Each Office Independently Owned & Operated
Posted by: Garth Chapman
OSFI on the STRESS TEST – expect a modest relaxation, likely not enough to really help us on the Prairies. OSFI on RENEWALS – not sure if we’ll see elimination of the stress test for borrowers who want to move their maturing mortgage to another lender at maturation. OSFI on HELOCS – we may see […]
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Once upon a time we had high ratio vs. conventional mortgages, now they are Insured, Insurable or Uninsurable. How it Was Then High ratio mortgage – down payment less than 20%, insurance (aka CMHC insurance) paid by the borrower. Conventional mortgage – down payment of 20% or more, the lender had a choice whether to […]
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From June 1, 2018 the City created a 2 year amnesty period, during which the City has created a grandfather program for existing secondary suites in single family homes, where you must show proof the suite was in operation prior to December 2007. As of 2019 the grandfather program now effectively includes all existing secondary […]
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I turned 65 this year, I’m not retired, and that is just fine with me. I enjoy what I do, especially on those occasions when I can truly help make a real difference to a family’s present or future. In fact, it has long been my plan to not retire, but I wanted to ensure […]
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Once upon a time it was fairly easy to answer the question “what rate will I qualify for?” Back then higher down-payments resulted in lower interest rates on your mortgage. Now neither of those are the case. Once upon a time you either had a high ratio or a conventional mortgage. Now you will have an insured, or insurable or uninsurable mortgage. […]
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Ultra low mortgage rates, offered through various internet sites, are often restricted mortgages. You may have higher prepayment penalties than generally available in the marketplace, as high as 3% of your mortgage balance. Low rate mortgages often do not allow an in-term transfer, which is generally referred to as porting the mortgage with you to […]
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The rumor mills are buzzing. Global News and other media outlets are reporting some new details on the new First-Time Buyer Incentive, also referred to as an Equity Participation Mortgage. What is being discussed by the media is mostly the same information as was disclosed in the budget. CMHC has just released some details found here. The […]
Read MoreInvestment (Rental) Properties
Posted by: Garth Chapman
A timely post by Real Estate Lawyer and Educator, Barry McGuire, who I have had the pleasure of learning many ins and outs of real estate investing from since 2013. With over 40 years of legal experience and the highest personal and integrity, who else would you want to learn from, or to have represent you? READ […]
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First, some little-known good news: you don’t actually have to be a first-time homebuyer to qualify. A first-time home buyer you must not have lived in another home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner in the year of acquisition or any of the four preceding years. The Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) is a program that […]
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We have found that crafting and sticking to a realistic budget has been a key in our own financial health. In our early years together, after our expenses started to get ahead of our income, we started with a hand-written budget and an envelope for each expense item. These days we have computers and smart […]
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