“Spring has a way of bringing everything back to life, even a broken heart—or a dated, messy house.” ~ Willie Nelson (roughly interpreted)   Spring is typically a busy season for the housing market in Canada. Whether you’re looking to sell or help your home bloom where it’s planted, these value-add ideas will be worth […]

Many homeowners—especially those without a mortgage broker—don’t fully understand mortgage penalties. And I get it! Financing a home can be overwhelming. But if you’re considering refinancing, selling, making a lump sum payment, or need a way out, read this first. The most common mortgage penalty my clients encounter is a prepayment penalty. Did you know? […]

Roughly 50% of your interest is paid in the first 10 years of your mortgage. So if we can decrease the lifetime of the mortgage, this could provide a huge value in savings. So lets say you want to put 25% down on a $1 million dollar purchase, here is why we would we say […]

Until recently there has not been much in the way of official press releases from the insurance industry, and just this week the Insurance Brokers Association of BC provided a comprehensive document outlining why we have a problem and how it is affecting strata corporations. I encourage current strata owners to have a read of […]

A new study by Zoocasa shows that homes in Vancouver may be costly to buy, but they are cheaper to own than in other cities. Out of the 25 major cities studied, Vancouver has the lowest property tax rates which can more than offset the higher prices of housing in that city. The owner of […]

Canada’s big banks are locked in a competitive pricing war over variable-rate mortgages, but economic trends point to more interest rate hikes ahead — leaving Canadian mortgage borrowers struggling to interpret the mixed messages. The Bank of Canada has raised its trend-setting interest rate once this year and is expected to do so at least […]

Paying off a large debt like your rental property’s mortgage is unquestionably a great and liberating feat, but there are several circumstances where you might not want to do that. Here are the other situations to consider that could make paying off a rental mortgage early a poor choice: 1) You lose your mortgage interest […]

Rates have substantially increased over the last 6 of months. We have seen 3 prime rate increases with more on the horizon. Fixed rate mortgages have also followed suit due to bond market instability and the increases are noticeable. Consumer sentiment has rapidly moved from Adjustable rate products to longer term Fixed rates of 5 […]

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) issued a revision to Guideline B-20 on October 17, 2017. The changes will go into effect on January 1, 2018, and will require conventional mortgage applicants to qualify at the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark rate or the customer’s mortgage interest rate +2%, whichever is greater. […]

One month of headlines suggest interest rates are dropping to new lows, another says no changes anytime soon, and recently many headlines seem to be suggesting an increase soon. This stream of mixed messages contradicting one another has been steady since rates dropped to 50-year record lows in 2009. Many were adamant in 2009, and […]