In today’s economic climate of tighter credit requirements and increased unemployment rates taking their toll on some Canadians, there’s no doubt that many people may not fit into the traditional banks’ financing boxes as easily as they may have just a year or two ago.

I can help you determine whether your situation can be quickly repaired or if you face a longer road to credit recovery. Either way, there are solutions to every problem.

Because I am familiar with the credit repair niche, I can help credit challenged clients improve their situations via a number of routes. And if the situation is beyond my expertise, I can help you get in touch with other professionals, including credit counsellors and bankruptcy trustees.

If you have some equity built up in your home and still have a manageable credit score, for instance, you can often refinance your mortgage and use that money to pay off high-interest credit card debt. By clearing up this debt, you are freeing up more cash flow each month.

In the current lending environment, with interest rates hovering at an all-time low, now may be an ideal time for you to refinance your mortgage and pay off some debt.

Following are five steps you can use to help attain a speedy credit score boost: Read the rest of this entry »

Both an appraisal and a home inspection are important steps of the home-buying process, so it’s well worth your effort to distinguish the differences between them and how they can uncover detailed information about the home’s value and condition.

Appraisal

Essentially, home appraisal is a survey activity performed by a professional in order to develop an expert opinion on the market value of a real estate property. Home appraisal is usually done for a lending company or a bank as a prerequisite for the approval of a mortgage application by a homebuyer.

The essential elements of a home appraisal report include information and data related to the overall condition of the property, the neighbourhood, variables that contribute to the sale of similar homes and the time spent in selling similar properties.

The appraisal report may be presented as a comparable sales analysis or a cost assessment of value.

Home Inspection

A home inspection is not used to determine property value, but will provide an assessment of the physical condition of a property. Read the rest of this entry »