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Anti-home ownership retirement plan fuels debate in Montreal

A couple in their 30s who managed to retire after skipping a pricey Toronto mortgage has Montrealers wondering: should I do the same?

Computer engineers Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung say they lived on a shoestring budget while putting money away for a mortgage, but even with $500,000 to spend, Toronto's housing market discouraged them from buying.

Over several years the couple invested and grew their savings to $1 million.

Their website, Millennial Revolution, offers advice to others who want to do the same.

Some people were inspired by the original CBC story, but it also generated many hateful comments.

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"Nobody should ever follow this advice. Complete garbage," one reader wrote in the story's comments section.

"Ahhh … the good old shallow selfie generation telling us how to live our lives," commented another person.

Shen said she expected they would face criticism.

"I'm actually not surprised by all the hate that we're getting, even my parents were upset I didn't want to buy a house," Shen told CBC Montreal's Radio Noon in a phone interview from Kyoto, Japan.

"I called home ownership a bit of a 'cult' and the backlash we're getting over that shows just how much of a cult it is," Leung added. "Anyone who tries to question it gets burned at the stake."

With the couple on the line, Radio Noon asked what listeners thought of the story.

'Question home ownership as a rite of passage'

Janice in downtown Montreal called to say she agrees that skipping home ownership is ideal. She and her husband also haven't bought a house and are investing instead.

"We get to travel and not be tied down in the debt that we know our friends are living," she said.

"A lot of people need to question the idea of buying a house as a right of passage into adulthood. Our generation needs to question that a lot."

What if you don't make a 6-figure salary?

Another caller, Olivia in Côte-des-Neiges said she thinks Shen and Leung's experience is more the exception than the norm.

"For the majority of young people, they don't make a six-figure salary until much later in their career. So this idea of saving and not buying a house may not work for them," Olivia said.

She said average young people may find buying a house to be a better option than renting since accommodation costs will come out of a personal budget anyway.

"I came to Canada as a single mom and bought a house. Within three years I sold that house and grossed about $80,000. There's no way I could have saved that kind of money making less than $40,000 per year, just by cutting costs," Olivia said.

Homes and families

Alex in Pointe-Claire said owning is better for families.

"I buy a house and make ends meet and my kids can be attached to that property," Alex said.

Salina in Kirkland said she and her husband looked for a home but found housing prices to be too expensive when they were living in Copenhagen, Denmark.

However, when she came back to Montreal she found it was more expensive to rent than own.

"It depends on making a smart choice when it comes to buying a house," Salina said.

She said with three kids it is less expensive for her and her husband to own in Montreal rather than buy.

"Maybe you don't need the big house, you don't need the swimming pool, you don't need the fancy features. But you need a house that's good for your family."