5 Oct

What should come first, the house or the car?

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

DLC BLOG What should come first, the house or the car? So you just got a shiny new car, and now you want a shiny new home to go with it. Will that new car payment affect your mortgage pre- approval? The short answer… absolutely it will. Recently, I have encountered many people looking to […]

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5 Oct

Mortgage Insurance 101

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

DLC BLOG Mortgage Insurance 101 For a first-time home buyer, the types of insurance surrounding a mortgage can be confusing, so it’s important to know what insurance covers what. There are 3 main types of insurance to know about when buying a home. Mortgage Default Insurance – If you put less than 20% down on […]

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5 Oct

What To Look For In A Mortgage Broker

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

DLC BLOG What To Look For In A Mortgage Broker Are you on the hunt for a mortgage broker? Or you need a mortgage broker but just don’t know it yet! Either way, this article is for you! First up, where do you find a Mortgage Broker? The easiest (and one of the best places […]

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5 Oct

The Pros and Cons of Co-Signing for a Mortgage

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

DLC BLOG The Pros and Cons of Co-Signing for a Mortgage If you keep up on the news you know that qualifying for a mortgage is getting tougher and tougher. Someone who would have sailed through the application process 10 years ago could find themselves declined for a mortgage today. Often I find applicants can […]

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24 Sep

Rent, Own, or Do Both?

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

DLC BLOG Rent, Own, or Do Both? There are generally three different situations you can find yourself in when it comes to living situations; living with parents, renting, or owning. A lot of the times the first decision someone will need to make is whether they buy a home to live in, buy a home […]

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24 Sep

A CHIP Success Story

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

DLC BLOG A CHIP Success Story A few years ago, I met with my Home Equity Bank representative. He was trying to encourage me to go visit my financial adviser referral partners to offer the Chip Reverse Mortgage product. I explained that I did not know anyone who had a reverse mortgage so it was […]

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24 Sep

First Time Mortgages: Expectations Vs. Reality

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

DLC BLOG First Time Mortgages: Expectations Vs. Reality First-time homebuyers are one of our favourite clients! It’s great to work alongside them and teach them the in’s and out’s about real estate, owning a home, and helping them cross “homeownership” off their bucket list. One thing that we find though, their expectations are often not […]

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17 Sep

Mortgage Switches and Transfers

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

DLC BLOG Mortgage Switches and Transfers Mortgage switches and transfers are becoming one of the more popular sources of revenue for certain lenders which means great incentives for borrowers as the banks and financial institutions fight for your business. When your mortgage is up for renewal, your lender will typically send you a letter either […]

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17 Sep

Four-Month Home Sales Gain Despite Weak B.C. Markets

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

Dr. Sherry Cooper – Chief Economist, Dominion Lending Centres Four-Month Home Sales Gain Despite Weak B.C. Markets The Canadian housing market showed continued signs of stabilizing last month with sales edging upward and prices easing a bit. National home sales increased 0.9% in August, the fourth consecutive monthly gain. Sales in Toronto advanced 2.2% while […]

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12 Sep

Keeping Your Credit Score Healthy

General

Posted by: Livian Smith

DLC BLOG Keeping Your Credit Score Healthy There is a lot of mis-information floating around about credit bureaus, credit reports and credit scores – not only that, but a large amount of the clients I work with have never even seen their credit report or score before! I’d like to shed a bit of light, […]

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