Most young people we talk to believe they can’t afford to buy a place. The average GTA house price really freaks them out. The reality is that with mortgage rates being so low, most can typically buy with their mortgage payment being close to their current rent.
So why not explore?
Check out how much you can [...]
Tags: General · Mortgages · Real Estate
The Canadian economy grew at its slowest since 2003 leading to a greater chance of an interest rate cut by half a percent.
Now it’s still unclear how much the Bank of Canada will be cutting its rates. It will soon be revealed Tuesday morning. But many economists have already been speculating the [...]
And you thought doing your taxes was confusing! There are just so many choices when it comes to rates – fixed, variable, open, closed, long term, short term, etc. We’d like to help out by stick-handling you through the confusion.
First off, let’s clear up the confusion between the words “amortization” and “term”. [...]
Sort of a silly question to ask around Christmas. Who has the money to increase their mortgage payment? At the same time it is a good idea to start thinking about budgeting for the new year - perhaps, while digesting the turkey dinner.
Many homeowners are now aware of the advantages of making a bi-weekly mortgage [...]
Knowing what you can afford is the first rule of home buying and that depends on your income and how much debt you have. In general, lenders don’t want borrowers to spend more than 28 percent of their gross income per month on a mortgage payment or more than 36 percent on debts.
It’s worth [...]
Tags: General · Mortgages · Real Estate
Title fraud is something we all hear about but may not completely understand. It’s not just an Ontario problem, it affects the industry across Canada and the United States. A conference of investigators in December in Toronto called mortgage fraud an epidemic. In December, the Ontario government responded by passing a legislation [...]
The simple answer is YES. Lenders require it!
Mortgage insurance eliminates the risk to lenders, allowing them to offer borrowers like you mortgage funding at much lower interest rates and with smaller down payments than would otherwise be required.
Mandatory mortgage loan insurance provides a necessary safety net to the financial system, helping to ensure the availability [...]
Here are some strategies that you might want to think about when renewing or negotiating your mortgage:
Frequent Payments: The most common mortgage payment is monthly, but there are other options such as weekly or bi-weekly. Sure it’s extra payments, but they will chip away at your principle and decrease the amount of interest overall.
Make [...]
Canadians have discovered mortgage brokers. Almost one in three home buyers now go to a broker for their mortgage, and the trend is growing fast. (In the U.S., brokers negotiate 80% of mortgages!). However, there are still many Canadians who are unaware of the differences between mortgage brokers and bank mortgage specialists, commonly [...]
Toronto is becoming very much like NYC and London as far as affordability for first time home-buyers. According to a new study from Stats Canada, 71 percent of first-timers bought in a rural area or small town compared with 54 percent who bought in the city. This, however, is often not the preferred choice as [...]
Tags: General · Mortgages · Real Estate