Why do mortgages have different rates?
If you are like most homebuyers, your are perplexed when a Mortgage Broker starts talking about the different rates for mortgages. Bottom line is, that rock bottom rate that you see online has many stipulations. Not every mortgage has the same rate. The reason is the classification of mortgage based on the amount you have... Read More
Consider a Duplex for Your First Home or Rental Property
Continued rising house prices coupled with the stress test applied to qualify for a mortgage, makes affordability for most Canadians wanting to get into the housing market almost impossible. Even with interest rates at a historical low, a first-time homebuyer in the Kitchener-Waterloo region is looking at an average purchase price of $566,000 for a... Read More
This is Why Mortgage Rates are Suddenly Way More Complicated
If you’ve been shopping for a mortgage lately, you’ll have figured out that rates can be all over the map. That’s because you’re not comparing apples to apples anymore. Thanks to new mortgage rules, the mortgage pricing matrix is much more complicated, and quick online mortgage quotes are less reliable. That’s why it’s important to... Read More
Credit Cards and Financing Consumerism
Why is it that Canadians are in record debt ? How is it that 50 years ago everything was paid for in cash and now household income to disposable debt is at 163.3%? I could be that debt is so easily accessible, and not difficult to qualify for. While at College or University, students can... Read More
Car Loans
Ten years ago most auto financing programs had a maximum term of 5 years. Generally speaking, this meant that the car would depreciate with the loan at an even pace. More recently, Car dealerships are now offering extended financing periods of up to 84 months. What is happening now with these loans is that the... Read More
Why doesn’t everyone have a Cash Flow Plan?
Unfortunately, up until recently, the Financial Services Industry has evolved without significant focus on managing cash flow or debt—which doesn’t make sense considering those are the areas that impact most of us on a daily basis. Statscan found that the number of families 65 and over carrying debt increased from 27 per cent in 1999... Read More