How Else is My Credit Score Used? + MORE May 3rd

By Gary Mauris, Special to CMT Today is a sad day. Today is the day that CMT says goodbye to its long-time editor, Robert McLister. Canadian Mortgage Trends started many years ago with very humble beginnings. This brainchild of Rob’s was created when very few people really understood the power of blogs, the influence they […]
The post Goodbye Mr. McLister appeared first on Mortgage Rates & Mortgage Broker News in Canada.

In late April, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Ontario Minister of Finance Charles Sousa announced a 16-point Fair Housing Plan to cool the red-hot housing markets in Toronto and southwestern Ontario. A foreign buyers tax, vacant homes tax, and expanded rent control were the most notable measures introduced.

Just imagine Wynne and Sousa in front of a one way mirror with all the potential culprits lined up in front of them: offshore speculators, domestic investors, rental apartment owners, profit-seeking builders, absentee landlords, municipal planning departments, lazy mortgage underwriters, tax-avoiding property scalpers, land hoarding developers, double-ending realtors, a neglectful Canadian Revenue Agency, onerous real estate taxes, exorbitant development charges, organizers of the frenetic real estate seminars, rising employment, population growth, and higher incomes. With everyone whispering in their ears, telling them who is to blame and who isn’t, the Ontario government pointed at a bunch of suspects, ignoring two of the biggest ones…

The entry to the Home Capital Group’s headquarters is seen at an office tower in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada May 1, 2017. Picture taken using a wide angle lens. (Chris Helgren/Reuters)
It’s been a bad month for Home Capital Group. The share price of the alternative mortgage lender plunged last week after it was forced to secure a costly line of credit to make up for significant withdrawals from its high-interest savings accounts.
Some observers have speculated that Home Capital’s funding troubles could spread to other lenders in a repeat of the domino effect triggered in the U.S. by the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Not so, say other market watchers. Here’s a round up of perspectives on the contagion question.
Contagion has spread
“Home Capital contagion has spread to the entire mortgage market, in particular alternative mortgage lenders. Our channel checks suggest [Equitable Group’s] deposit-gathering capabilities will be impaired.”
–Jaeme Gloyn, analyst at National Bank of Canada Financial Markets, on April 27 
Collective memory loss
“Time and again financial earthquakes are thrown up by excessive risk taking on borrowed money in property…

This series by personal finance specialist Amanda Reaume focuses on how to improve something that many people overlook: your credit score. These posts will give you tips and tricks to improve your chances of getting approved for better rates when you apply for credit – leading to better student loans, car loans and even mortgages.
We all know that having a good credit score will help us when we apply for a credit card or a mortgage loan, but many of us don’t know about the many other ways our credit scores can help us… or harm us.
Your credit score is thought to measure your level of financial responsibility, so companies often use it to determine your trustworthiness and make certain decisions, from offering you a cell phone payment plan to offering you a job.
Here is a rundown of five ways in which your credit score or history is used other than when you apply for credit.
Renting a Home
Before you move into their home, landlords want to feel confident that you’ll pay your rent on time each month before they sign a lease…

(iStock)
There may be no more volatile time in adulthood than your 20s and 30s. So much changes over those two decades, it can be hard to know what to expect next. Once 40 hits, though, it should be relatively smooth sailing, says Cynthia Kett, a CFP and principal at Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors Inc. It’s in this decade in which salaries tend to climb, monthly bills stabilize and mortgages shrink, if not disappear entirely.
However, there is one pitfall that this cohort risks almost across the board: overspending. According to a 2015 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, most people reach peak earnings in their 40s. As exciting as that may be for people entering that decade, it’s also easy to spend those additional dollars on better vacations, newer cars, nicer restaurants and more. The phenomenon is often referred to as “lifestyle inflation.” Of course, you should treat yourself once and a while, but higher earnings means you can save more, too.
In fact, it’s in your 40s where savings should be ramped up, says Kett…