Mortgage Minute

With the introduction of the temporary (2009) Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC), many Canadians will be thinking of doing home improvements this year in order to claim the HRTC when filing their 2009 tax returns.  Click here for more information about the HRTC.  For those of you who may be intere...

What a great start to my day.  One of my pre-approved client's called back this morning to tell me they purchased a home on the weekend.  I love getting those calls.  And just like planned, she told me she purchased for less than I had her pre-approved for.  So going back to the bank and telling ...

With today's strict privacy laws, conference calls have helped save the day for me a number of times.  I'm always looking to see where I can help facilitate to move the process along, and conference calls can do just that.  For example, yesterday my client could not find his 2007 and 2006 NOA's (...

Here is a little trivia I thought I would share with you about Social Insurance Numbers. First of all they can tell you where someone was born, depending on what number they start with. See below: 1      Maritimes2      Quebec4,5   Ontario6,7   Prairies, B.C. and Territories9      Means that they...

I read today on someone's AR blog that consumer credit scores would no longer be acessible to the consumer after February 13th, 2009.  In the USA, they are called FICO scores.  In Canada we call them Beacon or Emprica scores, depending on which credit bureau is pulled. Globally, there are three m...

With the economic downturn, TD Canada Trust has stepped up to provide customers some relief.  They have launched a program called, "Umbrella" designed to help customers deal with difficult circumstances they may not have seen coming.  Essentially an extension to TD Canada Trust's existing Mortgag...

When it comes to mortgage underwriting, amongst other things, Canadian banks assess risk based on the likelihood that the borrower will go bankrupt in the future.  Concern for bankruptcy has heightened in the midst of the current credit and financial crises.  According to the Office of the Superi...

It seems like everyone's a rapper these days. I had to share this video with you. I couldn't say as much, as quickly, or with as much panache. These guys do a bang up job. For this video, hat tips to Gregg, and also Brad at the Charleston Market Report. Brad has a selection of housing related vid...

Well the sun was out and the rodents have spoken...we're in for the long hall this winter.  No surprise there.  Any way you look at it, we are stuck with winter for two more months if you ask me.  Similarly, there isn't much change in interest rates either.  If anything the trend is still downwar...