The Downsizing Dilemma

General Michele McGarvey 15 Oct

12 Oct 2018 The Downsizing Dilemma With almost 50% of homeowners ready to retire and wishing to stay in their home and 30% of those people with most of their money tied up in home equity, the downsizing dilemma is real. Can they afford to stay in their home or is downsizing the better option. […]

Read More

Mortgage Insurance 101

General Michele McGarvey 4 Oct

4 Oct 2018 Mortgage Insurance 101 For a first-time home buyer, the types of insurance surrounding a mortgage can be confusing, so it’s important to know what insurance covers what. There are 3 main types of insurance to know about when buying a home. Mortgage Default Insurance – If you put less than 20% down […]

Read More

The Pros and Cons of Co-Signing for a Mortgage

General Michele McGarvey 2 Oct

2 Oct 2018 Some good information here… The Pros and Cons of Co-Signing for a Mortgage If you keep up on the news you know that qualifying for a mortgage is getting tougher and tougher. Someone who would have sailed through the application process 10 years ago could find themselves declined for a mortgage today. […]

Read More

Keeping Your Credit Score Healthy

General Michele McGarvey 27 Sep

12 Sep 2018 Keeping Your Credit Score Healthy There is a lot of misinformation floating around about credit bureaus, credit reports and credit scores – not only that, but a large amount of the clients I work with have never even seen their credit report or score before! I’d like to shed a bit of light, […]

Read More

A CHIP Success Story

General Michele McGarvey 25 Sep

One reason CHIP can be so successful… 20 Sep 2018 A CHIP Success Story A few years ago, I met with my Home Equity Bank representative. He was trying to encourage me to go visit my financial adviser referral partners to offer the Chip Reverse Mortgage product. I explained that I did not know anyone […]

Read More

HGTV’s original boss babe – Sandra Rinomato

General Michele McGarvey 19 Sep

18 Sep 2018 HGTV’s original boss babe – Sandra Rinomato After taking a turn as the host of Property Virgins and Buy Herself, Sandra Rinomato has come full circle putting her efforts back into Toronto area real estate. Sandra Rinomato fell into a career in real estate almost by accident. It was the mid-90s, and […]

Read More

Poloz Holds the Line on Rates

General Michele McGarvey 10 Sep

Poloz Holds The Line On Rates As expected, the Bank of Canada held its key overnight rate this morning at 1.5%, asserting that July’s surprising spike in CPI inflation to 3% was in large part because of a jump in airfares. The Bank expects inflation to move back towards 2% in early 2019, as the […]

Read More

Bridge Loans

General Michele McGarvey 6 Sep

Some great information on Bridge Loans… 5 Sep 2018 Bridge Loans If you have ever sold your home in order to help with the purchase of your next home, chances are you have heard of bridge financing. Bridge financing is an option available to homeowners if they find themselves in a little bit of a […]

Read More

First Monthly Canadian Home Sales Gain This Year In June

General Michele McGarvey 1 Sep

First Monthly Canadian Home Sales Gain This Year In June National home sales rose by 4.1% in June compared to May, the first such rise this year. Even so, June’s sales activity remains well below the monthly pace of the past five years (see chart). The sales gains were led by the Greater Toronto Area […]

Read More

Reverse Mortgage – Need to Know

General Michele McGarvey 28 Aug

Here is what you need to know about Reverse Mortgages… Reverse Mortgage – Need to Know HomeEquity Bank is the only bank in Canada that currently offers the CHIP Reverse Mortgage as well as a secondary product, Income Advantage. These two products are options for homeowners unlike anything else out there. Instead of borrowing money […]

Read More