₦airaland Forum

lanresz:
For buy to let in Canada, the return is not that great based on my own experience. I tried it by converting a primary residency to rental and was barely breaking even each month. If you find fixer upper house and you can do some of the renovating work yourself, you may be able to get a good deal.

For investment, like I mentioned I am very risk averse, I do index fvnd. I can't really recommend any good Canadian financial site.

I hope this helps a bit.

Interesting. It does. I know rental yeilds are regional and depend on house type but what does it average at for single family homes in general? Also, what are the main additional costs e.g safety checks, insurance e.t.c.
My thinking would be that if one can get yields of above 7% on a mortgage of 4% ish, then breaking even would be possible and over time, capital gains would do the heavy lifting profit wise while inflation erodes the debt. Do you wonder if the current market slump could present sensible opportunities longterm?

Thought abt renos in the past but I'm not strong on DIY. Also, I don't have the connection to handymen to facilitate it and putting the time in my reg job should pay better.

When looking to get a place, I was thinking of getting one with a legal basement so I could rent that out and ease my way into the property market from there.
I'm not traditionally as risk averse though I've become more careful with time as one has got older.

73O9:
Check clutch.ca for your vehicle, it might be a good place to buy a vehicle while avoiding those marketers that upsell their cars.

Would do next time. Finally went with a delership as I got a lease

K865:
Hi house.
....
Also, are there taxes on rent?
Thank you

I'd add you shouldn't worry so much about taxes. In 9ja, there's the constant hammering about taxes in the west that makes new arrivals worried. In reality, the truth is far from what's said

With time, you'd come to appreciate the role taxes play in an economy and see it as one of the pillars that enable a fairer society and helps you build wealth as a newcomer.

lanresz:
Some answers to your questions in italics.



I have not told anybody not to come to Canada on nairaland.com and I will not. Canada has been very good to me and I won't tell anyone not to come to Canada. I came as a student for grad studies almost immediately after undergrad. I have not established any career and very open to what to do in Canada.

Fair points.

Finding a vehicle was an issue. I noticed autotrader was quite scanty and different from what I knew. Kept asking and it turns out many dealerships don't advertise on autotrader. Had to contact one directly. Same also insurance- never used a broker before but had to use one. Was always used to going online and seeking out the most competitive on a market-wide comparison site.

I'd look at the brokers you mentioned before the tax year end. Looking for a dependeable but competitively priced broker with a selection of global fvnd.

Regarding mortgages, I found the undue prenium on new houses surprising. Folks will consider a 20yr old house 'old'. Hehe. I'm trying to seek out a good area and hopefully take discussions forward with a broker over winter.

On investments, I'm seeking info on the buy-to-let sector in Canada. It appears the candaian hoising market is more commoditised and easier to navigate. It's the returns that aren't as clear. Understandably, this is localised.

Regarding pensions, the folk advising me wasnt keen on RRSP which I found odd.. Still looking into this.
Do you know of good canadian based financial sites that perhaps compare fees/offerings for pension managers, brokers e.t.c or explains the financial system in clear terms?

A305:
CBN needs FPI which has stabilized Naira/Dollar FX rate to 1500 since last year, and they can only get that when they raise interest rate for internal debt. If they aggressively cut rate, FPI will run away, some will pull their money and begin to buy stocks and Equities, that's why CBN hasn't cut rate since the last 3 or 4 quarters.


CBN’s stance so to keep squeezing inflation, even if the economy growth suffers short-term.

One more last reason to note is:

How long does the CBN need to keep rates high to satisfy FPIs?

Where/how does the CBN get the money to pay these FPIs?

What is the longterm wider effect on the Nigerian populace if the CBN keeps finding money (from whatever sourceĺ to sustain FPIs these rates?

People should be responding for their kids. The courts should be enforcing this

Obviously a skit

lanresz:
The issue is that we can all talk about what we face. There is no where on earth that is perfect.
Canada lost 66,000 jobs in August and unemployment rate increased to 7.1%. That's a reality and people need to voice it out. It doesn't mean that some people are not finding jobs but the number of people who lost job is more than those who find job. People need to be aware of such developments.

