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 […]

What Canadians need to know about buying U.S. real estate

The financial crisis that began in 2007 with the breakdown of the U.S. residential mortgage market still persists for millions of Americans who have lost their houses, their jobs and all hope of a secure retirement. As a result, residential real estate prices in the hardest-hit areas such as California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida are […]

Canada’s Top 50 Rental Markets

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s latest survey of Canada’s rental markets yields some surprising finds and some long-term winners. And, as Peter Mithamdiscovers, rental housing is a hot topic across Canada as house prices rise above what many people can afford, prompting first-time homebuyers to defer a purchase. Add in economic uncertainties, and both tenants and […]

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 […]

Home ownership becoming more affordable despite rising debt

By Julian Beltrame OTTAWA—Despite ongoing concerns about household debt, home ownership is becoming more affordable in Canada, not less, says new research by the Royal Bank. RBC’s latest report says home affordability actually improved in the final months of 2011 for the second consecutive quarter, thanks to softening house prices and income gains. Owning a […]

Bank of Canada not seen hiking rates until Q2 2013: Reuters poll

By Jon Cook TORONTO (Reuters) – Sluggish domestic growth and uncertainty about the global economy will likely keep the Bank of Canada from raising rates until the second quarter of 2013, according to a Reuters survey. The Reuters poll of 42 economists and strategists released on Wednesday showed the median forecast for the next interest rate […]

B.C. realtor fined $258,000 for selling home twice

By Mark Weisleder A B.C. real estate agent was fined $258,000 when he unilaterally cancelled a contract to sell a home and resold it to a second buyer for a higher amount. Hwang Soo Lee of Surrey, B.C., ended up having to compensate his first buyer for behaviour described by a judge as “high-handed and […]

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