16 May

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE B-20 GUIDELINES?

General

Posted by: Patti MacLennan

A new survey has emerged showing that out of 1,901 owners and would be homeowners, 43% (more than two out of five) Canadians are not confident in their knowledge of the mortgage stress tests—despite them being in place for more than a year now. We wanted to give you a brief set of notes regarding the guidelines. […]

Read More
10 May

SOLE PROPRIETORS

General

Posted by: Patti MacLennan

Sole proprietors are individuals who run their own business and do not have it set up as a corporation or partnership. The biggest difference between them and a corporation is that a sole proprietor does not have separation between their business and themselves. This means that when taxes are filed, all costs that are essential […]

Read More
9 May

CORPORATIONS AND MORTGAGES

General

Posted by: Patti MacLennan

For self employed clients, incorporation is a popular business structure we tend to encounter. Having a corporate structure to your business allows for effective separation between the individual and the business. If you own your business and have it set up as a corporation, that corporation is essentially its own person. They have their own […]

Read More
7 May

GET TO KNOW TITLE INSURANCE

General

Posted by: Patti MacLennan

Are you officially Mortgage Free? CONGRATULATIONS! That is a monumental milestone to achieve! With that significant accomplishment, you should look at obtaining a Title Insurance Policy. What most people don’t realize is that when you had a mortgage, the lender will likely have had this in place for you. Once your mortgage is paid out […]

Read More
10 Apr

INCOME QUALIFIED

General

Posted by: Patti MacLennan

  There are several different ways a borrower can qualify for a mortgage when it comes to their income. One of the most common ways is known as income qualified. All of the following methods of employment income are under the income qualified umbrella: Annual salary income employees Full time employees working guaranteed weekly hours […]

Read More
5 Apr

7 STEPS TO BUYING A HOME

General

Posted by: Patti MacLennan

2019 7 STEPS TO BUYING A HOME It’s important to understand the home buying process, so here’s a 7-step checklist. Step 1: Down Payment The hardest part to buying a home is saving the down payment (a gift from the Bank of Mom & Dad also works). • For purchases under $500,000 minimum down payment […]

Read More
22 Mar

MARCH IS FRAUD PREVENTION MONTH

General

Posted by: Patti MacLennan

You may have seen advertisements warning you to be aware of phishing schemes and other scams. In the past week, I have received fraudulent emails claiming to be Shaw Cable, RBC and even the FBI. These are easy to spot because of mistakes in the letterhead, spelling mistakes and formal language that would fit in […]

Read More
21 Mar

WHEN DEATH STRIKES SUDDENLY

General

Posted by: Patti MacLennan

Recently I was finishing up a mortgage with a young couple who had just had a beautiful baby girl. I brought up the topic of mortgage and life insurance as well as getting a will written up. The response from the husband was that it was such a morbid topic and a real downer when […]

Read More
18 Mar

WHY REVERSE MORTGAGES ARE BUCKING THE DOWNWARD TREND

General

Posted by: Patti MacLennan

The reverse mortgage market in Canada has been increasing at a phenomenal rate over the last few years. In fact, for HomeEquity Bank, the provider of the CHIP Reverse Mortgage, growth was well over 40% in August, bringing Canada’s outstanding reverse mortgage balance to $3.03 billion. Compare this to the latest growth in lending for […]

Read More