As a first-time homebuyer, chances are you’ve never heard of mortgage default insurance. More often than not, it isn’t until you’re sitting across from your lender that you learn about this expensive requirement. You see, in order to qualify for certain types of mortgage products in Canada you are required to be “insured”. While most insurance products are designed to protect your dependants in the case of an unexpected accident, mortgage default insurance actually protects your lender if ever you are unable to make your mortgage payments. It’s a strange concept for many property virgins, but one that should be discussed early in the homebuying process. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Financial Planning
How to Avoid Major Home Buying Errors
Housing affordability continues to remain stable across Canada, creating the perfect environment for savvy home hunters. With more houses available on the market, buyers are becoming much more competitive, rushing to complete their purchase agreements. Situations like this often lead to costly buyer errors, as anxious home hunters make hasty, uninformed choices. These mistakes are sometimes impossible to reverse, so be careful. Continue reading
CAAMP Releases Highlights From Fall 2011 Consumer and Industry Surveys
The focus of these surveys was to gather Canadians’ opinions of the mortgage industry. The report includes specific questions on experiences with their mortgage professional as well as information and feedback from industry members.
The survey results were presented by Maritz Research at Mortgage Forum 2011 in Toronto.
Click here to review the entire report.
Outlook Shaky As Consumer Debt Expected to Rise
While the Canadian economy appears to be weathering the economic storm with surprising ease, Canadian consumers are beginning to show signs of distress. Just last week, Statistics Canada announced a net worth drop of $4,600 per household in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Canadians continue to borrow and buy on credit. Household debt per capita is up by $600 from the second quarter for a total of nearly $46,100 or 152.98%.
To put this into perspective, the American banks encountered trouble when the ratio of debt to disposable income hit 160%. Canadians are flirting with disaster if indebtedness levels continue to rise. Continue reading
How to Make Wealth-Building Real Estate Decisions
It’s a sad but stark reality: when buying real estate, far too many Canadians fail to take the basic precautions or perform standard due diligence prior to submitting an offer. Instead of running the numbers, comparing mortgage rates, and consulting with a professional mortgage broker, home hunters are simply throwing caution to the wind and diving into the housing market head first. This approach is crazy – real estate is typically the largest and riskiest asset someone could ever buy. The housing crisis of the past few years has certainly showed us how problematic and unpredictable investing in real estate can be. Continue reading