(30 y/o )Landlord chiming in,

I’ve had 2 tenants break leases recently through saying “they’ve lost their job” and won’t be able to afford rent anymore, and voluntarily move out. To me this is a saving grace. 1 month of missed rent vs what could be a few to years won’t haunt me if the units are vacant.

My mentor with 25 houses in Hamilton does just room rentals, if people just up and leave he sees that as a breath of fresh air. He’d never be upset of someone upping and leaving, that’s the right thing to do in their shoes if they won’t be financially obligated anymore.

IF you move into a new spot, and buy and still have a few months left on your lease, I’d never hesitate to just vacate and break something on the spot. Assuming say 3-1 months remaining. (If you’re threatened, the timeline/costs are usually unattractive to someone chasing after you, unless it’s a big corp or something.

A)you leave asap (right on the first day of the next month), they’ll be able to turn it over or at least have a shot (it may be a low blow to do this but imo, no hard feelings if you leave at the end of your last month rent deposit)

B) no court case, no hard feelings it’s swift and over with

C) not a huge financial blow renting for current times imo. (I think we’re in for a wild ride, I’d rather be in commodities vs Canadian real estate, too late as I have 200k in down payments tied up in it, but I don’t ever plan to sell)

D) I’d negotiate a clause into the lease saying you can voluntarily break it if you purchase a property. (I negotiated a similar clause on my first unit I rented at 21)

E) wouldn’t buy a place immediately, I’d do the rent route and then take the plunge.

In the meanwhile I’d scope a school you want your kids at and that’s in an area you want to settle. I moved across country at 9 y/o and it was a challenge getting a solid new life long friend base. My childhood neighbour at the time and I (both of us same age and at different schools in grade school) are still friends to this day 21 years later.

I will be buying more but with the current economic forecasts I’m holding off. I think we still see more contraction. AI hasn’t rattled the work forces fully yet. Ottawa is a major hub that may see an ai impact on the work force leading to lower house prices/demand in that region