Blogs

Buying a property is a complex process and goes beyond your mortgage. We've asked our friends at Quadra Legal Centre to share their insight on why you would want to appoint a power of attorney when buying or selling real estate. Here's what they had to say:

Without fail, the number one New Year's financial resolution is paying off debt, followed closely by building up savings – every year. Why are we so terrible at meeting these goals? Let's face it: saving is no fun while we're doing it and we don't see any tangible, immediate benefits from paying off debt, especially when it feels like we're passing up buying things we want to have. But what if we turn it around and look at what you spend instead? Here are 3 tips to help make this the year you finally achieve your financial resolutions.

It may seem like a simple question, but if you're starting on the path to buying your first home it's important to ask yourself, “Why?”. In our experience, people usually have mixed reasons:

There has been a lot of speculation about the impact of foreign property ownership on real estate prices over the past couple of years. In joint research from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Statistics Canada, we can finally see some numbers and what they mean for our local housing market.

Do you know the difference between the term of the mortgage and its amortization? If you're a first time home buyer, you might have heard both words used without explanation – sometimes interchangeably – and even an experienced homeowner can confuse the two. Understanding some of the basic words and phrases that your mortgage broker uses on a daily basis can help you feel more comfortable and informed during the mortgage process.

We've written before about the importance of a home inspection when you're buying a property. Even if you're pre-approved for a mortgage, your lender may hesitate if there's something slightly unusual about the property you choose. Your home insurance company also wants to make sure your property is in good condition. Allstate Canada conducted a survey earlier this year that shows 1 in 4 homebuyers had problems after buying their home that could have been caught by a home inspection.