Rarely do you find me laying in bed during the day but that's exactly what I did last week! The 'stomach flu' hit our household and I was sick in bed for a few days!
I am popping my 'cold fx' to avoid catching my husband's cold, as I cannot afford to be down for anymore days!

Anna celebrated her 2nd birthday! We had a weekend celebration for her.
The question is: 'Does the terrible 2's really start on the day that they turn 2?' We noticed a change the day after her birthday....but maybe its all in our imagination!

There are a lot of rumors swirling around that the government is looking at tightening the mortgage rules...so if you are thinking of buying, ACT NOW before it's too late.
Call me today and I will connect you with an experienced realtor to get you started!

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/will+tougher+mortgage+future+survey+economists+predicts/6189269/story.html

Have a great week! Enjoy the snow! Spring is right around the corner!

5 year fixed rate is going up for most banks!

Happy Belated Valentine to you!

We celebrated it quietly just like a regular day! My husband and girls bought me a beautiful heart-shaped Strawberry cake and we did not end up cutting it until the the day after!

I am looking forward to the long weekend as our little sweet Anna will be celebrating her 2nd birthday! I can't believe she is 2 and she has lots to say! We have been practicing how to sing 'Happy Birthday' at home, so she will be all ready for her party this weekend.

The market is busy! Fixed rate is looking upward, if you want to lock in a rate, please do so by calling/emailing me ASAP!
With the nice weather, be sure to go out on the weekend to look at some Open Houses!

Here's a rate forecast article for you to read on!
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/02/14/fed-could-raise-interest-rates-before-late-2014-poll/

Enjoy your upcoming Family long weekend!

Good time to buy!

Where did the month of January go?

We have had a busy few weeks....

We also had many CNY celebrations!

And celebrated Emma's 5th birthday. For the first time, I hosted a b-day party with 20 kids! Yikes, it was a lot of work. I was all worn out after the party. Thank goodness to Juliane www.dreamathemeparty.com, she saved me from trying to manage it all on my own. The kids were all dressed up in mermaids and pirates. They had a blast!


My phone has been ringing off the hook. The market is hopping with activity.

The 4 year 2.99% interest rate is still on the market. It's definitey a 'Good time to buy'....what are you waiting for?
here's a great article that talks about it.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-it%E2%80%99s-a-good-time-to-buy-a-home.html

Enjoy the beautiful weather this week!!

The Year of Dragon

Happy Chinese New Year to all of you!
I know the Year of Dragon will bring you good luck, good health and good fortune!

And, if you haven't started on your New Year Resolutions, well this is your 2nd chance to get things rolling!

As many of you heard, BMO came out with the 5 year 2.99% fixed rate and the rest of the banks followed suit with the 4 year 2.99% fixed rate.

You must be wondering, what is the difference?
Read to the bottom of this post to read more on it.

Take action now!
2.99% is a great rate!
What are you waiting for?
Call me today to see how much you are qualify for!

Have a great day and enjoy the beautiful week ahead.

Toronto Star
Jan 19, 2012
Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew

Bank of Montreal made headlines with the 2.99 per cent five-year mortgage it unveiled last week.

Most of the other big banks have followed suit, but before signing on the dotted line, you should read the fine print. These mortgages have restrictions that you won't find on other products.

"It's the lowest rate available, but I would only recommend it to people who are very sure of their circumstances for the next five years," said Kerri-Lynn McAllister, of RateHub.ca, a website that compares mortgage rates.

"You may want to look at a slightly higher rate that offers all the flexibility of a standard mortgage."

The Bank of Montreal says this mortgage offers Canadians a way to be mortgage-free faster because it offers a great rate and a shorter amortization.

The BMO product differs from a typical mortgage in several ways:

The maximum amortization period is 25 years. A typical mortgage offers an amortization period of up to 30 years.

You can make extra payments during the year or one annual lump sum payment as long as the total doesn't exceed 10 per cent of the principal amount owed. Most mortgages allow prepayments up to a maximum of 20 per cent or more of the principal.

You cannot skip a payment once a year for reasons of financial hardship or absence, a common feature of many mortgages. Nor can you double-up on a payment.

