You probably get tired of hearing people say, “Skip lunch and you can save $10 a day, or $50 a week. That’s $2,600 a year.” Who wants to skip lunch every day? Besides if I skip lunch for a month and save $200, and then turn around and buy two tickets to see Jersey Boys, I’ll blow through my lunch savings in one sweep of the credit card … k’ching! Which is exactly the problem people have “saving” money.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard some version of, “Yeah, I can give up eating lunch out and save $25 a week, but what’s that really going to get me?”

How about a $30,000 savings on your mortgage. Interested?

On a $250,000 mortgage at 6 per cent amortized over 25 years, if you add an extra $100 to your monthly payment, you’ll save $32,640 off your mortgage and chop 3 years off your amortization. That’s got to be worth brown-bagging it for lunch!

Most people never realize the gains they could make because when they do something to “save” money, they leave their “savings” in their wallet, where it eventually vanishes into a cup of coffee, a new magazine, or a DVD for the kids.

If you want to make your “savings” work as hard as you do, then you’ve got to apply them somewhere important quick, quick like a bunny. Use the money you’re saving to pay down your credit card balances or your mortgage, bump up your emergency fund, or increase your retirement savings.

I’ll bet there’s a bucket-load of ways you’re spending unconsciously. And I’ll bet you can find the $100 a month to save $30,000 on your mortgage. Why don’t you take a look?

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/Cut-back-save-big-msense-1919008625.html?x=0&mod=pf-sp14b

Over the past two years Canada has experienced a number of economic factors that have affected our housing market and caused a fair amount of volatility.  During that time we’ve experienced the global financial crisis, a major recession that eliminated 430,000 jobs across Canada, the introduction of HST in Ontario and B.C., the tightening of mortgage rules by the Federal government not once but twice, and the positive impact of significant cuts in interest rates.

Today in contrast, the Canadian economy is on a more solid footing and is expected to gather strength in 2011 which will boost both employment and family incomes.  While this good news would normally propel housing market activity higher, RBC anticipates that stimulus will be offset by the Bank of Canada raising interest rates by 1 percentage point this year and 1.5 percentage points next year. In addition, this past January 17^th Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced a third round of rule changes to government-insured mortgages – including a decrease in the maximum amortization period from 35 to 30 years, effective in March – which is expected to dampen home buying activity slightly later this year.

Based on these factors, RBC expects the Canadian housing resale market to remain mostly flat this year and next with only minor increases in housing prices of 0.5% in 2011 and 1.3% in 2012 (see RBC Economics Research’s report Canadian home resale market outlook: moderation, moderation, moderation). While the upcoming changes to mortgage rules may boost activity somewhat prior to their introduction date, this would most likely bring forward home sales that otherwise would have happened later in the year.

 What does this mean for you?

 With interest rates soon to rise again and house prices relatively stable, now may be a good time for considering a home purchase to enter the market.  By taking advantage of still  exceptionally low interest rates you may be in a position to lock in lower mortgage payments than you will be able to a year or more from now. By meeting with a RBC Mortgage Specialist you can review the down payment and mortgage options available to help you get into a home sooner.

 RBC Mortgage Specialists understand the importance of making dreams of home ownership a reality while also ensuring housing affordability is a top priority.

 The following is a link to our Home, Mortgage and Lending Advice Centre. http://www.rbcadvicecentre.com/ 

 Your new home doesn’t come with mortgage advice. I do.

Contact me today:

Bud Fisher
Mobile Mortgage Specialist
RBC Royal Bank
(613) 795-9774

bud.fisher@rbc.com
http://mortgage.rbc.com/bud.fisher

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We can help you buy or sell your home.

408-589 Rideau Street

Offered @ $539,900

John Donovan, Sales Representative

An Ipsos-Reid survey commissioned by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) and released in late October revealed that 56 per cent of Ontarians mistakenly believe that the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) applies to the full purchase price of a resale home. Right now, the average price of an Ontario resale home is around $330,000, so this confusion means that the majority of Ontarians wrongly believe that the HST will add more than $40,000 to the cost of buying that home.The good news is that this is simply not true. The fact is that HST applies only to items which were subject to GST before July 1, 2010. Resale homes were exempt from GST, so under the new tax regulations they are exempt from HST. Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board want Ottawa home buyers to know about this fact, so that they are not discouraged from their home search by the threat of excessive taxation.

HST is payable on some of the service costs associated with the purchase of a home. These can include, but are not limited to, legal fees, real estate commissions, home inspections, moving costs, property appraisal fees, and home renovation services. Household purchases such as furniture, barbeques, lawn mowers, building materials and landscaping materials are unaffected by the change to HST because they were already subject to both GST and PST under the old tax regulations. 

Your real estate professional can help you assess the costs of purchasing a resale home, including any applicable taxes, so that you can make your offer with confidence.

The President’s Pen column was prepared by the Ottawa Real Estate Board and first appeared in the Deecember 2010 issue of the EMC community newspapers.

Find out 5 Reason to Use a Royal Lepage Realtor by clicking on the link below:

http://video.royallepage.ca/mediadetail/3497901-5-Reasons-to-Use-a-Royal-LePag

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