All About Real Estate, Finance & Mortgages

It looks like your dream house on the outside, but a few weeks after you move in, you discover mice, electrical problems or asbestos. Like a scene out of the 1986 comedy, The Money Pit, the beautiful house you were excited to move has now become a financial burden. This is the case for some new home buyers who don't cover all their bases by doing research before moving into a new home. Hiring a home inspector is a part of the home buying process that is optional, but may save numerous headaches down the road. Continued...

Canadians continue to favour home ownership over renting despite rising home prices and modestly higher interest rates, according to the results of a study released today by Scotiabank, which indicates that 30 per cent of Canadian renters plan to purchase a home within three years. "Steady job and wage gains continue to support Canadians who want to make the move from renting to owning," said Adrienne Warren, Senior Economist, Scotia Economics. "Many potential new homeowners, however, will look to less expensive housing options such as townhomes and condominiums due to some erosion in overall affordability." Despite the optimistic view of homeownership, current renters who are not planning to buy, outlined a number of deterrents to purchasing a home. The study found the most commonly cited reasons include: commitment of ownership (37%), high cost of real estate (17%), living paycheque to paycheque (12%), poor credit (7%), and student loans (5%). Continued...

Mortgage rate peak near economists: 'The end's not far away' The short-term outlook for inflation and interest rates in Canada is a whole lot less clear since Friday's jobs report that signalled the economy is hotter than expected, but the long view is that borrowing costs and the pace of price increases are approaching their apex. After Friday's report that Canada created almost 100,000 jobs last month, the Canadian dollar has shot up almost US2 cents to US91 cents in the past two trading days on bets the Bank of Canada is not done raising interest rates to corral inflation, and probably has one more quarter-percentage-point increase to go. That's a change from earlier last week, when the expectation was that the central bank's trend-setting target for overnight interest rates wasn't going any higher than the 4.25% it is now. "If we are not done watching the Bank of Canada raise interest rates, we're 25 basis points from it, so the end's no...

Only 10% Understand Real Estate Lawyer's Role Many Ontarians have jumped into the busy real estate market without fully appreciating the legal dimensions of home buying. Homebuyers put a great deal of time and energy into finding their dream home. Real estate lawyers put the same careful attention into investigating the legal issues related to the property and closing the sale," says Kathleen Waters, an experienced real estate lawyer and Vice President, TitlePLUS. "That's where your real estate lawyer becomes an invaluable resource: he or she navigates you through the major legal implications of home purchase, and can help prevent a dream home from turning into a nightmare." Continued...

Homeowners can expect to another half percentage point interest rate hike over the next year, says the chief economist with the Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders. Will Dunning said that increase might take a little of the heat out of the real estate market, but he doubts it would be enough to cause prices to fall. New home sales are strong, prices are continuing to rise and the new housing starts are either growing slightly or remain flat in most parts of the country, he said. Speaking at a mortgage symposium in Halifax Monday, Mr. Dunning said fixed rates remain the most popular mortgage choice for homeowners, but the heavily promoted combination fixed rate/variable rate mortgages are gaining in acceptance as people looking at the uncertainty in the marketplace see them as a way of managing the risk. Drawing on the results of a survey he carried out in March, he said most people renewing their mortgages are happy with their situation, generally because their payments ...

Going crossed-eyed over the myriad mortgage options these days? Don't despair, says a local real estate expert and author. With the right knowledge, research and professional team backing you up, there are some great deals to be had, says Douglas Gray, president of National Real Estate Institute Inc, and author of Mortgages Made Easy: The All-Canadian Guide to Home Financing. And it all starts with proper preparation, including doing an online credit check to make sure your financial affairs are as they should be, and knowing how much a lender will potentially grant you, Gray says. His No. 1 piece of mortgage advice: Don't deal directly with lenders, but work with a mortgage broker who can seek out the best deals from up to 100 different lenders. 'They know all the big players, and who's hungry - and you don't pay a penny to the mortgage broker,' says Gray, who also advises homebuyers to do a little comparison-shopping, and talk with at least three different bro...

Personal bankruptcies have fallen to the lowest level in seven years, cushioned by a strong labour market, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said Monday. Bankruptcies, on average over the past three months, fell 7.6 per cent from last year but – like most economic reports of late – the headline number masked regional discrepancies. In Alberta, they tumbled 17.5 per cent, while bankruptcies in Quebec and Atlantic Canada rose 3.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, CIBC said in its bankruptcy report. At the same time, Ontario bankruptcies are falling as strength in Ottawa, Toronto and Kitchener offsets higher rates in Sudbury and Windsor, cities more vulnerable to the strong Canadian dollar. “Looking at development in the pipelines, it appears that there is little risk of any significant deterioration in the bankruptcy situation in the near future,” CIBC economist Benjamin Tal said in the report. In one barometer that shows fewer people are likely going belly up, the delinquency ra...

A recent forgivable loan from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) will ensure that residents of the Homewood Mansions near Carlton and Jarvis streets can continue to live in safe buildings. The CMHC has passed down $762,000 in funding for the 67-unit rental apartment at 1 Homewood Ave. and $528,000 for a 44-unit rooming house at 7 and 9 Homewood Ave. The money is part of an initiative to help ensure that Toronto maintains a certain number of affordable housing units. "Part of the review we do before giving out funding is to determine if, in fact, the tenants are lower-income earners and if, in fact, the rents are kept below a certain level," said CMHC spokesperson Mark Salerno. "We want to ensure that the buildings remain safe to live in and that we retain an affordable housing stock in the city." While the funding comes in the form of a loan, Salerno said that the CMHC will forgive the loan provided certain conditions are met. First, the money must...