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Posted by Top Home Loans in Off-Topic on November 28th, 2008
Top Ten Most Popular Articles
Updated on May 9, 2009
- Top 10 Most Expensive Houses For Sale in Canada Right Now
- How to Buy a House without a Buyer’s Real Estate Agent, Part 1: Myths
- 10 Steps to Buying a House without a Buyer’s Real Estate Agent
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average Retrospective Part 1
- Monthly, Semi-Monthly, Bi-Weekly, or Weekly Payments; What is the Best Option for you?
- The Importance of the Mortgage Pre-Approval
- The Landlord’s Market, and What you Can do to Capitalize on this Emerging Market
- How to get a Mortgage if you are Self-Employed
- What Factors does a Bank look at when Approving a Mortgage?
- How to Hire a Discount Real Estate Agent to get the Most Value
The Home Buyer’s Toolkit
- The Benefits of Buying a Resale Home
- Are you Financially Ready to Own a Home?
- Renovate or Relocate?
- Mortgage Life Insurance
- Your House, Your Investment
- The Lowest Mortgage Rate is Not the Best
- The Professionals you Need with your Home Purchase
- The Truth of Power of Sale
- The Lawyer in the Mortgage Process
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Mortgage Bits: House Upkeep; What does it really cost to own a home?
Posted by Top Home Loans in Mortgage Advice, Property Management on December 13th, 2009
when purchasing a property, most buyer’s number one question is: how much are the mortgage payments? Buyer’s usually think that if they can afford the mortgage payments, then they must be able to afford the property.
Unfortunately, this is the furthest thing from the truth. Upkeep, especially on condos, can be as expensive, if not more expensive, than the property itself. For example, let’s take a look at the average property in Toronto.
In Toronto, the average property value is approximately $450,000. This property would produce the following upkeep fees if it is a free hold unit.
? Property taxes: 350/month
? Heating: 75/month
? Electricity: 100/month
? Cable and Internet: 120/month
? Phone Service: 60/month
? Repairs and Upgrades: 200/month
Total upkeep per month: $905
If you look at a condo, then you would also need to factor in condo fees and parking rental fees. These fees alone can be as much as an additional $1000 per month.
Keep in mind that as your property increases in value, so does your upkeep. All the upkeep items are aligned with values, so you should expect to pay more as your value goes up.
Unfortunately, just because you have the money to buy a property doesn’t mean that you should if you can’t afford the upkeep. Make sure that you calculate the upkeep as well as the mortgage payments before you decide to purchase a property.
Mortgage Bits: Putting the Fear back into the Home Ownership Market
Posted by Top Home Loans in Economy, Mortgage News, Real Estate on November 18th, 2009
Over the lst year, the media and the real estate market have been pushing people into home ownership in Canada. The reason being is low interest rates. It is true, interest rates are at the lowest that they have ever been, and they are not expected to go higher for several months. This has spurred on first time home buyers to purchase houses like crazy; however, recent news articles are doing the opposite to market.
The newest wave of real estate articles have been doom and gloom articles that discuss about a mortgage bubble that is growing in Canada that is worse than the US. It states that as people build a dependance on cheap money, when interest rates go up, then people will have plenty of trouble paying their bills with higher interest rates. Another fear element is declining demand, the amount of new home buyers can only create real estate transactions for a certain duration of time before the demand subsidizes. Also, unemployment continues to be a growing problem in both Canada and the US.
These are some of the more immediate threats, while future threats including: global warming, baby boomers, and other major issues stand to destroy the fragility of this economic recovery.
So, what is it? Should you buy or should you continue to sit on the sidelines? Unfortunately, the answer is not the same for everyone. The decision is based on why you are purchasing. If you are purchasing based on speculation or investment, then it may not be the best time to purchase. Your dream positive cash flow property may quickly turn into a negative cash flow investment when the interest rates reset. On the other hand, if you are purchasing for the long-term, then you may be able to achieve the results you are looking for.
The best way to ensure security in your investment is by using hypothetical situations. For example, can you afford the payments at 5%, 6%, 7%, etc. With rates eventually increasing, and real incomes declining, then it may be possible you will see yourself in a cash crunch if you purchase beyond your means.
What would you do if interest rates increased dramatically? Did you plan your mortgage before taking it out?