1 Nov

Fall Home Maintenance Checklist: Get A Jump on Cooler Temperatures

General

Posted by: Karli Shih

  Though Fall has already started, there are a few things you can do still to ensure your home is well-prepared for the season: Examine Your Gutters: This time of year it is important to clean and inspect your gutters (replacing as needed) to ensure they are working properly as the rain and snow season hits. […]

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25 Oct

Hawkish Hold By The Bank of Canada

General

Posted by: Karli Shih

    The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at 5%, as was widely expected. The central bank continues to normalize its balance sheet through quantitative tightening, reducing its Government of Canada bonds holdings. The Monetary Policy Report (MPR) detailed a slowdown in global economic growth “as past increases in policy […]

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18 Oct

Fall Market Update – And When to Buy

General

Posted by: Karli Shih

      In September, the Bank of Canada opted to maintain its policy rate at 5%.  The recent rate hikes over the spring and summer had already begun influencing the housing market.  Let’s take a closer look at the current scenario, what’s on the horizon, and how to navigate property purchases. Current Market Conditions: […]

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11 Oct

APPRAISAL REPORT ACCESS

General

Posted by: Karli Shih

    Has this ever happened to you?  You’re buying property or refinancing, you have paid for a lender appraisal but you can’t have a copy of it.  Not being able to read a report you paid for is odd on the face of it, especially if you paid for the service in relation to […]

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4 Oct

Your Teens and Finances

General

Posted by: Karli Shih

  Start your teen off right and help them prepare for as smooth a financial road ahead as possible. Needs vs. Wants Tweens and teens need to learn to differentiate between needs and wants and to prioritize how they spend their money.  Value and cost are two more important concepts they need to understand.  A […]

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27 Sep

Your Kids and Finances

General

Posted by: Karli Shih

Financial independence is a critical skill for future success.  As parents, we have the opportunity to nurture our children’s healthy relationship with money.  Here are a few points to consider with respect to helping them in this area: Review Your Attitude Towards Money: What is your own attitude towards money?  Are you a penny pincher?  Frivolous […]

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20 Sep

Strengthen Your Financial Future Using Your Property’s Value – Without Selling: A Three-Part Series. Part Three

General

Posted by: Karli Shih

  Part Three: Navigating Your Way Forward Using Property Equity Through Retirement In the first two installments of this series, we’ve looked at equity and strategies around using a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), also referred to here as a Line of Credit.  Let’s now look at HELOC considerations toward the end of one’s […]

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6 Sep

Bank of Canada Holds Rates Steady Acknowledging Economic Slowdown

General

Posted by: Karli Shih

With last Friday’s publication of the anemic second-quarter GDP data, it was obvious that the Bank of Canada would refrain from raising rates at today’s meeting. Economic activity declined by 0.2% in Q2; the first quarter growth estimate decreased from 3.1% to 2.6%. Today’s press release announced, “The Canadian economy has entered a period of […]

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30 Aug

Strengthen Your Financial Future Using Your Property’s Value – Without Selling: A Three-Part Series. Part One

General

Posted by: Karli Shih

  Part One: Unlocking Your Property’s Hidden Value: The Power of Equity Most real estate might appear to be comprised of four walls and a roof, but beneath the surface lies a hidden gem: your property’s equity. In this series, we’re simplifying the concept of property equity to introduce you to a potentially powerful tool—the […]

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