Credit Mortgages and Finance

Why Invest in Kamloops Real Estate?

I have lived in Kamloops almost all of my life and I have never seen so much buying demand, so little inventory, and skyrocketing rental rates. I've read countless reports of the hundreds of renters staying in hotels waiting for a home or suite to come on the rental market. My clients who are purchasing investment properties tell me experiences of advertising suites and having people offer to pay them just to view the suite and have a chance at getting it. I'm hoping the madness stops as it simply isn't sustainable nor is it fair to those who cannot afford a down payment in an ever rising housing market, yet it's the perfect storm for investors.

The other attraction for those able to buy a rental home, is that

The global pandemic may have brought the Canadian real estate sector to a near standstill this spring, but over the longer term it appears to have stoked homebuying intentions.

It almost goes without saying that COVID-19 has had a far-reaching impact on the Canadian economy and healthcare system in the first half of 2020. As expected, the spring housing market was much cooler than 2019, with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) confirming that May 2020 recorded the lowest volume of sales in May since 1996. Despite the significant drop in sales volume due to the pandemic, though, national home prices remained relatively stable. 

After a quiet April, market activity began to pick up in local housing markets across the country in May: more

The stress test rate is about to fall for the second time in three months following cuts by Canada’s Big Six banks to their 5-year fixed posted rates.

Ever since 2016, all insured mortgages must qualify at a minimum rate or, in other words, pass a 'stress test'. The key difference between an insured mortgage and an uninsured mortgage is the initial amount you're able to put down on the purchase of a If you find yourself able to put down more than 20% of the purchase price immediately, you can carry on without seeking mortgage insurance . If, however, your down payment comes in at under 20% of the total purchase price, the government mandates that the balance of the mortgage must be backed by government-supported insurance.

Mortgage experts say the

The dollar figure on your provincial property assessment notice should not be taken as your home’s market value

In early January, homeowners across British Columbia received their 2020 assessed property values, released by BC Assessment. For the most part, the province remains relatively stable. However, there are significant changes to note, including a dramatic decrease in values in the lower mainland by as much as 15 per cent and increases of 41 per cent in smaller areas such as Kitimat. Regardless of the situation, it can be a confusing landscape to navigate as a homeowner, seller, or buyer. Here is a look at some of the need-to-know points that demystify the real versus the perceived impact of the newly released property assessments.

But hold

At some point in your journey as a real estate investor, you may develop the desire to quit your current job to pursue real estate investing full-time. 

It sounds exciting, right?  It is, but you’ll need to have a solid plan to replace your income before jumping ship!  Before you quit your full time job there are many questions to ask your self. You will have seen the countless TV programs on property "flipping" and how easy it all looks when the tradesmen are lining up on the Home and Garden Channel to work on the projects and you never really see the stress behind the job.

It may be that you have recently bought a property, done some renovations and "flipped it" and perhaps made your whole years salary in one flip! This would give you a great

The single family home has, unfortunately, become unaffordable for many people.

With roller coaster housing prices and more people finding that renting is better idea than buying, there will be more people turning to renting.

So you’ve made the fortuitous decision to invest in real estate and now you want the revenue stream to begin raining down on you. But are you ready? Below we provide a list of items to help prepare you to be an effective and fair first-time landlord!

NB- We are assuming your building allows rentals so you are not breaking any strata laws in listing your place.

Know your Tenants Rights and the Law

Learn about landlord and tenant laws in your province to ensure you’re prepared in case things go wrong—and they will. The

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:

You may have heard of the incentive programs that the federal government has created to try to entice first time home buyers into the real estate market, but how much do you really understand? Is this something for you?

The government of Canada has a couple of programs that are designed to get first time buyers on the property ladder. Read on to see if they are right for you.

1) The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP). This is a program that allows you to withdraw funds from your Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) to buy or build a qualifying home for yourself or for a related person with a disability. The HBP allows you to pay back the withdrawn funds within a 15-year period. So what are the rules?

• Permits two first-time buyers in the same

If you have questions about the coronavirus and how the current situation might impact your finances, you’re not alone.

We’ve all heard the words “unprecedented times” more than ever over the last month. While we deal with so much uncertainty around us, it’s important to recognize that there are still actions we can take to help protect ourselves.

With financial markets crashing and the loss of a number of jobs, Canadians are questioning their financial future. It is yet to be determined the real economic impact of the coronavirus as data is changing quickly with limited time to analyze. There are indications that joblessness will increase in the short term, which can be scary; however, the government and lenders are stepping up to aid households in

Your credit scores are an important aspect of your financial profile.

They may be used to determine some of the most important financial factors in your life, such as whether you’ll be able to lease a vehicle, qualify for a mortgage or even land that cool new job.

And considering 71 percent of Canadian families carry debt in some form (think mortgages, car loans, lines of credit, personal loans or student debt), good credit health should be a part of your current and future plans.  High, low, positive, negative – there’s more to your scores than you might think. And depending on where your numbers fall, your lending and credit options will vary. So what is a good credit score? What about a great one? Let’s take a look at the numbers.

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