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Two years ago to the day, the Finance Department promised to “bring greater clarity to the calculation of mortgage pre-payment penalties.” Later this year, that promise will become realized. The government has just announced a brand new mortgage “code” that requires federal financial institutions to: “…provide more information on how prepayment charges are calculated.” “…explain [...]

Good news for spring buyers starting on April 1, 2012, the Finance Minister Kevin Falcon announced that the government will raise the HST rebate threshold from the current $525,000.00 to $850,000.00. That means that more than 90% of people buying new or substantially renovated homes, will be eligible for the rebate of up to $42,500.00, [...]

It is possible to make home ownership more affordable, by offsetting your costs.  The most common ways are to rent out part of your home, take in a boarder, and operate a business out of your home.  The first step would be to speak to your accountant about home-related expenses that are eligible as deductions [...]

DID YOU KNOW? The Bank of Canada was the first central bank among the G-7 countries to adopt an explicit inflation target (starting in 1991). In 1950, Canada became a modern-day pioneer in the world of floating exchange rates when it allowed the Canadian dollar to float (trade freely in open currency markets) against foreign [...]

While shopping for real estate you may come across different types of ownership.  While navigating your options such as fee simple, leasehold, Co-op etc, keep in mind that some of these various types of property ownership will be much less desirable for a lender and thus harder to finance and / or more expensive. The 4 types [...]

Written By: Chana Fay Charach, AMP President of Verico Synergy Mortgage Inc. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to Fixed or Floating.  The fact is both have pros and cons, and no one knows what the mortgage rates will be in the future, and how the economy will affect the rates [...]

The New Housing Rebate is essentially a discount on the amount of HST you will pay when you purchase a new or substantially renovated home. The rebate is calculated at 71.43 per cent of the provincial component of the HST, paid up to a maximum of $26,250.00. The provincial component of the HST is 7% [...]

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion on HST and real estate purchases so I have compiled  several questions and answers to help clarify when and if HST will be charged in your transaction… What is the HST? HST is the BC Harmonized Sales Tax which has replaced the GST and PST in [...]

This isn’t exactly news anymore, but according to several studies indications are that 97% of consumers use the internet to research a product or service in their local area before making a final decision to do business with that company. At Synergy Mortgage, we recognize this and want to thank you in advance for sharing [...]