A reality test for would-be home buyers

ROB CARRICK | Columnist profile | From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail Never ask anyone who lends money if you can afford a house. Lenders care about their own money. Not yours. So while you’re thinking about how you’ll manage the cost of a mortgage and all your other living expenses, lenders seek the answer to one single question: How […]

Fixed mortgages win over variable, says BMO economist Federal government may tighten mortgage rules

As the federal government warned it may again tighten mortgage rules, a Bank of Montreal economist says fixed mortgages “clearly trump” variable mortgages in today’s economy. There are two reasons for the change of heart by Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO: the intense competition among lenders and the economic recovery in the U.S. […]

Canada Household Debt: Majority Frets About What They Owe, But Still Think Others Are The Real Problem

With policymakers warning about rising household debt levels, a new survey shows that Canadians are both worried about what they owe, and in denial about how their debt compares to those around them. The seemingly contradictory conclusion was reported on Monday by the Toronto-based online mortgage comparison service 

Skipping a mortgage payment: Pros and cons

When I logged on to check my bank balance the other day, I noticed a message from the bank saying that I have ‘earned’ a one month mortgage payment vacation. The reason for this  break is that I have been paying off my mortgage faster by making increased contributions each month. My goal is to […]

On The Way: More Stringent Mortgage Qualifications

OSFI, Canada’s banking regulator, is leaning on banks and other federally regulated lenders to clamp down on underwriting practices. It released these draft recommendations yesterday. After reading through 18 pages of changes in detail, our immediate reaction was frankly, concern. That’s not because the guidelines are greatly imprudent. Some are unnecessarily rigid, but most are sound policy. […]

Why you need to pay off your debt NOW

For debtors, today’s historically low interest rates have constituted somewhat of a fool’s paradise. Central banks around the world, including Canada’s, have kept interest rates as close to zero as possible. But if we thought we could keep our boat forever afloat on this sea of low rates, there are many lining up to convince […]

45% of brokers procrastinate on re-licensing

It has come down to the wire for nearly half of Ontario’s 12,000 mortgage professionals – who, with only a month left on the clock, had yet to complete that do-or-die re-licensing course. “What can I say? That’s the industry” Joe Rosati, executive director for the Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.  “FSCO […]

Breaking your mortgage: ‘It’s either worth it or it’s not’

Fixed-rate mortgages are at historic lows but if you are locked in to a contract with your bank, those benefits may be yet elusive. First you have to do the math to see if breaking your contract is worth the penalties you may face. “There is no grey area,” says Cindy David, a certified financial […]

Goodbye to three irritating bank practices

Three annoying things that banks do to customers are about to become history. Following up on commitments made in the past two budgets, the federal government has announced measures that will stop banks from mailing unsolicited credit card convenience cheques to customers, and that will reduce the holding period on newly deposited cheques. The banks […]

BMO sends a warning to brokers

Brokers, consider yourselves warned, with a BMO exec laying out explicit plans to grow the number of mortgage specialists, needed to “take business” from competitors in a slowing market. “We’ve been … pretty clear about our objective, which is — we’ve been at 2 per cent mortgage growth for quite some time now and our […]

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