If You're Priced Out Of Canada's Hot Housing Market – Stay Out + MORE May 6th

Home Capital Group Inc. (TSX:HCG) is adding a former Royal Bank executive to its board of directors, replacing company founder Gerald Soloway, in a bid to renew its leadership and boost investor confidence.
Shares of the Toronto-based mortgage lender were up 2.5 per cent, or 15 cents, to $6.16 Friday morning after the appointment of Alan Hibben to the company’s board.
“This is the start of our governance renewal,” board chairman Kevin Smith said in a news release, adding that more changes are coming.
“We have made considerable progress in identifying new candidates for the board and in our search for a new chief executive officer. The new CEO will in turn be involved in the hiring of a new chief financial officer, providing a major refresh in our corporate leadership as part of the process of rebuilding the company.”
Home Capital’s share price has been under pressure in recent weeks as the company grapples with a loss of deposits following allegations from Ontario’s securities watchdog…

The spring season provides the perfect opportunity to mentally give yourself a clean slate and get a handle on your finances. Are you planning on saving more this year? Investing? Paying off debt? No matter your motive, you first need to gain a clear understanding of where you stand financially.
And in order to do so, here are a few things you should know so you can best leverage your hard-earned dollars.
Your credit score
If you don’t know your credit score, you’re not alone. This is a number that many Canadians are still in the dark about, but in reality, your credit score should be common knowledge. A strong score is the gateway to better interest rates, credit approvals, and mortgage approvals.
Simply knowing the magic number might not seem useful, but it can help you figure out where you stand financially and what you need to do to improve. Because this number changes regularly based on what you owe, it’s prudent to check it regularly – at least on an annual basis. Agencies like Equifax and TransUnion offer this information through the mail for free or online for a small fee…

By Lydia McNutt

With steadily decreasing housing affordability — according to popular opinion, as well as official sources like RBC Economics and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) — there’s no shortage of tips out there on how to save up for a home.

Hopeful homebuyers find themselves the targets of a steady stream of advice bombs about how to save more and spend less, complete with suggestions of different housing types at lower price points, and “coming soon” communities in the nether regions that might be within your price range. These are all potentially good and feasible options for maximizing your available funds. But ultimately, if you can’t comfortably afford to buy that home, the choice should be clear.

To those who find themselves priced out of this hot housing market, “Don’t do it,” says Brian Brown, vice-president of Lifetime Developments. He admits it’s surprising advice, particularly coming from a real estate developer. “It’s the advice I give my kids when they want to buy a toy they can’t afford…

Problems continue for alternative lender Home Capital Group Inc. as share prices have tumbled over the last 10 days. The chaos for the company started on April 19 when the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) issued a notice claiming that back in 2015, two former CEOs as well as the CFO of Home Capital broke the law in their handling of falsified loan applications.
What the OSC is alleging
In its Statement of Allegations, the OSC alleges that Home Capital and CFO Robert Morton, Founder and former CEO Gerald Soloway, and former CEO Martin Read misled shareholders. They are making six claims where Ontario securities law was breached.  This includes:

making misleading statements
falsifying certifications of annual filings and
failing to issue a timely news release when several brokers were found to be falsifying the incomes of individuals on mortgage and loan applications, and suspended as a result.

Home Capital’s response
In a press statement released shortly after the allegations, the company said: “Home Capital remains focused on serving our customers, carrying on our business and executing on our strategy of creating prudent, profitable growth…

Some are cautious on investing in the mortgage lender, advising clients to either steer clear or wait until the dust settles