NOVEMBER DATA CONFIRM CANADIAN HOUSING REBOUND Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that national home sales rose for the ninth consecutive month and now stands a full 20% above the six-year low reached in February 2019. While the chart below shows that monthly home sales are now well above their […]

Need an Appraisal? 7 1/2 tips for Success           Do you need to get a current value of your property? Then you are going to need an appraisal. Banks and other lending institutions want to know the “current” market value of your home before they consider loaning money on the property. […]

BANK OF CANADA HOLDS STEADY AMID CONTINUED TRADE UNCERTAINTY The Bank of Canada maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1.75% for the ninth consecutive policy announcement, keeping the key interest rate stable for all of 2019. Today’s decision was widely expected as members of the Governing Council have signalled that the Bank is […]

HOW TO GET A 5% DOWN PAYMENT FOR A $500,000 PURCHASE We have seen a return of the buyers’ market and many people are asking, how long will this last? While some renters without a down payment might be asking, how can o put a plan in place to own? With the cost of living […]

Every once in a while you get to help people out and make a real difference in their lives. Recently a couple was referred to me who wanted to renew their mortgage. The bank that they had been dealing with for over 20 years had offered them a 5 year fixed rate that was more […]

4 WAYS TO MAKE THE MORTGAGE PROCESS SMOOTHER Mortgages are complicated—we get it! But there are steps that you as a homebuyer can take to make the process a much smoother one (plus let you walk away with the sharpest rate!)             1. Use a Broker This should be the […]

  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 […]

RENT-TO-OWN EXPLAINED In some markets, it can take a long time to sell a property. An option available to some sellers is the Rent-to-Own sales method. If you have someone interested in purchasing your property but they can’t obtain a mortgage either because they don’t have a down payment saved or their credit score is […]

September Data Confirm That Housing Is in Full Rebound Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that national home sales rose for the seventh consecutive month. Activity rose another 0.6% month-over-month in September to 512,000 units (seasonally-adjusted and annualized). This was the highest level in 21 months and 6.6% above the […]

Residential Market Commentary – The realities of rental Oct 14, 2019 Be the expert First National Financial LP With high prices and tougher qualifying requirements home buyers continue to explore the viability of renting out part of their home as a way to boost income or subsidize mortgage costs.  It is not uncommon and it […]