A lot of people refer to debt and mortgage in the same breath when they discuss the mortgage of their Barrie Home. This is kind of amusing when you think about it because a mortgage is a debt with a breath of investment in it. Can it really be referred to as a debt when it is a rock solid investment opportunity as well?

List all your debts

When you are making a budget and you need to list all your debts, your mortgage gets put down as part of the debts. When it is time to list your investments it may not be added. Why? Is it purely mindset that makes us think of a mortgage as a debt?

The glass is half full or half empty in this case. You can consider your mortgage as a heavy load to bear and have to struggle to make the payments every month or you can look at it as the best investment you’ll ever make and try to make extra payments to strengthen your investment. Read the rest of this entry

Are you considering purchasing a home in the next 3-9 months? We understand that purchasing a home is a big commitment no matter if you are a first time buyer or a seasoned veteran. No matter where you stand on the experience scale there are several points that you will likely need to cover before you purchase your new Barrie home.

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Although we might say first time buyer questions, in all honesty most of these points are valid any time you are buying and a quick review is never a bad idea.

First Time Barrie Homebuyers

For a first time Barrie homebuyer, buying a home elicits emotions of fear and excitement. Buying is a long-term expensive venture. You need to be well prepared in order to make a wise real estate investment decision and arm yourself with important knowledge on real estate pricing, bank regulations and mortgage requirements in order to make an informed investment choice.

Here are some tips that can help you along the way.

Don’t settle for less Read the rest of this entry

 When it comes to selling your Barrie home, the following question often comes to mind: What will happen to your existing mortgage when you sell and are there any costs to breaking a mortgage?

 As a Barrie homeowner, you most likely have been paying a mortgage loan ever since you bought the house. The word Mortgage actually comes from the Spanish word ‘Mort’ or translated ’Till death’! The borrower, that’s you, gives the Mortgage and in return you receive some remuneration, I.E. Cash. The Lender holds your debt (Mortgage) until you either repay it or you become deceased,(Mort). In English, it is basically a loan obtained from a credit institution such as a bank or lending company to help finance the purchase of a home as part of a buying agreement. During the term of the loan and over time, the outstanding loan (Debt) will become significantly lower due to consistent monthly repayments. Read the rest of this entry

Good morning all,

This morning the government announced changes to financing regulations for canadians. This is designed to slow the housing market in Canada, reduce borrowing / speculation, and induce canadians to save by paying down their mortgage. Like all government interventions, the intentions may be honorable but the delivery can sometimes be like chopping the patients arm off when a band aid would do.

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There was a really interesting article posted in the Globe and Mail this morning. (Thank you Katherine for bringing it to my attention). It concerns the levels of debt that Canadians are taking on and looks at various cities around Canada to try and figure out the net growth of wealth in certain cities. The full article is contained within this link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/want-to-boost-your-net-worth-live-in-a-mid-sized-city/article1640442/?service=email

Of course in my usual way I just felt compelled to reply to the post. Debt can be a widely misunderstood  term and I thought I would share here my post on the globe and Mails website.  Hopefully this is thought provoking and no too antagonistic. Read the rest of this entry

By popular demand we will be hosting a lease to own evening  on Wednesday 28th April 2010. The owners of an ethical lease to own company will be coming to Barrie to talk to investors about the pros / cons of lease to own investing. Read the rest of this entry

The Government of Canada today announced changes to mortgage financing rules effective April 19th 2010. The lenders however, are likely to adopt the changes almost immediately so if you are in the process of thinking of buying a home, at the very least call your mortgage professional now and get pre-qualified. There are three main changes to mortgage financing rules and these are likely to affect the Barrie Real Estate market. Read the rest of this entry