Mortgages in Canada can be a murky subject – one that we hope to shed some light on with a series of highly informational articles.
Latest News
Many mortgage holders have little room for higher payments: MPC + MORE Jun 26th
New consumer research finds recent buyers and newcomers are facing sharper affordability pressure, even as confidence in homeownership remains resilient..... More »
Latest in mortgage news: 50% of Canadians say high interest rates are negatively impacting their love life Feb 14th
As Cupid readies his arrows for Valentine's Day, a new survey has uncovered that high interest rates are taking their toll on Canadians' romantic life.... More »
Royal Bank hikes mortgage rates - CBC.ca + MORE Nov 15th
CBC.caRoyal Bank hikes mortgage ratesCBC.caThe Royal Bank of Canada has raised some of its mortgage rates, and the changes are going to make paying down the mortgage even more expensive for people who choose to take 25 years or longer to do so. Royal announced the changes in a news ...RBC hikes.... More »
Housing and interest rate forecasts for 2025 Dec 30th
As we reflect on 2024, it was a year of resilience and adjustment for Canada’s housing and mortgage market, marked by the Bank of Canada’s pivot to rate cuts after two years of relentless hikes, offering long-awaited relief to borrowers..... More »
Banker to Broker – II + MORE Oct 20th
In this second instalment of our three-part series on bankers becoming brokers, we interview Scott Westlake from Dominion Lending Centres, Denova Group. Westlake started in the mortgage business in 2008 as an RBC mortgage specialist. He left the bank in 2011 to become a founding partner of Denova Gr.... More »
Time to give back to the community
– moneysense.ca
Linda & Mike Wharton, Yellowknife (Photograph by Angela Gzowski)Growing up poor in British Columbia during the 1960s and ’70s taught Mike Wharton the value of money at a very early age. By grade 10, he was already juggling his high school studies with full-time work so he’d be able to afford a post-secondary education. “I knew I needed a university degree,” says Wharton.
After completing a computer science degree in 1985, Wharton then set his sights on the RCMP, where he enjoyed a 25-year career until retiring two years ago at age 48. His position was enviable: an investment portfolio worth $1.3 million, a defined-benefit pension plan, a mortgage-free home in Yellowknife, and three fully paid investment properties. Still, Wharton had great reservations about retirement despite his wife Linda’s insistence that the timing was right. “She always said, ‘When is enough going to be enough?’ I just wanted to make sure there was enough money for her. But now that I’m on the other side, I don’t know why I was so leery of retiring…
Are they on track to retire at 50?
– moneysense.ca
(Photograph by Ania and Tyler Stalman)The current situation
Adam Danyleko, 28, and Justine Oshust, 25, recently purchased a new home in Calgary for $822,000. The couple, who make $200,000, are looking forward to building a life together, but would like to retire when Adam turns 50, with about $100,000 in net income annually. Another ripple of that plan would involve Adam, who is employed as a regional sales leader, semi-retiring at 45. “I work on commissions and it’s a very stressful job,” he says.
Besides their house, which carries a $650,000 mortgage, the couple’s assets are mainly held by Adam, the household’s main breadwinner: $50,000 in RRSPs, $11,000 in TFSAs, $10,000 in a defined contribution pension and $30,000 in an employee stock matching plan. Justine, a dental assistant, has $30,000 in a TFSA. So far, Adam is pleased with his work’s stock plan. “I started buying the company stock at $14 a share and it’s now worth $54.” But the same can’t be said for his RRSP…
