The recession is over, but not the pain. Canada's central bank predicted Thursday that the economy would expand this quarter, suggesting the economic contraction lasted for about nine months, considerably shorter than the previous two recessions in the early 1990s and the early 1980s. The Bank of Canada's reassessment of the state of the economy is perhaps the clearest signal yet that the worst of the recession is over. Buoyed by the prospect of better days ahead, investors rushed to buy Canadian stocks, adding new life to an near five-month rally that economists said has played a big role in reversing Canada's fortunes. The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 243.33 points to 10,675.68, the highest in six weeks. Canada's dollar jumped about 1 per cent to 92.04 U.S. cents, the st... 07/25/2009

  http://www.albertaairshow.com/   Check out the website of the Air show for full details.  It is going to be a hot one, so make sure you wear a hat and some sunscreen.  Take the whole family out to the Lethbridge Air Show.  See you there. The Snowbirds Demonstration Team (431 Squadron) is a Canadian icon comprised of serving members of the Canadian Forces. Their pilots and technicians work as a team to bring thrilling performances to the North American public. Serving as Canadian ambassadors, the Snowbirds demonstrate the high level of professionalism, teamwork, excellence, discipline and dedication inherent in the women and men of the Air Force and the Canadian Forces.  Special one day appearance of Canada's Favorite SNOWBIRDS  BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! Carol Pilon is returning this yea... 07/23/2009

Alberta remains one of the lowest taxed juristictions in North America, as well as one of the few that charges no Provincial sales tax.  There has been recent rumor that in order to combat the loss of resource revenue the Provincial Government would raise taxes to help offset this loss.  Not going to happen.  Alberta was one of the last places to feel any hint of the economic slow down and we will likely be the first to emerge from it again as an economic powerhouse.   The following is an excerpt from a recent CBC article regarding the possibility of increased taxes in Alberta.  Read it and you will gain some insight as to why this area of the continent is still moving along and leaving the rest of the country and continent behind.     Ending speculation about possible t... 07/07/2009

More Canadians miss payments Half-million consumers fall more than 90 days behind on credit bills Record news services More than half a million Canadians have fallen behind on their various credit payments, fuelling a 19 per cent rise in the average national delinquency rate in the one-year period ending May 31, says a new report from Equifax Canada. The credit bureau called the double-digit jump "alarming," noting the average delinquency rate for Canada hit 1.52 per cent at the end of May. Much of the trouble stemmed from missed payments on credit card bills and for sales finance purchases of items such as furniture and electronics. Equifax defines delinquent bills as those that are at least 90 days overdue. Its latest snapshot on delinquencies comes just days after a Senate committee ... 07/06/2009

A new poll suggests more than one in three Canadians plan to take advantage of the federal government's home-renovation tax credit. More than eight in 10 questioned in the Harris-Decima/Canadian Press survey said they were aware of the program, under which eligible applicants can receive a tax rebate of as much as $1,350 if they invest up to $10,000 in renovations on their home. "Unlike many new tax policies, which only get noticed by accountants and actuaries, the government of Canada has successfully communicated the introduction of the home-renovation tax credit to Canadians," said Harris-Decima's senior vice-president, Jeff Walker. "This program appears to be helping stimulate the economy as well." Nationally, 82 per cent of respondents were aware of the home-renovation tax credit, ... 06/29/2009

MERIX has launched an 18 month Fixed Rate term at the rate of 2.75% for your clients:       Deal must close by August 28th 2009     New Deals Only, No pre-approvals     Switches and transfers are not permitted     The 18-month term is convertible at any time with no penalty to a 5 year fixed rate mortgage, at published rates available at time of conversion     Available on both conventional and high ratio (CMHC)     Commission will be paid based on a 2 year term, which means after 2 years, you will start to earn 20bps each year upon renewal     15bps premium would be added to the rate for Rental or BFS applicants     Minimum amortization is 15 years         Here are a few of my favorite past articles from my Lethbridge real estate and mortgage blog you might have missed or wish to recom... 06/26/2009

At our annual conference this week, John Bordignon, EVP of Strategic Development with Paradigm Quest, gave an extremely informative presentation on bond yields and interest rates. Here are the main points he shared: ·         Expect to see 12-18 months of yo-yo markets (the TSX, Dow, and subsequently, the Bond Market) in which we will see surges and retreats (as we have seen over the past month) ·         The US will take longer to recover than initial estimates ·         The economies to watch as the fastest growing nations are from BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) ·         Rates will stay relatively low as bonds continue to rise ·         “Quantitative Easing” or the printing of Government Bonds and T-bills (aka money) will be watched very closely to monitor the effects of thi... 06/25/2009

