Calgary Real Estate Blog - Calgary Mortgage Tips

When is the Best Time of Year to Buy a House?

If you’re browsing the housing market and find yourself asking the question “when is the best time of year to buy a house,” the short answer is: it depends! We unpack some external effects including the time of year, mortgage rates, and other factors that will help you determine when is the best time to purchase a home. 

Pro Tip: Have you locked in interest rates? Saavy home buyers should have taken advantage of the low interest rates and would (or should) have locked them in, (typically for up to 120 days). If you haven't click here to jump into our mortgage approval form. We'll get you in front of the top mortgage partners we work with and have them assist you in locking in the best rates in the market, and helping you understand how much home…

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Questions to ask your mortgage broker

When you’re asking your friends, family and colleagues about their recent home purchase and their mortgage experience, often the conversation starts  and ends with “what’s your mortgage rate?’ 

Here is the truth, when you’re shopping for a mortgage, the rate is a super important piece of the conversation, but it shouldn’t be the only piece of the conversation. 

7 things to ask your Mortgage Broker if you’re getting a mortgage in Calgary

1.    What is the down payment requirement for this mortgage rate? 

Reminder, mortgage rates differ depending if your deal is insured or uninsured. It's important to confirm your down payment with your broker, some rates aren't available for all home purchases, in fact, there are situations…

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Why Do I Have Different Credit Scores?

Why Do I Have Different Credit Scores?

Oftentimes, as we move through the mortgage pre approval process with our clients, they end up confused about their credit score.  They check the score themselves using one of their banking apps or Credit Karma and the score reads 780, but when we pull their beacon score, they are so frustrated that often their score is lower.

Here are the straight goods:  Every credit information provider has a different algorithm for calculating credit scores.  They all scrape information from the internet in different ways and they all come up with a different number in the end.  It’s also super important to remember that credit scores fluctuate monthly.  My personal credit score can land between 750 and…

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What Are Closing Costs?

Buying a home can feel like an epic adventure, full of ups and downs.

From working with a real estate agent to viewing Calgary homes for sale to organizing open houses, it can be stressful. 

So, when closing day approaches, buyers are overjoyed and relieved that part of the journey is over. However, while finding the home of your dreams and closing the sale are major accomplishments, before you crack open the bubbly, you'll need to pay some administrative fees, otherwise known as closing costs.

What are closing costs in Alberta? Our experts will explain.

Closing Costs: The Breakdown

Closing costs are fees or expenses that the buyer owes before or on closing day. Homebuyers should budget 1.5%-4% of the property's purchase price…

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How To Find A Mortgage Broker In Calgary

 If you're thinking about buying a home, one of the first steps almost every buyer starts with, is getting pre-approved for a mortgage. Below are some of the many advantages of doing this key first step in your home buying journey.

Read Below For Our Guide On Where To Go For Mortgage Brokers In Calgary

• This will move you one step closer to home ownership
• You'll discover how much home you can afford. Allowing you to truly narrow and refine what homes you should be looking at.
• Demonstrate your worthiness to sellers in your offer. Whether this be the removal of a condition, or the ability for your agent to leverage your purchase power in a situation where you're in multiple offers. 
• Minimize or reduce waiver timelines within your offer,…

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Calgary Mortgage Deferral

With new information and changes coming daily, many Calgarians, and Canadians have been asking in their homes. Should I defer my mortgage?  

Calgary Mortgage Tips

To defer or not to defer – it’s the million dollar question! As COVID 19 hit Canada over the past weeks and many non-essential businesses began laying off employees, there has been much miscommunication from the government, both federally and provincially, that lead both homeowners and tenants to believe that mortgages are being “forgiven.” This is just not correct.  Period.  There is ZERO mortgage forgiveness being offered to homeowners.  All those mortgage payments have to be made, eventually.  The major banks and other lenders across Canada have worked to put mortgage “deferral”…

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Is Calgary Real Estate affordable?

Calgary carries a high dependency on the oil and gas sector, this accounts for roughly 70% of businesses based in Calgary, this can mean high volatility and risk of bust-boom cycles that come and go with a natural resource like oil. Recently Calgary has been recovering from highs in 2012 due to Oil prices taking a nose dive. Residents in Calgary on average earn more than other cities in Canada with an average weekly take home pay of about $1150 per week, this compared to Toronto and Vancouver being $1015 and $950 respectively.

Calgary is considered one of the top business hubs in Canada and the top of Western Canada with over 100 head offices, our city is recognized as a global leader in Energy and Engineering. Calgary usually sees a GDP growth of…

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