Edmonton Real Estate Blog

What’s the new mortgage rules?

How will it affect you as a homebuyer, seller or investor?

What’s the best thing to do right now?

These are just some of the questions that Serge and Chita will answer in their discussion about Canada’s New Mortgage Rules.

Watch the amazing discussion here.

Remember to follow Serge on Instagram @SergeBourgoin and get a first hand view on how he’s helping Edmonton homebuyers, sellers and investors.

For a complete list of available Edmonton homes for sale, check out the new Edmonton MLS listings.

This article was inspired by the recent piece of CBC News, “ GO PUBLIC | TD Bank client ‘devastated’ by $17,000 mortgage penalty”. I’ve seen from my Facebook feed comments stating that this was a serious problem and that there are many individuals that have been victims of huge mortgage penalties. It’s a horrible thing to happen to anyone who would like to terminate their mortgage contract with their banks.

There’s nothing much that anyone could really do about it. There’s currently no law that regulates the standardization of mortgage penalties. If you’re thinking of paying off your mortgage early, we at Team Leading Edge have compiled a list of the major banks’ penalty calculators. We all know this isn’t the most accurate tool as there are other factors that would affect the overall result but this is just as helpful in estimating the range of the penalty that you would actually pay.

1. TD Bank:
   
2. Manulife Bank:

   

3. HSBC:

   

4. Tangerine (former ING Direct):

   

5. Scotiabank:

   

6. CIBC:

   

7. RBC Royal Bank:

   

8. Bank of Montreal:

   

9. Laurentian Bank:

   

10. National Bank of Canada:

    

Buying a home is probably one of the best things you would ever do in your lifetime. It’s fun but also a bit scary at the same time as there is more to it than just browsing the internet and viewing a couple of open houses over the weekend. Believe us, we know. We’ve been there. Speaking from experience, my fiancé and I just recently bought our condo. There’s a ton of things to consider when buying a home for the first time and here at Team Leading Edge, we always like to help people in need-people like you. We broke down to bite-sized pieces all the essential things that you need to consider. Read, absorb and digest the information as it may help guide you in taking the right path to home ownership.

1. HOME SIZE VS LOCATION: We couldn’t stress more the importance of being decisive on day 1. Before you start searching the internet for that dream home, determine first what’s more important to you, size or location?

   More often than not, you will be torn between choosing a house that has a higher selling price but is located near your favorite establishments and a house that has a lower selling price with bigger living space BUT is a bit farther out of your favorite hangout place.

   Making this choice early on in the buying process will provide you with peace of mind and help you avert “buyer’s remorse” once everything is done.

   

2. MORTGAGE QUALIFICATION: Knowing the amount of mortgage you are qualified for should be your next top priority. You may believe you are qualified to borrow $400k but the lender might determine that you’re only good for $300k. Recognizing your mortgage qualification would basically narrow down your choices of homes.

   Check out our article on how you could boost your mortgage chances.

   

3. DURATION OF HOME LOAN: Quite a number of first time homebuyers prefer 30-year home loans while others chose to stick with 15-year mortgages. 30-year home loans usually have higher interest rates than 15-year loans. The main reason behind the high interest rate is because it will take longer for the lender to recoup the money loaned to you. Since Alberta is one of the best performing regions in the country, you may see very competitive interest rates out in the market. Review each one out to find the best interest rate for you.

   

4. SPEAKING OF RATES-KNOW HOW RATE THE INVENTORY: Once you reach this stage in the process, you can be sure that you’re on the right track!

   Being prudent in the selection process would help you avoid an expensive mistake. Here’s how you could rate the inventory of the houses that you visit so you could make an informed decision at the end of the day.

• Begin with taking photos of the house numbers and facade so you could easily identify individual houses.
• Take a piece of paper with you or use your mobile device to write down notes about significant features of the house such as the floor plan, room design and colors.
• Remember to check out the neighbor’s house. Would there be any possibility that it would cause problem in the future? Is it blocking any view?
• Also take note of the neighborhood, is it conveniently located to any near establishments that might be crucial to you?
• Shortly after leaving the house, rate it between the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best.

  

5. STOP BEING FINICKY! Okay, I just had to put it in here. I’ve had quite a number of clients that had been too picky and ended up with not so good deals. Since most first time homebuyers have limited resources, it is best to be open for compromise. You may have to make some home repairs or put up with ugly decorations. The idea here is if it’s just some minor inconveniences that you could easily fix, take it.

   Ask yourself, how important is it for you to have your own home now? Or would you still continue to rent for x number of years? Stop being finicky.

Equipped with this essential knowledge, we are confident that you could and would make the right decisions. To get you started in finding your future home, Team Leading Edge provides high speed access to the finest MLS real estate listings in Edmonton. It is there that you could browse through all the available houses and condos for sale in real-time.

You may also call the team at 780-634-8151 anytime you would like to schedule a viewing of your next home.