Don't let negative and toxic people rent space in your head. Raise the rent and kick them out!

Robert Tew

The Bank of Canada hinted a "modest" increase in interest rates

The central bank, in its latest monetary policy report, said the timing and degree of any increase "will be weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments."

In a special section within the report, the bank estimated that Canadians are borrowing on rising home values to an unsustainable degree. Home equity lines of credit and mortgage refinancing has grown from about $8 billion in 2001 to $64 billion in 2010, with about half of that "equity extraction" going into consumption or to pay off other debt. "Home equity extracted through additional borrowing cannot fund higher consumption indefinitely," the bank warns.

BMO economist Michael Gregory predicted that the bank will start raising rates around the end of this year or early next, if it believes its prediction for reaching full capacity is on course.

The TD Bank's Francis Fong suggested a hike of no more than one percentage point over the next year and a half , especially with the U.S. Federal Reserve likely on hold until 2014.

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How to be a land lord

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

HOW TO SAVE THOUSANDS ON INTEREST ON YOUR MORTGAGE?

By Roberto Sanabria Mortgage Broker with Centum National Mortgage Loans Inc.

Everyone who has a mortgage is aware that the faster we pay down the mortgage, the less interest he/she will pay during the life of the mortgage. Many people may interject that there is no rush to pay down the mortgage since rates are at all time low, in my opinion, this is the best time to pay it down. But, certainly before thinking on paying down the mortgage, you must consider a few things and most of all, get that commitment from your family to follow that strategy. Try to avoid situations where you accrue high debt in credit cards (at 11% or higher interest rate, that compounds monthly) and also "save" a similar amount in the bank or RRSP (at 1% ROI), this calls for a negative type of wealth management, not OPM (Other's People's Money).

Did you know that by just adding extra $700/month (during the course of 1yr) to a mortgage payment of $1900/month (total mortgage amount of $350,000 at 5.15% rate fixed 5yr, which is the average fixed rate in last 10 yrs in Canada) you are cutting interest by $158,353? Mathematically speaking, an investment of $8,400 will reduce your mortgage interest in $158,353 by reducing amortization from 30yr to 17yr (if you keep on doing it same amount each year)...that is huge ROI...

I know you will say "well I do not have the luxury of having extra $700 per month laying around to do the pre payments", but you will be surprised to know it is doable with some planning and discipline at least some amount that your situation will allow, which will go a long way saving you in interest..in the end, the amount was just an example for ilustration purposes. Here is the best thing, to find the extra money is almost effortless, you just need to learn the system and how to leverage the structure I can create for you and your budget.

Market Watch: Toronto March 2012

TORONTO, April 4, 2012 Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,690 sales through the TorontoMLS system in March 2012. This result was up by almost eight per cent in comparison to the 8,986 deals reported during the same period in 2011.

“The GTA resale market has not suffered from a lack of willing buyers this year. Buyers have been spurred on by the positive affordability picture brought about by low mortgage rates,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver. “The challenge has been a lack of inventory. Many listings have attracted multiple interested buyers. Strong competition has led to annual rates of price growth well above the long-term average.”

The average selling price in the GTA was $504,117 in March – up by 10.5 per cent in comparison to March 2011. The number of new listings was up last month in comparison to March 2011. However, based on the historic relationship between price and listings, the GTA resale market should be better supplied. If competition between buyers remains as strong as it is right now, we will almost certainly see an average selling price above $500,000 for 2012 as a whole.