Three ways to pay off your mortgage faster

Things like traffic, work and dirty dishes can seem to go on forever; your mortgage doesn’t have to.

Even if you have signed on for a long mortgage, with payments scheduled to continue until you’re old, there are ways to speed everything up, experts say.

It’s a matter of knowing your options and paying attention to detail.

“Obviously there’s budgeting, where you cut back on some of your spending,” says April Dunn, a mortgage broker at Red Door Mortgage Group in Kelowna, B.C.

“But that only works if you actually take the funds to pay down the mortgage.” If you can’t bear to give up that triple skinny latte with an extra shot and some foam, “there are other things you can do.”

Some of these may seem simple but knowing more lets you make the…

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How To Sell Your Tenant Occupied Home

You have an investment property and your looking to sell.

You still have current tenants, so what are the tips to help you get a sale while your tenants are in your property?

If your Tenant has something to gain from the sale of the house, they would be more willing to cooperate showing it.Think of ways to motivate them!

If at all possible, it would be best to wait until the tenants vacate the house prior to listing, however, that may not always happen.

There are several ways to motivate your tenant so they have the house in “Show Ready” condition at all times. Let’s be honest, it is work to keep the house in good, show ready condition even if it’s the homeowner living in the house.
Once you list your house for sale, you’re now asking…

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What do you do when your parents are living in poverty — in a million-dollar home

A million-dollar home but a property in a state of neglect and a bare-bones lifestyle that doesn’t fit your wealth.

In today’s housing market where the average price detached home is now $1 million in Toronto and $1.8 million in Vancouver, it’s becoming increasingly common to see seniors living in poverty even though they have enough home equity to lift themselves out of it. Across the country, the average price of a home reached a record $442,857 in 2015 — much of that wealth an untapped resource.

“I’ve seen people who are eating cat food but they own a $1.5 million home,” says David Batori, the broker of record with Toronto-based Re/Max Hallmark Batori Group Inc. ”Some of these seniors just don’t have any idea what their home is worth because they…

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Go solar! How does solar power work?

If you’re eager to lower your carbon footprint and also save on energy bills, equipping your home for solar power is a great option.

There are several things to consider in the quest to go green:

How does solar power work?

Solar power is generated by thin silicon panels, divided into photovoltaic cells, which act as semiconductors. When sunlight hits the cells, it excites the electrons and produces a direct electrical current.  To generate power for your home, the panels are either installed on your rooftop or angle mounted on your property. Most urban users favour a rooftop set-up so they won’t have to sacrifice valuable backyard real estate, but it’s not unusual to see a freestanding panel in rural areas where properties are generally…

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Renovation stress builds a range of emotions

As many have said, renovations can be a lot like giving birth!

They’re painful, they make you want to scream, and cause you to ask yourself why you’re bearing the brunt of all the work. And yet, you love the result and often end up repeating the whole thing.

Houzz.com’s Remodeling & Relationships Survey of Canadian users, conducted online this past December and January, found a number of issues that caused pain, including the fact that:

• 18% made a significant design decision without telling their partner
• 8% snuck away to catch a break
• 9% neglected to mention the price of something.

Those are the little white lies of the fixer-upper set, but in a number of cases, things got even worse:

• 5% admitted to secretly throwing…

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The art of making an offer to buy a house

When buying a house, getting your offer right is both very important and very difficult.

What do you need to consider? How do you make your offer stand out? How do you get your offer accepted? And how do you ensure that you are getting the best deal? These are some of the questions that you might already be struggling with, so to help you out, we have put together some of the key things to consider.

What to consider before making the offer

Ask yourself...

• What are my long term plans?
• Will I live here for more than a few years?
• Can I commit to paying my mortgage on time every month?
• Will I like the neighbourhood?
• Am I ready for the expenses of a home?

Use our calculators page for help with affordability

Other things to…

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5 Financial Steps to Take Before You Invest in Real Estate

So you want to get started investing. Now is the best time to set yourself up for a comfortable financial future, but there are a few tasks you should tackle before putting your money to work for you. These tips apply to any investment, whether it’s in real estate, tax liens, or the stock market.

5 Financial Steps to Take Before You Invest in Real Estate

1. Fill Your Emergency Fund

Your emergency fund is a pool of savings you set aside to pay for emergencies. It’s self insurance for things you can’t insure.

Whether it’s a major car repair, unexpected medical bill, or the loss of a job, having an emergency fund can help bridge the the financial gap. Instead of turning to high interest credit cards for funding, you can turn to your emergency…

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Getting your home sale or purchase right

Getting your home purchase or the sale of your Kamloops Property right there are a few simple steps to making it as stress free as possible.

BUYING A HOME IN KAMLOOPS

A step at a time: Before seriously house hunting, have your mortgage financing in place, says Kent Browne, broker of record with Royal LePage Team Realty in Ottawa. Make sure you also have roughly two per cent of the anticipated purchase price set aside in cash for legal fees, land transfer tax and other expenses.

Preparation: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s free, downloadable 72-page guide Buying a Home walks you through the entire house-hunting and -buying process. There's also a condominium guide: http://cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/buho/index.cfm.

Browne suggests scouting…

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BC Budget 2016: First-Time Buyers Sidelined, Local New Home Buyers Win

Province focuses affordability towards Canadian buyers of new homes, paid for by hiked luxury home tax;also promises collection of data on overseas buyers

It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time buyer or not – the province is focusing the much-needed affordability measures in its 2016 BC Budget towards buyers of newly built entry-level homes, Finance Minister Mike de Jong announced February 16.

In an unexpected move, which had been widely predicted to be a cut in Property Transfer Tax (PTT) specifically for first-time buyers, de Jong announced that buyers of new homes up to $750,000 in value will no longer have to pay PTT (although GST still applies), effective February 17. This exemption is available to Canadian citizens and permanent residents…

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Condo buyers: Beware the developer's suite

This is it! This is where I want to live. I'm home suite home. Why? Because this master suite is perfect. It's sweeter than all the other suites.

Just look at the cove ceilings, the quarter sawn oak floors, the fabulous panelled and architecturally detailed wall treatments. It is gorgeous, clean, organized, but warm and inviting. The antique glass doors are sensational. There are curved walls and niches designed for display.

And in the bathroom are sleek and sophisticated tiles and sconces. The floors are heated so that I can step out of a piping hot shower and still be oblivious to -15C weather outside. Not to mention, it looks like hardwood but is actually grey textured porcelain. But back to that shower; it looks divine - a glass steam shower with…

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