The Bank of Canada (BoC) will be meeting next on Wednesday April 13, 2022, and in the last couple of weeks its senior officials have been giving speeches indicating that we should brace for faster and larger Prime Rate increases than they predicted earlier this year. Inflation numbers are coming in stronger than expected and the BoC is going to… Read More »
Prime Rate is Increasing Soon. What should I do?
The Bank of Canada (BoC) will be meeting next Wednesday (March 2, 2022), and most economists and forecasters expect that it will raise the Prime lending rate by 0.25%. This will be the first rate increase we’ve seen since the BoC slashed rates at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Why is Prime Increasing? The BoC is expected… Read More »
Is it time to lock in your variable rate mortgage?
As your mortgage broker, we feel part of our job is to help you stay informed about what’s happening in the national economy that may soon impact mortgage rates. Please read on to help you decide if now is a good time for you to lock your variable rate into a fixed rate. What’s happening with interest rates? As we (hopefully)… Read More »
Everyone Eats Dinner Fundraisers!
Mackenzie Gartside & Associates is a proud sponsor of the Everyone Eats Dinner Series 🍴🤍 presented and run by the Comox Valley Rotary Club! 4 dinners in total, each featuring a different guest chef and cuisine theme. Each dinner will be a 4 course event with wine pairings, hosted in the great glass terrace at 40 Knots Winery. All funds… Read More »
First Time Home Buyer?
Are you a first time home buyer? 🏡 There’s a lot of information & incentives that you may qualify for! We offer a customized First Time Buyer consultation appointment where we’ll give you all the key information you need to understand the home buying process and get you pre-approved so you can start your home search with confidence! Book today… Read More »
2020 Comox Valley Record Reader’s Choice Awards
What a great Wednesday! We are thrilled to find out that in this year’s Comox Valley Record Reader’s Choice Award, we have won 2 awards and placed in the top 3 Finalist positions for 2 awards. Mackenzie Gartside & Associates – winner of the Financial Institution – Mortgages category Mackenzie Gartside – winner of the Mortgage Professional category Jenn Beks… Read More »
Tighter Rules Coming for CMHC Mortgage Insurance
Last week, CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) announced that effective July 1, 2020 it will be tightening the rules for high ratio mortgage qualification. Specifically, the following 3 changes will come into effect: The maximum allowed Gross Debt Servicing (GDS) and Total Debt Servicing (TDS) ratios will be reduced to 35% (from 39%) and 42% (from 44%), respectively. At… Read More »
Better Video Meetings
With all the video meetings and conference calls happening lately, we decided to pull together what we’ve learned and put it into a quick slideshow. If you’re new to video meetings, this will give you a quick overview of the software capabilities, some lighting and microphone tips so you look and sound good, and some etiquette and best practices for… Read More »
COVID-19 – Payment Deferrals? Check the Fine Print
Payment Deferral Programs for mortgages and credit cards are being offered by many banks and lenders, but they are only meant for customers in urgent need There have been several stories circulating in the news over the last few days about credit cards offering reduced interest rates and/or deferring payments to help people who have been financially impacted by the… Read More »
COVID-19 – Information for Tenants and Landlords
I was recently contacted by one of our wonderful tenants who happens to be self-employed and in an industry that had to shut down quickly due to COVID19 a couple of weeks ago. She was being proactive in explaining her financial situation and anticipating that cash-flow would be a challenge for April. I did some research and proposed a plan… Read More »
