Posts Tagged ‘Real Estate’

Last month, the Bank of Canada issued a report highlighting the explosive growth of home equity line of credit use and mortgage refinancing in the past decade, which have surged from $8 billion in 2001 to $64 billion in 2010. Canadians appear to be using these loans for two main reasons.  They are either paying…

Owning a home is one of the cornerstones of building financial assets for most Canadians.  However, making mortgage payments for 20 to 35 years can take quite a bite out of your budget, even with low interest rates. It’s surprisingly easy to reduce the amortization – and the amount of interest paid.  When you pay…

Home ownership is considered a rite of passage for most adults.  Whether it’s a house or condo, people of all ages and stages in life want to own their own home.  Currently, 2 out of every 3 Canadian households own the home they live in. The challenge for many Canadians is the cost of buying…

If you’ve ever seen the “What’s your number?” commercial, you might be curious about the Manulife One account and how it works. The Manulife One account combines your debt, savings and income into one easy to use chequing account.  Similar to a traditional home equity line of credit, Manulife One provides you with a secured…

We have been paying an extra $600 per month on our mortgage since we moved into our new house last summer.  We are taking advantage of increased payment options to reduce our total interest costs and pay down our mortgage faster.  Our goal is to pay off our mortgage in less than 15 years. Apparently…

We lived in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom starter home for nearly eight years, but we felt like we needed more space to support our growing family.  We looked at the houses for sale on MLS and checked out the show homes that were being built in new subdivisions.  In the end, we decided that building a…

We had a really big decision to make before we moved into our new house last summer.  Do we choose a fixed or a variable mortgage rate?  The answer varies for everyone depending on their financial situation and tolerance for risk. According to the popular 2007 study by Moshe Milevsky, variable mortgage rates have saved…

You should view home renovations as consumption spending – not investing – and ideally you should pay cash for consumption.

You need to understand your new home warranty program and how you’re protected in case any structural defects arise once you’ve taken possession of your home.

Do you think it’s better to use a realtor when buying or selling a property or would you rather keep the commission and negotiate for yourself?