June 18, 2009 Pre-Approvals: A Dying Breed? Pre-approvals are something many lenders could do without.  The problem (from a lender’s perspective) is that people get pre-approved and then frequently don’t close. One bank that recently did away with pre-approvals in the broker channel was rumoured to be losing $20 million a year on them. Pre-approvals are pretty expensive, and the return for lenders is debateable.  In most cases, less than one-third of pre-approvals actually close.  Meanwhile, the lender is tying up human resources to process the applications, as well as capital to hedge the rates (if rates move adversely, the lender is on the hook, so lenders pay to lock-in the interest rates using derivatives). In recent weeks, some very big-name lenders have halted pre-approvals--eithe... 06/19/2009

Why Use Mortgage Brokers? Mortgage Brokers are independent, trained professionals licensed to represent and provide you with the best advice for your mortgage needs. Mortgage Brokers primary expertise is locating funding for mortgage financing. They know where the best rates can be found. What's more, they have the knowledge required to present a proposal for financing to lenders in the best way possible to successfully obtain mortgage financing.   Why deal with a Mortgage Broker? Mortgage Brokers represent you, the customer, not the lender. Because they are not employees of a lending institution, Brokers are not limited in the product they can offer you. Brokers seek out the best lender package to suit your specific situation, whether it’s with a Chartered Bank, Trust or Insurance Com... 06/10/2009

I have had my blog running on Active rain for about 8 months now.  Initially, I started an Active Rain profile hoping that it would increase the profile and google rankings of my LethbridgeLoans.com website.  I wrote a few articles about Lethbridge, about Lethbridge Real Estate, Lethbridge mortgage information, etc.  I figured that it was important to have a mix of business, personal, and community content on the blog.  My main website, apart from being a great tool for accepting online mortgage applications, is an online business card.  It is how Lethbridge consumers find me.   Recently, I started an outside blog, LethbridgeRealEstateBlog.com, to which I post most of my active rain content, especially the content that is relevant to Lethbridge Real Estate and Lethbridge mortgage infor... 06/10/2009

   This past weekend I did an open house.     I did no newspaper marketing at all.  I didn't print flyers.  I didn't even put directional signs up directing stray traffic to my property.  None of that traditional stuff that seems like we do simply because everyone else does it.   What I did do was put a for sale sign on the property.  I also had a big yellow sign made that says "open house saturday 2-4pm" and placed that on the property several days in advance.  I then proceeded to post the news of the open house through my online channels.   My blog here at active rain, my outside blog, and then all the outlets that it travels too from there.  The news went through my facebook, twitter, blogger, tumblr, etc.  I posted it on Craigslist and kijiji too.  I spent an hour total making sure ... 06/09/2009

Just listed a great property in South Lethbridge.  Location, location location, right?  1020 Fern Cres. South Well if you are smart and following that advice, then this is the property you have been waiting for to appear on the market.  Large square footage, 4 level split, nice big yard, beautifully treed and landscaped, hardwood through the entire top 2 levels, 3rd level walk out to back yard.   The home is an estate sale, and as a result the property is in much of its original condition, but it is solid as a rock and priced extremely aggressively at only $259,900.00   Drive by and take a look, stop by this coming Saturday Jun 6th and see inside, but I will warn you now that there is a very good chance someone else will see this and snap it up before the open house even starts.   If yo... 06/03/2009

Basement Suites in the Lethbridge Real Estate Market lethbridge mortgage broker lethbridge real estate  This is a repost of a blog I made in January of this year, however as I have been receiving several questions this past week from potential home buyers regarding Lethbridge real estate containing basement suites, I thought I would dig this up and repost it.  Enjoy..... For many years, illegal and non-conforming basement suites have been the bane of many real estate transactions and mortgage applications.  The City of Lethbridge has tried to deal with the situation several times in the past few decades, at one time allowing suites that were in existence before 1969 to remain in their non-conforming condition and making exceptions onf suites which were constructed after 1969.   As 2008 ... 06/02/2009

