When applying for a mortgage, you will be asked for detailed personal information.  Along with this information, your mortgage broker or potential lender will check your credit score.  What is a credit score and why does it matter?  “Your credit score is a judgment about your financial health, at a specific point in time. It indicates the risk you represent for lenders, compared with other consumers” . This number can have major implications on your mortgage application as institutions use it to decide not only who qualifies, but also at what rate and to what limit. Continue Reading

When we purchase insurance it is always with the hope that it won’t have to be used.  However, when something goes wrong with our home, there are five key steps that must be taken to help make the claim process go smoothly. Continue Reading

When applying for a mortgage, you will be asked for detailed personal information.  Along with this information, your mortgage broker or potential lender will check your credit score.  What is a credit score and why does it matter?  Continue Reading

Ronda Bertram in her kitchen with a finished chocolate-covered spoon 

Looking for a quick and easy gift for Valentines Day, one with a homemade touch that has love  written all over it?  Ronda Bertam says a unique present for your honey would be a chocolate-covered spoon.  They take only 20 minutes to make with common ingredients and they make great coffee and tea sweetners. 

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When we purchase insurance it is always with the hope that it won’t have to be used.  However, when something goes wrong with our home, there are five key steps that must be taken to help make the claim process go smoothly. Continue Reading

With the housing crisis of the past year, CMHC, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has been mentioned frequently in the news.  For many of us with mortgages, we know that CMHC was involved in the process and that we had to pay them money.  While we may begrudge these funds as we are struggling to purchase our first home, or rebuild our lives after financial tragedy, according to Randy McCombs of Pro Link Mortgages, “they serve a purpose and it is to get Canadians into homes.”

CMHC was established as a government-owned corporation in 1946 in response to the housing shortage after WW II.  Since that time, their mandate has not changed: “to enhance Canada’s housing finance options, assist Canadians who cannot afford housing in the private market, improve building standards and housing construction, and provide policymakers with the information and analysis they need to sustain a vibrant housing market in Canada”.*

Mr. McCombs explains that CMHC insurance is required on any property where the down-payment is between 0 and 20%.  It insures the risk for the bank so that they are protected should repayment become an issue.   This allows many individuals to get into the housing market that would not otherwise be approved by lenders. 

Once a CMHC policy has been put on a mortgage, the insurance stays in place regardless of the equity, unless the home is being refinanced.   If you are still in need of the policy, it is possible to carry it forward and only pay a top-up premium on additional funds.  This is often missed by mortgage brokers and bankers, and buyers unnecessarily repay CMHC premiums says Mr. McCombs. 

CMHC may be an added step in the process, but according to Mr. McCombs, “they form a very important part of purchasing homes in Canada”.

Randy McCombs, AMP
Mortage Agent
(403) 509-1009 x. 2
rmccombs@shaw.ca
www.allcanadianmortgage.com
* Information courtesy of http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/corp/about/index.cfm

RANDY McCOMBS, PRO-LINK MORTGAGES
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Business owners should review their commercial insurance policy

You have a well thought out business plan, your marketing and advertising is professionally done and in circulation, your website is attracting traffic, your inventory or service is ready and your doors are open; have you taken the time to protect your investment?   According to David Waldren of Braeside Insurance, many business owners are not only unsure of what insurance they have but are also unaware of what coverage they should have.  Continue Reading

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AccuHome Inspections
Member of InterNachi and CanaNachi Associations
Email: accuhome@shaw.ca
Website: www.accuhomeinspections.com
Tel: 403-313-9506
Fax: 403-313-9507

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An elegant dinner setting can be achieved with creativity.

Have a dinner party coming up? Want to wow your guests with your stunning décor, but don’t want to break the bank doing so?  The key is to choose a variety of table accents that look sharp and add a feeling of elegance to your table, focusing on small details that provide major impact.

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