Globe and Mail Columns
Getting a Mortgage Post-Credit Disaster
Some folks spend their way into bankruptcy. Others become insolvent due to unavoidable personal crises. Either way, everyone deserves a second chance at good credit,
Mortgage Finance With Less Government
Ottawa puts its full faith and credit behind our mortgage market. That support has inspired confidence in Canadian housing for years. But with incessant highs
Penalty Avoidance
If you’re getting a new long-term mortgage, odds are you’re going to fiddle with it before maturity. The majority of people will either: Add money
Building a Cash Cache
For years, financial experts have advised home buyers to sock away emergency savings. Most advisers view contingency funds as a prerequisite to getting a mortgage.
Down Payments—Bigger is Usually Better, But…
You’ll see a lot of financial experts advising young folks to save for a bigger down payment. That’s often solid advice but it’s also far
If a Lender Fails
The bulk of Canada’s 400+ prime mortgage lenders are smaller institutions. (That number includes credit unions.) At any given time, one of these lenders—perhaps one
A Variable Rate Substitute
One-year fixed mortgages are the next best thing to a variable rate. But a one-year term isn’t for everyone. If you only need a short-term
New Mortgage Rules Kick In
Effective today, mortgage shoppers with less than 20% equity are subject to the new mortgage rules announced recently by the government. These regulations will cut buying power
The Housing Indicator to Watch
National home prices are inflated by almost every measure, including: median price/median income, prices/rents and prices/GDP. In this week’s Globe column, we look at the