Effective today, Wednesday, May 27, 2009 … A Reverse Mortgage for as low as … 6.75%!!*   See attached CHIP Fact Sheet for full details and new rates effective May 27, 2009:   1 Year Term = 6.95% 5 Year Term = 7.95% A new report by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) reveals that household debt has reached an all-time high of $1.3 trillion in 2008.  According to the report, Canadian families are financing consumption activity with unearned money as they increasingly reach for credit to finance day-to-day living expenses. The report, Where Has the Money Gone: The State of Canadian Household Debt in a Stumbling Economy , is based on a consumer survey conducted in November 2008. The survey asked Canadians to reflect on the changes that had occurred in their ... 05/27/2009

Adjustable rate mortgages are becoming very popular with clients who seek to have low rate and flexibility in their real estate financing.  One of the lenders that I use, Merix, has been very aggressive in chasing these clients and offering the best rates around.   If you are looking for lethbrdge real estate financing or looking to access some of the equity in your existing real estate, take a read and feel free to call me.     Merix’s new ARM rate is PRIME + 40!!! With Prime at 2.25% today, that is 2.65% !   How long is my rate hold? Adjustable rates don’t have the same long rate holds that fixed rates do. Rate is set 5 days prior to funding, however the Bank of Canada says the overnight lending rate will remain this low for a year!   What rate will clients receive when the want to lo... 05/27/2009

Okay, now I know you are pretty excited to get 101 FREE marketing tips right?  Afterall the price is right.  However, I am going to need a little help from you to make this list up.  I would like each of you to take a second, read the list of tips and marketing ideas, and add one or more of your own to the list.   In the interest of making the list easy for the next person to read and avoid duplicates, I ask that you cut and paste the list and then add your own to the bottom.   So lets hear it AR mates, do you have any 'FREE' (or just plain cheap) marketing ideas to save money is these economic times?  They can be online of offline ideas.     Here is the start of a list, the rest will be up to those who choose to comment here:   1. Blog at Active Rain 2. Get a website up, either an 'out... 05/21/2009

                                    A credit score of 680 or better is becoming a necessity for applying for virtually any type of financing.  Of course the higher the score the better, but a minimum of 680 is becoming the cut off point for many financing and insurance products.  The credit score is weighted by the following percentages: 35% based upon payment history 30% based upon amount owed 15% based upon length of credit 10% based upon new credit 10% based upon type of credit    These percentages are based on the importance of the 5 categories for the general population. For particular groups - for example, people who have not been using credit long - the importance of these categories may be somewhat different.   Payment History ·         Account payment information on specific ty... 05/13/2009

For the third month in a row single-family housing starts have increased in Lethbridge and surrounding area.Just don’t read too much into it or assume the recession is coming to an end, at least not yet.“We always see movement at this time of year,” says Jean Greer McCarthy, president of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, Lethbridge region. McCarthy says new-home starts normally increase in the spring as the weather grows warmer and more people visit showhomes. But it’s still a good sign the home-building industry is doing well, she adds.“The market is getting  better.” There were 35 housing starts in the Lethbridge census area in April, according to statistics released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. That’s up from March starts of 27 and February starts of only 22... 05/13/2009

Recent interest rate specials have presented existing homeowners and new home buyers with historically low interest rate opportunities.  There have been signs this week of an end to these ultra low rates.  Just last week the bond rate yield INCREASED which puts pressure upon the banks to increase the mortgage rates.  This upward pressure may put an end to rate decreases and reverse rates back up slightly.   This ominous email arrived today from one of my preferred lenders regarding a couple of their rate specials which are now scheduled to come to an end by the end of the month.  If you are thinking about refinancing or locking it, now may be the time to do so.  The economy is a long way from recovery, but the lenders are under pressure to stabilize rates and it will likely happen at a ... 05/12/2009

Not with my business and not with my clients, but with taking time for myself and to get back to basics.   Activerain has been very good to me.  I write a little about my community, a lot about the mortgage and real estate market, and a little bit about myself and what I do for people to help fulfill their real estate needs.  However, the month of April was remarkably busy.   Normally, I have a fairly relaxed schedule and am able to meet clients on fairly short notice and quite conveniently.  For the past month, my client list has been expanding at a brisk and exciting rate.  The majority of these new clients are referrals from past customers, however many of them find me through my internet presence her on activerain or through one of my websites.   I am doing my best to refrain from s... 05/07/2009