November 4 Update: New RBC Rewards Visa+ Card and CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite now first year free for Primary & Supplementary cardholders! + MORE Nov 4th

Q: I need help buying Canadian real estate. I’m a Canadian citizen but live almost exclusively in Southern California. I own a home, free and clear, that’s worth almost USD$1.8 million. I’d like to buy a vacation property near Muskoka, Ont. that my son could use when he starts to attend university in southern Ontario. What do I need to know?
— Kerry, San Bernardino, Cali., USA

Romana King, senior editor and real estate specialist at MoneySense:
Over the last decade, as the U.S. housing sector struggled to regain momentum after the 2008 credit crisis, a large number of Canadians have crossed the border to buy a U.S. property. As a result, a ton has been written on the pros and cons of owning an American home. Now, with the impending U.S. election, there’s been chatter, lots of chatter, on whether or not the roles will be reversed: Americans flooding the Canadian housing market (looking for a safe retreat from potential Trump-mania).
If you’re an American or an expat Canadian with an eye for owning real estate in the Great White North, here’s what you need to know…

The odds of something going wrong are high and it’s better to let others build their own good credit habits

Back in September we revealed the details of the new sign up offer for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege card of up to 55,000 bonus miles. Great news is that if you haven’t grabbed the card yet we have new offer that launched on November 1st of up to 65,000 bonus Aeroplan Miles! Sure it has a $399 annual fee + $99 supplementary fee but if you get all 65,000 miles you’re looking at a minimum of $975 in value from those miles (1.5 cents each). Not to mention all the other features that come with the card like the lounge access passes and Air Canada flight benefits. Now may be time to upgrade your Aeroplan credit card to this one!Card details:TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Earn up to 65,000 Aeroplan Miles with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege. – Welcome Bonus of 25,000 Aeroplan Miles when you make your first Purchase with your Card. – 25,000 Aeroplan Miles when you keep your Account open and active for 90 days after Account approval, – 5,000 Additional Aeroplan Miles when you add an Authorized User to your Account (Authorized User must call and activate Card by January 16, 2017) …

News, Tips & Tricks Don’t forget to enter week 2 of the Rewards Canada 15th Anniversary contest! You could win a $200 American Express Gift Card! Enter here. The RBC Rewards Visa Gold has been discontinued by the bank. It has now been replaced by the RBC Rewards Visa+ card. We’ll have more details on this new card soon! The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card is now offering First Year Free not only on the primary card fee but also up to 3 supplementary cards as well! The sign up bonus remains at 15,000 Aventura points.Whether or not you grab supplementary cards being able to grab 15,000 points for free with this card is yet another deal to know about! Find out more here. Posts since our last update: TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege bonus increased to up to 65,000 Aeroplan Miles Back in September we revealed the details of the new sign up offer for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite…Earn $25 Bonus WestJet dollars on their new Toronto – Sudbury route (Register & book by Nov 30) As we mentioned earlier this week WestJet announced new Encore service between Toronto and Sudbury…

It was a move that came as a shock to some but not was not a surprise to others. On November 1st, TD Canada Trust became the first of the big five banks in Canada to raise its prime mortgage rate from 2.7 per cent to 2.85 per cent. The news comes only two weeks after the implementation of brand-new federal mortgage rules, subjecting future homeowners to stricter measures in order to qualify for mortgage insurance, as well as a “stress test” if they are putting down less than 20 per cent on a home purchase.
In a release from TD, the bank says raising the rate is not a decision it takes lightly and they considered the full impact on customers before moving forward with the change. The release states that the bank will communicate directly with their customers whose mortgages are affected. Currently, the move only affects customers with variable rate products, not fixed-rate mortgages or lines of credit.
This Change Affects My Mortgage, so What are My Options?
If you’re affected by the rate hike or if you’re currently negotiating a mortgage with TD, this means the cost of a variable rate mortgage ultimately will increase over the long term…