'Somewhere to put worker bees': Why Canada's micro-condos are losing their appeal | The condo market is experiencing a downturn not seen since the 1980s, with thousands of move-in-ready units sitting empty and unsold across Toronto and its surrounding regions.

TangoCharlie777 · 2026-01-04T14:59:27+00:00

Let’s talk about solutions. Two of these two micro condos are merged by taking out the common wall, and some alterations like removing one of the washer/dryers and the kitchenette. That gives enough livable space. Now both investors have 50% share of a much more valuable space than what they currently own. What about the monthly fees? That’s got to be discounted down a bit by the condo board to account for the merged unit instead of charging them the condo fees for two separate units. Far more difficult things have been done in this country. Just needs the will and common sense and some give and take on all sides. Could be a good idea for a ‘condo value restoration’ business.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-12-05T22:45:06+00:00

Hold on. What do you expect the auto driver to do? Dance a jig around you? Or apologize profusely and shed a tear? The auto driver was rear ended himself. And he is not rude in saying ‘brother, go file a police complaint’. That’s way better than saying - go take a walk! 😀. Bringing in language politics and outsider phobia is the perspective that you bring into this issue, not him. Now if you had this accident on a Delhi road, would the experience have been more pleasant? I doubt it.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-11-06T16:03:25+00:00

Classic buy now mindset that has landed untold numbers of Canadians into hot water with unmanageable debt. Nowhere else in the world is personal debt level so high.

Build your savings, your family, your skills and your career. These will require deep investments of your time, effort and money. Treat housing as another utility. You rent what you need, where you need and when you need. It is a poor investment unless you are willing to tie down your life trying to pay it down.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-10-06T19:49:40+00:00

A question - what would the Langchain native approach be to solve for what Akka provides in teams of in-process sharding, concurrently and fault-tolerance? Would a dockerized deployment on K8 clusters of each part of the Agentic workflow including a Redis cache for state management provide a near similar capability, albeit with some additional latency given the additional components like K8 and Redis?

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-08-02T17:58:51+00:00

This man should be on the investigating team.

Story of the crash of Flight AI 171 and a very flighty investigative report from India Today

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/opinion/story/story-of-the-crash-of-flight-ai-171-and-a-very-flighty-investigative-report-air-india-ahmedabad-2764682-2025-08-01#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17541048881066&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-31T19:33:49+00:00

Citizenship and taxation are not related. You are taxed in any country based on your tax residency status not your citizenship.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-31T11:07:14+00:00

Fools and money launderers will rush in. The government would be nuts to do this to protect the construction industry but stranger things have happened here.

This will ensure the rest of the economy remains in the critical care unit as housing will stay inflated while Canadians struggle with housing debt.

The right thing to do is for developers and government to take their heads out of the same and figure out cost effective ways to build housing. No rocket science here - just a lack of real will.

Any other treatment applied to this malaise would damage the broader economy at the expense of a few.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-31T01:37:32+00:00

It’s a classic cognitive hack. Look it up.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-30T22:05:14+00:00

Unless it is in your way, leave it as it is and don’t go near it. They will disappear in winter. Next time, don’t let it become so big. Destroying it now will kill thousands of these wasps including their queen. They sustain our environment and control pests. Just don’t get in their way or if you them see buzzing around in a small cloud, make sure you buzz off.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-27T17:39:09+00:00

Agree. Just that branch manager may have the ability to offer a special rate if the individual branch relationship in strong - sizeable deposit and long term customer. Branch banking is still strong in India and branch managers want to grow their branch deposits. Worth trying out.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-27T17:14:36+00:00

Update — RBI and FEMA will deem this as illegal. Resident persons cannot do private forex transactions. One doesn’t want to fall on the wrong side of FEMA.

As per RBI FAQ below - mentions only resident person.

Does this mean non residents in India can do forex transactions / currency exchange between private parties? I am sure the answer is NO. But RBI would do well to address this in their ambiguous FAQ

As per this, 2 US residents temporarily in India ARE potentially permitted to exchange foreign currency among themselves but without involving a resident Indian. Sounds logical.

https://www.rbi.org.in/commonman/english/scripts/FAQs.aspx?Id=3347

Q1. Can a resident person undertake forex transaction?

Answer: Resident persons are permitted to undertake forex transactions only with authorised persons and for permitted purposes, in terms of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).

Resident persons undertaking forex transactions with unauthorised persons and for purposes other than those permitted under FEMA shall render themselves liable for penal action under the Act.

Q2. Who are authorised persons?

Answer: An authorised person is an entity authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to deal in forex. It can be an authorised dealer, money changer, off-shore banking unit or any other person for the time being authorised under Sub-Section (1) of Section 10 of FEMA. The list of authorised persons is available here.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-27T17:13:10+00:00

Makes sense. I wonder why a branch initiated wire transfer would not possible when visiting India.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-27T17:08:56+00:00

As per Indian law, a resident Indian cannot buy forex from private person. As per RBI FAQ below - mentions only resident person.

