How To Repair, Increase and Maintain Your Credit (The Do’s and Don’ts) Credit scores are like report cards for grown-ups. The score you get ranges from 300 to 900. Your score indicates your creditworthiness to potential lenders, banks, landlords, insurance companies, and even to some employers, for instance. The higher your score the better. A […]

What is a Credit Score and How is it Calculated?  The credit score is used by lenders to predict the probability of you repaying your monthly expenses and mortgage; how credit worthy are ‘you’? Credit scores range from 300 to 900, 70% of Canadians have a score between 700 and 850. There are 5 components […]

Credit Score and Report Overview Have you ever wondered how your credit score is calculated? Have you ever asked, but are always given vague answers? I will tell you exactly how credit scores are determined for Canadian credit users. Over the next 4 months I intend to inform, educate and coach you through on how […]

this blog courtesy of Genworth Canada What to keep in mind when creating a second suite Reporter/Byline: Mark Weisleder for the Toronto Star Income from a basement apartment can help first-time buyers carry the costs of their home. But it’s not as simple as placing an online ad; homeowners must take due diligence to ensure […]

The ‘Starbucks effect’: Higher home prices Living near a Starbucks has its benefits for homeowners, whether you’re a coffee drinker or not. The value of homes within a quarter-mile of a Starbucks rise faster than those that aren’t, according to real estate research group Zillow (Z). With tens of thousands of Starbucks locations in the […]

Vancouver, British Columbia – Canada’s largest private mortgage and lending institution Dominion Lending Centres (DLC) has announced that celebrated economist Dr. Sherry Cooper has taken the position of Chief Economist effective immediately. Prior to joining DLC, Dr. Cooper was the chief economist with one of Canada’s largest financial institutions and is well versed in the […]

The Week in Economic and Real Estate News The Canadian Real Estate Association published national December sales data last week which showed that activity in December, although down from November’s level, was about 8% higher than in December, 2013. More than 481,000 resale homes changed hands in Canada in 2014, the highest level in seven […]

1. More mortgage restrictions to come With Ottawa paring down its mortgage exposure, the Bank of Canada estimating up to 30 per cent overvaluation in Canada’s housing market, over-indebted consumers and average home prices incessantly breaking records, policy makers will restrict the mortgage market yet again. New limits on government-backed mortgage funding will make it […]

The Canadian Real Estate Association published national resale data for October early last week. Both sales volumes and average prices were about 7% higher than a year ago. The MLS Home Price Index rose by 5.5%. CAAMP’s Fall survey report and analysis was published last week. It forecasts that the rate of growth in mortgage […]

Annual State of the Residential Mortgage Market in Canada Significant Statistics During 2014, 31% of Canadians obtained their mortgage from a mortgage broker,61% directly from a bank. For mortgage holders who renewed their mortgage in the last 12 months, 78% saw a reduction in their rate. Mortgage discounting remains prevalent across Canada, for a 5 […]