Start by decluttering and downsizing Want to make your child’s room look its best? Arrange My Space host, Barbara Brock, offers tips on how to cage the clutter and bring out the cute in any child’s bedroom. While Brock uses an example of a little girl’s room, the principles can apply to any room: minimize overstimulation,…
Despite the proliferation of information regarding mortgages, there’s still a lot of confusion about what’s the best deal. Today we’ll examine whether or not a fixed or a variable rate mortgage is right for you. Part 2: Variable Vs. Fixed When choosing the best mortgage you’ll need to decide between a variable or fixed rate…
There are legal ways to avoid paying capital gains tax
Pooling your money to buy into a syndicated mortgage is a risky investment Q: I’m a long-time MoneySense reader, and find your investment/financial advice and articles always very useful. I’m in my late 30’s, have an owner-occupied triplex, a cash reserve, and a good portfolio of ETF’s. I’m concerned about the potential overvaluation in the stock…
You purchase home insurance to protect you from catastrophic losses, such as an all-consuming house fire, or a massive backup of sewage water in your basement. But did you know your everyday home insurance policy can often protect you from perils that are not always so obvious? I talked to Wayne Ross, vice president of…
Three tips that will help you to sell your home faster There is science behind good home staging tips. (Getty Images / Martin Barraud) Spring is the busiest selling season when it comes to real estate and the latest headlines show that even with the significantly lower price of oil, homes in Toronto and Vancouver…
Investors I speak to these days aren’t too troubled by low interest rates or the inability to find safe, reliable income. That doesn’t mean they’ve parked their cash and let inflation erode their portfolios. Instead, they’re cashing in on the double-digit returns of Mortgage Investment Corporations, known as MICs (pronounced MIC as in Mick Jagger)….
Most of us know what calculator to use for that basic mortgage calculation—the amount you pay each month in relation to the home price, your amortization period and term and the prevailing interest rate. But what about those more complex calculations, such as the cost to break your mortgage or the ability to compare three…
Get a handle on the real cost of maintaining a home
A tap that leaks only one drop of water per second adds up to 10,000 litres of water lost over the course of a year — that’s the equivalent of 70 baths! True: the cost isn’t going to break the bank — about $30 per year — but the impact on pipes and sink fixtures…