#8 — Ron Butler: Real Estate, Mortgages and The Housing-Affordability Crisis

Our guest this episode is Ron Butler—a 30-year veteran of the mortgage industry and owner of Butler Mortgage. Some of you may recognize Ron from his social media rants or his “Angry Mortgage Podcast” where he uses colourful language and profanity to express his opinions (and share his wisdom!) on the world of real estate and mortgages.  In this episode, Dave and Ron discuss all things real estate including the pros/cons of using a mortgage broker, where they think interest rates are headed, whether people should use fixed- or variable-rate mortgages and much, much more.  Enjoy this entertaining and insightful episode. Show Notes 00:00 – Intro & Disclaimer 00:57 – Intro to Ron Butler 03:20 – Pros/Cons of Using a Mortgage Broker 05:29 – Canada vs. USA Use of Mortgage Brokers 08:19 –  Where Ron Thinks Interest Rates Are Headed 09:47 –  Divergence Between Haves vs. Have-Not 11:48 – Fixed vs. Variable Mortgage Rates 13:54 – Parents Helping with Down Payments 18:02 –  The Financialization of Housing 20:07 – Where Are Housing Prices Headed? 25:51 – The Small-Condo Market 30:09 – 30-Year Amortizations 32:10 – High Transaction Costs in Real Estate 34:46 – Renovations 39:37 – Big vs. Small Homes 43:23 – High Housing Costs Causing People to Leave Canada 46:10 –  The Housing-Affordability Crisis 51:42 – Rapid-Fire Questions 57:16 – An F-Bomb-Filled Ron Rant 59:03 – Conclusion