https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-a-sinking-real-estate-market-requires-fast-appraisals/ “Get the appraisal done the day after you buy a home,” says Shawn Stillman, Mortgage Broker and co-founder of Mortgage Outlet. Ordering an appraisal as soon as possible eliminates the mortgage risk of prices deprecating before closing. By the way, this is also imperative if you’re refinancing and want the maximum 80 per cent […]

1 in 4 homeowners say rising mortgage rates could push them to sell: survey Leah Zlatkin, a mortgage broker and expert at lowestrates.ca, says even in the lean years, most household budgets should be able to accommodate even large jumps in the Bank of Canada’s interest rates. She cites the mortgage stress test and the […]

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/podcasts/article-tempted-to-buy-a-home-with-siblings-or-friends-heres-what-you-need-to/ Most people buy homes with their partners or by themselves. But others are ditching the traditional paradigm. Today, we’re talking about unconventional homebuyers: family members, friends and others that team up to get into the property market. We hear from two sisters who are trying to buy a house together – and who are […]

https://www.thestar.com/business/2022/05/27/a-real-squeeze-economists-anticipate-higher-interest-rates-coming-next-week.html “While a higher hike may feel like a real squeeze to homeowners now, it may mean more tempered increases for the rest of the year,” said Leah Zlatkin, a mortgage broker and analyst with LowestRates.ca. Typically, interest rate hikes do not affect credit card rates — unless consumers miss their monthly minimum payments. In […]

https://canadianmortgageawards.com/winners-excellence-awardees/2022   The MCAN Award for Broker of the Year (Regional – ON) – Shawn Stillman Young Achiever of the Year – Michelle Farrugia The Avison Young Award for Broker of the Year – Commercial The Canadian Mortgages Inc. Award for Broker of the Year – Private Lending The Community Trust Award for Alternative Broker […]

Can I afford that mortgage? Here’s how much you can safely borrow to buy your first house To give you an idea of how much you can borrow, we asked Leah Zlatkin, a mortgage broker at LowestRates.ca, to calculate a typical mortgage amount for a first time buyer making $100,000 a year. If you got […]

Is Canada’s borrowing landscape set for dramatic change? Leah Zlatkin (pictured top), a licensed broker and LowestRates.ca expert, told Canadian Mortgage Professional that those rising costs will likely be compounded by inflation, which has recently ballooned to levels not seen in over 30 years in Canada. “For people who are looking to do a fixed-rate […]

Big 5 banks swiftly pass on Bank of Canada hike to borrowers Royal Bank of Canada didn’t waste much time following the Bank of Canada’s lead, announcing early Wednesday afternoon it will raise its prime rate half a percentage point to 3.2 per cent, effective Thursday. Soon after RBC’s announcement, TD Canada Trust, Bank of Montreal, […]

https://www.thestar.com/business/2022/04/12/canadians-with-mortgages-brace-for-big-bank-of-canada-rate-hike.html Based on that 2.70 per cent prime rate and a discount of one per cent – lenders typically offer discounts ranging from 0.60 per cent to one per cent – a homeowner with a variable rate mortgage would have seen their monthly mortgage payment go from 1.45 per cent to 1.70 per cent, explains […]

‘This will remove buyers from the market’: Higher interest rates on Wednesday will help tame frothy housing prices, experts say Leah Zlatkin, a mortgage broker with lowestrates.ca, said the recent rate hikes represent a “turning point” for those prospective buyers. Mortgage rates are now high enough that many potential buyers will have to qualify at […]