Hello, has anyone seen a crises?

After a few days away with some family and friends, I am definately well rested. It's really great to take advantage of the time off and enjoy it with the people that mean the most to you. With that said I noticed this article by Terry Pedwell (The Canadian Press) in which Pedwell reveals that the consumer confidence in Canada may be stonger than what meets the eye, "A new poll suggests a significant majority of Canadians remain optimistic as they look ahead to 2009 - notwithstanding all the gloomy talk about a looming recession. The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey found that 58% of respondents were upbeat about the coming year, and only 21% were pessimistic. Another 20% said their outlook was neither optimistic nor pessimistic.". This is terrific news to cap of 2008 with. At least it looks like things may be looking brighter in the near future.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet!
Have a nice day whether you are celebrating or not, be sure to use the holiday to the fullest!

Joyful Holiday
At this sparkling, joyful time of year,

We think of people who are special and dear;

We’re sending this poem in the hopes it conveys

Our best wishes for your Happy Holidays!
- By Joanna Fuchs

Mortgage vs Life insurance

I made the mistake of answering my phone at dinner time yesterday. "Mr. Chaudhry we're hoping to give you a 10 minute presentation on your life insurance needs." Yeah that's exactly what I need at 5:30 in the afternoon. Anyways, I often get asked by clients, what the difference between life and mortgage insurance is, and which product they should be subscribing to. Here's a few points about each to help you understand the difference.

Mortgage insurance
- Your insurance covers only your mortgage balance.
- Even though your mortgage debt reduces over time, your premiums remain level.
- If you die, only the outstanding balance on your mortgage is paid off.
- The mortgage lender is automatically the beneficiary.
- If you take your mortgage to another company, you may lose your existing mortgage insurance and may be required to re-qualify for new mortgage insurance.
- You lose all your coverage when your mortgage is repaid, assumed or in default.
- You have no flexibility to change your coverage as your needs change.

Life insurance
- You can choose from different types of insurance (i.e. term or permanent) with a death benefit to cover more than just your mortgage.
- Your coverage amount does not decrease over time unless you choose to change it.
- If you die, the death benefit is paid to your beneficiary who can use it as they see fit, not just to pay off your mortgage.
- You name the beneficiary.
- If you take your mortgage to another company you keep your existing insurance, so you don't have to re-qualify.
- As long as premiums are paid your coverage remains in place, even if your mortgage is repaid, assumed or in default.
- If you decide you need coverage only until your mortgage is repaid but later realize you require coverage for other needs, you can convert your insurance to a permanent plan.

Snow & Bailout!

Just as predicted it snowed like nuts yesterday. So all meetings and appointments were cancelled and the city seemed like it was in shut down mode. While the weather was a carbon copy of recent consumer confidence, Prime Minister Harper announced stimulus worth $30-billion “We're going to do whatever it takes to get our economy through this recession and on to a long-term recovery” and Mr. Harper said he's prepared to go further if necessary. “It will be scalable. We will be able to move it up if we need to move it up,”. This is great news and will hopefully help people who are sitting on the fence make a decision.

My first BLOG

Its about 7:30pm on December 18/08 and this is my first ever post! This Blog will be a view threw my eyes of the real estate world here in Hamilton/Burlington Ontario. On the way I'll be sure to pass on any valuable info I may have, as well as fill everyone in on some of the more interesting things that occure in my profession.
The latest in the news today is that we're expecting a ton of snow tomarrow so maybe I'll get a snow day, just have to wait and see.

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."
- Robert Collier