Do you lock in or go variable? With mortgage rates tantalizingly low it is easy to see why so many people prefer the latter, but that could change if the rates start to rise. Maria Dominelli, a mortgage specialist with independent mortgage brokerage firm Invis in Victoria, B.C., says deciding which route to choose depends […]

Cheryl Hutton and Aaron Coates always thought getting a mortgage would be a challenge. But within 18 days of visiting a mortgage broker, they were able to close a deal on a new townhouse in Calgary without a hitch. Now in their early thirties, both have careers in the theatre, something Ms. Hutton says has […]

Two years ago, when Michelle Gompf and Jesse Bagelman started thinking about buying a house, they assumed it would be impossible to qualify for a mortgage because of some heavy debt and Mr. Bagelman’s status as a self-employed stone mason. Rather than give up, Ms. Gompf -now Gompf Bagelman -launched a campaign. “I made up […]

Household debt as measured against disposable income nudged lower from a record high in late 2010, data suggested Monday, a sign that Canadians are beginning to curb their borrowing behaviour. Still, analysts warned debt levels remain at such elevated levels that they would squeeze economic growth for years to come. Statistics Canada reported that, as […]

A term as emblematic of the heady pre-financial crisis days as “covenant-light” is not something one expects to hear these days from a high-ranking official at Canada’s top financial watchdog. But that’s exactly the term used on Sunday by Ted Price, assistant superintendent at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, to justify a […]

TD Canada Trust is registering all mortgages as collateral charges. What does this mean for the consumer?  Well, there is some good but mainly it’s bad..… a collateral mortgage is normally registered for floating or revolving debt such as a secured line of credit.  It allows for the balance to float up or down. TD will […]

People often wonder how, exactly, Facebook makes so much money, enough to make founder Mark Zuckerberg one of the richest people in the world. After all, it’s free for its nearly 630 million members to use and most would say it isn’t overly littered with ads. So why is the social networking site supposedly worth […]

Happy spring! The sun is out, the birds are singing, and here in Canada, we probably only have one or two more surprise snowfalls before summer. This is the time of year when we emerge from our dark rooms, stretching and blinking into the sun. We peel off our woolly layers and start thinking about […]

Bordered to the west by idyllic Gulf of Mexico beaches and to the east by the natural bounty of the Everglades, upscale Naples is one of Florida’s premier retirement destinations. Naples’ charms made it an epicentre for the Florida property boom, where unfettered speculation and limitless credit lifted property values to the stratosphere. Five years […]

Mobile apps can be used for just about anything these days. From remotely starting a car to filming and editing entire feature-length films using a smartphone, there are even apps out there to help buy, sell or renovate a home. With spring officially arriving on Monday, the busiest time of year for the real estate […]