I've had great tenants for the five years I've managed my dad's Spruce Ave. property. There's been little turnover for the main floor suite. I've gone through more tenants in the basement but that goes with the territory as the basement tenants tend to be students. There has been exactly one...

My dad has a place in Spruce Avenue. It's been a very good investment, is always rented and cash flows well. NAIT students are a ready source of tenants. There's some petty crime in the area (people coming from neighbourhoods to the east) and we've lost a few items including a lawn mower and a...

I have a half-duplex in Fort Saskatchewan that has been fully rented since it was bought from a builder in Nov 2007. The rent dropped by $100 in 2009 to $1695 and have remained steady. Military couples represented two of the three sets of tenants in that time. We are pet friendly so I think that...

The status quo will mean Canadian mortgage rates will stay low due to the strong Canadian dollar (the never-ending stimulus measures in the US are devaluing the dollar) and Canada's position in the world as a safe harbour for capital.

The amortization is possible. You should confirm that the rate applies to rental properties. Many lenders are adding a premium to the rate for rentals so that rate seems low to me.

If CMHC makes a profit why wouldn't the government want to keep it? Why wouldn't tax payers want to keep it?

Correct, he can go to whatever the maximum amortization is for a non-insured mortgage at his current lender or transfer the mortgage to a different lender.

Do you own your own home yet? If not, start there. As Thomas mentioned, you can do as little as 5 percent down. Under some very specific situations and with stellar credit, a strong proveable income and little debt you can borrow your down payment from an unsecured line of credit. This is a...

Under CMHC's family plan, you can buy the property with her on the mortgage and title with you. You can do as little as five percent down. I would suggest you buy a property with your wife and one child on mortgage and title and you and the other child on the second property's mortgage and...

There is a solution that doesn't require selling the property on the open market. If one of the spouses wishes to buy the other out, and can qualify, they can get a new mortgage for 95 percent loan to value. They need to get a separation agreement showing who is going to be liable for what level...

For many investors the name of the game is to safely leverage as many properties as possible to have the largest portfolio possible (ie, $2 million, $5 million, etc) for the maximum amount of time possible to benefit from appreciation. Your tenants pay the mortgage including the interest...

What about buying a home with a suite? You live either upstairs or downstairs and rent the other portion of the house. When you're ready to buy your dream house you rent both suites of the house. Possible advantages are: 5 percent down payment on the property since it will be...

Congratulations! That's impressively quick for getting it rented. What city is the property located in, what type of property and how much are you charging for rent? Jason

If you can't afford it on your own, consider buying it with a family member. Or a friend. What makes you think you can't afford it if you are currently paying rent on the property? Is the rent significantly less than what the mortgage and related ownerships costs are?

If it were me, I'd keep the current mortgage until renewal in Nov 2013. At renewal, assuming a similar interest rate environment as now, I'd switch to a fixed rate and push the amortization back to 30 years to maximize cash flow. Better cash flow will help you qualify for more mortgages.

There are "B" lenders that will do commission income and stated income on revenue properties. They will require at least 25 percent down and possibly more depending on the property type. They will also most likely be limited to larger centres. The interest rate will likely be in the 5.5 percent...

What are your plans for the property? How long are you going to keep it? Are you looking to increase your regular payment? Do you have the financial ability to make lump sum payments? Do you want or need a line of credit component with the mortgage? Interest rate is only one consideration when...

Definitely Fort Road Appliances for your replacement appliances. Don't bother repairing then unless they are new units. Fort Road also hauls away the old appliances for $10 or $20 per appliance.

This will help investors as it takes out some first time homebuyers who would otherwise need a 30 amortization to qualify. The issue I have with the new rules is that the maximum loan-to-value on a refinance has been reduced to 80 LTV. This traps people in high interest debt that they could...

If you mean the minimum down payment for a single family rental property, then the answer is yes, you need 20 percent down. The only way around it would be to use the property as an owner-occupied/rental property. in other words, you're living in one of the units and renting the other(s)