From the Mak Family... Last month, we had the amazing opportunity to go on a one-way, cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii. It was a great deal because many days were at-sea, but we still found ways to have fun and eat lots of food! Our favourite excursion was at the Kualoa Ranch, where they filmed tons of movies like Jurassic Park. We rented a UTV (like a jeep) and were able to drive around the...
Buying Your Home
From the Mak Family... For NTM's birthday this year, we embarked on an incredible airborne adventure by exploring the treetops in Stouffville! If you haven't gone Tree Trekking, I highly recommend it! It was a perfect, breezy Autumn morning. I found it to be a remarkably safe activity. Sure, it was a little physically demanding, but it made for a really memorable family outing as we scaled and...
From the Mak Family... This year for Father's Day, we tried something different! Instead of just having a large meal with the extended family, we decided to go bowling with NTM and his cousins. I haven't bowled in about a decade, but it slowly came back to me. It was definitely a lot more fun than just stuffing our faces at a buffet, which we ended up doing afterwards anyway. I think this...
From the Mak Family... Recently, I saw a post from a friend who just donated blood. I realized I hadn't donated blood in more than 20 years and decided to book an appointment. The process was surprisingly easy and painless. I went to my local donation center, answered some questions about my health history and then a trained medical professional took my vitals and then drew my blood. The best...
Why do you need Mortgage Insurance? Join Lawrence Mak and Christopher Lee as we discuss the benefits of mortgage insurance and methods of protecting your largest asset. Why do you need mortgage insurance?What about mortgage insurance through your financial institution?What are the pros and cons with getting mortgage insurance through your bank?Who's the beneficiary?What other benefits can you...
As you may have heard, there is a new "Stress Test" that will be taking place on June 1, 2021. I had the opportunity to ask Chris Molder, a mortgage broker from Tridac Mortgage, about the changes and how it affects home buyers. The stress test is increased from 4.79% to 5.25% and now affects both insured and uninsured mortgages. So if you need a mortgage of $1,000,000, your purchasing power is...
How do you apply for a mortgage when moving to Canada from the USA?
If you don't have an income, what are the options out there?
Savvy buyers and sellers always try to "time the market", but what is the reality like?
There are 3 main points I’d like to go through that would affect landlords and tenants.