Taglow interest rates

Rental properties as a secure long-term investment

Posted January 23, 2020 Real Estate news

Real estate may not be sexy, but…

Rental properties are a secure long-term investment. Note the emphasis on “long-term”.

Check out any seven-year period over the past 50 years (anyone who has read this news site knows that I always recommend buying and holding for at least seven years). Property values have almost always risen.

Sure, the last five or 10 years have seen fantastic appreciation in almost every part of Canada. But, let’s leave capital appreciation out of the equation for now.

Why aren’t we talking about rental income? Or, how about the equity growth through your mortgage being paid down each year?

RENTAL INCOME IS UP, UP, UP!

Part of what makes rental properties attractive is that rent rises with inflation (or even higher, in many cases, as we have seen in urban markets like Toronto and Vancouver). This is how you create your own pension or retirement income! Continue reading “Real estate may not be sexy, but…”

Posted August 6, 2019 Interest rates

Should You Take a 10-Year Fixed Rate When Rates are Low?

I’ve been fielding a lot of calls lately asking about 10-year fixed rates – and with good reason! You can now get a 10-year fixed rate for around 3.04%. That’s almost at an all-time low.

But should you take this offer? NO!

Continue reading “Should You Take a 10-Year Fixed Rate When Rates are Low?”

Posted April 19, 20184 Comments Bank News

Got a mortgage? Good news: Bank of Canada didn’t raise rates yesterday!

Yesterday, Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor, Stephen Poloz, left rates unchanged. This kept the bank prime rate at 3.45%.

This also, indirectly, affects fixed mortgage rates. Great news for anyone with a mortgage. Go ahead, it’s okay to feel good about paying a low interest rate on what’s probably the biggest debt of your life!

ARE ECONOMISTS RIGHT?

For months we’ve heard economists forecasting 2-4 BoC rate hikes for 2018. So far, we’ve had one increase – in January. Should we be expecting three more increases? Only time will tell, since the BoC raises its rate when inflation rises above the target inflation rate… currently the range is between 1% and 3%, and sits at an acceptable 2.10%. Some believe inflation has increased temporarily, in part, due to increased minimum wage.

Continue reading “Got a mortgage? Good news: Bank of Canada didn’t raise rates yesterday!”

Posted March 8, 20184 Comments Bank News

Yes, you can still buy a home in Canada… Keeping the dream alive

Canada’s a nation of immigrants. It truly is the land of opportunity. Chances are, your parents, grandparents or great grandparents came here from another country.

There are many reasons why people left their homeland. Some left by choice to pursue a better life. Others had to leave for safety reasons. Whatever the reason, most of us have a common goal: A better life.

Homeownership has always been an important part of that dream. We want to own something. We want to plant roots. There’s a pile of statistics to support this claim. In my 28 years in the financial services industry, I can attest to this claim.

Continue reading “Yes, you can still buy a home in Canada… Keeping the dream alive”

Posted February 13, 20183 Comments Interest rates

Rent is up, vacancy is down… rental properties make sense

Rental properties are a secure long-term investment. Note the emphasis on “long-term”.

Sure, the last five or 10 years have seen fantastic appreciation in almost every part of Canada. But, let’s leave capital appreciation out of the equation for now.

Why aren’t we talking about rental income? Or, how about the equity growth through your mortgage being paid down each year?

RENTAL INCOME IS UP, UP, UP!

Rents have definitely gone up with inflation (or even higher, in many cases, as we have seen in urban markets like Toronto and Vancouver). This is part of what makes rental properties attractive – rent rises with inflation and, in many cases, even higher. This is how you create your own pension or retirement income! Continue reading “Rent is up, vacancy is down… rental properties make sense”