Hello everyone! I hope you haven’t forgot about me. Danielle Demerino here, top Toronto real estate agent. I haven’t posted for the last couple of months because I’ve been on maternity leave taking care of my daughter Rosie and my son Rafi. While I love spending time with my kids, I had an itch to get back to work. I spent some time about during my leave thinking about how our parenting years are also some of our most vital years in the work force which directly impact in our financial situation. This lead me to ponder why building home equity during your parenting years is so vital.
We tend to think of these years as the ones where we focus our finances and efforts on our children; however, our child rearing years tend to coincide with our highest earning potential years. As a result, it is important that we focus equal attention to our finances as we do our children’s interests.
I understand not everyone can afford to set money aside in a savings account or invest in stocks; however, there are some options that can make a big difference in you and your children’s financial future.
Home Equity: Investing in Your Future
A great option to gain wealth for homeowners is using your current assets to make you money! Chances are if you own real estate it has significantly gone up in value since you purchased it. The last couple of years have shown incredible growth with regards to the prices of all types of homes (detached, semi-detached, town homes and condos).
If your home has appreciated in value (and you aren’t looking to move) you should consider looking into taking equity out of your home and investing it into a secondary property. For example purchasing a condo and renting it out to cover the mortgage would allow you to carry the secondary property while gaining equity in that property. You could even have your children live there later in life and not be subject to capital gains should you sell in the future.
Taking out equity in your home gives you the flexibility of making your money work for you and over the years I have watched several individuals successfully do this through buying real estate. Whether it is purchasing a condo and renting it out, buying a cottage and benefitting from the many cottage goers out there, investing with partners in a duplex, etc. You get the point, there are several options out there that allow you to use real estate as a tool to develop wealth, you just have to be willing to take the risk.
We all know how easy it is to get stuck in the lateral motion in areas of our life like our health, well-being and finances during what tends to be some of the toughest years of our life, the child rearing years. These can be tough on a marriage & relationships, on your career, on your mental health, on your social life and as a result these years require extra effort if you and your family want to come out on top and enjoy the empty nest years.
While delayed retirement has become a very normal part of our North American lifestyle, making these tough financial decisions now could make the difference of you and your partner getting to enjoy retirement without financial concerns in the future. Take some time to think about your finances. Set a budget. Call a financial planner. Speak with a mortgage broker or a bank about what type of equity you have in your home. It is your time to shine financially. Take risks. Take it from me…I have done it several times and come out on top!
If you would like to talk about investing in real estate, I would love to chat. Please feel free to pick up the phone and call me at 416-728-5401 or submit a form. I’m back from mat leave and ready to help you are your loved ones create some wealth through Toronto real estate.
