TOYS AND BUYING A HOME In 2005, I was asked to do a pre-approval by a couple hoping to buy a home. I went through the application with them and pre-approved them for $320,000. They were astounded. They told me that their bank told them that they were qualified to a maximum of $260,000. They […]

HOW TO GET A FREE COPY OF YOUR CREDIT BUREAU Think of your credit score as a report card on how you’ve handled your finances in the past. A credit score is a number that lenders use to determine the risk of lending money to a given borrower. There is always someone willing to lend […]

DOCUMENTS YOU NEED FOR YOUR MORTGAGE PRE-APPROVAL Being fully pre-approved means that the lender has agreed to have you as a client (you have a pre-approval certificate) and the mortgage broker has reviewed and approved ALL your income and down payment documents (as listed below) prior to you going house hunting. Many bankers will say […]

A GUIDE TO YOUR HOME BUYERS’ PLAN Start at the beginning… Registered Retirement Savings Plan = one of the best ways to save for retirement and your down payment and continuing your education. With an RRSP, your contributions reduce your taxable income. This is different from your TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account) which does not […]

ARE YOU BEHIND ON YOUR CRA TAXES? Nothing weighs heavy on one’s shoulders than owning a home and getting behind on your Canada Revenue taxes. Most banks will not be able to help you refinance your home to pay them off as CRA has first dibs on your house and assets. We have clients owing […]

THE DOWNSIZING DILEMMA With almost 50% of homeowners ready to retire and wishing to stay in their home and 30% of those people with most of their money tied up in home equity, the downsizing dilemma is real. Can they afford to stay in their home or is downsizing the better option. In the past, […]

WHAT SHOULD COME FIRST, THE HOUSE OR THE CAR? So you just got a shiny new car, and now you want a shiny new home to go with it. Will that new car payment affect your mortgage pre- approval? The short answer… absolutely it will. Recently, I have encountered many people looking to pre-approve for […]

MORTGAGE INSURANCE 101 For a first-time home buyer, the types of insurance surrounding a mortgage can be confusing, so it’s important to know what insurance covers what. There are 3 main types of insurance to know about when buying a home. Mortgage Default Insurance – If you put less than 20% down on a home you […]

MORTGAGE PROTECTION PLAN Insurance coverage is something that everyone is “pitched” at some point or another in their life. Unfortunately, a lot of us have a negative attitude towards insurance or warranty as it is perceived as being a cash grab. Yes, if you are purchasing a flat screen T.V., that extra 2-year warranty for […]

IS YOUR LINE OF CREDIT KILLING YOUR MORTGAGE APPLICATION? Some of the last round of changes from the government regarding qualifying for a mortgage were that if you have a balance on your unsecured line of credit, then to qualify for mortgage the lenders require that we use a 3% payment of the balance of […]