6 Home Purchase Closing Costs When you purchase your home, there are 6 additional costs to account for. They include: Home Fire and Flood Insurance Title Insurance Legal Fees Adjustments Land Transfer Tax GST Here’s an overview of what you can expect. Home and Fire Insurance. Mortgage lenders will require a certificate of fire insurance […]

What is a Refinance? Refinancing a home is one of those things where people understand what it is but have trouble explaining how it works. To put it simply, refinancing your home allows you to access the equity you have built up, by changing the mortgage amount. Let’s say you bought a $300,000 condo and […]

All roads lead to June -Our House Magazine What do you do when you’re tired of the 9-5 daily grind and want to strike out on your own? For gal pals April Brown and Sarah Sklash, it was obvious – buy an aging motel in the country and renovate it. If it sounds like a […]

What does a “Rate Hike” actually mean? TD Bank has increased it’s posted rates and RBC did the same on Monday. This increase, from 5.14% to 5.59% at TD, is the “biggest move in years.” The change came because of the bond yields increasing. We do expect every other lender to follow suit. But, actual […]

Reverse Mortgage – the pros and cons You may be seeing and hearing a lot more regarding the Reverse Mortgage in today’s marketplace. I have taken the time to get familiar with the program here in Canada and have been quite surprised by how it’s changed and how different it is to its counterpart in […]

8 Things You Can Do To Get The Best Renewal With 47 per cent of homeowners scheduled to renew their mortgages this year, 2018 is a year of change for lots of Canadians. Here are the top 8 things you can do to get the best renewal: 1. Pull out your mortgage renewal now, and […]

Subject to Financing- A Must! With most people who are new to real estate and looking for their first home (or possibly second), one of the most significant times is when your offer to buy is accepted by a seller. Unfortunately, that moment is quickly followed by stress, as not many people know what comes […]

Having your cake and eating it too – Our House Magazine This article appears in the April issue of Our House Magazine Looking for an escape from her daily job, one B.C.-based custom cake maker has found the perfect recipe for success. Working inside a prison can be one of the most stressful jobs out […]

Are mortgage terms more important than rate? Why are the terms more important than rate when it comes to a mortgage? Simple. Seven out of 10 Canadians break their mortgages prior to the renewal date. Taking the wrong mortgage when you could have qualified for a better one- is a costly mistake. The biggest mistake […]

Mortgage Broker Value Not surprisingly, borrowers often default to their own Banker. And why not? It’s an established and comfortable relationship. Perhaps it’s viewed as the path of least resistance. But is it the right lender for the borrower’s current specific needs? Perhaps not. More sophisticated borrowers may be of a size or scale that […]