His wife’s health crisis is real and possibly life-threatening — but The Ramsey Show says buying a home right now isn’t the answer

What made it more complicated was the financial picture. Gary’s wife is the household’s only income earner, bringing in US$250,000 to US$300,000 (C$340,000 to C$408,000) a year. Gary is a stay-at-home father and hasn’t worked in five years.

Gary’s last role, a management position at a non-profit, paid US$50,000 (C$68,000). The home they were eyeing near his family would cost around US$700,000 (C$952,000) — roughly double the value of their current home.

Then things got even more serious. While house hunting — they had already made two offers — Gary’s wife was diagnosed with cancer due to her alcoholism. Everything stopped.

“We would be buying a house that’s probably about twice as expensive as the one we currently have … I’m pretty sure in two to three years after we make the move, we will not be able to afford it,” Gary told hosts Kamel and Cruze. “The doctors are saying if things continue with her, she’ll probably be dead in three years.”

Here’s what Cruze and Kamel had to say.

When renting is the right call

Gary’s situation is a reminder that even with good intentions and family support, a major home purchase during a period of financial and personal instability can quickly become a crisis of its own.

For context: The family currently owes US$280,000 (C$381,000) on a home they could sell for about US$375,000 (C$510,000), meaning they would walk away with roughly US$80,000 (C$109,000) in equity. Gary’s parents have offered to give him between US$100,000 and US$150,000 (C$136,000 to C$204,000) as a gift for a down payment.

Even so, Kamel’s advice was clear: Move closer to family, but rent — at least for now.

“That solves this problem temporarily until we figure out what’s going on with the finances,” Kamel said. He suggested Gary consider using part of his parents’ gift to cover rent while the family finds its footing: “I might use part of [their gift] to say, hey, cover rent. We just got to figure out our life and then you’ll know a whole lot more a year from now if things are going to get better or if they’re going to get worse.”

The numbers back up his warning. In Canada, the gap between renting and owning is significant. According to the Remax, the all-in monthly cost of homeownership — including mortgage payments, property taxes and maintenance — is frequently higher compared to rental costs by between $1,400 and $3,400 a month, depending on the city and property type. In high-demand markets like Toronto and Vancouver, that gap can be even wider.

In other words, renting isn’t a consolation prize. In times of income uncertainty, it can be the decision that keeps a family financially stable.

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The income risk that changes everything

Cruze zeroed in on the core vulnerability in Gary’s plan: His entire household income sits on one person’s shoulders — and that person is seriously ill.

“I don’t know if I would make a financial move, a big purchase like a home right now,” Cruze said. “There’s a lot of instability going on. And so, I would find a place to be renting. And then you guys could look up in a year, year and a half, and see where you’re at with her health and your job situation, family situation, all of it. But I wouldn’t tie myself down to a big purchase like a home right now.”

Kamel agreed — raised another concern about having a mortgage. “Personally I would not buy a home until she is sober because there’s too much risk that her income is floating this entire thing. If one thing happens, you’ve got a US$600,000 (C$816,000) mortgage with no income or even a US$50,000 (C$68,000) income and now you’re going to be facing [power of sale or foreclosure].”

In Canada, this is a particularly important consideration. Under the federal mortgage stress test, borrowers must qualify at the higher of the Bank of Canada’s posted qualifying rate or their contract rate plus two percentage points — meaning lenders already assume things could get harder.

But stress tests don’t account for a complete loss of household income. If Gary’s wife were to die or become unable to work, the family would have no way to service a mortgage of that size on Gary’s previous annual income of US$50,000 (C$68,000).

In most Canadian provinces, when a homeowner defaults, the lender can initiate a power of sale (most commonly in Ontario) or judicial foreclosure (in provinces like British Columbia and Alberta), ultimately forcing the sale of the home, often at a loss to the owner. Gary’s family could end up losing not only the home, but the equity and the parental gift that went into it.

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Getting back to work

Beyond the housing question, Cruze pointed Gary toward another gap in the plan: He has no income of his own.

Part of Gary’s reason for staying home is that he doesn’t feel comfortable leaving his son alone with his wife, given her alcoholism. That’s a personal decision that Cruze and Kamel respected — but they also encouraged him to think ahead.

Cruze suggested that once Gary is near his parents, he takes advantage of their help with childcare and begins rebuilding his professional career — not just for the financial security it provides now, but to support the family long-term if his wife’s condition worsens.