Mortgage Terms: Stars & Dogs – Consult with a Vancouver Mortgage Broker

After “What is your best rate?” the next most popular mortgage question is probably “Which term do you recommend?” — or a variation thereof. But it’s tough to generalize about the best mortgage because borrowers have unique needs. To get around that, we have to use limiting assumptions and make a best guess at the risk/reward of each […]

Record home building in Canada drives spike in building permits – ask a Vancouver mortgage broker

Record Canadian housing construction led a faster-than-expected gain in building permits in January, government data showed one day after the central bank predicted a soft landing in the country’s real estate market. North America’s top 20 housing markets: Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary among most expensive Is Canada’s market overheated? Here’s a look at the prices in […]

Are bank online mortgage break-fee calculators reliable? Not always – Consult with a Vancouver Mortgage Broker

Are bank online mortgage break-fee calculators reliable? Not always ROBERT MCLISTER– Special to The Globe and Mail Getting a quote for the cost of breaking your mortgage early – and understanding it – hasn’t always been easy. That was supposed to change last year when the Finance Department compelled banks to put penalty calculators and guidelines […]

What’s the Scoop on Google and Mortgage Trends? – Ask a Trusted Vancouver Mortgage Broker

What’s the Scoop on Google and Mortgage Trends? How does the web site of the averageVancouvermortgage broker fare in Google? Are you in the money zone or in the back pages ozone? Anyone can set up a site or blog, but it doesn’t mean a thing if people aren’t clicking through. Maybe you set up […]

Give me a break on my mortgage break fee!

By lesleyscorgieMetro Canada I recently sold my house and have decided to get a new mortgage through a mortgage broker rather than my bank. So, I met with my bank last week to discuss the transaction and learned that the cost to break my existing mortgage is nearly $5,000! Hogwash! For $5,000 I could take a […]

Rising mortgage rates are worse than you think

Whether you own a house or are looking to buy, rising mortgage rates are your enemy. You think you know that, right? With Monday’s announcements that Toronto-Dominion Bank and CIBC are raising some of their fixed-term mortgage rates by as much as one-quarter of a percentage point, let’s see if you do. Rising rates will […]

Get smart: Ottawa plans crash courses on financial literacy

As consumer debt levels soar and baby boomers approach retirement, the federal government is looking at adopting a long list of measures designed to prod Canadians into making smarter financial decisions. The measures recommended by a federal task force cover a wide range of initiatives. Employers who offer pensions would be required to automatically enroll […]

Worst mistakes first-time home buyers make

When Chris Kiskuna bought her first house in 1985, she was so anxious to close the deal quickly, she skipped the home inspection – a decision she paid for the first time she turned on the tap in the bathroom sink. “The water’s running and I’m hearing it run everywhere and thinking, ‘What’s happening here?’ […]

2011 housing drop seen less severe

The Canadian Real Estate Association has raised its sales forecast for the rest of the year, calling for a smaller decline than it originally expected as low interest rates keep buyers in the market. The association now expects sales to fall by 1.6 per cent in 2011, compared to its November call for a drop of […]

‘Wild card’ props up Canadian housing markets over past decade

Tighter inventory levels helped to make the last decade one of the healthiest periods on record for Canadian real estate, insulating markets in major centres from the peaks and valleys characteristic of past decades, according to a reportreleased by RE/MAX. The RE/MAX Housing Barometer Report measured monthly sales-to-new listings ratios in 18 major centres across […]

Next Page »