When my wife and I bought our home, we made the decision to not to go over $450K. We were approved for much more (like $1 million plus), but it was just way outside of our comfort zone. Even though we had a huge down payment, we just didn’t feel comfortable borrowing a ton of money [...]
A few months ago I wrote about how I bought a condo. Despite how much I prepared, there was no way for sure to tell what would happen after I closed. Well, some things went according to plan, but some other things came up that were a bit annoying. As a money guy, it was [...]
For most people, getting a mortgage is a must when purchasing a home. It's a pretty straight-forward process, you borrow money from a lender so you can purchase a home. Despite how "simple" it sounds, there are plenty of mortgage mistakes to avoid when you're making an application. The biggest mistake is arguably not getting pre-approved [...]
So I bought a condo, we actually took possession a few days ago. Surprised I didn't mention it? It happened pretty quickly, but buying a home has been something my wife and I had been discussing for a while. As exciting as buying a home is, the financial commitment is, well, A LOT! My maintenance [...]
Buying a home will most likely be the most expensive decision you make in our lives so it shouldn't be taken lightly. I find it absolutely amazing how some people will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, possibly even up to a million dollars without giving some serious thought about it. Way too often some of [...]
With the cost of real estate at record highs in Canada, you'd be forgiven if you decided to sit on the sidelines. No one can predict what will happens with prices, but what we can do is be smart about how much money we borrow. Buying a home will be the largest purchase of your [...]
Turns out 2015 wasn't the year for rising interest rates, in fact we ended up having 2 interest rate cuts. With rates being so low and expected changes to the Home Buyer Plan, many Canadians might be ready to buy in the new year. Low interest rates can be a bit deceiving since home ownership may [...]
With only 5% required for a down payment and banks practically giving away money, many people are rushing out to find their dream home. But are you really ready to buy a home? Have you considered all the costs of buying a home? Many of those extra costs don't show up in affordability calculators so be prepared [...]
Insurance is a must in many cases but some of us choose to do without it since the monthly premium cuts into our bottom line. This is a huge mistake, having the right insurance should be part of our financial plans, but what is considered must have insurance? Insurance policies everyone should own Life insurance – I’ve [...]
I'm not sure if you've been paying attention but the Canadian economy has been making a ton of headlines. These stories have been so big that they are making the front pages of newspapers and leading newscasts on TV. The average person probably doesn't keep up with news in general but here's a few things that [...]
