Tag Archives: housing prices

Finance

Should You Take Out a Second Mortgage?

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With housing prices cooling off a bit but still generally soaring in cities across Canada, many homeowners are asking themselves how they can cash in on the market without actually having to sell their property. For many, a second mortgage will be the ideal way to do so.  

Second mortgages are one of the perfect mortgage solutions for homeowners who want to tap into their home equity to get lump-sum cash payments at low rates of interest. If you want to know if a second mortgage is right for you, here are three questions you should ask yourself. 

1. How Much Home Equity Do I Have? 

Before you start approaching mortgage brokers about a second mortgage, it’s a good idea to do some calculations around home equity, as the amount of money available to you through a second mortgage is determined by how much home equity you have.  

Fortunately, home equity is easy to calculate: simply subtract your existing mortgage from the current market value of your property. The difference is your home equity — the amount of your home value that you own outright.  

If you don’t know how much your home is worth, you can use a free calculator like this one to get a general estimate based on the going rate for properties in your neighbourhood. 

2. Should I Get a Home Equity Loan or Refinance? 

Generally speaking, there are two ways a homeowner can cash out a percentage of their equity: through refinancing or through a second mortgage. Both can be good ways to unlock capital, but which option you go for will depend in part on your financial situation. 

  • Refinancing: When you refinance your home, you replace an existing mortgage loan with a new mortgage loan. This new loan can be negotiated to include a cash payout based on your home equity, and while cashing out will likely extend the time it takes to pay off your mortgage, you will still only be dealing with a single mortgage loan.  
  • Second Mortgage: A second mortgage is an additional mortgage loan taken on against your home equity. Because it is an additional loan, it will usually come at a higher interest rate. 

In Canada, most mortgages are refinanced every five years, but they can also be refinanced more frequently. But if you already have a low interest rate on your existing mortgage and rates are increasing, a second mortgage may be the cheapest way to turn equity into cash. 

3. Will this Loan Save Me Money? 

A second mortgage can be a powerful financial tool, but it isn’t free money: you will still need to pay it back with interest, so you should be careful about how you use it.  

Taking out a second mortgage to consolidate debt, or to build an addition on your house, are smart investments because they put your money to work by reducing your interest payments or enhancing the value of your property. This puts you in a better financial position than you would have been if you didn’t borrow the money.  

Doing a cost/benefit analysis and working out how much money borrowing against home equity will save you is the key to making a strategic decision. 

Given how much real estate values have gone up over the past few years, figuring out how you can use your newfound wealth to improve your financial situation is essential for good money management. If you want to know more about whether a second mortgage is right for you, get in touch with a local mortgage broker to explore interest rates and options.  

Feautured image: Precondo CA Via Unsplash/ Silo Content Production

Earth

All Parties Support Ontario Greenbelt And Recognize Immense Values

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Last week, a video was released showing Ontario’s PC Party leader Doug Ford promising to open up a “big chunk” of the Greenbelt to allow development on its protected areas, an idea he attributed to the “biggest developers in this country.”   

Our Executive Director, Tim Gray responded in the news that this would have severe consequences and allow land speculators to build massive subdivisions, at immense profits, on farms, forests and natural areas currently protected in the Greenbelt.

Watch Tim Gray’s interview on CTV news.

Ontario’s PC Party leader Doug Ford later reversed his position. This is consistent with polls that suggest more than 89 per cent of Ontarians support the protection of the Greenbelt. Ontarians like you.

The good news is that now all parties support the Greenbelt and recognize its immense values. Thank you for your help in securing the future of farmland, forests and water systems in Ontario. 

Over the last few months, many of you signed petitions supporting expansion of the Greenbelt. Your voice matters now more than ever. We encourage you to ask candidates questions on their views during the upcoming provincial and municipal elections.

It’s time to set the record straight.

The Greenbelt does not constrain housing supply or cause high house prices. In fact, municipal data shows that there is enough land available to provide for housing development within existing Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area urban boundaries until 2031.

The best way to address housing prices and supply in our region is by directing growth to existing urban areas, limiting sprawl, and building different kinds of affordable homes close to transit.

Read our latest blog highlighting 7 facts about the Greenbelt and what really impacts housing prices in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. 

Thank you,

Susan Lloyd Swail
Livable Communities, Senior Manager

Earth

Greenbelt Is Not Reason Housing Prices Are High In Greater Toronto Hamilton Area

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Dear Silo, Right now, greedy developers are gearing up for a lobbying day they’ve organized at Queen’s Park on March 20. They intend to peddle the same lies they’ve been spreading in the news lately: that Ontario’s Greenbelt is the reason housing prices are high. They say there just isn’t enough room for new houses.

In reality, there’s an enormous amount of land in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) that is already set aside for development. 104,000 hectares, to be precise. That’s larger than the cities of Mississauga and Oakville combined!

But as we’ve seen, Ontario’s development industry doesn’t let a little thing like truthful facts get in the way of their business model. They want to weaken the Greenbelt so they can pave over more prime farmland and built the kind of 1950’s sprawl that is so lucrative for them.

Let’s not allow developers to turn a profit at our environment’s expense.

With developers descending on Queen’s Park on March 20, we have to show MPPs that Ontarians support protecting and growing the Greenbelt, not paving over it. Please join me by adding your voice today.

Erin Shapero
Greenbelt Program Manager

P.S: There are some legitimate reasons that house prices are high in the GTHA. The Greenbelt isn’t one of them. Please make sure decision makers know that you expect them to protect our Greenbelt by taking action today.