The Latest in Mortgage News: New Data on Financial Distress in Canada A significant number of Canadian households reported being late on a debt payment or missing it entirely, according to a new report from Statistics Canada. The 2016 data from the agency’s Survey of Financial Security shows that more than 1-in-10 Canadians (11%) with some form […]

SOURCE OF FUNDS Over the past several years, investigators have been working on an ongoing investigation relating to criminal money laundering in Canada. Looking at B.C. alone, billions of dollars have been laundered through B.C. casinos by criminal organizations and parked in high end B.C. real estate over the past decade or more. With government […]

7 STEPS TO BUYING A HOME It’s important to understand the home buying process, so here’s a 7-step checklist. Step 1: Down Payment The hardest part to buying a home is saving the down payment (a gift from the Bank of Mom & Dad also works). • For purchases under $500,000 minimum down payment is […]

HOW A SIDE HUSTLE CAN CHANGE YOUR HOME-BUYING OUTLOOK So you want to buy a house, but you’re short on the downpayment. Have you ever considered getting into some sort of “side hustle.” The term side hustle describes something you do to make extra cash outside your full-time job. Anyone can make a hundred bucks […]

WE’RE NOT JUST A MORTGAGE COMPANY Well, it finally happened. I was meeting with a financial advisor today and they looked at my business card and asked “Why does it say Dominion Lending Centres and not Dominion Mortgage Company?” I have been waiting 7 years to hear this question. I had an answer all ready […]

A BANK THAT MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR TO YOU Quiz time! Who is the largest non-bank mortgage originator in Canada with over $100 billion dollars in mortgages under administration? Answer – First National Financial Corporation. If you’ve never heard of them before, don’t feel bad. The only way to get a First National mortgage is […]

HOW TO GET A 5% DOWN PAYMENT FOR A $500,000 PURCHASE We have seen a return of the buyers’ market and many people are asking, how long will this last? While some renters without a down payment might be asking, how can o put a plan in place to own? With the cost of living […]

MORTGAGE BROKER HISTORY AND MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS In the past, we had banks (bank as a catch all for credit unions and trust companies) and Mortgage Brokers. Writing mortgage applications is extremely difficult; there are a lot of moving parts in a mortgage. Because of this, banks employ mortgage specialists whose sole role is to provide […]

4 HOME IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL PAY YOU BACK Some home improvements provide more of a payback when you sell the house down the road. Here’s a list of the four home improvements which will provide the biggest payback when you sell.  Adding square footage – while this can be a very expensive project, adding to […]

Housing Market Continues Slow Recovery in May: CREA National home prices just about kept pace with inflation in May, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Property prices increased 1.8% to $508,000 year-over-year, or $397,000 when you exclude two of Canada’s most expensive cities: Toronto and Vancouver. The benchmark price, which many consider to […]