I am getting the twitches

I don’t own a house, I rent.  I enjoy renting at the moment, because it is giving me the opportunity to live in an area, I wouldn’t been live in if I was looking at buying. 

Property is at an all time high.  I am surrounded by older houses, in the country.  No mansions.  No Porches or BMWs parked in the driveways.  No pool boys.  Yet, for me to buy the property we live on, I will have to find someone to give me a mortgage of around $800,000!    We spied on a neighbors house which is listed at over two million dollars.   It is insane. 

My rent is very resonable, quite affordable, and it is actually cheaper for me to rent at the moment then to buy a house.    We have been looking at buying a house in the suburbs, however a fixer upper entry level starts at $350,000 and goes up to $500,000. 

Mortgage rates are rising, and have recently cooled off.  However, Bank of Canada is getting anxious over the rate of inflation (from 1.1% in Jan/07 to 2.2% in May/07, kudos to http://www.canadianeconomy.gc.ca/english/economy) and there is talk of rising interest rates.

Rising interest rates mean a higher mortgage payment, which means a lot of people who are looking at an entry level home (like me) might have to move into something smaller (townhome or apartment), relocate to a whole new city, or continue to rent. 

I am looking at renting for the next year, and see where the market is at then.  I am “hoping” with the higher mortgage rates, it will drop the property values. 

Property value will have to drop if mortgage rates go up. There are a lot of families who want to buy a house, however, if their mortgage payment is too high, they won’t buy = less demand = drop in prices to move the properties.   

I am getting the twitches.  I would love to buy my own place right now, however, I am concerned, that when I buy, the value will drop.  Paying a mortgage on something that isn’t worth as much, is actually just as bad as paying rent.  You are still throwing money to the wind.   

So for now, I will continue to dream and watch.  When the time is right, I will jump into the property market….  Until then, I will continue to enjoy the peace of the country!

HELP WANTED! ECONOMY IS BOOMING! YAY or NAY?

Yesterday, during my running around town getting wasp (hornet) killing machines I decided to pull into the local A&W for a quick snack.     Usually in the afternoon I have a million different thoughts zooming around in my brain. 

I ordered my fav, a whistle dog (which is a hotdog loaded with relish cheese and bacon) and of course, who can resist an A&W root beer.    I drove up to the window and waited, it seemed to take forever for them to complete my order, and I glaced over to the roadside where the A&W placed a huge roadside sign which stated:

“HELP WANTED, SUPERVISORS, KITCHEN STAFF & CASHIERS.” 

Ahhhhh, I thought.  That’s why they are slow, they are under staffed.

Today, there are so many help wanted signs, and companies struggling to keep up their increasing workload, with a decreasing work-force.    Being a small business owner, I am also struggling with getting the work-force on to keep up with a heavy demand of work.

As I continued to wait for my whistle dog, I continued to think of when will it disappear.  The economy has it’s up’s & downs.  Right now, we are at a high.  Unemployment is at a record low, everyone is working, everyone has money, everyone is spending (& charging). 

Spending is the key word here.  With Spending comes more business, which comes more inventory, which comes with needing more workers.  However, if the workforce is no longer there, how can the business keep up with the demand of a booming economy?   

Myself, I am feeling a burn-out.  My business partner is feeling it too.  We have 4 positions to fill, and we can not fill them.  The work however, is still there and needs to be completed.  Who has to complete it?  2 people (us) have to do the work of 4!  

Yes, we have been interviewing those who apply.  We have lowered our standards a little bit, because someone is always better than no-one (which explains why I have seen an increase of poor service in restaurants, & retail stores).    People who do not arrive to their interviews have increased quite a bit.  Tire kickers have also increased.  Also, those who demand a higher wage, less hours, & less responsibilty has also increased (ie: I will work for you, but you have to pay me twice as much for twice as less hours and I don’t do this!).      Once you weed through these, at the end of the week, you still have no one.

We are feeling a burn-out.  If we are feeling it, then others are too.    What is the other choice we have? 

There is three but the first two will eventually turn into the third one:

1-Turn away work.  This is a big no no to a business owner.  So much time and effort went into getting the work, not to mention the dollar value on that time and effort.

2-Continue to accept the work, but provide less quality to the consumer.

2-Close up.  You can only burn the candle at both ends for so long, before there is nothing left.

If we are facing these three choices, then there is other businesses who are facing the same as well.  First one, some consumers might understand, as since some will think you do have their best interest at heart, however there are always those consumers who demand it to be done, or they will go elsewhere.  Second one, is not the best, because if the quality is not there, eventually the consumer will not accept it.  Third one, good for the business owner, nice break, however, the bread and butter is now gone, and he/she must find a job.

Eventually, the economy is going to burn out.  If businesses close, it creates more unemployment, which creates less spending, which creates less work for the business and the circle continues. 

The clerk handed me my whistle dog, and I drive away from the drive-thru.  Next Door, Tim Hortons has an ad in their front window:

HELP WANTED!

Hmmmm, join the club I think.  Then, I start tackling the challenge of finding workers myself