Buying your first home is often the largest financial commitment you will have made and just coming up with the down payment is a difficult task for many! Then there are the legal fees, property transfer fees, disbursements and all those other costs that can really add up, creating a huge dent in your finances!Buying […]

If a buyer can’t obtain a mortgage due to poor credit, employment history, lack of down payment or income — most lenders will consider lending if there is someone to act as co-signor or guarantor for a mortgage. The two options provide different requirements. Co-signer or guarantor for a mortgage, which is best? People often […]

Trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and that can be seen as a single work of art or as three individual pieces. I pulled this definition from WIKIPEDIA. I wouldn’t quite go as far to say this series was ‘work of art,’ the only thing I did find comparable […]

We have finally seen a bump up in interest rates. The 5 year government bond rate hit a low of about .60 in mid-September and is now pushing towards 1%. The lenders have reacted to this and we have seen the low rates of 2.59% on the 5 year fixed rate disappear. Some banks have […]

On Friday, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced changes to down payment requirements. Effective February 15, 2016, the minimum down payment for new insured mortgages will increase from five per cent to 10 per cent for the portion of the house price above $500,000. The five per cent minimum down payment for properties up to $500,000 remains […]

Many Canadians think of retirement as a time filled with vacations, getaways to the cottage and spending more time on hobbies and interests. However, there are many other factors to consider when thinking about retirement savings. More and more Canadians are forgetting about some key obstacles that may change their perspective on what they actually […]

Growing in popularity over the past few years, the vendor take-back mortgage can help buyers to purchase and sellers to find qualified buyers – especially in a tough market. What is a vendor take-back mortgage – or VTB? When a seller offers to lend the buyer a portion of money towards the down payment – […]

With mortgage interest rates at historical lows, it is a wonderful time for first time home buyers to take the leap into the market. But there are some considerations and preparations to be made before starting the process. A higher level of bank scrutiny has come into play now that the governance of CMHC has […]

Lower oil prices, alongside a continued slump in mining and metals, has weighted on growth. Oil-dependent provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador have seen their economies hardest hit. That includes a drop in housing activity. Meantime, the more diversified economies of Ontario and B.C. are picking up, and housing sales and prices […]

Financing on home purchases can become more complicated when it comes to things like 60 amp electrical service, and aluminum wiring just to name a few! Another bad boy may be the vermiculite issue where vermiculite was used in the attics as insulation. Vermiculite is a silver-gold to gray-brown mineral that is flat and shiny in […]