FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS INCENTIVE PROGRAM The new First Time Home Buyer Incentive program from CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation) was officially released on September 2. This program was met with mixed reactions across the mortgage industry, but we wanted to take a minute to give you the facts regarding the program. Below are […]

AUGUST DATA CONFIRM THAT HOUSING HAS TURNED THE CORNER Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that national home sales rose for the sixth consecutive month. Transactions are now running almost 17% above the six-year low reached in February 2019, but remain about 10% below highs reached in 2016 and 2017. […]

RAISE YOUR CREDIT SCORE IN 3 MONTHS While people often think of mortgage brokers when they are first time home buyers, we can help people in a variety of different ways. Recently Garrett LaBarre of Calvert Home Mortgages in Calgary shared a success story with brokers. He had a client referred to him by a […]

STRESS TEST RATE & RECENT DECREASE Currently, all borrowers in Canada need to qualify for a new mortgage at the current Bank of Canada Benchmark Qualifying Rate or at their approved mortgage interest rate plus 2.0%, whichever is higher. For more than a year, this Bank of Canada Benchmark Qualifying Rate has been 5.34%. Now, […]

4 COSTS TO CONSIDER AS A FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER Oftentimes even the most organized and detail oriented first-time homebuyer can overlook some unexpected costs that come with the purchase of their new home. We are outlining 4 of the costs that we most commonly see overlooked by home buyers in hopes that we can better prepare […]

MORTGAGES ARE LIKE COFFEE The most common question we get for mortgages is “what is your best rate?” Now imagine we walked into our local coffee shop and asked “what is your best price?” Doesn’t happen. There are all kinds of different coffees and lots of ways to make them. The same goes for mortgages. […]

THE FED’S QUARTER-POINT RATE CUT NOT THE START OF SOMETHING BIG The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut the overnight target rate by 25 basis points as expected today. Chairman Jerome Powell, however, said it was designed to “insure against downside risks” rather than to signal the start of multiple rate cuts. President Trump called […]

CREDIT REPORTS: YOU’VE SCORED! BUT ARE YOU PLAYING THE GAME? For most people, your personal credit score and how a credit score is calculated are complete mysteries. How can you be expected to play and be successful if you aren’t even told the rules of the game? There are things borrowers can do to improve […]

4 WEIRD THINGS LENDERS ASK FOR A number of times I have had people who wonder why they need to provide so much documentation when it comes to arranging a mortgage. Besides an employment letter, you are usually asked to provide a pay stub and your most recent Notice of Assessment (NOA) to prove income. […]

QUALIFYING MORTGAGE RATE FALLS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE B-20 INTRO The interest rate used by the federally regulated banks in mortgage stress tests has declined for the first time since 2016, making it a bit easier to get a mortgage. This is particularly important for first-time homeowners who have been struggling to pass the B-20 […]