6 Smartest Moves for First-Time Home Buyers

Ready to buy a home? Be prepared: With inventory tight and prices rising, this is a tricky time to be entering the market.

Your biggest challenge is that you’re probably bringing less cash to the table, which makes it harder to compete with more seasoned buyers.

What you do have, however, is flexibility—you’re not counting on selling your current place to fund the deal. That means you can play nice guy with sellers who want to stay put until they land their next place.

Here are the best moves for you to make as you begin to enter the housing market.

1. Lock Up Your Financials

Before you start shopping, clean up your credit and save for a bigger down payment so that you’ll qualify for a better mortgage rate and avoid costly fees. Step one:…

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Why are millennials leaving home later than their parents?

Stuck between a rock and your mom’s basement

Multiple generations living under one roof isn't a new concept, but it is on the rise in North America, especially with millennials. This housing shift comes as a result of many factors, including work challenges and the rising cost of rent in most parts of the country. In fact, millennials are starting their adult lives after the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. This change has been the subject of much speculation and comparison to earlier generations, so personal finance expert Rubina Ahmed-Haq stopped by to help shine some light on why Generation Y is staying put for now.

Gen Y – commonly referred to as millennials – are people born approximately between the 1980s and the mid-1990s. Increasingly…

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CMHC raising mortgage insurance premiums for new buyers

OTTAWA, ON. – The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is raising the cost of mortgage loan insurance for new home buyers effective March 17th. The Crown Corporation estimates the increases will add about $5 to a monthly mortgage payment for its average home buyer.

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Regulatory requirements that came into effect on Jan. 1 that require mortgage insurers to hold additional capital. The premiums are calculated based on the loan-to-value ratio of the mortgage being insured. The size of the increase in rates depends on that ratio.

For instance, new homeowners who make a down payment between five to 9.99 per cent can expect an increase of $6.59 to their monthly mortgage if their loan is $350,000.

For the…

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8 Essential House Hunting Tips For Home Buyers

House hunting might seem like an easy thing.

You go online, search for a home and put in an offer, but there are some key steps you need to consider when you’re entering the real estate market. Here are eight house hunting tips you might want to consider before starting your home search.

1. Take an honest look your personal finances before you start your search.
   Understanding your personal financial situation is the first step in finding your dream house. You will need to know how much you can contribute to a mortgage payment, the cost of maintaining a home, and also if you have any liquid funds to contribute to settlement costs. Don’t skip this step because you don’t want to fall in love with a house just to discover you can’t afford to live…

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10 Common Mistakes First-Time Home Buyers Make

A first-time home buyer falls in love with a property: afraid to lose out, any & all helpful advice gets thrown out the window, an offer gets put in and accepted.

This first-time home buyer has now spent more than he/she can afford on less of a house that he/she wanted.

Does this sound familiar? How can you avoid these mistakes

This is but one of the common mistakes first-time home buyers make when plunging into one of life’s most exciting, exhilarating and exhausting times: buying your first property.

At this point, there’s a lot that comes into play that you need to be aware of as you’re going through the different stages of buying your first property. Buying a home is quite different to what you’ve ever purchased before, which is why it’s…

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Real estate Myths, Fact or Fiction?

Have you heard or been told things that you think "that doesn't seem right" in regards to Real Estate?

A home is likely the most expensive purchase you'll ever make. And the best way to protect yourself from costly mistakes is to go in with a solid understanding of all aspects of the home-buying process. Feel like you're swimming in misinformation?

Well lets look at a few of these "myths" and debunk them. Here is a list of the “Top Real Estate Myths.” There is no particular order. A typical consumer would not encounter all of these (and may not experience any of them) in a transaction. We could substitute many different “myths” for the list above. Some of these may surprise you, so there are general comments about each myth.

1. Experienced agents…

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Hidden Costs When Buying A Home In Canada

Now that you have finally started to save for a home of your own, it’s important that you look into every single detail that is involved with purchasing. It’s not as simple as picking a house you like and moving in. Buying a house is actually a lot of work.

I am sure you have many friends and family members that are always telling you that you should move into your own place. They say that the mortgage would be the same price or less than your monthly rent but did they tell you about the other costs involved in owning a home?

There are so many fees involved with buying your own house such as land transfer tax, lawyers fees etc. Not to mention a 20% down payment!

Let’s not forget that if something goes wrong with the house, like the roof is…

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To rent or to buy? 8 questions Canadians should ask before taking the plunge

Should you rent or buy?

Conventional wisdom suggests it’s a no-brainer – buying real estate is a worthwhile investment with a high return.

Despite record low interest rates,  the sky high prices and carrying costs are causing many to rethink the allure of home ownership.

When you factor in the costs of repair, maintenance and other expenses associated with owning a home, Toronto-based financial planner Shannon Simmons argues that renting and putting saved money into another investment may earn more in the long run.

If you filled in a  questionnaire asking where you see yourself in 10 years, many would answer “buying/owning a house. Do you really care if you buy a house, but think you should? Lets look at both sides of the argument and…

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How to use your RRSP to invest in real estate

As the Canadian real estate market continues to rise, some investors want to put their RRSP money to work in a real estate investment. While there are limitations, there are also several options available to investors.

Unfortunately, those looking to buy a rental property with their RRSPs are out of luck. Tax-free RRSP withdrawals of up to $25,000 can be taken under the Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP) to buy or build a qualifying primary residence to live in, but not for a rental property investment.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are RRSP-eligible investments that pool together income-generating real estate. Typically the pool includes residential, office, retail, industrial, self-storage, healthcare or hotel properties. REITs are a way for…

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