Mortgage Blog
Why Sell Your House When You Can Refinance and Renovate?
July 30, 2010 by Dania Spillett
We all know lives change and so do people’s needs. Whether it be an expanding family, a desire to rent a suite, add a sun room or other possible features, homeowners often come to a point where their current home leaves something to be desired. When such homeowners decide they need more space or want to make some changes to their living environment, they often set out in search of a different and better suited property. Please know that this is NOT the only possibility and there are other options you may find. The more information you obtain the ...
Read more »Canada Sees a Drop in Inflation in June
July 29, 2010 by Dania Spillett
Inflation dropped in June as the prices of gasoline, clothing and footwear all declined from where they were last year at this time. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if inflation actually increases slightly during the coming months due to the newly implemented HST in Ontario and British Columbia.
Canada’s core inflation rate also dropped from 1.8% to 1.7% in June 2010. Some speculators are worried that Canada may actually be slipping into a deflationary period but, it seems as though the Bank of Canada’s Governor Mark Carney plans to battle this slowing inflation by gradually ...
Read more »Financial Fitness of Canadians
July 28, 2010 by Dania Spillett
Genworth Financial Canada released a survey last week that suggests Canadian homeowners are in better financial shape compared to non-homeowners. Intuitively this makes sense since you really do need to have a decent grasp on your finances in order to purchase a home, or even just to get pre-approved.
The findings demonstrated that 65% of homeowners pay of their credit card balances in full each month compared to only 38% of non-homeowners. However, only 25% of homeowners actually took advantage of pre-payment privileges and made a lump sum payment or accelerated their mortgage payments in the last year. By using ...
Read more »What You Should Know About Your Mortgage
July 23, 2010 by Dania Spillett
As Fiona Anderson of the Vancouver Sun writes, mortgages are about more than just the interest rate. This is definitely true although rates tend to still be considered the biggest and most important factor. With interest rates still being at near historically low levels, even after the Bank of Canada increased the overnight interest rate, now is still as good a time as ever to apply for a mortgage. As I mentioned in a previous blog, adjustable rate mortgages will change as the Bank of Canada increases rates but fixed rates follow the bond market. With yields currently at a ...
Read more »Update on New Mortgage Rules - Dispelling Myths
July 21, 2010 by Gordon McCallum
I’ve noticed that there seems to be some confusion in the marketplace about some of the new mortgage rules
The good news is that these rules have not impacted the broadest section of the market as much as some had anticipated. As a quick summary, I’ve listed the major changes below – along with a counterpoint which allows you to still qualify in most cases:
1. Home buyers need to qualify at the Bank of Canada Qualifying Rate instead of the contract rate on mortgage terms less than 5 years or on variables.
Suggestion: get a five year fixed ...
Read more »Real Estate and Mortgage Market Favour Buyers
July 21, 2010 by Gordon McCallum
It seems as though many Albertans are hesitant about the housing market at the moment. We’ve heard anecdotes of people holding off on their decision to buy because they expect the housing market to soften further. That may happen, but realistically, the second half of 2010 seems to be a great opportunity for buyers. Don’t believe me? Compare today’s market to the previous peaks in 2006 and 2007:
- Mortgage interest rates are substantially lower now than they were in 2006 and 2007
- Home prices are lower than they were in 2006 and 2007
- Real estate inventory is ...
Bank of Canada Decides to Increase Interest Rates
July 20, 2010 by Dania Spillett
The Bank of Canada announced this morning that they have raised the overnight rate a quarter point to 0.75%. The central bank rate is the one that the Big 5 banks use to set their prime rate as well as their variable mortgage rates. Mortgages not linked to the prime rate (fixed interest rate) will be unaffected as they are determined more by the fluctuations in the bond market. Because the Bank of Canada’s announcement was more cautious (due to the continued global instability), bond yields have dropped since the central bank’s announcement, which means good news ...
Read more »First Foundation is Now Hiring!
July 19, 2010 by Dania Spillett
Opportunity Description
Position: Licensed Mortgage Associate
Start Date: August – September, 2010 (Flexible)
Position Duration: Full-Time Permanent
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9–5
Position Structure: Employee
Compensation: Salary Plus Commission and Bonuses
Expected Earnings: $60,000—$120,000 based on performance
Opportunity Summary
First Foundation Residential Mortgages, a leading independent mortgage brokerage based in Edmonton, Alberta, is seeking a great person to join our team.
Specifically, we are hiring one person to join our rapidly growing company in the position of a “Licensed Mortgage Associate”.
As a Licensed Mortgage Associate you will be involved in one of the most exciting times in our ...
Read more »Bank of Canada to Increase Interest Rate Again?
July 15, 2010 by Dania Spillett
Since First Foundation likes to keep all its clients informed about interest rate changes, it’s only warranted that we mention something about the the Bank of Canada’s July 20th decision. Within the last few weeks odds have become quite high that the Bank of Canada’s Governor, Mark Carney, will choose to increase the overnight rate a quarter percent to 0.75%.
Although Europe and the United States are still struggling to create growth after the financial crisis, Canada showed a staggering employment gain in June as the economy created six times more jobs than predicted. As well ...
Read more »Canadian vs. American Credit Comparison
July 14, 2010 by Dania Spillett
To follow up on my previous post about maintaining your credit score, I decided it would be good to give a snapshot of how Canadians are doing in regards to keeping a higher, less risky credit rating.
The Financial Post published an article today that summarizes the statistical findings. FICO, the U.S. credit agency shared that 25% of Americans have a credit score below 600 and anyone with a rating under 600 is considered a high risk to lenders. TransUnion (one of two credit reporting agencies in Canada) determined that from 2005–2009, fewer Canadians have been scoring above ...
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