Blogs

A reverse mortgage can be a great financial solution for Canadian seniors to unlock the equity in their home during their retirement. There are still a lot of myths about this product, so our team of certified reverse mortgage specialists wants to set the record straight.

When the latest B.C. property assessment arrived in your mailbox earlier this month, you may have had mixed feelings. If your property is typical of Victoria - or indeed most of the province - the assessed value of your property has probably increased by a percentage that's in the double-digits. On one hand, you've gained more equity simply by continuing to own your home. On the other hand, a higher assessment also brings higher property taxes that you may not have budgeted for.

One of the most difficult things for people when it comes to their personal finances is planning and sticking to a budget. When you're buying your first home, it's likely the biggest purchase you have made in your life; knowing what you can realistically afford each month becomes even more important!

Like many journeys, the road to bad credit starts with a single step – or misstep in this case. Whatever your situation, once you've started having trouble with your credit score, it can be difficult to find your own way back to a strong financial situation. But you have some money saved in your RRSP, so why shouldn't you use that to get out of debt? While it seems like an easy solution now, you might regret your decision in the future.

Q: How is the government going to monitor the 1-year occupancy detail?

A: As with the First Time Home Buyers (FTHB) exemption, the Ministry will send a letter to the purchaser at the end of the year to confirm compliance, principal residence & owner occupied.

Well it’s a rare occasion when a government actually gives back or agrees to take less of your money, but in BC that’s exactly what happened with the new property transfer tax exemption up to $750,000. In case you didn’t’ hear, going forward from today, if you’re purchasing a new home up to $750,000, you will be exempted from paying the property transfer tax (a savings of $13,000 on a $750,000 purchase), provided the home is new and you are either a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.

No one likes change, especially future homeowners as the change relates to the mortgage rules.  Every time the rules change, they only seem to make it harder & harder for folks to qualify.  Well in my humble opinion, the latest change announced by the Finance Minister in December could have been more massive.

The Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that for properties between $500,000 and $1 million, those of you getting an insured mortgage will now need to put more down—up to an additional 2.5% of the purchase price if you max out at the 1.0 million mark.