average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

hi my name is john and i am soon moving to alberta. Where i already have a job waiting. I have read a lot of threads on this site and so has my wife. We know that a lot of people think that canada is a cheaper country. 'Or should i say a better standard of life' but there are a couple of things i am concerned about. Like tuition fees for your kids, is this just for collage or is it first and secondary school. Ive seen threads with figures of $20.000 or $30.000 before tax a year is this true. Any way gatting back to the subject i just want to know if my salary will cover us over there and if my wife will need to work. Take into account that we will probaly have a morgage of about $200.000 on top of what ever we put down thanks.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

Hi John

mortgage can only be a max of 32 % of gross monthly income

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

Just to avoid possible confusion, bb means that the monthly mortgate payments (principle, interest and taxes) shouldn't exceed 32% of gross monthly income.

Obviously, the max amount borrowed depends on interest rate, amortization term and property taxes.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

I have been advised we should be able to borrow around $235,000 on my salary alone. Anything less would be even better obviously.
It is all the other bills/fees/taxes that concern me.
Does anyone know the average wage for a Carpenter in Alberta so I know I am not being taken for a ride.
Thanks for your answers in advance.
John

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=Sarahad]I have been advised we should be able to borrow around $235,000 on my salary alone. Anything less would be even better obviously.
It is all the other bills/fees/taxes that concern me.
Does anyone know the average wage for a Carpenter in Alberta so I know I am not being taken for a ride.
Thanks for your answers in advance.
John[/QUOT

my hubby is going on $ 75,000 pa and we reckon we would be able to have monthly mortgage pof around $1700 pm

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

my hubby is going on $ 75,000 pa and we reckon we would be able to have monthly mortgage pof around $1700 pm[/QUOTE]

Burton, is your hubby a carpenter also??

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

For Uni tuition fees that sort of annual level is reserved for doctors and dentists, and perhaps lawyers. ~$7k is typical for arts, and low to mid teens for engineering at a good school., so for a normal 4 years course total that might be right for total Uni tuition for an Arts degree.

I was surprised to read about school fees for kids in Alberta too. Not the norm in the ontario public schools for sure.

Acording to Monster.ca "Carpenter level III" in Edmonton has a median income of ~$50k. Like most stats thats perhaps a bit out of date with the boom creating labour shortages for skilled tradespeople

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

It depends on the province but for Ontario even that $7k/annum figure is on the high side. Right now its nearer $5k for a vanilla flavoured BA / BSc. Quebec is cheapest and I believe Alberta is somewhere in the middle.

Property taxes vary hugely both by region and of course by property value. For us, about 1% of appraised value per year is a decent guide.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

I have been offered just over $54k, all fuel paid, mileage expenses and health/life benefits. Im not sure how much i will actually see of my wages after tax as from the figures the company have given me it seems half your wages are taken as tax???
I think my wife will end up having to work, this is not a problem as we are willing to do what it takes to make things work, we would have just preferred for her to stay home for a year until our daughter started school.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

It's not quite as bad as that! I earn (a lot) more than that and have about 33% deducted for tax (fed + provincial). On 54K it'd be a much smaller proportion. Maybe someone earning roughly that amount can give you a clearer idea. But I'd expect that you're right about needing a second income.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

I'm on $55ish (Northern Allowance additional to this) and take home pay works out at just short of $3K per month; however my HOOP pension payments come off salary at source and amount to a hefty figure each pay period, so without pension disposable income would be higher.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

I suppose i will have to do alot of overtime!! which i am used to over here anyway!
Hopefully we can make things work.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=burton bunch]Sorry, Am I reading this right? You are planning to meet a $1700 per month mortgage commitment on a $75k annual salary? Not sure of your circumstances but I would say that would be a bit of a struggle when you add property taxes, utilities, healthcare, car payments, car insurance etc etc on top of that. This assumes you want to do more than work and sit at home in your undoubtably lovely house and stare at the walls cos thats all you can afford to do! ;)

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

Single income, using a married allowance, you should get to keep about 75% in very rough terms.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=Atlantic Xpat]Yep, thats nuts. They will have a big house they cant afford to heat.

