by Karen Wotherspoon | Oct 16, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Finance, Homeownership
Property taxes are levied to homeowners as a way to help maintain services in your community that ensure your neighbourhood continues to thrive and remain an attractive place to live and work. Property taxes represent a key source of funding for municipalities...
by Karen Wotherspoon | Oct 2, 2020 | Blog, Homeownership, Productivity
The arrival of COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we live our lives – from the way we work, think, dress, shop and interact with others. As a society, we’re also spending more time in our homes than ever before. The days of leaving the house from 9 to 5,...
by Karen Wotherspoon | Sep 18, 2020 | Blog, Finance, Mortgage
One of the most challenging obstacles toMortgage Default Insurance Helps You Buy a Home Soonership is saving enough money for a down payment. Thankfully, mortgage default insurance provides a break to homebuyers that enables you to put less money down. The...
by Karen Wotherspoon | Sep 4, 2020 | Blog, Homeownership, Mortgage
Both a home appraisal and an inspection are important steps within the home buying process, so it’s well worth your effort to distinguish the differences between them and learn how they can both be used to your advantage to uncover detailed information about a...
by Karen Wotherspoon | Aug 21, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Finance, Homeownership, Mortgage
The Canadian real estate market was in good shape heading into 2020, but the busy spring season was delayed a bit thanks to COVID-19. The good news is that it has come back white hot, breaking records throughout the summer and showing no signs of slowing down anytime...
by Karen Wotherspoon | Aug 7, 2020 | Announcements, Blog, Economy, Finance
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 Karen Wotherspoon | Jul 11, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Finance, Mortgage
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 Karen Wotherspoon | 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 Karen Wotherspoon | Jun 19, 2020 | Blog, Economy, 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 Karen Wotherspoon | Jun 12, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Homeownership, Mortgage
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....
