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A growing number of Canadians are negotiating lower than advertised rates.
A growing number of Canadians are negotiating lower than advertised rates, according to a survey conducted last month by CAAMP and Maritz. While advertised rates have averaged 5.65 per cent over the past year, Canadians who have opted for a five year, fixed-rate mortgage within that timeframe have managed to secure an average rate of 4.23 per cent, saving 1.42 per cent in interest payments over their term.
Imagine a mortgage calculator so comprehensive that the least expensive route to home ownership becomes tangible before a commitment is made
Imagine a mortgage calculator so comprehensive that the least expensive route to home ownership becomes tangible before a commitment is made; a mortgage calculator that can calculate beyond down payment, monthly payments, rates and amortization length.
Thanks to the Canadian Mortgage Calculator created by Jon Wittwer, this ability has become accessible to all prospective Canadian homebuyers with an Internet connection and Excel. Wittwer’s mortgage calculators actually take into consideration potential tax deductions mortgage interest can generate, and the lump sum payments you might make along the way.
CERA’s 101 board representatives voted in overwhelming favour on an agreement that aims to eliminate anti-competitive rules in the home selling arena.
After several years of discussion, investigation and debate with the Competition Bureau of Canada, the Canadian Real Estate Association’s 101 board representatives voted in overwhelming favour on an agreement that aims to eliminate anti-competitive rules in the home selling arena. The agreement, passed October 24, 2010 in St John’s, Newfoundland, will be in force for the next 10 years, meaning an end to discrimination against real estate agents opting to offer mere postings on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Continue reading “Canadian Real Estate Association’s Anti-Competitive Rules Crushed”
Tax-Free Savings Accounts have been available to Canadians for two years, yet only one third of Canadians have opted to open one for themselves.
Despite the advantageous investment vehicle the Bank of Canada affords Canadians with the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), a recent survey has found that the majority of Canadians are choosing not to utilize these benefits.
The countrywide survey, commissioned by ING Direct and conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion, found that of Canadians polled, more than half did not have a TFSA and nearly 15 per cent had never heard of the tax-efficient investment opportunity.
Continue reading “Canadians: Start Making Use of the Tax-Free Savings Account!”
What is TD’s strategy to stay afloat in a competitive mortgage market which has seen the Canadian home buyer’s business increasingly shifted towards mortgage brokers?
Despite all-time interest rate lows, the Canadian mortgage market has started to see a cooling; especially for big banks and in major cities Toronto and Vancouver.
And what, you may ask, is TD’s strategy to stay afloat in a competitive mortgage market which has seen the Canadian home buyer’s business increasingly shifted towards mortgage brokers? As of October 18, 2010, all mortgages issued by TD Bank will be collateral mortgages.
Continue reading “Big Bank Launches Collateral Mortgage to Spur Market; Takers Will Be Bound”
You portfolio will benefit greatly from a blend of investments that remain liquid and accessible in addition to others that build slowly, locked-in, over the long-term.
In August, 2010, a study conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of RBC Direct Investing found that of those investors who considered their portfolios diversified, 61 per cent said that their portfolio was performing as well as they expected and 19 per cent said that it was outperforming their expectations.
More female investors (22 per cent) than male (17 per cent) considered their portfolios to be diversified, while of the 631 Canadian online brokerage clients who were active in trading during the preceding six months of the study, thirty per cent did not consider their portfolio to be diversified or did not know if it was.
Continue reading “Diversification Fosters Satisfaction in Investment Portfolio”
With the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s multi-unit insurance coverage, a commercial investor can attain up to 85 per cent financing toward their commercial purchase.
Amassing the 25 per cent down payment that most commercial mortgage products require for commercial properties can be difficult. But with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s multi-unit (5+ units) insurance coverage, a commercial investor can attain up to 85 per cent financing toward their commercial purchase. This includes financing and coverage for retirement dwellings, licensed care facilities, condominium construction and student residences, new or existing, Canada-wide.
Continue reading “CMHC Allows Commercial Financing up to 85 per cent”
More than half of the baby boomer generation has paid off less than 50 per cent of their current mortgage.
A rising number of Canadians would like to see their mortgage paid in full prior to the commencement of their retirement. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) conducted a survey in 2007 that found 66 per cent of Canadians considered it important for their home to be paid off before they retired. That number has risen to 77 per cent of the baby boomers surveyed in the latest poll conducted by TD bank.
Continue reading “Paying off your Mortgage before you Retire”
Construction loans and land development financing is available to fund capital costs. Construction mortgages can provide up to 75 per cent financing.
A south Ottawa community has been named as the second of six winners that will receive federal development funding toward their sustainable community development project. In a national push to raise environmental standards and encourage energy efficiency, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation(CMHC) and Natural Resources Canada(NRC), under the Government of Canada’s ecoACTION program, launched its EQuilibrium Communities Initiative in June, 2009.
Equilibrium is a three-year, $4.2-million national competition that will “select projects that will work to improve community planning and develop healthy sustainable communities that are energy-efficient”.
Continue reading “Green Commercial Ventures Receive Federal Funding”
The capitalization or ‘Cap Rate’ is a valuation used to give commercial buyers a more inclusive estimate of a commercial property’s value as oppose to, say, a gross rent valuation.
The capitalization or cap rate is a valuation used to give commercial buyers a more inclusive estimate of a commercial property’s value as oppose to, say, a gross rent valuation. The cap rate incorporates a property’s selling price, gross rents, non rental income, vacancies and operating expenses.
A cap rate ratio is deduced by dividing the annual net operating income of a commercial property venture by the commercial property’s sale price or current market value. The annual net operating income equates gross lease income after fixed and variable costs have been subtracted.
Continue reading “Capitalization Rates: What they mean to Commercial Purchasers”