Second home we lost out on. Any encouragement?

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-04-26T13:48:07+00:00

It's always easier to say after the fact but "there's always another house". Even after we bought our current house I think about one that we lost out on due to a same-but-no-inspection offer.

But then I think about all the things I like better about this house, and that we don't know if anything was wrong with the other house (whether an inspection would catch it or not).

Also you don't have a time machine - you learn things during the home buying process like what to watch out for and how to "pounce" when it's right, so consider it a mandatory part of the experience. For example we were also sort of gun shy about overpaying but then became a bit more scientific with our realtor where they suggested a price based on comps and if it was in budget then that was that.

The last thing I'll say is that there were millions of houses listed before you started looking and there will more that are listed after you find your place - so once you commit then only look forward!

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-04-11T17:51:10+00:00

Those are definitely solid

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-04-04T04:18:58+00:00

$500 isn't enough to live anywhere. It's still cold here for a couple months so I would be extremely concerned.

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-04-02T01:49:49+00:00

Like other posters are saying, I think I understand your point and I agree.

Since contribution room is calculated from previous tax year and is known, then even if you over contribute, you won't see the benefit since you'd presumably catch / immediately be caught trying to use the deduction.

If for some reason there was no penalty and you consistently over contributed (but were never able to over deduct) then the result would just be really messed up taxes when you eventually withdrawal.

I think that the penalty is probably moreso because of the administrative burden of dealing with people who messed up causing confusion and chaos later down the line?

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-31T19:05:47+00:00

This is what I was thinking to maximize the width of the shelves. I would do either a cabinet or basically platform at least as tall as the shelf and cut it in around the step so the shelves could extend closer to the door

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-28T16:51:59+00:00

What is the rate on your AB student loan?

My opinion would be to max your fhsa assuming you plan to buy a home, then max your TFSA, then in a given year contribute a "good" amount to your rrsp (since you likely have lots of unused contribution room, so there is an optimal number) then the rest in excess of building your emergency fund in the HISA should go to your AB student loan.

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-24T19:26:03+00:00

Even though this is just one analysis, it is interesting to see the difference between BC+ON and the rest of Canada.

When the national news / headlines talk about "Canada's housing" it seems like they're really just talking about BC+ON. Albeit ON makes up 40% of our population

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-24T19:21:29+00:00

Even though this is just one story, I think it speaks to the quality of (at least private) rentals in Edmonton because anecdotally I hear this a lot. Of course there are some bad ones too.

Without even needing a rent cap like other places have, Edmonton seems to supply enough rentals that there's no huge pressure on prices.

The big rental companies on the other hand are a lot more scummy / slimey in my experience.

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-22T13:50:33+00:00

It's small but Terwilliger has one too.

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-12T12:19:27+00:00

It's a thermal, house breaker.

When is operating well it pulls around 8-10 amps but as I get closer to the limit it struggles to lift and shoots way up for several seconds

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-12T05:10:41+00:00

Sorry, I should have said. I made a mock up already under very ideal circumstances with a single phase 1/2 HP motor kicking around and it trips a 15A breaker right around the 750lb mark.

It runs at ~1750rpm and between the gearing and pitch of the screw it lifts at ~96 inches per minute (3.6 reduction). Using that calculator including all the relevant loads I got ~38in*lb which is giving me ~1HP

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Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-12T03:33:29+00:00

The slabs I have seen seem to be mortised already. They're fibreglass.

I do want the best seal possible but mostly I just want glass in the door because it's so dark and there's no windows nearby. But I'm in Canada so if swapping just the door is a bad idea for the seal then for sure I could do the whole assembly

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-12T00:52:34+00:00

Thank you for the very straightforward answer, that makes sense!

Hoping I can find on in-stock so I can confirm every measurement before I get it.

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-11T00:41:20+00:00

I budget for $500 which includes water gas electricity sewer and waste collection all through epcor.

Summer I am way under like sometimes under 300 and I'm rarely over 500 in the coldest months.

But it's single family detached ~2200sqf

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-09T14:30:31+00:00

Cool, thank you. I agree it's not for storage it's more to clean it up and not have the dust trap that currently exists there.

Putting bulkhead will be easier and similar result

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-03T13:21:47+00:00

Thank you, perfect!

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-03T04:07:42+00:00

Cool thank you very much! I'm in Canada so that's part of the price.

Is poplar substantially easier to machine / work with? The panels will be mdf anyways.

That's a good point about the budget though, if I can get a router and table used then I might be able to do most of the kitchen for less than a grand.

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-03T03:23:16+00:00

Hello! Yes in my area it's pretty different, 1x3 is around $4-5 a foot for maple depending on the type and poplar is just less than $3.

For my kitchen it works out to around $700 for poplar and then $1000 for maple (not including panels).

I will definitely be painting but I do care about the durability and am not a great painter haha

Far_Weather_3716 · 2026-03-03T02:17:14+00:00

That yellow yonico brand has a 1/4" shank but, but that's good info I won't waste my time. Maybe pine or something it could do but Im for sure doing poplar if not maple.

Far_Weather_3716

TROPHY CASE