Tax Freedom Day was June 11th!
First posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 06:46 PM MDT | Updated: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 07:59 PM MDT
The federal government expects a deficit of $21 billion this year. (Chris Roussakis/QMI Agency)
If you’ve ever tried to calculate all the taxes you pay in a year to all levels of government, you’ve probably given up somewhere along the way.
Is there ever a bad time to invest in a rental property?
Fabio Campanella, Special to Financial Post May 22, 2012 – 10:48 AM ET
Record low interest rates coupled with an overly extended bull market for Canadian residential real estate has some investors questioning the validity of investing in a rental property.
Why putting less than 20% down can lead to a better mortgage rate
This is true – the banks are sending us 2 rates … 1 rate for a CMHC/ Genworth insured mortgage and a slightly higher one for more than 20% down – or a conventional mortgage that is not insured.
Interest Rates to go up soon – the boring data
Carney raises outlook for economy, issues dollar warning
JEREMY TOROBIN
OTTAWA— Globe and Mail Update
Published Wednesday, Apr. 18, 2012 10:35AM EDT
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney lifted his projections for the economy for each of the first three quarters of 2012 in a new forecast Wednesday – and took an intriguing step toward clearing the path for higher interest rates by apparently seeking to unhinge the Canadian dollar from oil prices.At a news conference in Ottawa after releasing his forecast, Mr. Carney seemed to employ a tactic known as “jawboning,” used when officials try to cool speculators’ enthusiasm for the dollar (CAD/USD-I1.01-0.0005-0.05%), saying that trading the currency as if it will always rise in tandem with global oil prices (CL-FT102.74-1.46-1.40%) is a “recipe for losing money.”
More problems with collateral mortgages
Here is more bad news on collateral mortgages.
People refuse to sign a 3 year cell phone contract but then for some reason have no problem in losing every single thing you have ever made and be sued into bankruptcy by your bank for taking one of these mortgages. Again, we do not offer them but TD, Scotia, ING, and RBC have them as STANDARD. I would rather take a new 3 year cell phone contract!
Collateral Mortgages Part II: Why Banks Like You to Have Them.
Collateral mortgages: Why banks like them
Collateral mortgage can be a great product for homeowners who use their homes to borrow and invest. But compared to a conventional mortgage, it is harder to transfer to another bank at the end of your term.
If you’re buying a house and are shopping for a mortgage this spring you may come across something called a collateral mortgage. This home financing tool has been around for a while, but mainly in the background. Now it’s going mainstream with both TD Bank and no-frills ING Direct abandoning the conventional mortgage in favour of this type of financing exclusively. Other big banks make collateral mortgages available, but for now offer both kinds.
Why We Know: Prime should stay the same for 2012 @ 3%
Below is a sample of a very boring statement about a prediction on why Prime should stay at 3% for the rest of 2012. Prime and fixed rates “tend” to move together but not always and fixed rates went up on March 27th due to other factors.
All this really says is …. let us watch this “raw mortgage data” for you. This is all we do all day and why we are able to give you the best, unbiased advice on mortgages we can.
Canadian business sentiment brightens: BoC survey
Mon Apr 9, 2012 2:26pm EDTBy Louise Egan
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian business sentiment on future sales rose to its highest level in two years in the first quarter, and companies also expect to increase investment and hire more staff, the Bank of Canada’s spring survey showed on Monday.
The upside of higher rates
We all know interest rates are going to go up. Even after reading this the big hit we all know is coming is that variable rate mortgage payments go up right away. The rest mentioned below may come later.
Mortgage Market Commentary
Mortgage Market Commentary:
With the federal budget fading into the past the question, as always, becomes “what’s next”. The answer seems to be focused on “interest rates”. It seems inevitable that they will rise from their current historic lows. So the next question become: when, by how much, how fast and – given the ongoing concerns about household debt – what will happen.