CREDIT CARDS & LINES OF CREDIT (HELOC’s) are the two worst kinds of credit because of high interest and fees, annual fees, late fees etc. They give a false sense of buying power. Believe it or not, some people actually think of this type of credit as ‘income’. Buy now pay later schemes lure […]

  It’s that time of year again when many of us are faced with credit card bills that may be the ‘Choking’ result of Christmas and holiday shopping. If you are finding that you cannot pay the balance(s) in full, then it may be time to ask us for a ‘Mortgage Checkup’. Not only will […]

  If you do, then you may cringe when you hear about the new ‘COLLATERAL MORTGAGES’ now used by all the big banks. So what is a collateral mortgage and what does this mean? It means that they have the right to register the mortgage in excess of 100% of property value (regardless of actual […]

  Job loss, marital breakup, and people tired of renting who have the ability to buy a home but who do not currently qualify (usually for credit reasons) are increasingly going the RTO route. Even some existing homeowners have turned to this option to avoid losing their homes when no other options were available. Rent […]

  When Amy came to us she was at her wits end.   An expensive divorce had left her deep in debt and a financial planner suggested she call us.  She had a good job as a teacher and thankfully her credit although maxed was still satisfactory. It was only a year ago, Amy had bought […]

  Diane was a soft spoken 40 year woman who came to us to see if she could qualify for a house.  She is self employed earned about $40,000 in gross income. Unfortunately, she wrote down her income to  $11,000. so she did not qualify for a mortgage on her own. Her income had been […]

  Ten years ago when rates were much higher, more frequent payments were more beneficial than they are today. Why? Because the interest ‘component’ relative to the ‘principal’ component was much higher. We did the necessary calculations and going biweekly on a $200,000 mortgage at 9.0% 5 years, 25 year amortization means you make extra […]

  Many mortgage brokers across Canada are riled about bank mobile mortgage specialist’s use of the term ‘Mortgage Broker’ to represent themselves to consumers. Big bank head office’s condone this and say it is done “For ease of use” and “To better explain their role to clients” when in fact the opposite is true. This […]

  More Canadians are utilizing the Rent to Own (RTO) solution these days. These are people who want to own but cannot qualify because of credit and they are tired of renting. Typically an RTO contract runs 2 – 3 years, sometimes longer depending on how long it will take to improve one’s credit rating. […]

  According to ‘Moolala’ author Bruce Sellery who was recently on the ‘Lang & O’Leary Exchange’ TV program, “Going back to your bank for a mortgage, primarily because you’ve been a customer ‘Forever’ is “Zombie Behaviour”. “A lot of people would say it’s loyalty. I would say it’s lazy” he added. Sellery offered his guidance […]