REVERSE MORTGAGES – NO, WE DON’T WANT YOUR HOME! Reverse Mortgages have had their share of misconceptions. In fact, we are often approached with false assumptions and unfounded facts about the product that steer the public to think of the product in a negative light. This article will cover one of the most common myths […]

So you have saved, and saved and you are finally ready to start house hunting…but before you do, there are a few things that you should be looking into BEFORE you start buying. Namely, your mortgage options. Did you know that there are various mortgage products? Or that each mortgage product has it own personality? They […]

INSURED, INSURABLE & UNINSURABLE VS HIGH RATIO & CONVENTIONAL MORTGAGES You might think you would be rewarded for toiling away to save a down payment of 20% or greater. Well, forget it. Your only prize for all that self-sacrifice is paying a higher interest rate than people who didn’t bother. Once upon a time we […]

WHY YOU SHOULD SPEAK TO YOUR MORTGAGE BROKER BEFORE YOU SELL YOUR HOME While many people will speak to a mortgage broker before buying a home, few people call a mortgage broker before selling a home. Calling could save you thousands of dollars and many sleepless nights. Why? Brokers understand mortgages and ask the right […]

During a recent trip to our nation’s Capital with folks from Dominion Lending Centres and other mortgage groups, an Ottawa insider made an interesting comment: “We don’t care about consumer debt, because we don’t guarantee it.” This comment was made in an effort to justify recent increased restrictions placed on borrowers taking out insured mortgages […]

The human brain struggles with distinguishing between a real or imagined threat. Is it a snake? Or just a shoelace? One may kill us quick, and so we react fast and think it through later… or maybe never. Is the often cited, rarely critiqued, ‘debt-to-income’ ratio a snake or a shoelace? A killer lying in […]

Every homebuyer eagerly anticipates closing day. With the home purchase process completed, ownership of the property transfers from the seller to the buyer – you! Closing date is negotiated as a condition of sale. You’ll typically have several weeks between the date that your agreement to purchase (sales contract) is signed and your closing date. […]

The Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) lets you split up your mortgage debt and borrow against your equity at low rates. The unique feature of this mortgage product is that you can slice the pie (the mortgage balance) into various segments. All of it is registered against the subject property title as just one […]

The last quarter of 2016 brought considerable change to Canada’s residential mortgage business. In October, the Department of Finance Canada announced new mortgage rules that have had a tempering effect on the market. Then, in late December, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) mandated a new capital framework for our three mortgage […]