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....
by Karen Wotherspoon | Jun 5, 2020 | Announcements, Blog, CMHC, Finance, 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 Karen Wotherspoon | May 22, 2020 | Blog, 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...
by Karen Wotherspoon | May 15, 2020 | Blog, Homeownership, Mortgage
Am I ready now? How will I even know when I’m ready? Buying your first home is exciting and scary all at the same time. Much like other major milestones, such as getting married and starting a family, there’s really no such thing as being completely ready. But when...
by Karen Wotherspoon | May 8, 2020 | Blog, Homeownership, Mortgage
A debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is a comparison of your monthly debt payments versus your monthly income. Lenders use this formula to determine how well you manage your monthly debt and your likeliness of repaying a loan. Debt obligations refer to such things as credit...
by Karen Wotherspoon | May 1, 2020 | Blog, Finance, Homeownership, Mortgage
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep us focused on physical distancing, it’s often difficult to perceive anything good from its existence. But, a few silver linings have emerged. As our world is changing, possibly forever, people are finding new and creative...
