Useful website links for home buyers

Tired of navigating through countless websites to find the exact information that you need? I am too so I decided to put together a list of useful links that you can use yourself. The subject areas covered are, buying a home and mortgage loan insurance premiums, information on the Ontario land transfer tax and refund, enrolling in your city’s pre-authorized payment plan, a link to ordering your own personal credit report as well as a link to the government website listing grants available to home owners who make their homes more energy efficient. Please let me know if these are helpful and if you happen to think of any new links that you would like to see listed here, please pass along your ideas to me and I will attempt to add them. I sincerely hope that these links can save you some time.

Do you need to check if a Mortgage Brokerage, Administrator, Mortgage Agent, or Mortgage Broker is registered and properly licensed in Ontario

Visit the Financial Services Commission of Ontario website at:

http://www2.fsco.gov.on.ca/mbslist/agents.mbl

Do you want to look up the Mortgage Loan Insurance premiums with

Genworth Financial Canada

Mortgage Loan Insurance premiums are available at:

http://www.genworth.ca/mi/eng/product_solutions/premiumRateTable.html

Do you want to look up the Mortgage Loan Insurance premiums with

AIG United Guaranty

Mortgage Loan Insurance premiums are available at:

http://www.aigug.ca/products/premium-rate-chart.pdf

Do you want to look up the Mortgage Loan Insurance premiums with

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or CMHC

Mortgage Loan Insurance premiums are available at:

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/moloin/moloin_005.cfm

Do you need to know anything about the Ontario Land Transfer Tax

Or apply for the land transfer tax rebate

Visit the Government of Ontario, Ministry of Revenue website at:

http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/english/taxes/ltt/

Do you need to enrol in the City of Mississauga’s Pre-authorized Tax Payment Plan

Visit the City of Mississauga website at:

http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/residents/taxformscentre

Do you need to enrol in the City of Oakville’s Pre-authorized Tax Payment Plan

Visit the City of Oakville website at:

http://www.oakville.ca/taxpayment.htm

Do you need to enrol in the City of Milton’s Pre-authorized Tax Payment Plan

Visit the City of Milton website at:

http://www.milton.ca/residents/tax/taxpayment.htm

Do you need to enrol in the City of Toronto’s Pre-authorized Tax Payment Plan

Visit the City of Toronto website at:

http://www.toronto.ca/taxes/property_tax/forms.htm#plan

For an in-depth document of the ABCs of mortgages, you can

Visit the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada or FCAC website to read it:

http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/publications/mortgages/Amortization_e.asp

Genworth Financial publishes daily mortgage rates on their website at:

http://www.genworth.ca/mi/eng/misc_pages/interest_rates.asp

Equifax Canada

Order a copy of your consumer credit report:

http://www.equifax.com/home/en_ca

Do you wnt your home assessed for its energy efficiency?

The Energuy

http://energuy.ca/ecoenergy/

Do you want to see what grants, rebates, discounts and incentives are available

If you make your home more energy efficient?

Please visit the Natural Resources Canada website at:

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/incentives.cfm

This blog was written by Elizabeth Blair, a Licensed Mortgage Agent with Mortgage Edge in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Elizabeth services mortgage clients in Mississauga and all over the Greater Toronto area.

You can contact Elizabeth directly by phone at (905) 510-5785

by email at eblair@mortgageedge.ca

or you visit her website at: http://www.missmortgage.ca

Elizabeth is licensed with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and is also a Member of IMBA (the Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario) www.imba.ca

Mississauga – Understanding your credit rating

What is your credit rating score?  If you don’t know, you are at risk of being refused credit, paying higher interest rates or being considered a high risk by banks, employers or others who have access to credit rating files.

If you have a credit card, a line of credit or a car loan, you have a credit history and it is being recorded in a credit report by credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Trans Union or Experian Canada Inc.   These Credit Reporting Agencies collect information on your ongoing use of credit and your repayment of that debt.  As you continue to utilize your credit cards, pay your car loan or your line of credit, you will be assigned something called a “credit score”.  A credit score is a numerical scoring measurement of an individual’s use of credit, specifically repayment of debt.   A higher score would indicate a borrower has better management of their consumer debt while a lower score would indicate poor management of consumer debt.  There are several factors that can affect your credit score, for example, whether you pay your debts on time, the total amounts that you owe, delinquent payments, collections that may have been filed against you or limits that have been exceeded or “maxed out”.  

 

If you currently have a mortgage or will be applying for mortgage financing, you may know that mortgage lenders will want to see your credit report.  You will need to provide permission to the bank or mortgage broker to retrieve your consumer credit report for review, at the time of your application for a mortgage.  Once the credit report is retrieved, it will be carefully reviewed, by the lender, to determine what mortgage rates you are eligible to receive.  Many applicants are surprised to learn that lenders establish very specific guidelines on what mortgage rates they will offer and it is usually based on an applicant’s credit score.  

 

Take the time to understand how you can achieve and maintain the best credit score.  When it is time for you to renew your mortgage financing in the future, you will be able to qualify for the best mortgage rates. 

 

Here are some quick tips to help you:

 

1.  Be sure to pay your bills on time.

 

2.  Avoid exceeding your credit limits.

 

3.  Avoid having too much available credit.

 

4.  You should always know, validate and protect your credit rating as much as your SIN number and credit cards.  

 

5.  You can check your credit rating for accuracy once a year free of charge.  Just call Equifax at 1-800-465-7166 or go on-line at http://www.equifax.ca and fill out the form at

http://www.equifax.com/EFX_Canada/consumer_information_centre/docs/request_report_form_e.pdf or you can purchase a copy of your credit report on-line.

 

6.  Often, a file contains data that is out-of-date or inaccurate.  If you find any information on your credit report that is not accurate, you should contact the Credit Reporting Agency to have it corrected.

 

7.  Be sure to download a copy of the document entitled “Understanding Your Credit Report and Credit Score” published by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada by going to http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca.

 

 

This article was written by Elizabeth Blair, a Licensed Mortgage Agent with Mortgage Edge in Richmond Hill, Ontario.  Elizabeth Blair services mortgage clients in Mississauga and all over the Greater Toronto area.

 

You can contact Elizabeth directly by phone at (905) 510-5785,  by email at eblair@mortgageedge.ca  or you visit her website at:    http://www.missmortgage.ca 

 

Elizabeth is licensed with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and is also a Member of IMBA (the Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario) http://www.imba.ca