The New Year is a Great Time to Review Your Mortgage!

Shanna Davis • January 10, 2018

Happy New Year, 2018 is here! If you’re anything like me, you’re looking to set some goals to make some real progress this coming year! I can’t help you with your goals in the gym, but I can help with your financial goals. so let’s talk about why now is as good of a time as any (or better) to review your mortgage and assess your financial situation.

Here are three reasons to consider:

Save money with better terms

Depending on when you secured your mortgage, by reviewing the terms of your mortgage, there might be a better fit out there for you today. Let’s say you locked into a 10 year mortgage term 5 years ago, there is a chance you could refinance your mortgage into a lower rate, and save thousands over the next 5 years. Maybe you have a fixed rate, and you’d like to consider the current variable rate, you will never know just how much money you could be saving unless you sit down with an independent mortgage professional and do a formal mortgage review!

Aggressively pay down your mortgage

The new year is a great time to review your current mortgage and make a plan to use your existing prepayment privileges. Most mortgages allow you to pay down 10-20% of the original principal mortgage amount as a lump sum and/or increase your payments by 10-20%. Just got a raise? Now might be a good time to increase your mortgage payment to match. Any money that you put on your mortgage as a prepayment goes entirely towards the principal balance and is not a prepayment of interest.

Changes to Mortgage Qualification

If you’re planning to make a move in 2018; whether that be buying a new home to accommodate your growing family, or selling your family home to downsize into a condo, there is a chance that the new mortgage rules imposed by our federal government brought in on January 1st 2018 could impact your ability to secure new mortgage financing.

Don’t just simply assume you will qualify for a new mortgage just because you already qualified for the mortgage you have now. Things have changed, and your best bet is to give me a shout so we can work through your financial situation.

Have an incredible 2018!

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SHANNA DAVIS

Mortgage Broker

CONTACT ME

Your Guide To The A First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

By Shanna Davis • June 12, 2025

Dreaming of owning your first home? A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) could be your key to turning that dream into a reality. Let's dive into what an FHSA is, how it works, and why it's a smart investment for first-time homebuyers. What is an FHSA? An FHSA is a registered plan designed to help you save for your first home taxfree. If you're at least 18 years old, have a Social Insurance Number (SIN), and have not owned a home where you lived for the past four calendar years, you may be eligible to open an FHSA. Reasons to Invest in an FHSA: Save up to $40,000 for your first home. Contribute tax-free for up to 15 years. Carry over unused contribution room to the next year, up to a maximum of $8,000. Potentially reduce your tax bill and carry forward undeducted contributions indefinitely. Pay no taxes on investment earnings. Complements the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP). How Does an FHSA Work? Open Your FHSA: Start investing tax-free by opening your FHSA. Contribute Often: Make tax-deductible contributions of up to $8,000 annually to help your money grow faster. Withdraw for Your Home: Make a tax-free withdrawal at any time to purchase your first home. Benefits of an FHSA: Tax-Deductible Contributions: Contribute up to $8,000 annually, reducing your taxable income. Tax-Free Earnings: Enjoy tax-free growth on your investments within the FHSA. No Taxes on Withdrawals: Pay $0 in taxes on withdrawals used to buy a qualifying home. Numbers to Know: $8,000: Annual tax-deductible FHSA contribution limit. $40,000: Lifetime FHSA contribution limit. $0: Taxes on FHSA earnings when used for a qualifying home purchase. In Conclusion A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is a powerful tool for first-time homebuyers, offering tax benefits and a structured approach to saving for homeownership. By taking advantage of an FHSA, you can accelerate your journey towards owning your first home and make your dream a reality sooner than you think.

How To Establish New Credit

By Shanna Davis • May 29, 2025

If you’re new to managing personal finance and you want to learn about credit, you’ve come to the right place. Establishing new credit is a bit of a catch-22. To build a credit history, you need credit. But it’s hard to get credit without having a credit history. So, where do you start? Well, the first thing you should know is that building credit takes time. It’s not something that happens overnight. If you’re looking to secure mortgage financing, you will want to have a minimum of two trade lines (credit cards, loans, or lines of credit) with a minimum limit of $2500, reporting for at least two years. If you don’t have any credit yet, the best time to get started is right now. However, that may be difficult because, as we've already identified, without a credit history, most lenders won’t feel confident about taking a chance on you. What’s the solution? Consider a secured credit card. With a secured credit card, you make a deposit upfront that matches the amount you want to borrow. A reasonable amount would be $1000 deposited on a single secured credit card. You then use your secured credit card to make household purchases and regular utility payments, paying off the total balance each month. If you default on the money borrowed for whatever reason, the lender will retain the money you put up as collateral. When looking for a secured credit card, be sure to ask whether they report to the two nationwide credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion. If the credit card company doesn't report, the credit card account will be useless for your purposes; move on until you find a company that reports to both credit bureaus. Once your secured credit card begins reporting to the credit bureaus, you begin to have a credit score; usually, this takes about three months. Now you can start to seek out a second trade line in the form of an unsecured credit card. Don’t forget to ensure that this card reports to both of the credit reporting agencies. Another option at this point could be a car loan. From here, you simply want to make all your payments on time! But what happens if you’re looking to secure mortgage financing before you have a fully established credit report? Well, if you have someone who would consider co-signing, you can certainly go that route. The mortgage application will depend on their income and credit report, but your name will be on the mortgage. Hopefully, when the mortgage is up for renewal, you’ll have the established credit required to remove them from the mortgage and qualify on your own. Although establishing credit takes a minimum of two years, it really begins with putting together a plan. If you’d like to discuss anything credit or mortgage-related, please get in touch!