Fair enough.. interestingly, the UK and US also posted job losses recently. This is to negate particular challenges Canada faces.
Every country does have challenges and economies do have peaks and troughs, however, conversations should be rounded

As someone who moved recently, I've needed and would need help with certain bits e.g

-Where to find the right rental accommodation, source a vehicle, insurance e.t.c
-Tax efficient savings/investment accounts and how to maximise these annually
-How to go about purchasing my place down the line, mortgages e.t.c
-Investments one can explore
-Pension planning as Canada does have a thinner safety net e.t.c

These obviously would differ from person to person and I still need help with many of these especially from those who've been here long enough. You then see why it becomes tiring when the overwhelming majority of discussions are focused on warning people not to come or driving some far-right narrative.

justwise:
Cynical part of me wants Reform to win the next GE and start deporting illegal immigrants and stop the boat, close all asylum centres and stop all foreign aids

What is happening in America right now will be nothing compare to what this country will experience, demonstrations and unrest will be a daily thing, many work-shy and benefit scroungers will have nothing else to moan about.

This need to happen before this country wake up to the danger of Reform political party.

Always said I want Reform to win- some lessons need to be learned twice. Farage would likely go out of his way to be brutal mainly by limiting settlement pathways but wouldn't be surprised immigration actually rises under a Reform government just like it did with B.Jo. When the rioting scroungers today get their benefits cut under Reform, their tune will change.

Its quite interesting whenever I hear far-right protesters speak. Within seconds, the tone rings familiar- I know this cohort like the back of my hand. Reminds me during the last riot when Nigerian folks in my community were scared. Na me dey ginja dem to forget that cohort. Na my customers.

Eitherway, it's likely that Labour in a bid to stave off Reform will do everything to cut legal migration futher creating a drag on the economy. Reform might come in and do some performance politics while ultimately increasing migration. Economics no get bias.
One thing I've always asked- would those protesting today have an issue if we double the number of migrants but remove the right to settlement i.e create a servile class?

Goodenoch:
And we should all prepare for the gaslighting about how whatever is happening is not racist; and even if it is, it’s because of “underlying causes”, from those that can’t see racism being faced by others but can hallucinate gender discrimination from thin air when it concerns them.

Hehe... irrespective of the sugarcoating, the underlying drivers are well known

Have you wondered how Eastern European migrants who were vilified pre-Brexit have all a a sudden become the model migrants?

Reminds me of an Australian anti-immigration rally I saw recently. One Chinese and Indian bloke who joined them perhaps to show how much they are different from their people were quickly manhandled and shoved off. It's ultimately racism in balaclavas

Goke7:
It’s a foretaste of what is still in the offing when Reform gets into Downing Street though the blow back will eventually regulate it. The current template in the US is what has actually emboldened every thing, will be interesting to see how the midterms elections go next year to see whether things can still go in the reverse if not then we are in it finally for the long ride.

Let's see how the U.S trends. If they don't manage to get good concessions off the BRICS powerhouse moreso with European support weighning, the next 6-18m would be an interesting period for his base.
Barring unforseen events, it seems only a major American economic catastrophe can stop the spreading far-right narrative especially in the UK. Good thing is that unlike the U.S, the UK political system has good and immediate checks and balances- even too much. Interesting times..

Welcome24:
Good day. Got ITA 2 days ago, I am working on my application and there is a place that says 'Have you applied to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada before?' I have applied for Quebec but didn’t get a nomination to apply for federal; it was declined. Please, how do I answer this part of the question?

Congrats!

I believe that should be 'no' except your application was via IRCC.
If you tick yes, they'd ask for further details. It appears they ask so as to link all your previous applications together should they need to clarify some bits.
When I did mine, I had applied for a visit visa the year before so ticked yes.

Goke7:
Broken focus, the government lost it when it was trying to fight too many battles at the same time. Sometimes it pays to just stick to your party ideology and close your ears to things that oppose that ideology. No matter what you do, folks are not going to agree with everything you offer. Starmer joining politics late has come to bite him in the end. The job of a PM is never an entry-level role.

As for immigrants, the die is cast. The reason why some of us are advocates of alternate plans, no hiding place, whatever we're being served, we've got to accept or deal with it. So many casualties already, so no surprises ahead.

He chased the wrong cohort though I believe he underestimated the issues around boat crossings. 'Smash the gangs' was never a sensible idea.

My other issue is that recent happenings has emboldened every riff-raff to the point where overt racial abuse is becoming commonplace

aragbaboy:
Hello,

I'm looking for advice on the best insurance company to cover my appliances, such as my TV, against accidental damage. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Tend to use Quidco and run some comparisons via the site and also on a seperate browser. They tend to have good cashback deals on home insurance. Got £100 once

Fred2020:
No worries, Farage will also liberate the UK just as Trump is liberating its workers from their jobs.

Hehehe.
Manufacturing was supposed to be where the majic would happen. If his moves doesn't turn things around there then I wonder what'd happen in the service sector.