You cannot refinance or switch your mortgage to another lender for five years. Most homeowners who sign a five-year term don't make it that long. On average, they last three years and 9 nine months, and then they either refinance or move, according to Rate Hub.

McAllister said that because the amortization is capped at 25 years, you may not be able to borrow as much. That could hurt first-time buyers in markets such as Toronto and Vancouver where home prices are in the stratosphere.

The refinancing restriction means, "the only way you can refinance is if you do so with BMO," McAllister said.

"They know you're locked in to them, so you don't have any bargaining power if they don't offer you a good rate or term."

BMO agrees that this mortgage is best-suited for someone who plans to be in their home for awhile.

"Customers were telling us they wanted something simple and easy to understand that would allow them to be mortgage-free faster," said Katie Archdekin, head of mortgage products at the Bank of Montreal.

Archdekin said the shorter amortization rate is designed to do just that.

While many homeowners have good intentions when it comes to prepayments, very few actually take advantage of these options, she added.

"This product carries fewer features than our other mortgage products, but it's very easy to understand," Archdekin said. "This product really supports customers to pay off their mortgage faster by instilling that discipline directly into the regular payments."

BMO's 2.99 per cent mortgage offer is the lowest 5-year rate in modern Canadian history.

Other banks have also followed suit, with Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada cutting four-year rates to 2.99 per cent.

Canadian banks are becoming more competitive for mortgage business because they're concerned the market won't be growing as quickly over the coming years, experts say.

Happy New Year! Urban or Suburban?

Happy New Year to you all!

Hope you had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We stayed in Calgary this year and enjoyed our time off.
We took the opportunity to catch up with our friends; spending time with family; fill up on many fancy meals; and most importantly, sleep in every morning!

Our December was full of work and activites for the kids. Emma danced in the Nutcracker for one weekend which kept us busy for many weeks. She did a great job.

Anna sang at her music concert and enjoyed being on the stage.

I was busy stuffing over 1000 envelopes to mail out to all my valued customers. If you did not get one, please email me to ensure I have your correct address.

And we finally made it to Zoolights on New Year's Day. It was a beautiful evening, not too windy yet just cold enough to feel like Winter.

2012 is going to be a great year, I know it! The real estate market will contineue to be busy as many buyers will want to take advantage of the low interest rates, which are not expected to rise until 2013!
Be sure to take part in the action!

Over the holiday, we watched a few episodes of the of Urban or Suburban show on HGTV, here's an article that talks more about it.
Read on and enjoy

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Bridging+urban+suburban+divide/5908003/story.html

All the best to you in 2012!
Have a great week!

Canada Economy's surges ahead!

We just returned from a week long cruise vacation on Royal Carribean's "Allure of the Seas" to the Eastern Carribean!!!

We had a great time!

This is the our 2nd time on the biggest ship in the industry, and we got to do many of the things that we missed out on the last time.

I had fun 'zipping' on the zipline on the cruiseship. To my surprise, I did not find it scary at all.

We spent a solid day at the beach with the kids, and they had a blast!

But then, when did I ever complain about my vacation?

After a busy month of October, November turned out to be a steady month.

The 1st week of December has been a busy one also, perhaps it's because:

http://business.financialpost.com/2011/11/30/canadas-economy-surges-ahead/

Enjoy your week!

Bank of Canada could slash rate next year!

It's been many busy weeks I have had in a row. To make life even more exciting, our family was hit with the stomach flu last week. Everyone was sick and it all started with attending a kid's birthday party.....

It's Rememberance Day tomorrow and here's the link to the time and location of services held in Calgary.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=9ffbbf22-40eb-47a6-a863-019cd6e7ef81

It is a HOT, HOT market out there! Call me if you are thinking of buying a home, and if needed, I can refer you to many experienced realtors in town.

The market is sure going through some rough times.
Here's the latest news in our financial markets.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2059598/Italy-brink-catastrophe-borrowing-costs-hit-breaking-point.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.canada.com/business/Flaherty+deliver+economic+update+deficit+target/5671375/story.html#ixzz1d7NluALY

http://www.financialpost.com/news/could+slash+rates+next+year/5686911/story.html
Have a great weekend ahead!
It looks like the beautiful weather will be with us for a bit longer!