Blogs

Every mortgage calculator you run across on the internet is going to be slightly different – and they're not all created equal! Let's be honest: a calculator is a great way to get you to spend time on the website and it probably gets you excited for the possibilities around buying or refinancing your property. But you also want the calculator to provide you with an accurate idea of the size of mortgage you qualify for and what your payments will be. That all comes down to knowing what information you will need to enter.

Do you feel a sense of dread when a bill arrives in your mailbox? Do you take an out of sight, out of mind approach to managing your bank account? You're not alone! Almost two thirds of households in British Columbia say their worry "is constant" according to a study commissioned by debt advisors Sands & Associates earlier this year.

If you've been worrying about rising mortgage rates, you're not alone! With home prices still near all-time highs in Victoria and Vancouver, Canadian home owners owe more on their mortgages than ever before. How dire is the situation? We took a look back to see what could happen.

In the 2015 movie San Andreas, a magnitude 9 earthquake hits the entire state of California. Dwayne Johnson plays a rescue pilot who needs to fly across the state to rescue his daughter – and along the way he witnesses the devastation to communities first-hand. While this example is a hyped-up Hollywood disaster flick, earthquakes are a reality of life for us in British Columbia.

There are many things to consider when purchasing a home, including making sure your investment is properly insured. Home insurance can seem almost as daunting as the mortgage process. While in both cases there can be an overwhelming amount of information to be included and reviewed, know that the professionals are here to help and make it as simple as possible for you.

Equifax has confirmed that 8,000 Canadians may have had their personal information – names, addresses, and Social Insurance Numbers – or credit card information compromised in a breach by hackers earlier this year. An outside cybersecurity firm completed the forensic analysis to determine how many people were affected.

The federal government has confirmed a new mortgage stress test that will come into effect on January 1, 2018. The new qualifying rules will apply to home buyers looking for an uninsurable or conventional mortgage. You will need to qualify on either the Bank of Canada benchmark rate (4.89% at time of writing, updated weekly) or your mortgage contract rate + 2% - whichever is higher. Currently, buyers in this situation only need to qualify at their contract rate.