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Posted by: Garth Chapman
On October 17th Canadians awoke to the news that the nation’s banking regulator (OSFI) has announced that they will in fact go ahead on Jan 1, 2018 with a stress test for all conventional mortgage borrowers (those with more than 20% down). This new Stress test will require that home-buyers (and those refinancing existing homes) […]
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In 2018 the mortgages of 47% of Canadians will mature. Roughly 70% of them will simply sign the mailed renewal offer from their bank. Without even attempting to negotiate the rate. On average those borrowers will pay 0.25% above the then-current market rate. That’s an extra $52 per month on a $400,000 mortgage. But it […]
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If you have a Line of Credit (HELOC or LOC) on your property you are paying a much higher rate of interest to the bank. Why not put some of that money in your own pocket instead of in the bank’s? Your savings will likely be in the range of 1% or more of the […]
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Do you want to know what the true year-over-year price changes are city by city in Canada? The Teranet National Bank National Composite House Price Index is not distorted by our ever-larger and more luxurious houses and condos. Teranet tracks same-house sales by market across Canada that is easy to drill down into the data to see […]
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One of the world’s truly great drives, and one we have done almost from top to bottom more than once, is North America’s Highway 93. It runs from Jasper Alberta down through Golden BC and to Invermere BC (where we used to have a summer home) and then south through Montana, Idaho, Utah and Nevada […]
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I have had a couple of conversations with one of the business owners who I do some business coaching for on productivity and on how teams can share information and schedules to be more effective. So since then I have done some research, and this piece is one of the best I found. In fact […]
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The single most common and often most significant road to financial security for Canadians is paved by home ownership. And for first-time home-buyers often the largest barrier to getting started is the monthly cost. So why not consider a home with a rental suite that would allow you to have a tenant who pays rent, […]
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Housing affordability in Alberta’s cities is better than it has been since the 1980’s in most areas. In measuring housing affordability there are 3 major components: Incomes, Housing Prices, and Mortgage Interest Rates. So let’s briefly look at those 3 key factors. Alberta incomes, though down, are still leading the nation. Housing Prices are down […]
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If you have a mortgage on a property in Fort McMurray, and you might need to arrange for a payment holiday or other help of any kind, call your mortgage lender – they are all expecting you to call. If you are unsure how to handle that call, just phone your Mortgage Broker (even if […]
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How will you ensure your real estate business prospers in tough times? What are you doing to adjust your business to our new economic realities? Here are my practices, built on what I learned in 44 years in business, and as published in REIN Life magazine here http://magazine.reincanada.com/2016_Issue1/ on pages 33 & 34. 1) Keep a balanced view: […]
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