8 Jul

Income Qualified

General

Posted by: Steven Brouwer

Income Qualified There are several different ways a borrower can qualify for a mortgage when it comes to their income. One of the most common ways is known as income qualified. All of the following methods of employment income are under the income qualified umbrella: Annual salary income employees Full time employees working guaranteed weekly […]

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3 Jul

Source of Funds

General

Posted by: Steven Brouwer

Source of Funds Over the past several years, investigators have been working on an ongoing investigation relating to criminal money laundering in Canada. Looking at B.C. alone, billions of dollars have been laundered through B.C. casinos by criminal organizations and parked in high end B.C. real estate over the past decade or more. With government […]

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28 Jun

7 Steps To Buying a Home

General

Posted by: Steven Brouwer

7 Steps To Buying a Home It’s important to understand the home buying process, so here’s a 7-step checklist. Step 1: Down Payment The hardest part to buying a home is saving the down payment (a gift from the Bank of Mom & Dad also works). • For purchases under $500,000 minimum down payment is […]

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12 Jun

Who Really Sets Interest Rates?

General

Posted by: Steven Brouwer

Who Really Sets Interest Rates? A recent article in the Huffington Post addressed the pricing strategy for the Big Six Banks, BMO, CIBC, National Bank, RBC, Scotia and TD and who really sets interest rates.  RBC announcing a rate drop in January and the other banks soon followed.  For consumers the banks are seen as […]

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10 Jun

What is an Uninsurable Mortgage?

General

Posted by: Steven Brouwer

What is an Uninsurable Mortgage? With the mortgage rule changes in recent years, lenders have had to make some adjustments to their rate offerings. There are different tiers and rate pricing based on the following 3 categories: 1) Insured – a mortgage that is insured with mortgage default insurance through one of Canada’s mortgage insurers, […]

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4 Jun

Credit Cards for the Credit Challenged

General

Posted by: Steven Brouwer

Credit Cards for the Credit Challenged If you want to buy a home and don’t have a bucket load of cash – you are going to need a mortgage. In order to get a mortgage, you are going to need credit… When you get a mortgage, banks lend you “their” money and secure the loan […]

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29 May

What is a mortgage broker?

General

Posted by: Steven Brouwer

What is a mortgage broker? You may have noticed that there are many different terms for those of us who work in the mortgage industry besides “broker”. Mortgage: specialist, expert, advisor, associate, officer, etc. I just want to clear up some potential confusion with all these monikers. There are 2 main categories that these fall […]

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13 May

Buying your first home? – These tips will save your life

General

Posted by: Steven Brouwer

Buying your first home? – These tips will save your life So you’re wanting to buy a new home? That is some very exciting news. First question, are you prepared?! We all know big-item purchases are scary. It’s expensive, you are fully committing to this household – there is no turn backing without that pricey […]

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9 May

5 Things NOT to do before closing on your new home

General

Posted by: Steven Brouwer

5 Things NOT to do before closing on your new home 1. Change your job.  You were qualified for your mortgage financing based on your income, years at the job and the understanding that you were there for a while. Changing jobs should be put off until after possession day. 2 – Changing your name. […]

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