Tagged : buyers

When making the decision either to rent or buy a place to live, there are two broad categories of factors that must be considered.

The first and most obvious category represents the financial aspects of your decision. The second category is a set of personal and emotional factors, which are more intangible but play an important role in the decision to rent or buy. Here, we look at the financial factors, including the initial and ongoing costs as well as the long-term pros and cons of owning your home.

Examining Your Finances

The first step in the decision-making process is to determine whether or not you can afford to purchase a home. Issues to consider include your ability to make a down payment (generally between 5% and 20% of the home's purchase

Are you gearing up to buy your first place?

Shopping for a home is exciting, exhausting and a little bit scary. In the end, your aim is to end up with a home you love at a price you can afford. Sounds simple enough, right? Unfortunately, many people make mistakes that prevent them from achieving this simple dream. Arm yourself with these tips to get the most out of your purchase and avoid making 10 of the most costly mistakes that could put a hold on that sold sign. (Don't know even where to get started when purchasing a home?

1. Not Knowing What You Can Afford
As we've all learned from the subprime mortgage mess, what the bank says you can afford and what you know you can afford or are comfortable with paying are not necessarily the same. If you

As the summer approaches, Canadians from coast to coast are getting ready to indulge in the ultimate homeowner’s pleasure: renovations. And what better way to finance that marble countertop than a home equity line of credit (HELOC)?

By Erica Alini National Online Journalist, Money/Consumer  Global News

HELOCs are loans where the borrower’s equity in her or his home acts as security. And they are Canadians’ preferred financial tool to pay for large home improvement projects, for a few reasons.

First, they allow homeowners to borrow large amounts of money. Do you have $100,000 of equity in your home? You might be able to get a HELOC for close to that amount — and that should be plenty for, say, most kitchen redos.

Second, because the bank can

Canadians just aren’t interested in buying homes the way they used to be.

That much is clear from the annual RBC Home Ownership Poll, which was released Monday. It showed that only a quarter of Canadians plan on buying a home in the next two years, down from nearly 30 per cent in 2016. It’s a trend that comes as Canada’s average home price has climbed to almost $520,000, up 3.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

Many Canadians still believe that buying a home is a good investment, but potential buyers are delaying their purchases in the hope that prices will come down, the RBC poll showed.

“For many Canadians, buying a home is a financial and personal milestone – often the biggest investment

New mortgage insurance rules introduced by the federal government last fall to cool the housing market have led to a sharp drop in insurance volumes for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. as fewer home buyers qualify for mortgage insurance.

CMHC said total insured volumes fell 41 per cent in the first quarter of 2017, including a 23-per-cent drop in homeowner insurance volumes and an 87-per-cent decline in the volume of portfolio insurance, which is bulk insurance purchased by financial institutions for their portfolios of uninsured mortgages.

The numbers unveiled on Tuesday offer a window into the impact of the government’s new rules, suggesting they have led to a significant decline in the number of people qualifying for insured mortgages under the

House hunting is challenging enough at any time

Shopping during a seller's market is a whole additional difficulty level—and that's what would-be buyers are seeing across the country. The supply of homes is low, demand is high, and sellers are in control. If you’re not careful, you'll be left drying your eyes with the broken shards of your rejected bid. Sound painful? It is.

So you'd best bring your A-game, or don't bother showing up at all. Check out the seller's market survival tips below to stand out from the competition and get the edge.

Know the signs

Even though you may hear you're in a seller's market, where's the proof? While the market always varies you can watch for these two red flags:

• Houses are selling for more than asking

When buying or selling a home, using the skilled services of an experienced real estate agent is often preferred.

A good Realtor® is sort of like your own personal Yoda—someone you can trust with your most pressing questions and biggest decisions, guiding you safely toward your destiny (of a brand new home!).

A Realtor may have profound knowledge of the local market, excellent negotiation skills, and other benefits that can serve you well throughout the transaction. Many people are friends with agents, and others may have a close relative in the area who has a real estate license. As you begin selecting a real estate agent to hire for assistance with your upcoming transaction, you may be wondering if you should hire a friend or family member to help

Canadian Airbnb hosts and the Canada Revenue Agency

Contrary to popular belief, Airbnb hosting is not “free money”. In the eyes of the taxman, it’s rental income. That status, however, depends on a number of factors I’ll describe in this section.

Of primary importance is that hosts are documenting expenses and retaining receipts to reduce the impact of tax assessments, come CRA filing time. Credit card receipts don’t cut it with the Agency, as these don’t identify specific items purchased. You need to present the CRA with an actual receipt. This includes receipts for all the little things that make your property special – bathing products, toothbrushes, a selection of special teas, or coffee. That means that hosts are on the hook for every single

Local real estate has proven to be an effective long-term wealth creator

By owning rental housing you get the added advantage of earning regular income from your investment.

Could stepping up now and getting into the rental property market be the right choice? If so, how can you help ensure it's a profitable venture?

Understand why you're buying

There are three main reasons people invest in rental property, and a lot depends on whether you're an investor or a speculator. If you're a speculator, timing is everything. When's the best time to invest in a rental property? Catch the market in an upswing and you might make money. But stretch your finances to buy in as the market peaks and you could lose. Do you want to bet on what housing

Canadian homeowners carried an average of $190,000 in mortgage debt in 2015

This according to a Manulife Bank of Canada survey. That’s a lot of money to owe a lender and thousands of dollars in interest to pay over the life of a mortgage.

One way to limit the amount of interest you pay is to pay off your mortgage faster than your agreed upon amortization schedule. Quickly paying down your mortgage will reduce the principal and thus reduce your interest charges. More money for you, less money for your lender.

Fortunately, there are several ways to pay your mortgage off quickly that require almost no effort. Let’s take a look at them below.

Choose Accelerated Mortgage Payments

Accelerated mortgage payments are the oldest trick in the book and