20 Questions to Ask Before Buying A Condo

Condo Buyer’s Checklist/Points to Consider When Buying A Condo

First Published Date: Nov 5, 2011

Condo living can be rewarding with minimal headaches. However, it is not for everyone. Today, I am going to present some questions that should be answered and looked at to help you before making any condo buying decisions.

1. Know why you want a condo and if condo living is for you.
2. When you live in a condo, there are rules and regulations you have to live by. Ask yourself if
   you will be fine with these rules and regulations and giving up some freedom when compared to
   living in a house.
3. Condo living is associated with paying ongoing fees (maintenance fees). Make sure you
   understand how these fees work and if you will be paying these every month.
4. Is the location right for you? Is it close to those amenities that are important for you?
5. What types of facilities or amenities is the condo giving you? Is it too much or too little?   
   Beware of condos that offer too much. For example, there are some condos in Toronto with
   their own bus services to the station. However, I won’t live there because maintenance fees
   will be too high for the obvious reasons.
6. Does it come with a parking space and a locker or you need to pay for them additionally?
7. Are there any restrictions on occupants? Will you be able to rent out your unit?
8. How many pets are allowed?
9. Is the condominium price reasonable?
10. Are the monthly condo fees (maintenance fees) reasonable?
11. What the condo fees cover and what the fees don’t cover.
12. How old is the building?
13. Who is the builder and is this builder a reputable company or have they had bad records or  
     problems in the past?
14. Is the building in good shape and durable? Does it look attractive?
15. Does the building and surrounding area look clean, neat, and well maintained?
16. Is the condo corporation in good order and are there no legal claims or judgements?
17. How are the condo finances? It is well managed or is the condo board is wasting money?
18. What is the owner-occupied and renter-occupied units proportion?
19. Is the building energy efficient and is a functional fire protection system in place?
20. Will this purchase make you happy living in your unit so you don’t need to look for another condo after 6 months? How many years you are looking to stay in this building?

Finally Free Credit Score Comes to Canada

How to Check Your Credit Score for Free

First Published Date: July 9, 2016

Canadians have always had access to free credit reports, but not free credit scores. All that has changed recently – now you are able to know your credit score for free and there is no need to pay $24 each time.

Two online loan providers are giving free access to your credit score when you open an account with them. There is no catch, really. Your free account will show your credit score and better yet, you will have an updated credit score every three months for free as well.

These two providers are: www.borrowell.com and www.mogo.ca. I opened an account with Borrowell to try it out and I was surprised at the ease and simplicity of the whole process. Within 5 minutes I was able to view my score on-screen. To make things better, there are free online credit courses and free articles on how to improve your credit score also.

Keep in mind that the credit score you are provided for free is an Equinox credit score, which is a proprietary model of Equinox. This is different than FICO®, which is a proprietary model created by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO).

It is a good idea to keep an eye on your credit score and since this is free it makes even more sense. One more thing, don’t worry about your score dropping when you check

Quietly These New Mutual Fund Rules Take Effect in Canada

Canada’s New Mutual Fund Rules

First Published Date: July 23, 2016

Starting May 30, new mutual fund rules came into place that most mutual fund investors were not aware of. Any investment advisers and institutions selling mutual funds are required to give their clients a document known as Fund Facts before the sale or transaction happens.

This paper or document called Fund Facts should clearly show information about the mutual funds in a simple way such as funds’ investment objectives, managers, historical performance, and most importantly all the fees associated with the funds.

In the past, this information was available online at the fund companies’ websites and it was made available to the investors after the sale had gone through. However, the information was not presented in a clear manner easily understood.

However, under the new rules, investors will have precise and related information at their disposal and this will help them make better decisions.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

The Fund Fact document is a two-page, double-sided document that does not take long to read. If you want, you can have this document long before meeting your advisers by going online or calling the fund company to mail it or fax it to you. This is all free.

Mutual funds in Canada have been known to have one of the highest fees compared to other countries and trends continue to switch from mutual funds to ETFs, which have much lower fees and transparent features that are easy to understand and easier to transact.

Avoid These Common Credit Card Mistakes

Avoid These Common Credit Card Mistakes

First Published Date: July 31, 2016

Credit cards are a part of our daily living and they are good things, if you know how to manage them. Today, I will talk about how some common and simple mistakes can ruin your credit score. These small mistakes are so negligible that we often forget they can have a big impact on our finances. Learn these mistakes, avoid them, and make them a thing of the past.

Making Late Payments – This is the most common mistake we all make. A late payment can incur late payment charges and bump up your interest rate higher. It can also hurt your credit score, depending on how late it is. Use online tools like Google Calendar or anything that works for you to remind you 3 days ahead of the actual due date so you don’t get caught up making late payments.

Paying Only The Minimum – In Canada, by law, credit card companies now have to show how many years it will take to pay your full balance if you only make the minimum. Add some extra dollars with your minimum, whether it’s $20 or $50 a month, and you can shave off years and save lots interest costs on your credit card balance.  

Using a Credit Card for Cash Advances – Withdrawing cash using a credit card hurt you 2 ways. The first is you pay a high cash advance fee. This fee could run from $20 to $50, depending on your bank. The other bad thing is you start paying high interest the moment you take out cash advances. Never use credit card for cash advances. It’s the worst way to borrow money.

Paying Annual Fees – Many credit cards will try to hook you up offering reward points or cash back in exchange for annual fees. Just to cover these fees, you have to spend more than $20,000 or $30,000 annually. Read the fine print and figure out if it’s really worth it to spend that much money for reward points or cash back after covering annual fees. Use a no annual fee reward or cash back credit card instead; there are lots of them available in the market.

China Is Not the Sole Economy Engine and India Bright Spot

China Should Not Be The Sole Global Economy Engine

First Published Date: August 3, 2016

In a recent roundtable talk with six global finance leaders, Chinese Premier mentioned that China should not be the only growth engine to carry the global economy. China is still a developing country and should not be responsible for the major world responsibilities.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently trimmed global economic growth to 3.1 percent for 2016 and 3.4 percent for 2017 and China’s GDP growth for 2016 to 6.6 percent. All these numbers were reduced by 0.1 percent to reflect recent global conditions.

India Is A Bright Spot

On the other hand, IMF reports that India is a bright spot, as it has the fastest growth rate at 7.5 percent in the global economy. This growth pace should be steady for at least the next three years.

A stable and peaceful political environment is an advantage India enjoys when compared to other countries such as Brazil, China, Russia, and Turkey. Also, foreign investments in India are higher than any other country’s, including China.

Global Economy Consuming Less Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the consumption of energy such as coal, oil, gas, and even renewable energy is gradually decreasing. This is a good example of how the world is getting better at handling climate change.

Also, carbon emission is decreasing as global economies switch towards renewable energy at a faster pace.

Urgent Call for Global Economies

IMF recently issued an urgent call to implement more growth-boosting policies to put global economies on the right track. IMF suggested the world’s 20 largest economies should maintain relaxed money policies and stay ready to implement contingency plans should things turn worse.

However, the U.S. Treasury believes such a crisis response is not necessary because conditions seem to be improving.