"Advice would be more acceptable if it didn't always conflict with our plans."

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - Is your mortgage portable?

Selling your current home and moving into a new one can be stressful enough, let alone worrying about your current mortgage and whether you’re able to carry it over to your new home. Porting enables you to move to another property without having to lose your existing interest rate, mortgage balance and term. And, better yet, the ability to port also saves you money by avoiding early discharge penalties. It’s important to note, however, that not all mortgages are portable. When it ... Full Article...

posted in General at Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:49:01 -0600

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - Toronto woman paying for mortgage fraud

A Toronto woman is being ordered to pay RBC $95,000 after failing to realize she was being tricked into a mortgage fraud. Angela Isaacs accepted $6,000 to co-sign a stranger's mortgage and signed the documents without reading them, reported the Toronto Star. Madam Justice Anne Molloy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice also decreed that Isaacs owes 6.3 per cent annual interest on the $95,000 loss from June 26, 2008 until the debt is paid and, within 30 days, $13,500 of the bank's legal ... Full Article...

posted in News at Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:45:35 -0600

Friday, July 2, 2010 - Mortgage trends cool Calgary home sales

First-time Homebuyers Retreat As Luxury Buyers Advance Mortgage trends cool Calgary home sales Calgary, July 2, 2010 – Calgary home sales continued to show a marked year-over-year decline in the month of June, according to figures released today by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®). The number of single family homes sold in June 2010 in the city of Calgary was down 42 per cent from the same time a year ago, and condominium sales saw a decrease of 40 per cent from the same time a year ... Full Article...

posted in News at Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:08:13 -0600

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The most common question I am being asked lately is "do we sell first and then buy or buy first and then sell? " While I am always being asked this question I think what the real question is "If we sell first, will we be able to find a house we love or are we going to be stuck with settling for something that's just ok".  I have always been a careful person.  Both with my client's money and my own.  Too many times I have seen people sell their house for less than they should because they've purchase another home already.  In the last year I've sold a couple of homes that the current listing realtor wasn't able to sell and now the sellers are ünder the gun" to get their house sold because possession is just around the corner on their new house!  

I always believe in SELLING FIRST!  First of all, you don't know what possession date you need on the house you are buying until you figure out what the possession date will be on the house you currently live in.  Secondly, you don't know how much money from the sale of your current house you are going to be putting down toward your next house.

Although the market has picked up a bit in the last year or so, we are still in what I consider to be a buyer's market.  Because most people are selling first and then buying, the sellers of the house you are buying know this and they understand if you need a quicker than normal possession.  How quick of a possession can one expect when putting in an offer on their next home?  1 month.  Usually that's the minimum.  If the house is vacant, then obviously the sellers would be delighted for a quick possession... say two weeks?  In fact vacant homes are often open to a market where occupied homes cannot go and that is:  immediate possession!  When the house is vacant, the buyer can opt for a possession date of their choosing.  So to summarize:  sell first.  If you see a house you like and its seller occupied... just ask for the possession date you want... chances are you will get it!  If you are a seller and are concerned about selling your house vacant - don't be.  Check on the house daily during the winter months to monitor the furnace and hot water tank as well as shovelling the drive way but honestly sellers LOVE vacant houses.

When the market changes and it becomes a seller's market.... I'll let you know.  Then you are cosiderably safer to buy first and then sell... but until then... PLAY IT SAFE!  Don't get emotional!  Sell first.  Trust me... I'll find something you love!  Dory