Nine signs you can’t afford a mortgage Michele Lerner Investopedia.com While plenty of individuals live from paycheque to paycheque, most consumers know they should be saving money and reducing debt. The recession has drummed that concept into everyone’s head as people have watched their neighbours and friends lose jobs and sometimes their home. Many people […]

Rent or buy? Do the math William Hanley, Financial Post · Apr. 28, 2011 A young couple who have been renting in our modest Toronto condo building recently bought a home a couple of miles away in a nice old neighbourhood with the aim of starting a family. The house is a big, detached fixer-upper […]

The ‘thrill’ of buying a house William Hanley, Financial Post · Apr. 21, 2011 You walk into the open house, take one look and say to yourself: This is it. It’s the house I have to live in. Where do I pay? A bidding war? I’m in. Over my years of buying houses, I never […]

Canadians struggling to save and pay off debt; 38 per cent have no savings LuAnn LaSalle, The Canadian Press Many Canadians are finding themselves caught between the struggle to save money and repay their debts, says a survey from TD Bank. And with interest rates expected to rise this summer, clearing debts probably won’t get […]

White Rock the New Richmond? As anyone who has resided in the Lower Mainland in the past decade or so knows, Richmond has been a favorite desti-nation for real estate buyers from China. Forty-five percent of the Richmond population was of Chinese ethnicity accord-ing to the 2006 Census figures. It was 34% in 1996. While […]

News Release: April 4, 2011   March home sale activity reaches 5-year high in Fraser Valley   (Surrey, BC) – Last month, Fraser Valley REALTORS® experienced their busiest March in terms of sales on the Multiple Listing Service®, since 2006.   The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,818 property sales in March, an increase […]

Experts best at brokering mortgage Denise Deveau, Postmedia News · Mar. 30, 2011 | Cheryl Hutton and Aaron Coates always thought getting a mortgage would be a challenge. But within 18 days of visiting a mortgage broker, they were able to close a deal on a new townhouse in Calgary without a hitch. Now in […]

  Lower inflation in February likely to keep interest rates low   Canada’s annual inflation rate fell slightly in February, giving the Bank of Canada room to keep interest rates low over the next few months, economists say.   Statistics Canada said Friday its consumer price index edged down one-tenth of a point to 2.2 […]

Effective March 14, 2011   Maximum Amortization Period   High Ratio Business For high ratio deals, (loan to values greater than 80%) the maximum amortization has been reduced to 30 years from 35 years.   Conventional Business For conventional deals, (loan to values less than 80%) the maximum amortization will remain at 35 years for […]

Average bankrupt person is 41, married and has four credit cards, study says The average Canadian who files for bankruptcy owes $59,800 not counting his mortgage and is a 41-year-old married man with four credit cards, according to a report by a Kitchener-based bankruptcy trustee. The information, released Monday by Hoyes Michalos & Associates, says […]