The transition from renting to buying is an important one for many young families, but it can be a confusing time, too, since both sides of the rent-versus-own debate come equipped with facts, numbers and compelling opinions. Conventional wisdom suggests that renting a dwelling is often cheaper than owning, but Royal LePage decided to find…
Since the pandemic lockdowns dragged interest rates to historic lows in 2020, Canadians have been diving into the real estate market with unprecedented motivation. During a time of extraordinary financial disruption, more than 551,000 properties sold last year — a new annual record, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. Those sales provided a desperately…
Almost 1 million existing loans have been deferred; more loans are still being taken out. More than 3/4 of a million Canadian homeowners have either deferred or skipped a mortgage payment during the COVID-19 pandemic began, to the tune of about $1 billion a month, Canada’s national housing agency says. In a report on Thursday,…
The last couple of months have seen more blogs than usual being published for your education and entertainment. Today marks the end of another big year in the real estate market across Canada, and a fresh page will begin again tomorrow in our lives. This fresh page could…
Buying a new home. It’s never an easy task and is often emotionally draining. Whether alone or with family, you are making a life-changing decision, at least for the foreseeable future; so you want to get it right! Many couples and/or families go through this process a few times in their lives and often repeat…
A big part of owning a home are the necessary renovations that need to be done to it every few years. It is so because parts of the house can wear down and just need to be updated, and also to help increase its value for a future resale. This blog will discuss some parts…
When it comes to insurance, the four day rule is so simple, yet can cost you thousands of dollars in penalty if you don’t know about it. It is one of those fine print insurance clauses that you may not be aware of unless you are one of the few that reads their policy cover…
You are a lucky new homeowner! Congratulations! You have searched and finally found your dream home. You have secured your mortgage and gone through real estate brokers, home inspections, lawyers and shopped around for insurance. You’ve done your homework on closing costs and signed a ton of paperwork. This has been a busy and exciting…
While there’s still a chill in the air, something within us is awakening and we’re brushing off the dust from hibernating all winter. The promise of spring is soon approaching. There is a consensus among people within the real estate industry that spring is the busiest time of year for real estate, having the most…
Homeowners who feel the assessed value of their property assessment is too high should appeal. By: Sean Cooper Special to The Star, Published on Wed Mar 06 2013 Homeowners who feel the assessed value of their property assessment is too high should appeal. I did and have saved myself $15 a month in a process that…
