BANK OF CANADA REDUCES PROSPECTS OF A RATE HIKE A greater-than-expected slowdown in global economic activity has triggered a slowdown in the pace of interest rate normalization by many central banks. In response to these central bank policy changes and perceived progress in U.S.-China trade talks, global financial conditions and stock market sentiment have improved, […]

MARCH HOME SALES REBOUND FROM DISMAL FEBRUARY SHOWING Statistics released Monday by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that national home sales edged higher in March following the sharp decline in storm-struck February. Overall, however, housing activity remains considerably below historical norms. Home sales rose 0.9% nationally while the benchmark price rose 0.8%. While […]

SPRING IS HERE, MAKE SURE YOU’RE COVERED BY FLOOD INSURANCE The sun is coming out, and the snow is disappearing. You know what that means: it’s flood season. And because flood season is upon us, it’s time to make sure you’re covered. What you need to do is ask specific questions. When you call your […]

CONDO HOME INSURANCE First thing I would like to say about home insurance- this is not what we specialize in. We are experts when it comes to brokering mortgages, not determining what type of home insurance would be best suited for you. That being said, there are 3 key topics we would like people to […]

FEDS OFFER NEW INCENTIVES FOR NEW HOME BUYERS In this year’s budget, the federal government announced a program for first-time homebuyers that would offer between 5% and 10% top up from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. If you’re buying a brand new home, the CMHC will give you 10% of the total cost, and […]

HOW A SIDE HUSTLE CAN CHANGE YOUR HOME-BUYING OUTLOOK So you want to buy a house, but you’re short on the downpayment. Have you ever considered getting into some sort of “side hustle.” The term side hustle describes something you do to make extra cash outside your full-time job. Anyone can make a hundred bucks […]

7 STEPS TO BUYING A HOME It’s important to understand the home buying process, so here’s a 7-step checklist. Step 1: Down Payment The hardest part to buying a home is saving the down payment (a gift from the Bank of Mom & Dad also works). • For purchases under $500,000 minimum down payment is […]

SOURCE OF FUNDS Over the past several years, investigators have been working on an ongoing investigation relating to criminal money laundering in Canada. Looking at B.C. alone, billions of dollars have been laundered through B.C. casinos by criminal organizations and parked in high end B.C. real estate over the past decade or more. With government […]

MARCH JOBS REPORT IN CANADA FINALLY MIRRORS WEAK ECONOMY The employment report had long been a lone bright spot in an economy that had sunk across the board, so the March slump is not surprising. According to today’s jobs report from Statistics Canada, employment fell by 7,200 last month, mostly in full-time positions in the […]

INCOME QUALIFIED There are several different ways a borrower can qualify for a mortgage when it comes to their income. One of the most common ways is known as income qualified. All of the following methods of employment income are under the income qualified umbrella: Annual salary income employees Full time employees working guaranteed weekly […]