We struggle to get ahead on $65k gross with an $800 mortgage and property tax commitment, and very little other debt to service. No car payments or anything like that.

The bank will probably lend them that much, but I wouldnt want to have to pay it back, although personal tax is a little lower in AB, so they get to take more of the 75k home.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=iaink]Too right. For a month or two this year I paid a $1200 mortgage payment from a salary not dissimilar to yours. It was a strain. In fact, saddled with a large car payment, the two of us lived on that income but had no free cash for discretionary spending on fun stuff. I'm not sure how we'd make it work with kids so you have my respect. Now Mrs AX is working full time our situation is much improved. (Mortgage and car payment is reduced considerably as well.)

On top of a $1700 mortgage you've got to be looking at at least $200 in property tax, $2-300 pm in utilities, Say $200 in phone/internet/tv, car payment anywhere from $300 upwards, car insurance $200+ so thats the thick end of $3k before you eat or buy gas. Take home on $75k is going to be in the order of $4500 tops so thats tight, very tight IMHO. Perhaps its the only way to afford a house in AB?

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

Do you pay school fees for just a normal school in Alberta?? Our daughter is not yet due to start school she will be 4 in January, but it is a concern for the future?

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=Atlantic Xpat]$235,000 won't cost $1700/month. I've just been quoted $1530 for $250,000 on a high risk high ratio mortgage.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=dbd33]Hi dd, I think the $235,000 was relating to me not the person who quoted the $1700 figure. Just out of curiosity if income is only $55000 what amount a month do people think would be realistic to pay on a mortgage?

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

There are school fees for non-private schools in Alberta, the exact amount escapes me but it is only a couple of hundred $ per year plus a few more $ for paper/folders/pencils etc. They can't charge too much because some other Provinces/Territories don't charge anything and Politicians hate losing votes ;)

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=Sarahad]$800?

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=dbd33]Will have to make do with a shack at the bottom of someones garden then! hee hee! :eek:

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

As long as that includes the property taxes too! At current rates that would be about $100k over 25 years.

Even then if you are having to find money for things like cars, the sky high insurance costs that newbies face, sundry start up expenses, $800 a month from a gross income of $55k, plus the expenses of running a home (heat, hydro, upkeep) its going to be tight.

Even without those expenses we dont have any change from $65k gross, and we dont live anything like a decadent lifestyle, although having kids accounts for some of our expenses. Sooner I can kick the OH out to get a job, the better, but child care expenses make that an impractical proposition. The joy of having no family near by to help out.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=Sarahad]That would be more than 25% of take home pay. Spending more than that on housing in a country where you must have a car doesn't make a lot of sense.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=Sarahad]Out of 55K a month I’d allow ~27% for deductions, so take home of about $40K.

As for a mortgage payment, around $1100 a month?? Once you add taxes / elec / gas etc. you would have used well over half of a monthly pay check!

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

We were quoted $1200 for borrowing $205,000 over 25 years. I know we shouldn't convert to £ but it still seems more expensive than a £100K mortgage in the UK.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=Sarahad]In Calgary, with the crazy increases in property prices, you can now get a 35 year mortgage or interest only mortgages :scared: wouldn't recommend it myself.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

Just keep in mind that your 205k house will probably attract about 2k+ in property taxes that the mortgage company will want to ensure are up to date...adding another 200 a month to your monthly payment.

My actual $800 a month to the bank is 600 for the mortgage and 200 for the property taxes.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

I know it all depends on the company, but anyone know if i am likely to get a pay rise?? if so what is average time before you get one?? I know this question is abit like how long is a peice of string! but just wondering from peoples experiences who have moved to Canada.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

I guess it depends entirely on your other outgoings. If you are looking at a $200k Mortgage then that'll be a fair chunk of your wages gone on that. We just tied in for a 4 yr fixed rate on a $181k Mortgage and that is costing us just under $600 every 2 weeks. (hub gets paid bi-weekly) But the mortgage is our only big debt. No loans etc.
Then you have property taxes, ours comes in at approx $200 per month here in Sh Pk. Utilities can be pricey. Car ins def is.

