The Tribe Blog
What’s the Difference Between Paying a House Deposit & Down Payment?
There are a lot of unknown terms you’ll come across while buying a home – particularly as a first-time homebuyer. Two common payments that homebuyers sometimes use interchangeably, but are quite different, are “deposit” and “down payment”. Deposit When buying...
How Does Skipping a Mortgage Payment Work?
How Does Skipping a Mortgage Payment Work? Many lenders provide the option for you to skip a mortgage payment each year to help alleviate those tight financial months where everything seems to come due at once. But this also may be an option to help you push...
The Mortgage Deferral Program is Over. Now What?
The federal government introduced a six-month Mortgage Deferral Program – which officially wrapped up September 30th – to help Canadians stay in their homes while the job market recovered from COVID-19. With the deferral program coming to an end, stress has mounted...
Why Do We Pay Property Taxes?
Property taxes are levied to homeowners as a way to help maintain services in your community that ensure your neighbourhood continues to thrive and remain an attractive place to live and work. Property taxes represent a key source of funding for municipalities...
When Must a Mortgage Interest Adjustment be Paid?
Often times, when you buy a property, there’s a gap between your home’s closing date and the day in which your lender withdraws your first mortgage payment from your bank account. During those in-between days, interest is accumulated on the money you owe, and a...
How Working from Home Affects Homeownership
The arrival of COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we live our lives – from the way we work, think, dress, shop and interact with others. As a society, we’re also spending more time in our homes than ever before. The days of leaving the house from 9 to 5,...
Mortgage Default Insurance Helps You Buy a Home Sooner
One of the most challenging obstacles to homeownership is saving enough money for a down payment. Thankfully, mortgage default insurance provides a break to homebuyers that enables you to put less money down. The minimum down payment required to purchase a...
Bank of Canada maintains commitment to current level of policy rate, continues program of quantitative easing
The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly ½ percent and the deposit rate is ¼ percent. The Bank is also continuing its quantitative easing (QE) program, with...
Mortgage Default Insurance Helps You Buy a Home Sooner
One of the most challenging obstacles to homeownership is saving enough money for a down payment. Thankfully, mortgage default insurance provides a break to homebuyers that enables you to put less money down. The minimum down payment required to purchase a...
Bank of Canada maintains commitment to current level of policy rate, continues program of quantitative easing
The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly ½ percent and the deposit rate is ¼ percent. The Bank is also continuing its quantitative easing (QE) program, with...
What’s the Difference Between a Home Appraisal & Inspection?
Both a home appraisal and an inspection are important steps within the home buying process, so it’s well worth your effort to distinguish the differences between them and learn how they can both be used to your advantage to uncover detailed information about a...
Five Popular Debt Myths Dispelled
We’re capable of convincing ourselves of pretty much anything, especially concerning our personal spending habits and debt levels. When we start spending beyond our means, there are many short-term things we can do that will help put a band-aid on our debt...
The Canadian Real Estate Market is Hot!
The Canadian real estate market was in good shape heading into 2020, but the busy spring season was delayed a bit thanks to COVID-19. The good news is that it has come back white hot, breaking records throughout the summer and showing no signs of slowing down anytime...
Why it’s Important to Understand Your Credit Report
Your credit rating affects all aspects of your financial activities when it comes to borrowing money, as it helps lenders determine the level of risk associated with lending money to you. If you have a solid credit score, lenders believe you’re more likely to make...
More Seniors are Taking Advantage of Reverse Mortgages
Canadian seniors who are feeling the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are showing interest in reverse mortgages as a way to stay in their current homes. With a reverse mortgage, Canadians aged 55+ can borrow funds against home equity. No payments are...
How Much Do You Need to Save for a Down Payment?
If you’re thinking of buying your very first home, one of your biggest concerns is likely centred around how much money you need to have set aside for your down payment. And this can, no doubt, seem extra nerve-wracking when you haven’t yet done the math. The minimum...
Listen to Experts About Housing Predictions, Not the Media
It’s important not to subscribe to the doom and gloom media reports about the Canadian housing market, especially in the midst of COVID-19 emergency measures. The reality is that, regardless of what you’re reading in the mainstream media, people are still...
What You Do Between Mortgage Approval and Funding Matters!
It’s important to pay attention to the little things that can make or break your chances of qualifying for a mortgage – and keeping your approval all the way through to closing. Did you know that it’s fairly common practice for mortgage lenders and insurers to...
What are Your Mortgage Renewal Options?
When you took out your current mortgage, you were required to make a number of key decisions, such as the type of rate you wanted – fixed or variable – the amortization period, whether it was open or closed as well as what term you wanted. A mortgage term...
Buying a Home for University or College Students
For most parents, watching their children head off to college or university causes a wide range of emotions. Hopes and happiness are mixed with worries and sadness and the adjustment can be very difficult. Emotions aside, there is also the weight of the...
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