The Canadian National Housing Agency has increased the Premium amount for mortgages by 15%. This insurance premium is charged when home buyers have less than 20% down payment to put on their purchase. This increase will take affect as of May 1st, 2014. Before the increase was announced, premiums were in the range between 0.5% – 2.75%. However, with this increase the ranges are now between 0.6% – 3.15%. The individuals who would be most impacted by this increase are the home buyers who are only putting 5% down payment. Since this is the lowest amount you can put down on a home, it would hurt them the most and take a big chunk out of the down payment.
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Mortgage brokers who automatically turn down B Deals should think again. Due to new mortgage lending rules introduced over the last couple of years, guidelines are tighter and tighter. This could mean someone who originally was an A Deal, is now a B Deal. This basically means previously, they could fit into a prime lender such as a major bank or credit unions/mortgage lenders that are owned by these major banks. A B Deal would be a deal done with lenders such as Equitable/Home Trust, Xceed mortgage corporation, and MCAP ECLIPSE, just to name a few.
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As the deadline for the 2013 tax season progresses closer and closer, you still have the option of choosing which tax season you would like your RRSP contribution go to. For example, if you make contributions in the first 2 months of the year (January and February), you can decide whether you want that contribution will go to 2013 or 2014.
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You will hear alot of individuals using the term RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) and mutual fund in two separate aspects. In reality, all an RRSP is, is a savings or investment account that has tax deductible perks. With whatever source you open up your RRSP with, whether it be with a bank, credit union, or other financial institution, they can offer investment packages that include mutual funds, ETF’s (exchange traded funds) etc. But you are not limited to this, you can open up your RRSP and choose the investment you would like to fill it with. Anything you feel is necessary such as gold, cash, Canadian and foreign equities, bonds, income trusts, a mortgage, and more.
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Meridian Credit Union, which is a part of our broker channel, has re-introduced the famous 5 year fixed @ 2.99%! Currently, this is the lowest fixed rate you can get in the market according to ratespy.com. This particular product comes with a 45 day rate hold, 20% annual pre-payment privilege, portability (as long as it is within Ontario), bridge financing if needed, optional skip payment and much more!
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When looking for homes in the city, one will notice that to get a decent sized home in the City of Toronto, you will have to start digging deep into your pockets. It is no secret that this city is one of the most expensive to purchase real estate in and furthermore bidding wars are very common when it comes to the single residential homes. When thinking about affordability, if an individual on their own cannot support the payments on their own, what is a typical solution? Get a partner.
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Hope you are keeping warm from this brutal winter!
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If you are a new immigrant to Canada, obtaining a mortgage has never being easier. You can qualify for a standard mortgage of up to 95% of borrowing. That is right, up to 95%! This program is open for all new immigrants with permanent residency, temporary residency, or a work VISA.
Guidelines for qualification are:
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Many first time home buyers do not realize you can use up to $25,000 from your RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) and withdraw funds from your TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account) as well. Keep in mind, the rule is $25,000 dollar withdrawal per person. For Example, if you and your spouse are purchasing a home, you both can use two accounts (each account has to be under a separate name) can withdraw the $25,000 dollars. This means that together you can have $50,000 dollars from your RRSP’s as down payment! Same rule applies for the TFSA accounts.
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Secured Line Of Credit

Using the equity in your property can help grow your wealth and save thousands of dollars in interest over the life of your mortgage.  At the end of the day, we all want to pay off our mortgages faster and if all goes to plan, maybe leave our home or properties to our kids without a mortgage balance owing (lucky for them).  What if there was a mortgage strategy in place that can help you build a real estate portfolio, pay off debts and still pay off your mortgage at a faster pace? By doing this you can potentially leave the property/properties to your child/ren free and clear?  Read More.
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