Don't worry yourself about school fees if your daughter is only little. My son's Kindergarten fees last yr was only about $25 plus a few school supplies. This yrs Grade 1 was a bit more. $135 plus supplies. Plus you get $100 per month for all children under 6 to help towards costs.

If you take on a big mortgage and other loans etc, then you will probably struggle a bit on $54k. If you watch the expenditure you may just have to tighten the purse strings until you both are working.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

In Calgary this year the elementary school fee was $48 per child for the year. The school provided all of the supplies. A large chunk of the fee was voluntary - I dont remember the amount because we were planning on paying all of it.

It is less for kindergarden but more for junior high and senior high.

A bigger concern is your preschool fees. We paid $250/month for junior kindergarden for our younger child four years ago. You can get cheaper but we wanted more than finger painting and screaming.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

I've never paid the taxes through the mortgage company. There was some good reason for not doing so cited at the beginning of the first mortgage but, alas, I can't remember what it was. I just pay the city directly.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

Sounds pretty much the same to me. A rough rule of thumb, 25year repayment mortgage at around 5.5% is $600 a month give or take. Makes for an easy ready reckoner when looking at prices/mortgage payments. So GBP100k = 600 quid a month and $100k = $600. The $235k mortgage referred to earlier will cost around $1400 on that basis which isn't a million miles out.

Incidentally, I think it is pretty common in Canada to be paid bi-weekly rather than monthly. My tip is to set up your mortgage payment bi-weekly also as otherwise it can pay hell with cashflow during the month!

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

[QUOTE=Sarahad]Made $40-51k in Alberta in 1997-9, kept our mortgage at $700/mth. Would not expect to pay more than 25% of my net pay on a mortgage as others have said theres plenty of other bills to pay for a family of four. Even then at the start we supplement our income using savings from England for a first few years.

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

We want to get as small a mortgage as we possibly can but the house prices there at the moment are kinda frightening me!! :scared: Hopefully we will drop on with a house and not have to spend as much as that... fingers crossed!! John will be paid bi-weekly too. I suppose we wont really know what it is all going to be like until we are actually living there and paying all the bills. We are just trying to look at all the bad bits at the moment so we are prepared!!

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

It is hard. I remember having all those worries too. You just DON"T KNOW the outgoings, so can only guesstimate. The first few months were v.expensive with all the set up costs, so keep some $ back for all that. And if you are arriving in the winter, the heating bills could be high, aswell as needing to kit yourselves out with snowboots,good gloves, hats, blah blah blah.
Snow tires for your car can dent the wallet too in the winter.
You'll feel like its all spend spend spend at first, and for the first few months I still didn't know our outgoings as its all distorted.

Are you planning to rent first or buy asap.?? Theres a lovely home nr me gone up for sale with com.free if you fancy a nice English Neighbour !!!

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

$80 of our fee was so my son could stay at school for the lunchtime period,(to cover the cost of lunch hour supervision) and he takes sandwiches !!!!!

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

How much is the home near you?! just outta curiosity!!! hee hee!

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

Ok on that basis we have another $230 dollars for one child to eat his sandwiches at school. I didnt consider that to be a school fee as you can always choose to have lunch at home (assuming you live near the school).

Re: average salary for carpenter in alberta
 

Just got my daughters (Grade nine) bill for school this year - with year book and extra's; nearly $500 :eek: :mad: (not including Gym strip)

That also doesn't include her regular 'supplies' like binders paper, pens/pencils etc - we went shopping for those ourselves, and spent another $107.

Edit to add: The only plus was the bussing fee! At only $110 for the year, it works out to about 20% of the cost of gas alone, if I were to drive her myself (no wear and tear or mileage) :)