The Government Has Made Changes

In the government's never ending attempt to influence the market, control risks to the larger economy (bubbles in Vancouver / Toronto), spur / restrict the economy, encourage home ownership, fund budgets (BC speculator tax), and otherwise create headaches for people wanting to buy, this is a list of the changes wrought to the mortgage industry in the last decade:

Confusing? This is why I stress the importance of using an experienced mortgage broker.  Someone who tracks these changes.  So you don't have to.

 

 

3980 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

CREB has recently released an informational article on the beautiful Mount Pleasant community, in Calgary. Let's take a look together, and see what it has in store for us!

 

About Mount Pleasant:

The lands that became northwest Calgary’s Mount Pleasant community were annexed by the City in 1910, making it one of Calgary’s older neighbourhoods. When development began in the area in 1912, Calgary’s population numbered fewer than 50,000 people.

As the city grew to 100,000 people by 1947 and 200,000 by 1955, then-suburban Mount Pleasant experienced an influx of new amenities into the area when North Hill Centre opened its doors in 1958. The opening of the Tran-Canada Highway came four years later, establishing the new thoroughfare as the…

3533 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Calgary Communities

CREB Now: Mount Pleasant

CREB has recently released an informational article on the beautiful Mount Pleasant community, in Calgary. Let's take a look together, and see what it has in store for us!

About Mount Pleasant:

 

The lands that became northwest Calgary’s Mount Pleasant community were annexed by the City in 1910, making it one of Calgary’s older neighbourhoods. When development began in the area in 1912, Calgary’s population numbered fewer than 50,000 people.

As the city grew to 100,000 people by 1947 and 200,000 by 1955, then-suburban Mount Pleasant experienced an influx of new amenities into the area when North Hill Centre opened its doors in 1958. The opening of the Tran-Canada Highway came four years later,…

3375 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Dealing with Stress when Selling Your Home 

Let's face it. Planning events, even exciting ones like an overseas vacation, can be stressful. So, it's not surprising that some homeowners — even those thrilled about moving — can slip into "worry mode" when putting their property up for sale. 

Unfortunately, this anxiety can make the process of selling an unpleasant experience. Who wants that? So here are some things you can do to reduce selling stress and enjoy the adventure. 

  • Understand the selling process. The more you know about the steps involved in selling your home, the less mysterious — and, therefore, less stressful — it will be.
  • Give yourself the time you need. Feeling rushed and stressed comes from trying to do too much in too little…

3536 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Many people complain about condo fees, without fully understanding WHAT condo fees actually are, what they do, or how they are calculated.  Let's review a few of these before deciding if the fees are "bad".

What are Condos First, a condominium is a form of group ownership. When you buy an apartment (lets say 100 units, all same size), you are not only buying your individual condo, but a type of real estate that makes you a PARTIAL owners in the ENTIRE building.  In the 100 unit example, you become a 1% in EVERYTHING, for better and for worse.   In real life, we typically break down the fees by the size of the units, with larger units paying more.

What Rights / Privileges / Responsibilities Your ownership stake allows you to vote for the board of…

3280 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Years ago, when you accepted the offer, we marked the property as Conditionally Sold on the MLS, and since 80-90% of buyers waive conditions, we removed the property from the ACTIVE market. However, this procedure was unfair to the seller, as it precluded a chance of a back-up offer. So, the rules were changed (and it got confusing).

You still have the choice of us putting it as Pending (the new Conditionally Sold) on the MLS; during this time, we’ll stop actively marketing the listing and the property will be removed from Realtor.ca (or other sites).

Another option is Under Contract which informs other agents about the status (Conditional Sale), but it will remain on Realtor.ca. Buyer agents have the opportunity to present the home as an OPTION to…

3198 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

 

Ottawa, ON, February 18, 2020 – Earlier today, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau announced changes to the mortgage stress test.

The new benchmark rate used to determine the minimum qualifying rate for insured mortgages, coming into effect on April 6, 2020, will be the weekly median 5-year fixed insured mortgage rate from mortgage insurance applications, plus 2 per cent.

Recently, the gap between the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark rate and borrowers’ actual contract rates has been widening, suggesting the benchmark rate has become less responsive to changes in the market.

In October 2016, Finance Canada introduced a stress test for insured mortgages. In 2017, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) issued…

2895 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

What is it?

International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. We have some of the most dynamic and entrepreneurial women in our offices and we want to showcase our support for gender equality. Read More about the history and values of International women's day

What is the #EachForEqual pose?

Get a group together with arms out front at right angle to the body, elbows bent and palms down to make an equal sign to show that you are committing to being "each for equal" and that you will challenge the status quo and help forge women's equality. One or more of the group holds the Selfie Cards. Someone takes a picture. Post on social media using #IWD2020 #EachforEqual…

3396 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Kim McCurdy - MaxWell Challenge Realty

Angel Godson-Onumejor - MaxWell Elite Realty

Nancy Dere-Akande - MaxWell Elite Realty

Cathrine Watson - MaxWell Elite Realty

Pardeep Brar - MaxWell Polaris

Arsh Brar - MaxWell Polaris

Eric Dennis - MaxWell Capital Bridges

Glenn Jorgensen - MaxWell Progressive Realty

Kevin Carmichael - MaxWell Progressive  Realty

Jake McIntyre - MaxWell Capital Bridges

Dale Hildebrand - MaxWell South Star Realty

Robert Vanouwerkerk - MaxWell Excel Reatly

GauravNagpal - MaxWell Elite Realty

Kim Lillo - MaxWell Polaris

Rejo Mathew - MaxWell Progressive Realty

MonicaPaolini - MaxWell Polaris

Manpreet Singh - MaxWell Central

Dragic Janjic - MaxWell Devonshire Realty

 

3177 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

 

Broker/owner of MaxWell Excel Realty, Wayne A Gatza, is excited to be joining the MaxWell Network. We had the pleasure of interviewing Wayne, and it was a wonderful moment getting to know him.

Here are eight questions with Wayne:

1. How many years in the industry as an agent?

I began an agent in 2008 so for 12 years now

2. What led you to want to make the change to being an owner/broker?

I always had aspirations to be a broker. In 2015 I had looked into being a broker/ owner with Realty Executives, but the territory was owned by someone else who tried to recruit me, but I wasn’t interested. Then I saw the MaxWell Realty email in June 2019, and the rest is history.

3. Was there anything that surprised you or you may not have…

3382 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post