Christine Buemann Mortgage Broker

Delegates from Canada’s 101 local real estate boards Sunday ratified a deal worked out by the federal Competition Bureau and the real-estate industry. It would allow consumers to choose what services they want from their agent when selling their homes, and to pay for only those services. The deal was reached after months of negotiations between the competition watchdog and the Canadian Real Estate Association that represents some 100,000 realtors. The bureau chief was quick to praise the ratification. “I am pleased that CREA members have voted in favor of this agreement,” said Commissioner Melanie Aitken. “For Canadian homeowners, it ensures that they will have the freedom to choose which services they want from a real-estate agent and to pay for only those services. “Association president Georges Pahud also welcomed the vote. “We are pleased that after careful consideration and reflection, real-estate boards and associations from across Canada have endorsed the agreement,” Pahud said....

The market widely predicted the Bank of Canada would not raise rates, and it was right. The BoC has left its key lending rate at 1.00%. In turn, prime rate will remain at 3.00%, making today’s BoC meeting a non-event for mortgage holders in the short-term. The BoC’s call comes amid languid recent growth and inflation numbers. Here’s a sampling of the Bank’s commentary from its official statement: • The BoC sees a “weaker-than-projected recovery in the United States.” (No revelations there) • The potential exists for “a more protracted and difficult global recovery.” • “…domestic considerations…are expected to slow consumption and housing activity in Canada.” • “Inflation in Canada has been slightly below the Bank’s July projection.” • “The inflation outlook has been revised down and both total CPI and core inflation are now expected to converge to 2% by the end of 2012.” (That’s potential good news for mortgage rates) • The 1% overnight target rate “leaves considerable monetary stimulu...

Let’s say you purchased your home 2 years ago with a mortgage for $250,000 with 5.99% interest rate. On a 5 year term / 25 year amortization, your monthly payments would be $1598.03. If you were to continue with that same mortgage, at the end of your 5 year term would have an outstanding balance of $224,560.11. Of the $95,881.80 in payments you will have paid, $70,441.91 would be interest. If you were to refinance the remainder 3 year term, with the 3 year rate currently being 2.90%, your payments would be reduced to $1126.86 (a savings of $471.17 a month). Your outstanding balance would be $220,110.99 at the end of the term (a savings of $4449.12). From your total payments of $78,919.68, $58,316.13 would go towards interest (savings of $12,125.78). Although you may have to pay a penalty to get out of your mortgage early, the amount you can save over and above that is substantial! For those currently locked in at higher than desirable interest rates, it is worth taking a look at the di...

You make time to see your doctor for an annual check-up, and you have your mechanic give your car the once-over before heading out on a road trip, so why do most Canadians wait for their mortgage renewal notice to pay attention to what is probably the largest investment of their life? Between kids heading off for college, job changes, pay raises or reductions, retirement, death of a spouse or serious illness, it’s unlikely that your personal financial situation has remained unchanged during the typical five year mortgage contract. Because of this, it is very likely that the terms of your current mortgage no longer meet your needs. Rather than having to make a huge financial decision under pressure, it makes a lot more sense to review the terms of your mortgage annually. And doing so could save you a lot of money. If you’re in the habit of glancing at your mortgage renewal letter, signing and sending it back, and then going on with your life, you could be leaving a lot of money on the t...

Deal reached with realtors on the use of MLS CTV.ca News Staff Canada's competition bureau and the Canadian Real Estate Association have reached a deal that could transform the way that Canadians sell their homes. The agreement in principle would allow homeowners looking to sell their property to have cheaper access to the Multiple Listing Service website. The bureau and CREA have been battling for years over access to the MLS, which is owned in Canada by CREA. The website is thought to be responsible for about 90 per cent of residential property sales. Under CREA's previous rules, homeowners had to buy an entire slate of services from realtors including, perhaps, services they didn't want or need. But the Competition Bureau called that anticompetitive. It said that left consumers with few choices and penalized real estate agents who wanted to offer consumers the choice of simply listing a property on MLS. "If ratified, the agreement will ensure that consumers have the...