SPRING INTO ACTION: REFINANCE YOUR MORTGAGE WITH THE HELP OF A MORTGAGE BROKER We sprung forward last earlier this month by changing our clocks one hour ahead. For some, their microwave and oven clocks are once again displaying the correct time since the last time we needed to adjust our clocks (in the Fall). Patience […]

6 HOME PURCHASE CLOSING COSTS When you purchase your home, there are 6 additional costs to account for. They include: Home Fire and Flood Insurance Title Insurance Legal Fees Adjustments Land Transfer Tax GST Here’s an overview of what you can expect. Home and Fire Insurance. Mortgage lenders will require a certificate of fire insurance […]

TFSA vs RRSP: Head to Head Comparison – Updated 2018 By Young and Thrifty There has been a lot of talk about which one is better, the TFSA vs RRSP in both the PF blogosphere and the media.  Both are great savings and investing tools for us Canadians, but there are important differences between and choosing correctly between the […]

8 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO GET THE BEST RENEWAL With 47 per cent of homeowners scheduled to renew their mortgages this year, 2018 is a year of change for lots of Canadians. Here are the top 8 things you can do to get the best renewal: 1. Pull out your mortgage renewal now, and […]

MORTGAGE BROKER VALUE Not surprisingly, borrowers often default to their own Banker. And why not? It’s an established and comfortable relationship. Perhaps it’s viewed as the path of least resistance. But is it the right lender for the borrower’s current specific needs? Perhaps not. More sophisticated borrowers may be of a size or scale that […]

Buying a house and getting a mortgage can be a stressful experience – especially if you’re going through it for the first time.  Whether you’re going through a traditional bank or a mortgage broker, with terms such as variable, fixed, closed, open, prime interest rates and many more, it can be easy to get intimidated.  Because of all […]

INSURED, INSURABLE & UNINSURABLE VS HIGH RATIO & CONVENTIONAL MORTGAGES You might think you would be rewarded for toiling away to save a down payment of 20% or greater. Well, forget it. Your only prize for all that self-sacrifice is paying a higher interest rate than people who didn’t bother. Once upon a time we […]

OSFI MORTGAGE CHANGES ARE COMING As many of you may remember, this past October the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) issued a revision to Guideline B-20 . The changes will go into effect on January 1, 2018 but lenders are expecting to roll this rules out to their consumers between December 7th – 15th, and will […]

IS IT TIME TO LOCK IN A VARIABLE RATE MORTGAGE? Approximately 32 per cent of Canadians are in a variable rate mortgage, which with rates effectively declining steadily for the better part of the last ten years has worked well. Recent increases triggers questions and concerns, and these questions and concerns are best expressed verbally […]