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Are You Curious Why Home Owners Take Out Second Mortgages? 2nd mortgages or home equity loans can be used for important expenses, paying off outstanding debts, renovations or Children’s [...]

Vancouver Housing Market Dashboard We have built interactive dashboards to help you get a sense of housing prices across the Lower Mainland. If you are looking to buy, sell, refinance or you just [...]

BC Government Offers Interest-Free Loans to First Time Home Buyers If you are thinking of buying your first home and you live in BC, then you should be aware of the Home Owner Mortgage and Equity [...]

Expect a Shakeup of BC’s Real Estate Industry Change is on the horizon for BC’s real estate industry and, as a potential consequence, the housing market. If you are looking to buy or sell, if you [...]

What is “Shadow Flipping” in Vancouver’s Real Estate Market? If you have been following the news around housing affordability in Vancouver, you have probably heard the term “shadow flipping”. It [...]

5 Reasons You Should Always Pay Down Your Debt First Personal finance doesn’t have to be all that complicated. In fact, it shouldn’t be. For the vast majority of people, it comes down to a few [...]

Continuing with our series of posts on some of the most common mortgage “need-to-knows”, this post focuses on amortization periods. We will define what an amortization period is, how it affects [...]

Get on Top of Your Finances As we have said in the past, it is important for you to stay on top of your finances. This means more than just paying your bills on time. It means understanding and [...]

Stated income is an extremely important concept for self-employed persons and small business owners that are thinking about getting a mortgage. This post provides a definition for stated income, [...]

We are now offering free access to our debt consolidation calculator. Previously, this was a report that we only gave to our existing clients but we are now extending the offer to everyone. You [...]

When dealing with mortgages, either buying a home or taking equity out of your current one, your loan-to-value is crucial. This article explains what you need to know in simple terms.As with most [...]

If you are self-employed and you are considering buying your first home or taking some equity out of your current home, then this article is for you. We will explain the underwriting policies [...]

Thinking about debt consolidation but have questions about the process? You’re in the right spot. This article answers all the common questions and explains the process. We will also [...]

Behind on Taxes in Canada Are you behind on your taxes? Either haven’t filed in more than a year of stuck with an unexpectedly large tax bill? If so, this article provides information that you [...]

Looking for a loan to run or expand your small business? Do you own your own home? If so, a home equity loan is the best way to finance your investment. Read on to find out more…. Home [...]

The holidays typically leave you with at least two things: leftover fruit cakes and high-interest debt. There is a better way though. We can transfer your debt to a home equity loan at a much [...]

Thinking about debt consolidation but want to know more about the process? We have admittedly spent a good deal of time expounding the virtues of our debt consolidation process. We have [...]

BC Assessment, the Crown Corporation responsible for providing municipalities with property assessments in BC, recently released their 2015 assessments and will be mailing them out this week to [...]

Thinking about a home equity loan? This article provides a quick primer on what they are, how they are used, and their most important characteristics. Home equity loans are becoming more common [...]

Canadian household debt levels continue to be a hot button topic for policy-makers and media commentators alike. While concern is warranted, the situation is not nearly as dire as some might lead [...]

Home equity loans are growing in prominence in Canada and are one of several ways that Canadians have been taking advantage of low-interest rates and rising house prices. But what are they doing [...]

The Federal Finance Minister recently announced changes to the minimum down payment scheme in Canada. As we discussed recently, these changes will impact would-be buyers in certain markets, but [...]

Changes to the Down Payment Scheme – What Do They Mean? On Friday, new Federal Finance Minister, Bill Morneau, announced changes to the down payment scheme in Canada. What are these changes? Who [...]

Almost half of all Canadian families under the age of 65 are currently holding on to credit card debt. While it is convenient to use credit cards to make your purchases, it is not advisable to [...]

This article explains what we call the Virtuous Cycle of Debt Consolidation. This is what happens while you are consolidating your debt and how the process reduces your debt faster, improves your [...]

Are you a homeowner that is looking to consolidate your debt? If so, this article provides the information you need to know. Debt consolidation allows you to lower your interest rates, reduce [...]

Debt Consolidation Calculator We are now offering free access to our custom Debt Consolidation Calculator and Reports. Click the previous link to get access immediately. If you would like to [...]

How the Debt Consolidation Process Works A lot of what we do at Home Equity Solutions resolves around helping households consolidate debt. There are some misconceptions and there is a bit of [...]

