Should You Five It, or Dime It?
It’s almost become a cliche that interest rates are at “historical lows,” that’s how long they’ve been offered at extreme discounts. But along with those historical lows, banks have also started offering cheap, cheap fixed rate mortgages with 5 and 10 year terms. This has nudged aside the “fixed or variable?” question for now, and…
Read moreHome Prices are Increasing, but Slower than Before
The Canadian Real Estate Association has come out with some new stats that should quell any talk of a housing bubble, at least for a little while. The CREA has taken a survey of the five most active housing markets in Canada – the Greater Toronto Area, Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Calgary, and Greater…
Read moreAvoiding the Audit
No one ever wants to have the Canada Revenue Agency ever knocking on their door, telling them that it’s time for an audit. Of course, CRA doesn’t conduct audits in this door-to-door-salesman kind of way; but even with all the notice in the world, no one is ever fully prepared for an audit – and…
Read moreAddressing the Condo Problem
Yesterday we posted that Jim Flaherty will be relying on the banks to tighten their own mortgage lending rules, rather than them relying on him to do it for them. There has been much response to the remarks Flaherty made on Thursday, and banks have already sprung into action. At least, when it comes to…
Read moreIs it Time to Say Goodbye to Variable?
Ever since the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hit historical lows, people have been wondering whether a variable rate is still the way to go on their Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa mortgages. The latest argument for fixed over variable comes from Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO, who says in his report, Time to…
Read moreFlaherty Thinks Banks Should Tighten Mortgages Themselves
It’s been no secret over the past couple of months that there are many that think Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, should tighten the rules on mortgages and simply make it harder for Canadians to get one. The entire time, Mr. Flaherty’s been somewhat quiet on the subject, not imposing new rules and making a few…
Read moreING Latest Bank to Pull “Low Doc” Mortgages
ING Direct has not only been the bank that’s known to “save you money,” but recently it’s also been known as the bank to make mortgage offers that very few other lenders do. This time, the bank is in the news not for offering a certain kind of mortgage but for pulling “low doc” mortgages…
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