Farage has hung around too much that it may be worth seeing what he'd offer too. Somethings are best experienced

ednut1:
in summary we should keep deceiving/ window dressing the current situation in Canada? I for one warned people to stop using student visa to come in when students were going 6 -9 months without a job and PR no longer reachable. For the permanent residency that most of us came in with its also no longer straight forward and achievable like it was 3 years ago. None of us here were responsible for the drastic changes. The unemployment situation was the major driver. Anyone that has made up their mind to come to Canada will still come regardless of what ever they read here.

We should look at the wider picture here.
This is a thread for Nigerians living in Canada which would include people at different stages of their life here- some would be more established, others fairly new. Infact some might even be born here.
While there shouldn't be undue restrictions, the constant warnings become tired when done in the wrong place. They may be better suited for the express entry thread except folks come here asking.
It's like me going on the UK property thread (https://www.nairaland.com/7534564/living-uk-propertymortgage-related/72) to go and warn people not to come to the UK. Those there don't need that advise.

Lets look at migration in itself.
Recent migrants largely fall into 3 large groups
1. Those who were doing very well in Nigeria and should have done their research before taking a calculated risk to move over. This group don't need to be patronised.
2. Those who are sponsored by their relatives in Canada. For this group, their family saw the 'suffering' here and invited them to partake in it.
3. The last group would be those hustling thru with not much to fall back on. These are the group that may benefit from your advise but they are hardly here.

If Canada is so bad, we should consider heading back to Nigeria where it's easy as some would ask.
I believe there is a robust and well established Nigerian community in Canada not just one made up of recent arrivals - discussions here should reflect that.

NuCypher:
Whatever the case, these are two scenarios that paint a self-consumed, apathetic population that does not represent the true Canadian ideal of warmth, openness and accommodation. It's just crazy. One of the more reasons I can't take this thread that seriously any more.

You capture it quite succinctly. My experience of Canada has been much warmer and welcoming than my experience of the UK. Reason why I laugh when folks say migration has 'spoilt the UK'. They certainly haven't been thru the UK system.

You list two groups and try to give reasons. Reminds me of a commentary I listened to recently about the widening dichotomy of many economies - wealth inequality some would call it. The top to upper middle are doing very well (afterall markets are at all time highs) whereas many who are struggling and feeling disillusioned have been told the reason they can't have a cookie is cos of the man outside.
Sadly, many of us have bought it - just like the picture but in reverse. I wonder if we think we'd have more favourable statements if we were the ones being thrown under.

DiarisGodoo:
You don't understand. I mean they will only insure on the condition we rent with driver as below. I want to rent without driver

What is the source of your much-repeated screenshot?

Brilliant. Can't wait to see it

Hopefully the start of non-traditional drama movies

The chap is unhinged. Needs to learn manners

The kind of debasing stuff you see on Nairaland.

Who ran this study and what tests were they based off?

The concept of IQ testing is something that should be looked at with nuaunce

Another paid post by the likes of Alexreports et al. with bogus self-serving 'awards' being shared around

This 'summit' appears to be another avenue to loot public funds

Sheron50:
Why do you mistake people sharing real encounters and challenges for hate? Or is it that you only want to hear fake fantasy stories of life abroad? It’s easy to preach ‘no country is without challenges’ when you’re not the one carrying the weight in Canada theory is cheap, reality isn’t!

In today's world that increasing overlap between anecdotes and actual reality is easy to blurry.
You want examples? I could go on for a while. From Nigeria- most of our religious and ethnic riots were fanned by what people thought to be 'real encounters'. All the tribal tropes we hear backhome and racist tropes world over are always based off some 'real encounter'. Every racist always has some 'real encounter' but excuse it by saying: 'It's not hate, afterall I have an Bleep friend'

Life anywhere can be hard- the way to thrive is not by hate or debasing oneself. If not anything, that's more likely to consign folks to a state of self-defeat

nitrogen:
Brah, you are the problem! People are having real conversations about the state (and reality) of their country. Every topic discussed here affects Canadians and immigrants one way or the other. So, calm down!

Including calling ourselves third world and hating migrants?

Sheron50:
You’re sitting in the UK acting like you are a guru in Canadian reality, but you don’t even live here. Easy to throw around theories about “why Nigerians vent” when you’re not the one dealing with rent hikes, job searches, or navigating IRCC’s moving goalposts!!

Again you miss the point - this is not about being a 'guru' in any society but the reality of living and thriving. This is a thread for Nigerians to discuss the reality and their experience of living in Canada not one to endlessly moan, debase ourselves or hate on a group we think are responsible for our individual struggles. If you're frustrated about IRCCs goalposts, then obsession with a group will not help. No country is without it's challenges.

