by Kara Herbeson | 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 Kara Herbeson | Aug 7, 2020 | Economy, Homeownership, Mortgage
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 Kara Herbeson | Jul 17, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Finance, Homeownership
It’s important not to subscribe to the doom and gloom media reports about the Canadian housing market, especially in the midst of COVID-19 emergency measures. The reality is that, regardless of what you’re reading in the mainstream media, people are still...
by Kara Herbeson | Jul 3, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Homeownership, 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 Kara Herbeson | Jun 19, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Finance, 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 Kara Herbeson | Jun 5, 2020 | Announcements, Blog, CMHC, Economy, Finance
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 Kara Herbeson | May 15, 2020 | Blog, Finance, Homeownership
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 Kara Herbeson | May 1, 2020 | Blog, Finance, Homeownership
The world as we know it has drastically changed. Most of us are staying home – not by choice, but through necessity. The financial and emotional strain associated with COVID-19 is very real – coping with the unnerving situation, trying to stay positive and finding...
by Kara Herbeson | Apr 17, 2020 | Blog, Finance
As part of the ongoing effort to assist Canadians facing negative financial effects from COVID-19, the federal government has granted an extension for filing your taxes. The due date for personal tax filing has been extended from April 1st to June 1st, 2020,...
by Kara Herbeson | Apr 3, 2020 | Blog, Economy, Homeownership, Mortgage
It’s a harsh reality that COVID-19 has left many people facing significant financial hardship. In an effort to alleviate some of this burden, the government is working at all levels to provide relief measures to assist those who are most vulnerable. Many...
