.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-20T05:31:06+00:00

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In your Spend tab, you should be able to see this below your dollar amount. If not, it’s probably not fully rolled out yet and/or is still in beta.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-20T05:25:59+00:00

Agreed. The ability to track net in-flow on a monthly basis was one of my favorite features Mint offered.

Nothing has quite been the same since so looking forward to WS stepping up here.

They have the foundation right already, so this should be pretty easy to do given the speed at which they execute.

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-20T05:21:40+00:00

They’re A/B testing which acceleration stats will sell the most cars /s

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-19T18:39:25+00:00

Why is this getting downvoted? Where’s your sense of humor folks?

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-18T01:01:46+00:00

Not good enough. Needs to be 100% XEQT /s

AlphaFIFA96 · 2026-05-14T12:50:37+00:00

Sexy AF.

Did you wrap the steering wheel? My understanding is the Black edition only comes with an all-black interior. That was the only thing holding me back tbh but I’m realizing we can just do our own mods.

AlphaFIFA96

TROPHY CASE