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Some people consider a house payment as basic as monthly utilities but with a plan and some discipline, you can be mortgage free. Consider a person borrowed $300,000 at 3% for 30 years, the principal and interest payment would be $1,264.81 and at the end of 12 years, the unpaid balance on the mortgage would be $210,900. If that same person had financed the home on a 15-year term at 2.5%, the payments would have been $2,000 but the unpaid balance at the end of 12 years would be $69,310.   The homeowner will have a larger equity but they have also had to make higher payments. 15-year mortgages usually have a lower interest rate than the 30-year loans and at the time this article was written, the difference in a 30-year loan was about 0.5%.   A 15-year loan gives the lender their money back in half the time.   If rates go up during the interim, they will be able to loan it at the higher rate sooner.   For that reason, they are usually willing to offer a slightly l...

SHOULD YOU KEEP YOUR RADIATOR SYSTEM? Do you have an older heating system - specifically a hot water heating system utilizing a boiler and radiators strewn throughout your house. Although there is no question that this system can work, is it the most efficient? Is it fulfilling your needs? Is there perhaps a better system? Or, could it be the best system in the world for heating -- but maybe yours just needs some tweaking. All these questions answered and more in my following blog post. Read on and find out! Radiators have been around for a long time and are a staple of many heating systems, especially in older homes. They often provide heat throughout the winter at a lower energy cost than some other heating options, since true to their name they allow heat to passively radiate into the surrounding air. Unfortunately, some older radiator systems can require a lot of maintenance to keep in service year after year and may not be the best at providing even heat in your home. Because of t...

Credit utilization reflects how much of your available credit is being used at a given time.   Lower credit utilization indicates that a borrower is not heavily relying on their credit and that they are using their credit responsibly. Is calculated by dividing your total credit card balances by your total limits.   The higher the percentage, the higher the risk which adversely affects the credit score according to most of the companies.   It is recommended that your credit utilization be under 30% to positively impact your credit score. If the available limit on a credit card is $12,000 and their normal monthly balance is around $3,000, they have a credit utilization of 25%.   If for whatever reason, the borrower's available limit was reduced to $6,000, and their long history of having a monthly balance of $3,000, the ratio, then, increases to 50% which will likely lower their credit score. For borrowers who use more than 30% of their available credit and regul...

NEW STATS CANADA DATA REVEALS UPTICK IN OCTOBER'S HOUSING PRICESE WHEREVER INVENTORY TIGHTEST New Housing Price Index, October 2021 Text  - Selected   Tables   Related information   Previous release   PDF (205 KB) Released: 2021-11-19 Select geography     Canada     Newfoundland and Labrador     Prince Edward Island     Nova Scotia     New Brunswick     Quebec     Ontario     Manitoba     Saskatchewan     Alberta     British Columbia   New Housing Price Index — Canada October 2021 0.9%  (monthly change) Source(s):  Table  18-10-0205-01 . New home prices increased 0.9% in October nationally, slightly higher than the rise observed over the past four months. Prices were up in 15 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed, unchanged in 10, and declined in 2. Chart 1  New Housing Pri...

Homeowners know the need to periodically check certain things around the home to ensure that things operate properly and efficiently.   If maintenance is required, it may be less expensive to take care of it early rather than waiting until it is not working at all. Checklists are helpful because it requires little effort to know what must be done.   They are usually concise and provide enough information to complete the task.   These items apply to most homeowners but in no way offer a comprehensive list. Vacuum dryer exhaust ... not only does it affect the efficiency of your dryer itself, the accumulation of lint along with the hot air can ignite and create a fire hazard. Replace HVAC filters 4 to 6 times a year ... This is one DIY project that almost everyone should feel confident in handling.   Locate the filter, make a note of the size, and keep replacements available.   Turn off the unit, open the door or housing, remove the dirty filter, ...

Write your next chapter with Sotheby's International Realty. Explore homes and lifestyles found in Colorado, Texas, The Bahamas and other exciting destinations. For all your real estate needs! SHAWN VENASSE - Sales Representative The Elli Davis Team Sotheby's International Realty Canada Brokerage 1867 Yonge Street - #100, Toronto, ON M4S 1Y5 416.960.9995 office 416.960.3222 fax  877.

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  H ome sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) reached the second-highest level on record for the month of October. However, the inventory of homes for sale did not keep up with demand. The number of new listings was down by approximately one-third compared to October 2020. Market conditions tightened across all major home types compared to last year, and the annual rate of average price growth remained in the double digits, including for the resurgent condominium apartment segment. “The only sustainable way to address housing affordability in the GTA is to deal with the persistent mismatch between demand and supply. Demand isn’t going away. And that’s why all three levels of government need to focus on supply. The federal government has stated that collaboration with provinces and municipalities is required. This collaboration could be spearheaded, at least in part, with housing-related incentives tied to federal infrastructure investment,” said TRREB President Kevin Crigger. GTA...

    A lthough currently dimly lit and a little rough on the eyes, your unfinished basement still has a lot of potentials. With just a little love and the help of the following ideas, you can spice it up in no time and get some great use out of the space. 1. Add a pop of color. Give your basement a whole different look without a big renovation by adding some color to space. Consider painting and sealing the floors, opening up the room by painting the rafters white or a light color, or creating a bold accent wall. 2. Divide the space. Want to make your basement a multi-use room? Partition out the area by installing an inexpensive curtain system. This can be done either with a curtain track or a simple wire, some hooks, and curtains will suffice. 3. Add foam mats. Whether you’d like to use the basement as a home gym to get a quick workout in or a place for the kids to play and rough house, adding some foam mats into the mix is a great and easy solution. They come in various ...

  Fall Back on First Sunday in November This weekend, adjust your clocks back by one hour. Most people find it convenient to change their clocks before they go to bed on Saturday night.   ...