Five steps to scoring a mortgage

This is a great general article on how to get ready to qualify for a mortgage. There are also great reports on the economy and why buying now is a good idea

by: Amy Fontinelle Investopedia.com

A variety of factors can keep you from qualifying for a mortgage. The big ones include a low credit score, insufficient income for the size of the loan you want, insufficient down payment and excessive debt. All of these factors are within your control, however. Let’s take a look at your options for overcoming any liabilities you may have as a borrower Read More

Why I paid $10,000 to break my mortgage

Below is a great article about why paying the payout penalty can be worth it for you. We always do the math for you to ensure that it is a better deal AND we also include any other costs in that math – like an appraisal and legal costs – lots of other brokers do not. Ensure ALL the costs are included in the math before making the change.

Want to ensure it is worth it – give us a call for a free 5-minute mortgage checkup at 403-681-4376.

Tara Walton/Toronto Star  By Bryan Borzykowski |

Last September, my wife and I started scouring the city for a new house. We were living in a cozy bungalow, but with a growing kid and another on the way, we decided it was time to move. Read More

Coming soon: higher interest rates

This may be the best example of why the rates are going to start to go back to their long term average of 6. 5% for the 5 year. Now may be the best time to look at locking-in if you are in the variable rate. It is also a great time to:
  • refinance – or re-do your mortgage – and get today’s rates for another 5 years,
  • roll in some higher interest payments – like LOC -Line of Credit or credit cards or,
  • buy your first home before rates go up or,
  • finally get that summer/ ski vacation cabin.

Call for a free 5-minute mortgage check-up while there is still time. (That may be 2 or 3 weeks from now as the bond market will smell this coming inflation pretty quickly.)

Linda Nazareth, Senior Economic Analyst, BNN Higher Canadian rates, sooner. That’s what the markets figured out this week and that’s what is powering the Canadian dollar. Sometimes when you see a big market reaction you know it’s probably an over-reaction and you can ignore it – but not this time.

Let’s start with a little tutorial (no, please keep reading, it will be brief) and then we’ll talk about why this week’s economic data changes everything, more or less. Read More

Occupied downtown Calgary office space at 2008 level

This is great news for the housing market as all those workers are moving into Calgary and will need places to live. There are details of the increasing need for housing in my free reports and most of these people will need a Calgary mortgage broker.

Large blocks of space short in supply

CALGARY — Occupied office space in downtown Calgary has surpassed the level reached during the height of the real estate market in the second quarter of 2008.

A report by Colliers International says that occupied space has reached 33.7 million square feet in the first quarter of this year. Read More

The ‘thrill’ of buying a house

You walk into the open house, take one look and say to yourself: This is it. It’s the house I have to live in. Where do I pay? A bidding war? I’m in.

Over my years of buying houses, I never bought one that did not have that frisson moment, that thrill of finding a place so suited to my wants. Indeed, I have in the past decided that I wanted to buy a house in what seems, in retrospect, to be nanoseconds. (By contrast, I’ve taken weeks to decide on the right pair of shoes.) Read More

Experts best at brokering mortgage

Denise Deveau, Postmedia News · Mar. 30, 2011 | Last Updated: Mar. 30, 2011 4:04 AM ET

Cheryl Hutton and Aaron Coates always thought getting a mortgage would be a challenge. But within 18 days of visiting a mortgage broker, they were able to close a deal on a new townhouse in Calgary without a hitch. Read More