Mortgage Blog

Happy New Year:     It's time to look at some upcoming deadlines for property owners as well as a rate update. 

ADVANCE PROPERTY TAX NOTICE: Deadline is February 2nd. If your property is in the City of Vancouver then you should have received your advance property tax notice. If your lender is collecting & paying then you do not have to do anything. If you are responsible then you need to pay as per your statement. Note they do penalize if you do not pay on time. For this payment you do not have to sign a home owner's grant.

EMPTY HOME TAX DECLARATION :  Deadline is February 2^th.   City of Vancouver owners only. link: vancouver.ca/eht-declare 

SPECULATION AND VACANCY TAX DECLARATION :  This is for all owners in BC.  You will be receiving details and due dates for this tax this month or February.  This is in addition to the Empty Home Tax if you own property in Vancouver. 

RRSP: Deadline is March 1.  If you need assistance to come up with the funds for your RRSP this year please contact us to discuss options. Good investment strategy is to make your RRSP contribution & once you receive your tax refund, make a lump sum payment against your mortgage.

ANNUAL MORTGAGE STATEMENT:    By the end of this month you should receive your annual mortgage statement from your current lender.  You will need this for your 2020 income tax return if you write off any mortgage interest.

RATES:  Here is an update on the rates:

1. Bank of Canada: on  December 8th the Bank of Canada held rates steady but warned of increases coming.  Experts are anticipating 3-5 inceases in 2022.  Typically rates change by .25% at a time.  Next meeting is January 26th.
2. Variable Rates:  since the bank rate remains the same variable rate mortgages will also remain the same.   Discount below prime are currently as low as prime- 1.25%
3. Fixed Rates: Based on anticipated increases in the Bank Rate the market bonds have moved to where current best 5 year fixed is 2.34%.     

Please touch base with us on any financial/mortgage related questions you may have. We have over 30 years worth of experience to share.

We hope you have a happy and healthy year. 

Take Care,

Pat