In the early 1980s, I read a book about personal finance that dramatically changed my life — by almost destroying it. I was tripped up by my naivety in not knowing that while strategy is good, strategy well timed is much better. I got the timing part wrong. The apartment was bought with maximum leverage (i.e. debt) and was located near a popular ski resort. Such was my strategy. The five units, converted to condominiums, hit the real estate market just as Pierre Trudeau announced the National Energy Program. Buyers disappeared. The bank that held my rather large mortgage also took possession of a 150-unit condominium project that went bankrupt, completed the construction, and offered three months’ free rent to new tenants. All of my renters left for these greener pastures. I went to the bank manager and screamed at him — literally.
LYTLE: Bailed-out billionaires and communist ties — why Ottawa’s housing scam proves Alberta needs independence
