by Glenn Maclaren | Aug 7, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Homeownership, Mortgage
Canadian seniors who are feeling the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are showing interest in reverse mortgages as a way to stay in their current homes. With a reverse mortgage, Canadians aged 55+ can borrow funds against home equity. No payments are...
by Glenn Maclaren | Jul 24, 2020 | Blog, Homeownership, Mortgage
If you’re thinking of buying your very first home, one of your biggest concerns is likely centred around how much money you need to have set aside for your down payment. And this can, no doubt, seem extra nerve-wracking when you haven’t yet done the math. The minimum...
by Glenn Maclaren | Jul 17, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Homeownership
It’s important not to subscribe to the doom and gloom media reports about the Canadian housing market, especially in the midst of COVID-19 emergency measures. The reality is that, regardless of what you’re reading in the mainstream media, people are still...
by Glenn Maclaren | Jul 10, 2020 | Blog, Finance, Homeownership, Mortgage
It’s important to pay attention to the little things that can make or break your chances of qualifying for a mortgage – and keeping your approval all the way through to closing. Did you know that it’s fairly common practice for mortgage lenders and insurers to...
by Glenn Maclaren | Jul 3, 2020 | Blog, Finance, Homeownership
When you took out your current mortgage, you were required to make a number of key decisions, such as the type of rate you wanted – fixed or variable – the amortization period, whether it was open or closed as well as what term you wanted. A mortgage term...
by Glenn Maclaren | Jun 26, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Homeownership
For most parents, watching their children head off to college or university causes a wide range of emotions. Hopes and happiness are mixed with worries and sadness and the adjustment can be very difficult. Emotions aside, there is also the weight of the...
by Glenn Maclaren | Jun 19, 2020 | Blog, Homeownership, Mortgage
Before you head out home shopping, it’s important to first determine how much you can comfortably afford to spend. Not only will getting your mortgage agent to arrange a pre-approval help you understand what lenders look for when granting you a home loan, but it will...
by Glenn Maclaren | Jun 12, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Homeownership
While interest rates shouldn’t be your sole focus when securing a mortgage, they do represent an important part of the financing equation. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Bank of Canada (BoC) has announced several unscheduled benchmark rate reductions....
by Glenn Maclaren | Jun 5, 2020 | Announcements, CMHC, Economy, Homeownership, Mortgage
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact on all sectors of Canada’s economy, including housing. Job losses, business closures and a drop in immigration are adversely affecting Canada’s housing markets, and CMHC foresees a 9% to 18% decrease in house prices over the...
by Glenn Maclaren | May 22, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Finance, Homeownership
There are a number of reasons why refinancing your mortgage before your current term is up makes good financial sense. The most popular ones include taking advantage of lower rates or using your home equity to consolidate debt, fund renovations, ease cashflow or even...
