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Posted by: Garth Chapman
History tells us that interest rates tend to go up much more quickly than they come down. A brief primer Variable mortgage rates are driven by the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) Overnight Rate, as it effectively determines the banks’ Prime Rates. The banks offer discounts to their Prime Rate to mortgage borrowers, and those […]
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On the current confusion around credit scores… There are several articles recently published on the issue of the credit score consumers see from various providers versus the credit score that Mortgage Brokers, Banks and Mortgage Lenders see. Credit scores on consumer credit reports will generally not mirror the Beacon Scores on the credit reports that […]
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Establishing and Maintaining Sufficient Active Credit to qualify for a mortgage To qualify for a mortgage you must have at least 2 credit cards or personal lines of credit (PLC) or other type of acceptable credit with a minimum limit of $2,500 and must use those credit facilities for at least 2 full years. If […]
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Bank of Canada Holds Overnight Rate Steady, But Suggests Rate Increase Coming Sooner Than Expected The Bank of Canada made its latest rate announcement on April 21 and, as expected, committed to holding its target overnight rate steady at 0.25 per cent. However, in response to new signs of strong economic recovery across the country, […]
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A coalition of Canada’s largest retailers and commercial property owners is lobbying Ottawa for a rent relief package that could see major landlords slash rent by one-third for their distressed tenants and walk away from billions of dollars in revenue, while providing loans to retailers to cover the rest of their rent. The group, which […]
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As tenants face the challenge of paying rents, building owners, particularly those with hard-hit retail spaces, have had to consider options in order to cover their own costs. These include property taxes that have soared over the years in major cities. The owners with mortgages are in a particularly challenging spot. “Those with tenants in […]
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From an article by Colliers International The capitalization rate of a real estate investment is calculated by dividing the property’s net operating income by the current market value. It’s the most popular measure for how real estate investments are assessed for profitability and rate of return. Our expectation is that they will start to go […]
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How will the recession brought about by government measures to combat COVID-19 impact commercial real estate valuations? While it’s still too early to know long-term repercussions, companies are currently carrying out stress tests, forecasts, analyses and covenant-checks of assets to try to avoid surprises later. Theoretically, property values should be moving lower as risks […]
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There are a number of multi-family projects in Alberta that have stalled, primarily due to a lack of funding caused by cost overruns, lenders backing out and other causes related to a struggling economy. Such incomplete MF projects can be saved if the Developer is prepared to convert the use of their stalled out project […]
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Posted by: Garth Chapman
Canada’s oil industry is fighting for its life. In 2014, a barrel of crude sold for US$100-plus. This week, supply and demand got so distorted that people literally had to be paid to take a barrel of oil. Oil’s decline is a mega-trend that will directly or indirectly affect Canadians for decades to come. It […]
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