Most Canadian graduates finish their post-secondary education with an average of close to $17,000 in debt, according to the Canadian Federation of Students. They are ready to begin their careers. Many start to also think about starting a family and buying a property. The...
Now, here’s an important question to reflect on at the beginning of every year. Once we enter a new year, one of the first things we need to worry about is tax season. This is year, the deadline to make a contribution to your RRSP...
You probably know by know the Purchase Plus Improvements Program allows qualified purchasers to borrow up to 20% of the post-renovation value of a home, even with as little as 5% down. However, some planning still needs to be done before you venture into this...
We’ve said it many times: owning a house is almost everyone’s dream. We feel accomplished, it gives us a sense of responsibility, we feel like we have our own space. So, it’s only normal that we make a list to plan the house of our...
Many of our blog posts have addressed closing costs when it comes to the home buying process. We’ve also mentioned the Purchase Plus Improvement program and how homeowners can benefit from it. However, there is another group of costs homeowners sometimes underestimate: home improvements. According...
So here we stand, at the beginning of the century's third decade, and for us at The Costa Group, things have never looked more optimistic. The shift in the latter part of 2019 to be independently owned means we are now in a better position...
In the world of real estate, it is very common to hear the term prime rate. Many people are confused by this term. Prime rate refers to the lowest commercial interest rate charged by a bank at a particular time and it is used as...
We can never stress this point enough: get pre-approved for a mortgage before you begin looking for a home. This pre-approval will help you know how much you can afford. So, does a pre-approved mortgage mean you are guaranteed a final mortgage approval? Not necessarily....
When you ask for a mortgage, you are really telling the lender you will make every payment on time and in full at each billing period, whether it is a monthly, semi-monthly, accelerated bi-weekly or weekly payment. If you don’t make these payments, there are...
A Notice of Assessment, also known as NOA, is a statement from the Canada Revenue Agency notifying the taxpayer of the amount of tax they owe, if any, the amount of tax already paid, if any, tax credits received and contributions to a Registered Retirement...