Hike – Chester Lake

David Gluzman July 10th, 2006

Chester Lake

Did this great little hike on the weekend… Chester Lake out in the Spray Lakes region. It’s about 50km/s west of Canmore via gravel road, but it’s amazing once you get out there.

Overall the hike took us about 3-4 hours but we totally lounged had a picnic on top of a crest above the lake (where the above picture was taken from). Good times.

So yep great weekend. Awesome weather, awesome time.

On a totally different note…

Today I went to my car to discover that it was broken into and most things inside were stolen. Shit happens I guess, but I think this car is just simply bad luck (hit and run twice). To be quite honest I don’t really care about the shit they stole, I do care that they broke the passenger side lock. %$@# Why couldn’t they have just stolen the entire car! Damn it. If you’re reading this, come back and finish the job!

Well that is all.. Can’t wait for the next hike. Hiking is awesome. :)

  • So uh, yeah. I’ve just joined the list of frustrated civilians who have been vandalized. I awoke this morning to find that my Jeep had been broken into. WTF is up with people? Those fucking crack-heads should be round up and disposed of!! Damnitt!! So now that I officially have nowhere to park my useless vehicle, I’m in a bind. Me? I’m just fine and dandy, yessirreeeee!

  • Is this like an epidemic now or you guys just unlucky?

    I guess that is one of the few pluses of condo life – the underground parking doesn’t ensure that my car won’t get jacked but it probably does cut down the odds…

  • D4V

    Apparently the homeless population here in Calgary has grown by more than a 3rd in the past year, also crack use has gone waay up apparently.

    Sad thing is unlike other cities such as say Vancouver, the use isn’t exactly confined to any certain areas. It’s pretty much “anywhere downtown” now a days. There was a feature in last weeks FFWD about it, and I guess the city has recently approved a budget to increase police patrols downtown to help eliviate the problem.

    Damn.

  • “I guess that is one of the few pluses of condo life” … well congrats for being able to afford one, but here in Calgary, at the rate the housing market is going and at the rate I’m going, it will probably be another 5 years before I get that luxury.

  • D4V

    Well even so.. (Condo life).. There are numerous condo’s you can buy here, and lots don’t have secure parking (*cough*).

    Oh, I forgot to mention.. A few weeks ago an appartenment (condo?) in our building got broken into by some drunk. He stole their ice cream.

  • True. It appears that parking on the street is taking a great deal more of trust than it used to these days. I most certainly don’t like parking on the street now that I have been violated.

  • Well as a con to donwtown Toronto condo life, I have to run a guantlet of squeegee kids (not kids, late 20 somethings, who look perfectly able to hold down a job) to take my dog to the park.

    I got in early and mortgaged myself to the hilt, so that I ate like a poor student… good times.

    Apartment = rental, condo = ownage. I think that’s the modern verbiage.

  • Apartment = rental, condo = ownage.

    That is very true. And I am eager to take advantage of that, but there is one single thing holding me back. The down payment.

  • You can buy a house with less than 10% down now through the CMHC Mortgage Loan Insurance program. You pay extra fees to the government so that the CMHC can insure your mortgage, this “usually” makes sense as the extra fees you pay offset the cost of renting, but everyone’s situation is different.

    http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/moloin/

  • D4V

    However….

    When an average place here costs over $300,000 you’re still looking at $30,000 down!

  • “When an average place here costs over $300,000 you’re still looking at $30,000 down!”

    … BAM!

  • Actually you can get a mortgage with zero down. You’ll have to pay a higher interest rate (or more accurately insurance charges above and beyond the base interest rate).

    You can also have a 35 year amortization period.

    You can also get interest only mortgages.

    You can also pre-pay at regular intervals.

    Seriously check out http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/moloin/

  • Ok specifically – You have a down payment of at least 5% of the purchase price of the dwelling, depending on the dwelling type.
    Single-family and two-unit dwellings (5% minimum down payment)

    BUT that 5% can be a gift from someone OR some banks can give you a line of credit worth the 5%, which you can then use to pay for your down payment. Previously the down payment had to be from “your own funds” i.e. you had to prove you saved it.

    Then additionally your total debt load shouldn’t be more than 40% of your gross (before taxes) household income. Where your total debt load is principal + interest + taxes + heating + 50% of condo fees (if applicable).

    So $15K which you can borrow itself can be your downpayment on a $300,000 house.

    You look at a 200K condo then its 10K.