Ariana Leroux Mortgage Blog

Something different for today, an easy thing to bake while you are at home, checking out mortgage information :)   Watch for your copies in the mail :) BANNANA NUT BREAD   Ingredients: 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing 1 cup sugar 2 or 3 very ripe bannanas, mashed 3 large eggs, slightly beaten, room temperature 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature 1 small container unsweetened apple sauce 2 cups all-purpose flour (plain) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts  (you do not have to add this)     Directions: Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and lightly flour a 9-by-5" loaf pan. In a heavy mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on med speed until creamy, about 1 min. Add the bananas and eggs and beat until smooth. Add the buttermilk ...

This is a good read from the GLOBE and MAIL..... Makes the 10 year rate hold really attractive, not like at the moment at 3.89% you would need it to be any more attractive.... Preet Banerjee How would an interest rate increase to 2.25% affect you? PREET BANERJEE | Columnist profile | E-mail From Tuesday's Globe and Mail Published Wednesday, May. 30, 2012 6:00AM EDT Last updated Wednesday, May. 30, 2012 9:34AM EDT Could your household withstand a 125-per-cent increase in interest rates? It’s a question you should look beyond averages to answer, as it could mean the difference between living the homeowner’s dream and having that dream turn into a cash-flow nightmare. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development recently suggested that Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney should raise interest rates by 0.25 per cent for five consecutive quarters starting this fall. The rationale was that these laddered increa...

By Vernon Clement Jones | 28/05/2012 It may be another case of David kicking Goliath’s butt, with mono-lines now taking back some of the business brokers were prepared to send to the banks, according to the latest quarterly report from D+H. While banks still claimed the single-largest share of broker business in the first quarter, that 48.2 per cent cut represents an eight-percentage-point slide from the year-ago period when they claimed 56.5 per cent of the consolidated volume. For mono-lines, the story is the reverse, with “mortgage banks” growing their market share to 36.4 per cent from the 26.7 per cent in Q1 2011. The quarter-over-quarter jump was also impressive, representing a gain of nearly four percentage points. The changing fortunes represent real progress for mono-lines increasingly pressured to step up their game in the fight to stem broker flight to the banks. Street, alone, is being credited for leading the mono-lines i...

Report calls on central bank to start hiking interest rates Report calls on central bank to start hiking interest rates   GDP expected to rise 2.25% this year: OECD   By Julia Johnson, Financial Post May 23, 2012 8:43 AM Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Report%20calls%20on%20central%20bank%20to%20start%20hiking%20interest%20rates/6664026/story.html#ixzz1viDrT8E6 New economic projections show the global economy is growing, albeit slowly, lifted by a resurgence in trade and market confidence, but stymied by the euro crisis that has deepened since a temporary easing in late 2011. Canada, Japan and the United States are growing faster than the euro countries, while emerging markets experience a "moderate cyclical upswing," according to the Economic Outlook published Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Canada's GDP is expected to grow 2.25 per cent this year and 2.5 per cent in 2013, according to the report, d...

The Mortgage Group Canada Inc. - British Columbia - News Articles Real Estate: Be ready for "what if's" at home Mary Gooderham - Globe and Mail Update Thursday, March 01, 2012 Keeping up with mortgage payments is an important part of home ownership, in addition to property taxes, insurance and maintenance. But what happens if your roof suddenly needs replacing, the foundation springs a big leak or the furnace gives out in the middle of a cold snap? Your mortgage can be structured to deal with such unexpected home expenses. You can also borrow against the equity in your property or take out insurance to deal with mechanical failures. "Planning for 'what ifs' is critical," says David Cole, an RBC mortgage specialist in Burnaby, B.C. He adds that mortgages are an especially important area of financial planning, given that houses present significant expenses as well as assets, ...

This is interesting & we are starting to see more and more of this.....  Click the link or read below. The Mortgage Group Canada Inc. - British Columbia - News Articles Wednesday, May 23, 2012 The news about  getting better mortgage rates with a lower down payment has been in the news recently -- if you have a down payment of only 5% and your credit is good, then you could get a rate up to 20 basis points better than if you had a higher down payment. For example, instead of 3.59% on a 5-yr fixed rate you could pay 3.39%. It may seem counter intuitive and just plain unfair if you're sitting with the higher down payment, but there is method to this interest rate madness. It comes down to two things: insured risk and capital. Let's face it, bank lenders like sure things and try to reduce their risk as much as possible. When a mortgage is insured, which is the case in high-ratio or low down payment mortgages; it requi...

Again from the CMHC website, I loved this checklist! :) http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/gemare/gemare_003.cfm Regular Maintenance is the Key Inspecting your home on a regular basis and following good maintenance practices are the best way to protect your investment in your home. Whether you take care of a few tasks at a time or several all at once, it is important to get into the habit of doing them. Establish a routine for yourself, and you will find the work is easy to accomplish and not very time-consuming. A regular schedule of seasonal maintenance can put a stop to the most common — and costly — problems, before they occur. If necessary, use a camera to take pictures of anything you might want to share with an expert for advice or to monitor or remind you of a situation later. By following the information noted here, you will learn about protecting your investment and how to help keep your home a safe and healthy place to live. If you do not feel c...