Tradition. It’s defined as ‘a long-established practice that is followed or observed by a group.” There are a lot of traditions observed in our society. And most of them associate with special events. Halloween for example, it’s a tradition that children dress up, originally in scary costumes and go from door to door collecting treats.

Refinancing your mortgage can be a smart financial move for many reasons, and as your trusted mortgage advisor, I’ve seen how much it can benefit homeowners!
Ideally, refinancing is done at the end of your mortgage term to avoid penalties, but the timing can vary depending on your goals. For some, it’s about unlocking the equity in their home to fund renovations or cover big expenses like college tuition. For others, it’s an opportunity to consolidate debt, lower their interest rate, or change up their mortgage product.

I had the opportunity over the holidays to spend some time with a good family friend. At one point the topic of investment real estate came up. He indicated he was thinking seriously about starting an investment portfolio and wondered what his first purchase should be.

Last month, as you recall, we were a little light on data in our market report. This was because our local real estate board, The Niagara Association of Realtors, was in the process of changing MLS service providers and it was taking time to implement the new systems and getting all the data transferred over.

In real estate transactions, the period between the formation of the contract and the closing date presents unique risks to buyers and sellers. Most real estate contracts stipulate that the property be delivered in substantially the same condition as it was in at the time of the agreement. Unexpected occurrences can result in damage to the property after the contract is signed, but before ownership is transferred. For instance, a flood or fire could render the property uninhabitable on closing, or significantly reduce its market value.

The market report is going to be a little thin this month I’m afraid. Especially when it comes to specific data. The Niagara Association of Realtors (NAR) which we look to for our raw sales data is in the process of changing MLS data systems and the numbers for November are not currently available.