If you bought your first home in British Columbia within the last 18 months or are planning to buy your first place in BC, you're going to want to read this blog on the recent changes that were announced this month from the BC provincial government.

With tax season in full swing, Canadians were deciding in February how much to deposit into their RRSP to reduce their taxable income for 2023.

But for first-time buyers, there is another account that was recently created that also reduces your taxable income – the First Home Savings Account (FHSA).

I often get questions about whether someone should work on paying off their debt or save for a down payment instead.

The answer as you might imagine is nuanced and based on each person’s individual circumstances.

Generally, the sooner you can enter the real estate market, the sooner you can begin benefiting from your investment appreciating in value.

At the same time, too much debt going into your home purchase can either limit your options or make it too unaffordable to manage.

2023 was another consecutive year of rising interest rates as we grappled with getting a hold on inflation.

However, the end of last year showed some light at the end of the tunnel. Due to inflationary numbers coming in much better than expected, Bank of Canada (BoC) choose not to continue the pattern of additional increases to the prime lending rate for all of last quarter avoiding further increases to variable rate holders.

Planning to purchase a home in 2024?

Credit is one of the primary pillars that makes up your mortgage application. So it goes without saying you will want this to be in the best shape possible when going to apply.

Here are three simple tips to help you prepare your credit for your future home purchase:

In a world increasingly conscious of environmental issues, every industry is striving to adopt eco-friendly practices. The real estate sector is no exception, with Canada taking a bold step forward through the introduction of the new Eco Plus program by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

To help Canada reach it’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, CMHC has provided incentives to current and future home buyers in the form of refunds on the mortgage default insurance premiums you pay whenever you put less than 20% down.

To eligible borrowers, you will receive a 25% refund on the insurance premium you paid to purchase your home. This isn’t a small amount of money! For example, for a home price of $700,000 with the minimum down payment of $45,000 you would be required to pay a mortgage default insurance premium of $26,200. This means you would receive a $6,550 refund just for purchasing an energy efficient home.

To compete for business, banks will often incentivize homeowners by offering either cash-back or cash bonuses to earn their mortgage business.

This isn’t just a way of earning business, but by dangling a carrot and getting you focused on the cash it steers the conversation away from the fine print and important features of the mortgage that could easily cost you more money in the long run.

If you’re a first-time buyer preparing for your first purchase, you’re going to need to get pre-approved to know where you stand on the home-buying scale.

To help you prepare for this important step in your real estate journey, here is a list of tips to make the most out of your mortgage conversations:

Know Your Budget

Nowadays with interest rates at 22-year highs, there may be a big difference between what you are approved for on a home purchase, and what you can afford.

During our meeting, we will advise on how you can make your home purchase as affordable as possible but before we can make these suggestions, we need to know what kind of payment is manageable and what will make you ‘house poor’.

So before scheduling your mortgage appointment, it is imperative that you have a grasp on your finances and what you afford to pay every month for a place to live.

A practical step is to do a monthly budget. Add up all your expenses, categorize them (Food, shelter, entertainment, etc.), and figure out what you could give up to make your home dreams come true.

To no surprise to British Columbian’s, BC ranks as the most expensive province to live in Canada. There is no matching the beautiful landscape and nature we get to enjoy on the beautiful west coast, but it is not a free ride with some of the highest provincial taxes and real estate prices in the country.

Whether you’re a first time buyer trying to get your foot in the door or a couple needing to upgrade to a bigger space for a growing family, everyone in BC is looking at the real estate prices of place like Vancouver, the lower mainland or cities like Victoria and Kelowna and asking if the juice is worth the squeeze.

To open your mind to new possibilities, this month’s blog post is about highlighting some of the up and coming cities in BC that still offer relatively affordable housing options without giving up the lifestyle we’ve come to enjoy in this beautiful province.

The real estate market in Canada has continued to remain strong and competitive despite the state of interest rates. Partly due to the low supply of homes for sale, we are once again seeing multiple offers on properties. To compete, your real estate agent may advise that an unconditional offer is required to get your offer accepted. Here are three tips if you are considering making an unconditional offer: Get a Pre-offer Home Inspection When you complete a pre-approval, by that time you should know where you stand regarding your income, down payment and credit and if there is any financing concerns…

Bridge financing is a useful tool for homeowners who are purchasing a new property before selling their current one. It is a short-term loan that bridges the gap between the purchase of a new property and the sale of an existing one. This type of financing is especially relevant in markets where the cost of real estate can be quite high.

Buying your first home is an exciting and significant milestone in anyone's life, and it's essential to approach the process with careful consideration and planning.

Did you know that reverse mortgages are the fastest growing mortgage product in the country?

For so many Canadians, their wealth is tied to the equity in their home.

The reverse mortgage allows those who are 55 or older to use this equity with no obligation for future payments required. You don’t even need income or credit to apply!

With today’s interest rate market being less than friendly, current and future homeowners are wondering if there is a way to find a lower interest rate like what we saw between 2020-2021.

For future home buyers, one option is they can consider finding a seller who has an ‘assumable’ mortgage that they can take-over.

Real estate investing can be a smart way to build wealth over the long term, and it can be especially clever during a recession if you are prepared.

While the value of real estate may fluctuate in the short term, it has historically increased over the long term, making it a safe and lucrative investment. In addition, there are several specific reasons why investing in real estate during a recession can be a good idea.

One reason to consider real estate investing during a recession is affordability.

When the demand for housing decreases or in our current situation when mortgage rates prevent buyers from qualifying for that a higher price, prices will also decrease. This can create opportunities for investors to buy low and hold for the long term while prices go back up.

Here is part 2 of our series on how alternative lending can be useful during times of high interest rates. Before you dive into the second part of our series, if you have not yet read part 1 click here to start from the beginning.

Quick and Easy Approvals

If you are competing on a property, your realtor may suggest putting in a quick possession date so the sellers can receive their sale proceeds in a matter of weeks, instead of the typical 1 – 4 months.

With interest rates being the highest they’ve been in over 10 years, along with the stress test reducing what buyers qualify for this has created a number of issues for buyers attempting to find an approval for their home purchase or homeowners to complete their refinancing.

For this reason, among many others alternative financing is becoming increasingly popular as people try to find creative ways to get the job done.

Alternative financing allows current and future homeowners access to bank programs otherwise unavailable through traditional forms of financing.

Simply put, these programs are very versatile and open the door of possibilities when you keep running into rejections from your traditional lender.

Assuming a Special Assessment is a Bad Thing

A special assessment also known as a special levy, is when the members of a strata vote to make major repairs or upgrades on the building. This leads to the strata imposing a levy on the unit owners for part of the costs of the repairs. 

1. Not Making the Mortgage Re-Advanceable

This tip stems from tip #3 from the first part of this series where we discuss putting your attention towards the type of financing that leaves room for cash flow and avoiding the common pitfall of thinking the lowest possible interest rate should be the primary focus of your financing.

With the real estate market on its way to a correction in market values for many parts of Canada, savvy investors who are prepared will have some great opportunities to purchase new assets to add to their portfolios.