Can I sell my cottage tax-free? + MORE Sep 22nd

Q: How will the $200,000 tax-free capital gains affect our non-principal residence? Is each tenant entitled to $200,000? My wife and I are original owners / joint tenants of our cottage and we expect to sell before we hit the retirement home in a few years. The original building and properties costs were less than $10,000. Current assessment is $120,000. Our joint marginal tax rate is 20% and average tax rate 10%.
—Charles
A: Cottages can be great for unwinding and spending quality family time. They can be expensive for maintenance costs and ultimately income tax.
Assuming that you have another home that you live in, Charles, there will be tax implications from the sale of one of your two properties. You can actually claim the principal residence exemption for your cottage, making the sale tax-free without limits, but I’m guessing that the capital gain on your house would be larger and more preferable to shelter from capital gains tax as your principal residence…

We’ve all made dumb mistakes with our savings over the years. But one of the biggest mistakes investors make is doing nothing at all.
Over the last couple of years I’ve met an awful lot of folks who are sitting on large sums of cash. Some of these people used to be fully invested, but they got spooked and liquidated their portfolios—some have even been on the sidelines since the 2008-09 crisis. Others have sold a house or a business and are suddenly flush for the first time. In both cases, they tell me the idea of moving that cash into the markets is as appealing as jumping naked into the frigid ocean. And so they do nothing.
This may not seem like a grave mistake: after all, a savings account never goes down in value. But that’s ignoring opportunity cost: the returns you give up when you fail to implement your investment plan. A simple balanced portfolio such as the Global Couch Potato (40% bonds and 60% Canadian, U…