Buying a home is unlike any other consumer purchase. “There are costs that just don’t exist anywhere else,” says Phil Soper president and CEO of Royal LePage Real Estate Services, Toronto. There are often costs involved in buying a home that many first time home buyers have never heard of, particularly if they didn’t do their homework or seek good advice during the transaction. That’s where a realtor can come in handy, says Elton Ash, regional vice-president of Re/Max Western Canada, Vancouver. “You’re paying a realtor for a service,” says Soper. “That service goes well beyond simply sales service. The realtor should be willing to take the novice purchaser through the entire process, including a summary of all the costs and steps necessary to…

While you save up your down payment, take these 5 steps to get you closer to closing.

For renters planning to buy a home, preliminary steps like creating a budget and saving for a down payment are obvious. Here are five more advanced steps toward moving out of your rental and into a dream home of your own.

Understand the full cost of home ownership

As a renter, a single rental fee covers your monthly housing payment. But as a homeowner, four main factors go into your monthly housing payment: principal, interest, taxes and insurance (P.I.T.I.). Understanding these costs will help you determine how much house you can afford.

Together, principal and interest comprise your monthly mortgage payment, with the principal paying down your loan balance

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The gap between variable rate mortgage and fixed rate mortgage products has narrowed in recent years. And while fixed rate mortgages are starting to rise they offer certainty in a monthly payment. On the flip-side, variable rate mortgages remain low, but are the riskier of the two choices – so how do you choose?   Your income, lifestyle and risk tolerance will weigh heavily on your decision and will inevitably determine which product suits your circumstance.   Risk versus reward   The appeal of variable rate mortgages (also called adjustable rate mortgages) is that the interest rate is typically lower than that of fixed rate mortgage products. However, the main drawback is the risk involved. Without warning, interest rates could increase…

Sometimes concepts in the finance world can be tricky. We get so caught up in trying to understand what all the offerings are that we forget to understand the simple things. When is the last time that someone said what a mortgage really is? Or explained why I can only buy a home for $350,000.00. We all have questions in the back of our minds that we don't articulate because we are just too embarrassed. Here are the top five things you are afraid to ask.

 

1. What is a mortgage?

A simple enough question but not one that people seem ready to admit to . A mortgage is a loan secured by real property, commonly referred to as real estate. In essence it is a contract that includes rights and obligations of both parties. The term actually comes from a

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OTTAWA, November 12, 2015 — Buying your first home is an exciting time but it also comes with many questions, concerns and in some cases, nerves. With that in mind, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released today its 2015 First-Time Homebuyers Survey (#FirstTimeBuyers) coinciding with the fifth anniversary of Financial Literacy Month (#FLM2015).

“For many Canadians, buying their first home is the single, largest purchase they have ever made.” says Nathalie Fredette, Vice-President, Client Relationship Management. “Our aim is to provide mortgage brokers, lenders and other industry professionals with valuable information and useful tools so they can better guide their clients through this major life event.”

“CMHC’s survey results

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Change aimed at boosting affordability will likely affect suburbs most.

Changes to mortgage rules mean that some home buyers in Metro Vancouver's hot housing market may soon get a break when it comes to their loan application.

Currently, home buyers with a deposit of less than 20 per cent are required to have their mortgage loan application approved and insured by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Starting this fall, CMHC plans to change the rules for those buyers to allow them to include projected income from secondary suites when they apply for a loan.

"CMHC will consider up to 100 per cent of gross rental income from a two-unit owner-occupied property that is the subject of a loan application submitted for insurance," the new

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But prepare for an “uptick” in interest rates

The Canadian 2015 election. “It was a very clear verdict that Canadians were seeking real change,” said Pramod Udiaver, CEO of online advisor service, Invisor. “The Liberals campaigned and won with a focus on the middle-class,” says Udiaver, “with many of their promises attempting to make a meaningful difference for middle-income families.”

While most Canadians still struggle with paying too much in taxes, trying to maximize savings while making sound financial decisions, the new Liberal majority government will have real impact on the nation’s real estate market.

Continued interest by foreign investors

“From a fiscal point of view, the Liberal government will be moving Canada from a modestly

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“This house is lovely, I’m going to buy this!” one buyer decides within 5 minutes of viewing the property. Sounds crazy? Believe it, it does happen.

It is easy to fall in love with a property within few moments of seeing it and buyers forget to be objective. A home is one of the biggest purchase people make, do not make a decision on a spur of the moment you will likely regret in the end.

When viewing a home, it is recommended to spend more time viewing every nook and cranny of the property. So many spend so little time viewing a house and they live to regret it. After buying the house, buyers experience one problem after another – anything from dodgy wiring to noisy neighbors – which could have been avoided had they spent more time researching the

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When you buy a home, your best results will come when you make it a point to make a 20% down payment. However, for some Canadians, that much of a down payment is prohibitive. So, what can you do if you can’t make such a big down payment? If you are willing to pay extra for your mortgage, you can get special insurance to help lenders feel better about approving you for a loan with less than 20% down.

The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation provides mortgage loan insurance to lenders for home buyers with a down payment of less than 20%, to as low as 5%. It offers a way for borrowers to get away with putting down a lower down payment than a lender might like. It’s one way to boost home purchases in Canada.

However, it is important to note that this

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