Home Buying

Closing Costs — Are You Prepared for them?

Closing costs are one of the things that most first time buyers are unaware of; they are the costs of purchasing that come from the lawyers and the government when you purchase a home. The government in many but not all locations has something called land transfer taxes. The tax is applied to the purchase […]

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How Cash Back Mortgages Can Help With Home Expenses

Cash Back mortgages were once available for you to use as down payment. Sometime after 2010 when CMHC started all of their major changes this practice was discontinued. While cash back mortgages still exist they are now restricted on what they can be used for during your purchase. Cash back mortgages work like this: First

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Tips for Small Builder in Alberta — How to Build and Finance New Construction

Mortgage financing for construction mortgages has been an area of expertise for me over the last few years. With close to 15 years in the new home construction industry as a supplier, sale manager and general manager I have the knowledge of what it takes to build and finance new construction. Many times getting started

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Oil Prices Dropping: Is There a Reason to Be Concerned about the Housing Market?

Edmonton’s real estate market can be quite similar to Calgary’s as both cities employ a great amount of workers in the oil industry. When oil prices change, we both enjoy the good times and the bad times together. It can be thought provoking to compare how the change of oil prices may impact home values.

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Second Mortgages — What is it and How it works?

Applying for second mortgage can be easier than you think, second mortgage lenders are looking for several things when it comes to lending you a second mortgage. First and foremost an appraisal needs to be completed on the property, this will give them the value that they need to work with to determine how much

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Mortgage Broker versus Bank Employee — How to Get a Better Mortgage Deal?

Let’s start off with the scenario that when you get your mortgage from a bank employee that they are just that a Bank employee. Their job is to ensure the best deal for the bank as they are paid either by salary or commission. If they are paid on a salary then what do they

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Second Home Purchases — Genworth Canada Insuring Second Purchases

Recently CMHC changed the rules pertaining to clients have two CMHC insured mortgages. For many years clients were able to buy a second home for recreational purposes or for children attending school in another city. The recent changes now say that if you want to own a second home that you must be able to

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First Time Home Buyers — How to Start Building Equity In Your First Home

One of the greatest steps to financial security starts buying saying good bye to your land lord and start building equity in your first home. How does one get started on the path to becoming a first time home buyer in Canada , first step is knowing where your credit stands because the first thing

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