I've always wondered why many posts on this thread bother on a far-right, anti-immigrant sentiment. Folks calling themselves 'third world', hating on other brown folks and constantly berating the country they live in etc. Reminds me of the recent Mehdi Hassan interview with far-right folks where a Latino dude got an awakening.

There's little in terms of substance on the actual reality of living in Canada here. I initially thought the Nigerian community in Canada is relatively not as robust but thats hardly the case. If not that I'm in Canada, I'd have mistaken the sentiment here for the reality. Folks I interract with have little bother about most of this.
The question becomes, why has this place become a venting ground for Nigerians fed up with Canada? Also, why is there little substance in terms of the wider reality of navigating Canada here?

Good topic.

Something widely overlooked and reason why many African nations are struggling

Nations need to bring down inflation and interest rates and also encourage banks to invest in the real economy. This ultimately boils down to sensible government spending and money printing.

We like telling oiselves that this rate increases FDI. But the fact is that is detrimental in the long-term as foreign portfolio investors come in and leave early with their profit before currency devaluation kicks in which only the masses suffer. If it was all about interest rates, everyone would be flocking to purchase Argentinian government debt

Goodenoch:
It is funny, isn’t it?

It was surprising to see someone who was so adamant about not seeing/understanding why people were speaking out against being targeted during the riots on the basis of their race (instead choosing to shift the issue entirely to “underlying causes” despite all the evidence that race was the core driver of the riots), suddenly begin to hallucinate about being targeted on the basis of her gender despite the lack of any of evidence of that, despite repeated calls to provide such evidence.

I guess the people who frequently pat themselves on the back about being ‘objective’ and attack others as ‘emotional’, often really are just projecting.

True... the way people create narratives in their head and act based on those stereotypes.

If you're going to accuse a group, then have some evidence at least. People have even asked- just point to posts of folks disagreeing with you cos you're a woman, yet nothing. It's just multiple attempts at deviation or one stereotype after another.

Jamesclooney:
...
Wake up, Labour Party. You’re our only hope because I cannot vote Conservative or Reform.

Hehe... so much ado. It'd be alright in the end
Labour dropped the ball on this and it wasn't difficult to predict. They believed their electoral narrative. The opposition speaks against anything the ruling party does- the ultimate downside of tribal politics . However, they should have a clear-headed team working on policy.

It's quite clear to anyone who has seen immigration from both ends that the tide would only continue (and get larger) if there was no deterrent. They could have piloried the conservatives but still used the Rwanda scheme while creating safe means to apply.
With the cost if living crises, it's virtually impossible to convince anyone to accept tax rises when they feel those coming via boats are given a free pass.

The next quagmire awaiting them is their inability to raise government revenue while also rapidly cutting legal migration (and likely growth). Ultimately, Rachel would break some of her pledges.

All said, in a system like the UK, I'd much rather Farage as PM than be influencing policy on the sidelines.

Zahra29:
Can't say, or can't be bothered to respond to your childish comments?🙄

Lol, but I just remembered when you played the racism card when a gentleman from your town asked you where you were from.

Poor man - getting accused of all sorts over an innocent question.

Another attempt at deviation.

So you said most opposition to your views here is angled on you being a woman and when asked to expatiate, you try everything to deviate it.

It's not difficult to see how people paint narratives and lean into stereotypes.

steroid:
The court has to explain how someone who is threatened, first needs to determine what's reasonable before defending themselves. This is ridiculous.

This is the law in most civilised nations aside some U.S. states.
The downside in the U.S is that folks can use bogus 'self-defence' claims to kill in a clearly racially motivated fashion and still walk away. Trayvon Martin remains a popular case here

Self defence has to be reasonable and proportionate. Admittedly, its not black and white and can be tricky in many cases but the underlying priniciple holds. I have no issues with the public outcry if folks feel justic is not being served

BTW, if such longstanding legal doctrine bring anarchy then perhaps, every western nation would have since burnt to the ground.

Diplomacy2020:
Good day to you all.
Please I need advice on this.
I woke up and found my patio door to the garden broken.
I called my insurance and was told I have £350 excess and their own vendor quoted £623. They requested that I pay £350 while they pay the rest. But I found a local vendor that quoted me £330.

What should I do please?

Tricky one.. eitherway, you'd pay for most or all of it.

Worth clarifying if using your insurance would count as a claim when you come to renew hence increasing your premium.

If the local chap has good reviews and is trustworthy, I'd prefer using him as he's overall cheaper and likely to be faster.

Subsequently, for repairs that are unlikely to exceed your excess, its worth checking the cost from local providers first.
MyBuilder app has been a God-sent in finding tradesmen - quick response and one can see reviews