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 […]

Robert McLister Published Thursday, Feb. 02, 2017 12:30PM EST Last updated Thursday, Feb. 02, 2017 11:19AM EST “What’s your best mortgage rate?” was once a fairly straightforward question. These days, it’s impossible to respond intelligently to it without asking a litany of other questions. That’s true today more than ever thanks to recent federal rule […]

Body expert Alan Pease, co-author of The Definitive Book of Body Language, reveals the signals you may be sending without even realising it and how to change them. 1. Crossing your body “Most people, when they’re giving bad news, have a tendency to cross their arms on their chest or hold hands with themselves in front […]