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Posted Mortgage News

Your Lawyer May Be Overcharging You

Picture this: you’re buying a home or refinancing your mortgage. You hire a lawyer to facilitate the transaction. You decide to go with a mortgage that is NOT through one of the big six banks, like hundreds of thousands of Canadians do every year. Suddenly, you get a call from your lawyer. They want to charge you an additional fee for not choosing TD, CIBC, Scotiabank, RBC, BMO or National Bank.

Is this common? Unfortunately, it’s more common than you think.

Is this legal? You bet it’s legal.

Is this acceptable? That’s for you to decide.

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Posted Mortgage News

How Financing a Furnace Can Affect Your Mortgage

“Save up to $3,000 on heating and cooling”

“No monthly payments for 3 months” 

“No interest for 6 months”

Sound familiar? You’ve probably seen tons of offers like these on flyers and emails from your utility company. It sounds great on the surface. You can save some money, lock in low monthly payments, and avoid spending thousands of dollars at once on a furnace or air conditioner. 

If it all sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is. 

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Posted Mortgage News

Are Canadians Ready For A Tougher Stress Test?

Securing a mortgage just got a little more difficult. As you likely know, getting an uninsured mortgage in Canada requires you to prove you can keep up with payments if rates go up. This hypothetical rate, called the qualifying rate, is changing. On May 24, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions announced that they will be raising the qualifying rate effective June 1st. 

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Posted Mortgage News

Will the Housing Market Cool Off?

From the stock market to the way we work, nothing is exactly “normal” right now. It’s impossible to look at a dramatic societal shift and not attribute it to the pandemic. But the housing market is a little bit of a different story. 

Yes, many Canadians flocked to buy homes as interest rates dropped to record lows. Many chose to buy new homes in response to their new lifestyle, no longer needing to live in certain areas, or needing more space to work. No doubt, these COVID-related factors had a huge impact on the housing market. But they don’t tell the whole story of its explosive growth.

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Posted 2 Comments on Interest Rates to Stay As-is for Now. But When Will They Rise Again? Mortgage News

Interest Rates to Stay As-is for Now. But When Will They Rise Again?

The Bank of Canada governor, Till Macklem, made no change to interest rates on April 21st, the 3rd of 8 annual meetings dates. This comes as no surprise, though, There wasn’t a chance of an interest rate hike anyway. You can read more on this here .

Continue reading “Interest Rates to Stay As-is for Now. But When Will They Rise Again?”
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