As you may have heard, the Bank of Canada recently changed the stress test rules as of June 1, 2021. With these changes, now both insured and uninsured mortgage borrowers will be subject to a stricter stress test when qualifying for their mortgage. The new qualifying rate on uninsured mortgages – where the down payment is 20% or more – is now the contracted rate plus two percentage points or 5.25%, whichever is higher. This means that any buyer whose down payment on a home is

This year's survey had a strong focus on homeownership and generational wealth with many homebuyers saying they've gotten help from their parents to enter the housing market while others feel homeownership is simply out of reach for them. The cold hard facts 85% of those who have young children are worried about the future affordability of real-estate, when their children are ready for home ownership 51% of Canadians with mortgages worry about making their mortgage payments 3

Do you have a renovation you really want to do to your home? If so, you need to read this….. I spoke to a potential client recently who wanted to get $150k to make their dream kitchen in their current home. Did you know that we could take her current debts plus this new money for the renovation out of their home and still save them money each month? AND…. We could help them get mortgage free-faster as well…. WITH NO NEW MONEY OUT OF POCKET…. Yes you read that correctly!!!

If you’re new to managing personal finance and you want to learn about credit, you’ve come to the right place. Establishing new credit is a bit of a catch-22. To build a credit history, you need credit. But it’s hard to get credit without having a credit history. So, where do you start? Well, the first thing you should know is that building credit takes time. It’s not something that happens overnight. If you’re looking to secure mortgage financing, you will want to have a mi

If you’re looking to do some home renovations but don’t have all the cash up front to pay for materials and contractors, here are a few ways to use mortgage financing to bring everything together. Existing Home Owners - Mortgage Refinance Probably the most straightforward solution, if you’re an existing homeowner, would be to access home equity through a mortgage refinance. Depending on the terms of your existing mortgage, a mid-term mortgage refinance might make good fina

Canada’s economy has hit a striking new milestone. Real estate secured debt is virtually equal to the country’s GDP. Statistics Canada says that, as of the end of April, the combination of mortgage debt and home equity lines of credit totaled $1.96 trillion. March GDP clocked-in at $1.98 trillion. Credit monitoring company Equifax reports that total consumer debt stood at $2.08 trillion at the end of the first quarter of this year. The company says most of that is mortgage

If you're not all that familiar with the ins and outs of mortgage financing, the term "second mortgage" might cause a bit of confusion. Many people incorrectly assume that a second mortgage is arranged when your first term is up for renewal or when you sell your first home. They think that the next mortgage you get is your "second mortgage." This is not the case. A second mortgage is an additional mortgage on a single property, not the second mortgage you get in your lifetim

Buying a Vacation Property This is essentially the same mortgage and financing process as purchasing a home. To buy a vacation property, you are required to put a minimum down payment of 5% of the purchase price, as well as purchasing appropriate insurance and accounting for those premiums in the same way as a regular home purchase. Financing Your Vacation Property In the case of purchasing a secondary property, most lenders will allow you to borr

The crush of home sales that was expected in the run-up to the stricter mortgage stress-tests that kicked-in this month did not materialize. Nonetheless May sales still set a record for the month. More than 56,000 sales were recorded last month, up by more than 100% from a year ago. However, it has to be remembered that last May’s figures were the lowest since the late 1990s, as the economy was largely shut down by the pandemic. More tellingly, May marked the second consec

A question that comes up from time to time when discussing mortgage financing is, “If I have collections showing on my credit bureau, will that impact my ability to get a mortgage?” The answer might have a broader implication than what you might think; let's spend a little time discussing it. Collections accounts are reported on your credit bureau when you have a debt that hasn’t been paid as agreed. Now, regardless of the reason for the collection; the collection is a resul