11 Jul

7 Steps to Buying a Home

General

Posted by: Debra Carlson

It’s important to understand the home buying process, so here’s a 7-step checklist. Step 1: Down Payment The hardest part to buying a home is saving the down payment (a gift from the Bank of Mom & Dad also works). For purchases under $500,000 minimum down payment is 5%. Buying between $501-999,000 you need 5% […]

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4 Jul

Source of Funds

General

Posted by: Debra Carlson

With government officials citing limited resources and a lack of funds available to conduct a proper investigation, criminals have been manipulating and taking advantage of the Canadian legal system. It is now coming to light the impact this has had on our economy, most notably our real estate market. To crack down on this, the […]

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27 Jun

4 HOME IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL PAY YOU BACK

Latest News

Posted by: Debra Carlson

Some home improvements provide more of a payback when you sell the house down the road. Here’s a list of the four home improvements which will provide the biggest payback when you sell.  Adding square footage – while this can be a very expensive project, adding to the size of a house can re-coup between […]

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13 Jun

WHAT IS AN UNINSURABLE MORTGAGE?

General

Posted by: Debra Carlson

With the mortgage rule changes in recent years, lenders have had to make some adjustments to their rate offerings. There are different tiers and rate pricing based on the following 3 categories: 1) Insured – a mortgage that is insured with mortgage default insurance through one of Canada’s mortgage insurers, CMHC, Genworth or Canada Guaranty. […]

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12 Jun

WHO REALLY SETS INTEREST RATES?

General

Posted by: Debra Carlson

    The Huffington article states “Canadians pay attention to the big guys, however, because they’re either too comfortable to make a change or simply not aware they’re being taken for a ride. The banks have a 90-per-cent stranglehold on the Canadian mortgage market and we’ve been slow to start paying attention to the alternative — often […]

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12 Jun

3 STEPS TO TAKE YOU FROM PRE-APPROVAL TO GETTING THE KEYS

General

Posted by: Debra Carlson

Picture this: You’ve finally been able to put away enough for a down-payment on your dream home. It’s taken you five years of diligent saving, but you did it! You have also been diligently working on improving your credit score and paying off debts and are at a place of financial stability. So, first of […]

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7 Jun

REVERSE MORTGAGES – TRENDING NOW

General

Posted by: Debra Carlson

With approximately 1,000 people retiring every day in Canada, it’s not surprising that there has been an increased demand for Reverse Mortgages. A Reverse Mortgage can assist people aged 55+ to realize their dreams in retirement. Whether they want to travel, help their kids or grand kids or even just supplement their monthly income, a […]

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29 May

6 WAYS TO GET A DOWN PAYMENT

General

Posted by: Debra Carlson

When is it time to think about saving for a down payment? I would say about a year before you think about buying a home. While that’s ideal in today’s world, we often do not have much time to save for a down payment. Sometimes your landlord is planning on retiring and wants to sell […]

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27 May

ZERO DOWN PAYMENT MORTGAGE–DOES IT EXIST?

General

Posted by: Debra Carlson

Did you know that you can buy a home with ZERO down payment?? If a home purchase is your goal this year but you aren’t able to save up enough of a down payment, you may qualify for a low or zero down payment mortgage. One of our Lenders is offering a great zero down […]

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