Is Paying Down Your Mortgage Really the Fastest Way to Pay Down Your Mortgage? No, that title isn’t a typo, though it admittedly was meant to catch your attention, which evidently worked. Now, if [...]

No, Your Property Taxes Will Not Rise by 20-25% Next Year Recently, there have been a number of news articles pointing out that the next property assessment will include a significant increase. [...]

BC to Finally Change the Outdated Property Transfer Tax Scheme The B.C. Liberal Government has announced that they are working on changes to the Provincial Property Transfer Tax Scheme. Summary [...]

Debt Consolidation Tips It is admittedly much easier to get into debt than get out of it (a lot more fun too). While hard work and will power are necessary to get you out of debt, they aren’t [...]

Is the Weak Migration to BC a Cause for Concern? Statistics Canada recently released data that showed net international migration to BC fell a nearly three-decade low. What does this mean for the [...]

Conservatives Aim to Increase  Homeownership in Canada by 700,000 In a recent speech, Stephen Harper announced that the Conservative party has a new target of 700,000 new homeowners by 2020. We [...]

This article presents an outlook for Canadian interest rates over the next year and half. More specifically, the 5 year Government of Canada bond yield, which is an important driver for mortgage [...]

If you have ever spoken to anyone in the Greater Vancouver Area, or perhaps had internet access at some point, you have probably heard about Vancouver’s affordability problems. But why does [...]

What Might Happen with New Condo Prices? Private investors are bidding up land prices and pushing out residential developers in Metro Vancouver. Higher land prices will feed through into higher [...]

Nine Credit Repair Tips This article presents some helpful tips on how to repair and protect your credit score. Your credit score affects many areas of your life. True, it won’t directly impact [...]

Banks in Canada bending the rules to Help Clients move money out of China A new article from the Globe & Mail highlights a disturbing trend amongst Canadian banks of facilitating the transfer [...]

Have We Been Starting Too Many New Homes in Canada? Nope – BMO It seems that every time you open the newspaper (metaphorically speaking of course) there is another article warning of [...]

With interest rates in the high teens and low twenties, credit card debt can be a huge burden on household finances. Making minimum payments will have you paying off that debt for years, with [...]

A recent survey released by Square One estimates that two-out-of-five house-owners in Vancouver rent out part of their home. According to the insurance agency, this is more than twice the number [...]

Nine Credit Repair Tips This article presents some helpful tips on how to repair and protect your credit score. Your credit score affects many areas of your life. True, it won’t directly impact [...]

Conservative Party Promises to Study Foreign Ownership in Canada In a recent campaign pledge (watch here), Stephen Harper announced that a Conservative government would spend $500,000 to collect [...]

What You Should Know About the Fraser Valley Real Estate Market – Prices, Trends, and Outlook Great attention is often paid to the Greater Vancouver area, and the City of Vancouver itself. [...]

BC’s Dependence on Alberta This article highlights research on the dependence of BC’s economy and housing market on Alberta and the potential implications of the on-going economic [...]

An Explanation of the “Shadow Mortgage Market” in Canada This article explains what “shadow lending” is in the context of the Canadian mortgage market, outlines third-party estimates [...]

CMHC has announced changes to their underwriting policy that will make it easier for some homeowners to qualify for a loan Who Does it Affect? The changes affect anyone looking for a mortgage on [...]

A recent report by TD bank argues that the Bank of Canada’s recent rate cut will not have a significant impact on Canada’s housing market. This article summarizes the arguments put [...]

We have talked in the past about affordability problems in Vancouver. We argued then, as we argue now, that single-detached homes are likely to remain out of reach for most families within the [...]

Foreign investors take a lot of flack in Vancouver and are generally blamed for the rise in home prices in recent years. The unease is completely understandable as the average single-detached [...]

    A recent survey by CIBC indicates that most Canadians would use a rate cut to pay down their debts faster, rather than take on more debt] indicates that most Canadians would use a [...]

CMHC recently released the results of their annual Mortgage Consumer Survey. The survey included 3,510 recent mortgage consumers in Canada. Of them, 55% had undergone a renewal, 20% refinanced, [...]

All six major forecasters tracked here are calling for an increase in Canadian interest rates in both 2015 and 2016: Interest Rates dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2015, but have risen [...]