FINANCIAL DECISIONS ARE TOUGH WHEN YOU’RE BACKED INTO A CORNER. A couple, two kids, two jobs, debt, minimum wage and house hunting. Sound familiar? Find out what the Ontario minimum wage hike means for them and whether they should jump into the housing market now before it becomes even more expensive. Managing debt is one of the single most boring tasks that anyone wants to do BUT we need to do. I often get emails from readers about their debt problems when it becomes a serious matter. Don’t make the mistake of waiting until it’s too late to pull yourself out from under, do it before. Worst of all don’t add more debt to the mix unless you’re confident you can make more money from it or that you can pay it off. House hunting is a big task that many people take on especially during the spring and summer months. Real estate agents are ready to go and want to start house hunting with their clients. Any time a young person messages me about managing debt the debt help they seek is about four things: School Debt Consumer Debt (credit card, bank loans etc.) Personal loans Mortgage The […]
Should Managing Debt Come Before House Hunting for this couple? : The Saturday Weekend Review #226
Costly New Home Ownership Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make: The Saturday Weekend Review #210
BEFORE YOU SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING TIPS FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS ALREADY MADE THE MISTAKES. Let’s just say we know someone who took on home ownership without much exploration but wishes he had done so to avoid the mistakes he made. Mr. Mistake has a child who stays with his mother alternate days through the week so the house is pretty quiet on the off days. At first we thought he would invest in buying a smaller house for the two of them to live in but that didn’t happen. The house he purchased was a 3000 sq ft. two-story home finished top to bottom however it wasn’t to his liking so he took on huge renovation projects. With the help of friends and hired help from Kijiji he got to work. He met lots of characters along the way responding to his Help Wanted ad online but hired very few. Saving money was the idea although not always the smartest when hiring people you don’t know. Even today he will tell you not to bother hiring online even if they come with a resume in hand. If the job goes wrong good luck trying […]
Becoming A Single Homeowner – Part 3 “Mortgage Options”
In our previous post Part 2 of this 3 part series- our potential Single Homeowner had their budget, credit, downpayment, and type of property all mapped out. But what about the mortgage itself? Understanding your mortgage options is the final and a critical step in order to increase your shot at owning your own home and not one to consider lightly. Related: Becoming A Single Homeowner – Part 1 “The Plan” Mortgage Options With over 400 different mortgage products available to the Canadian consumer – it can be overwhelming to navigate this marketplace. I will cover off some of the major differences in the mortgage products here. Fixed vs. variable rate mortgage – when considering the potential savings of a variable rate mortgage we need to consider that this is tied to the Bank of Canada’s prime rate and the fact that this can change from time to time. Outside of this – on both fixed and variable rate mortgages – it is very important to ensure that we get the deepest discount to the interest rates available for the mortgage term on closing. One way to accomplish this is to wait until 30 days before the closing date of […]
