5 Apr

YOUR MORTGAGE IS MORE THAN A RATE

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

The mortgage process can seem huge and overwhelming. It can be an emotional process because a mortgage is the loan you are taking to buy a home for yourself and your family which makes it infinitely more than just a loan. Or it may represent the loan you are taking to refinance your home to […]

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4 Apr

ADVICE FOR SINGLE HOMEBUYERS

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

More than a third of first-time homebuyers in Canada are single. If you’re thinking of joining this group, here’s what you need to do and know before jumping into homeownership. Study the market. Identify neighbourhoods you want to live in and check to see how much properties in that area are selling for. Next, figure […]

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3 Apr

BANKS & CREDIT UNIONS VS MONOLINE LENDERS

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

We are all familiar with the banks and local credit unions, but what are monoline lenders and why are they in the market? Mono, meaning alone, single or one, these lenders simply provide a single yet refined service: to fulfill mortgage financing as requested. Banks and credit unions, on the other hand, offer an array […]

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30 Mar

THE GLASS HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

A sincere thank you to our regulators, Ministers, MP’s, etc. for your concern about my personal debt figures. And thanks for channelling this concern into recent deep and drastic cuts to my personal (home financing) purchasing power. Although certainly chopping Canadian families’ ability to buy a home in today’s rising market by a whopping 20% […]

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29 Mar

DEBT-TO-INCOME: A MEANINGLESS METRIC

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

The human brain struggles with distinguishing between a real or imagined threat. Is it a snake? Or just a shoelace? One may kill us quick, and so we react fast and think it through later… or maybe never. Is the often cited, rarely critiqued, ‘debt-to-income’ ratio a snake or a shoelace? A killer lying in […]

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28 Mar

WHISKEY, WINE, AND WEAKNESS IN OTTAWA

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

Our Government has concerns about their role with CMHC — essentially a mortgage insurance company — a role in which taxpayers are technically liable for their clients’ actions and behaviour (despite current CMHC premium reserves on hand to withstand up to a 40% market devaluation). These concerns were apparently part of justification used regarding recent […]

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24 Mar

CONSTRUCTION MORTGAGE PART 1 – SERVICED VS UNSERVICED LOTS

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

On several occasions we have had people ask us at Dominion Lending Centres about construction mortgages. Every lender has their own guidelines and rules when it comes to construction mortgages. That’s because there are many details involved in the process of construction, let alone the mortgage that actually funds it! Below is part 1 of […]

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23 Mar

SUMMARY OF THE NEW MORTGAGE MARKET

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

There have been a lot of changes in the mortgage market over the past few months so many Canadian’s plans regarding homeownership may have shifted quite a bit from last year. First, new qualification rules came to pass in October where even though actual contract rates are sitting at about 2.79% all Canadians have to […]

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22 Mar

4 STEPS TO A FINANCIALLY FIT YOU IN 2017!

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

Well, you have likely noticed that it is time for resolutions according to the plethora of fitness equipment and organizational plastic bins on sale in every flyer you open. It seems fitting that we take a 4 step approach to positioning yourself for financial fitness in 2017 as well. So first of all, I am going […]

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21 Mar

WHY SO MANY MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS?

General

Posted by: Mike Hattim

Documents, documents and more documents. Yes that’s right you will need to provide your Dominion Lending Centres mortgage broker with as many documents that we request upfront as possible. Why? Because the more supporting documentation you have available will help us as brokers to find you your best mortgage options. If you don’t have everything […]

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