Toronto-Dominion is raising mortgage rates again

This time the lender is going much farther than its recent hikes.

Starting December 1, all fixed rate mortgages that take more than 25 years to pay back will cost borrowers an extra 10 basis points, or 0.1 per cent. TD is also implementing an extra cost for mortgages on rental properties, charging borrowers 25 basis points more.

The changes follow Royal Bank of Canada’s precedent-setting decision early in November to hike rates, and to also charge more for lengthy mortgages. The latter move marked the first time such a policy was implemented in Canada.

In response, TD increased its own fixed-mortgage rates a week later, but took a more measured approach. Royal Bank hiked its fixed five-year

Multiple “values” are placed on a home by a number of different parties – so who is right?

Not one is truly accurate because influences on real estate values are almost infinite and “value” is never a static figure. Home owners have opinions of value but often little basis for those opinions. There is rarely consistency between assessments, appraisals, market value and sale price…simply because the real estate market is one of the most complex entities around. It’s beneficial for owners to have an understanding of the different “values” (loosely used for convenience) placed upon their home so that when the “what’s it worth” question is posed, they have some semblance of accuracy.

Several factors affect the value of a house, and a single house may be

The home-buying landscape – especially when it comes to mortgage qualification and rates – seems to be changing constantly these days.

Mortgage expert Atrina Kouroshnia makes sense of it all

Until (very) recently, Canadians were getting the short end of the stick – at least when it came to income qualifying, compared with foreign buyers. Unlike Canadians, those from outside of Canada could essentially just plunk down 35 per cent on a property in order to buy it; this without some lenders doing serious due diligence on whether they were good for the remaining capital. This had many Canadians furious about the tight guidelines and standards that they were compelled to meet, but that foreign buyers were not. Things changed last month.

You know

If you thought down payment and closing costs were all you'll pay for when buying your new home, think again. Here's how you can manage your expenses

So you’ve finally purchased a home! After all of the months of searching, and another few weeks poring over endless paperwork, you have been given the keys to your beautiful home. Now all you have to do is buy new appliances, get some new furniture, bedding for the guest room, hire a landscaping service...and the list goes on and on. Just when you thought you had spent all your money on your down payment, now is the time that the expenses really start to add up. After you buy a home, you suddenly realize how many things you “need” in order to make your home function. But now is the time to be careful with

The sooner you go from being a renter to an owner, the sooner you can begin to increase your personal wealth. 

This is perhaps the only legitimate, safe way to parlay a relatively small amount of money into an amount many times larger – and tax free to boot!

First decision – Who is buying?

Are you planning to buy in your name only? Are you buying with a significant other? Are you thinking of going in as partners with friends or relatives?

Second decision – Who will live in this home?

Will you? Will you rent out some rooms or part of the home?

Third decision – Where do you want to buy the home?

Close to work? Close to your family? Close to your social life? Whatever you can afford?

Fourth decision – Decide when you will be ready.

On Monday the 17th of October, stricter new federal rules about who can qualify for an insured mortgage took effect across the country.

Now, all new mortgage applicants have to pass a ‘stress test,’ which tries to predict whether they can keep up with mortgage payments, at their current salary levels, if interest rates were to rise.

Low interest rates have fueled red-hot real estate markets in south-central Ontario and, especially, Vancouver. As real estate values have skyrocketed in both places, uneasiness has grown about affordability and whether real estate has become a bubble economy. Because of mortgage insurance guarantees, Ottawa has a stake in home buyers not buying more than they can afford (leaving aside risks to the wider economy).

“I

Keep Emotions in Check Purchasing Real Estate

Getting too emotional when buying a home can cost you big time! The last thing you want to do is create a lot of extra stress for yourself when buying real estate. In order to make your purchase go smoothly we want to offer some excellent first time home buying tips. It is easy to make home buying mistakes especially when you have never done it before!

Whether buying or selling a home, emotions are always involved in the real estate process. So how do you keep your emotions from hindering your judgment when buying a home? It can be tricky, as optimism and excitement are prone to be high. However, it’s important to keep a clear and level head when it comes to making one of the biggest purchases of your

Often real estate investors look at purchasing foreclosed homes in Canada.

Are there really deals to be had? What if you plan to renovate and flip it?

A foreclosure is the legal process that takes place when a homeowner can no longer pay his or her mortgage. The bank or lender seeks to recoup monies owed by selling the property, wherein, the borrower loses any financial interest in the property.

The foreclosure system in Canada does not create the extravagant deals that the system in the US does. Although “deals” can be found, it is mostly on properties that have very little interest from buyers. In Canada, each province has its own system, as well, which makes the process of buying a foreclosed home more complex for buyers. For instance, in BC,

Housing policy is being created for the whole country based on markets in Toronto and Vancouver

They are Canada’s two hottest housing markets, and even some in the real industry don’t question the need to cool prices in both Toronto and Vancouver, but that opinion changes once you get beyond the orbit of those two cities.

There is almost a sense of bewilderment in places like Halifax and Edmonton or Montreal, where people wonder what overheated housing market anyone is talking about, because it’s not happening in their jurisdiction. DBRS Inc. said this week that from July 2015, to July 2016 prices across the country are almost flat once British Columbia and Ontario are excluded.

“It’s raining in Vancouver, but first-time home buyers need an

To most Canadians, buying a property is a daunting task in itself. But what about securing a mortgage? 

What factors are taken into consideration by lenders and underwriters that can make or break the loan?  Obviously, credit is a major decider in the equation, but what exactly goes into deciding credit worthiness?  What most Canadians aren’t aware of is that credit is not just a score or an ability to make payments on time. Credit is actually composed of a few different categories known as the five C's of credit.

The 5 C's of credit consists of: Credit, Capacity, Capital, Character & Collateral.

1. Credit shows the lender a snapshot of what the borrower’s repayment history has been over a period of time. This is the only way a lender can predict