Whether you’re a first-time home buyer or a home buying veteran, mortgage terminology can be confusing and it’s not uncommon for terms to be misused. It can be difficult enough going through the different options to determine the best mortgage for you.  Let alone, trying to get the mortgage terms straight as well. One of [...]

Back in early 2022, there were forecasts indicating that the Bank of Canada would increase their rate by as much as five times before the end of the year. All at the standard 0.25% per increase, which would have put the prime rate at 3.45% to 3.70%. They couldn’t have been more wrong. We’re at [...]

All mortgages are not created equal, and making the wrong choice can end up being a costly or frustrating decision. This is exactly why you should never choose a mortgage based on rate alone. Trying to save a few hundred dollars per year on rate can sometimes end up costing you thousands down the road.  [...]

Given that the Bank of Canada has increased their rate by a whopping 3.50% in roughly seven months, it’s only natural to be concerned. Especially considering that they have made it clear that more rate increases will be required. But that shouldn’t have come as a surprise given that this was the expectation all along. [...]

The Bank of Canada announced this morning that they will be increasing their overnight rate by another 0.50%. The overnight rate is what mortgage lenders use to set their prime rate, which means it will now increase to 5.95%. The increases should be implemented by all lenders within the next couple of days. The good [...]

Anyone shopping for a new home over the last few years has had their share of frustration navigating through the sea of buyer competition. The rising interest rates have not made things any easier. As rates rise, so does the qualifying rate (stress test). This makes it difficult for many, first time homebuyers in particular. [...]

With mortgage rates continuing to rise, it’s becoming harder for people to purchase real estate, first time homebuyers especially. There was a time when qualification was based on the actual mortgage payment, however that changed toward the end of 2016 with the introduction of the mortgage stress test. The stress test significantly limits how much [...]

When purchasing a new property, you can generally count in it to close on time. Sure, there are some rare exceptions, but they are indeed rare.   Purchasing is one thing, but what about closing a new mortgage when transferring to another lender at time of renewal? While the majority of mortgage transfers will close [...]

There are many decisions to make when arranging a new mortgage. Whether to go with a fixed or variable, amortization period, payment frequency, and term length. Prior to mortgage rule changes that came into effect on November 30, 2016, short term mortgages usually came with lower rates than the 5 year options. The shorter the [...]

One of the most common questions I get is whether it’s better to go with a fixed or a variable rate mortgage. History has shown variable to win out over fixed more than 80% of the time, but considering that prime rate has already increased by 3.00% with more increases planned, is variable rate now [...]