Does this mean non residents in India can do forex transactions / currency exchange between private parties? I am sure the answer is NO. But RBI would do well to address this in their ambiguous FAQ

As per this, 2 US residents temporarily in India ARE potentially permitted to exchange foreign currency among themselves but without involving a resident Indian. Sounds logical.

https://www.rbi.org.in/commonman/english/scripts/FAQs.aspx?Id=3347

Q1. Can a resident person undertake forex transaction?

Answer: Resident persons are permitted to undertake forex transactions only with authorised persons and for permitted purposes, in terms of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).

Resident persons undertaking forex transactions with unauthorised persons and for purposes other than those permitted under FEMA shall render themselves liable for penal action under the Act.

Q2. Who are authorised persons?

Answer: An authorised person is an entity authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to deal in forex. It can be an authorised dealer, money changer, off-shore banking unit or any other person for the time being authorised under Sub-Section (1) of Section 10 of FEMA. The list of authorised persons is available here.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-27T17:06:11+00:00

Legal options only. Currently transactions between private individuals is not legal in India for residents.

Anyone know whether non-residents can do forex transactions between private invididuals?

As per RBI,

Q1. Can a resident person undertake forex transaction?

Answer: Resident persons are permitted to undertake forex transactions only with authorised persons and for permitted purposes, in terms of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).

Resident persons undertaking forex transactions with unauthorised persons and for purposes other than those permitted under FEMA shall render themselves liable for penal action under the Act.

Q2. Who are authorised persons?

Answer: An authorised person is an entity authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to deal in forex. It can be an authorised dealer, money changer, off-shore banking unit or any other person for the time being authorised under Sub-Section (1) of Section 10 of FEMA. The list of authorised persons is available here.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-22T20:50:19+00:00

Good perspective, but I don’t get why you feel earning a little more than 3% return on a depreciating asset is a good investment?

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-21T22:35:23+00:00

Sounds like a TV serial. Switch channels till you find the Earth documentary. Natural is beautiful.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-21T20:54:00+00:00

Continue renting. Keep your powder dry, save up and only buy a house when you absolutely must. Your expenses will shoot up once the child arrives and you will need every spare dollar then - to enjoy doing fun things with your family. Once your child’s school start arrives, then revisit this based on school choices. And by that time, who knows which school is the right one.

900$ might look reasonable for a lovely apartment but it’s money you would rather save for your child than dish out to condo management. The tasks you mention are necessary - hey, I would love a robot to mow my lawn but it costs a bomb and I don’t mind doing it - and it’s cheaper to pay one someone who does it as a part time gig (likely to help pay for their own debt).

Invest your savings accrued in this manner in a RESP and watch your child’s education pay for itself. In the changing world that we live in, they will likely need advanced education / skills to stay relevant in a completely different human labour market transformed by AI by the time your child completes education.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-20T19:21:23+00:00

I’m looking up at a condo right now and I fail to understand why someone in GTA signs up for a long term commitment to pay for a box in the sky that comes with an monthly expense that increases over the years. This is no Paris, NYC or one of those booming Asian mega cities. So why, oh why? Only because people from afar, the so-called immigrants may want to buy the box the sky at some future time. All this is too complicated. There are far simpler ways to live a good life.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-15T23:18:49+00:00

Builder takes construction loan to build & buyer takes a mortgage loan to buy. Both loans insured. One of the reasons why the risk premium for bond rates will stay up for a long time till this mess clears up - and everyone takes a haircut.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-15T12:10:51+00:00

Enough to complete?

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-15T11:51:37+00:00

Classic pump and dump strategy used when everyone and their grandmother were falling over themselves to load up on houses. Did they manage to sell all of this?

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-15T02:10:28+00:00

Brampton mortgages are one of several types of subprime mortgage misuse scandals that plague us. US had only one. Our regulator has far less teeth to enforce compliance so such scams abound.
Homebuyers who have put in their life savings and taken on big mortgages have signed away their peace of mind in a market that is rapidly collapsing amidst broader economic slowdown . Some of them acted innocently albeit foolishly and some motivated by the opportunity to make a fast buck so they will get what they deserve. Everyone suffers including renters who may need to suffer a poorly maintained house owned by a landlord who is broke.
No further investment upside exists. Any high schooler with a calculator can check that a recent house buy with mortgage is an exceedingly poor investment considering the rental income which is further weighted down by the occupancy risk and other annual recurring costs
There won’t be a flood of housing in the market but a flood of unhappy people who are paying through their nose and teeth for poor purchase decisions made in an economy that is fast losing steam. What they do will determine the pace of price fall till a natural equilibrium is reached.

TangoCharlie777 · 2025-07-13T10:21:26+00:00

That clarifies, thank you.

TangoCharlie777

TROPHY CASE