Family Formation & Housing

For young couples starting families, buying their first home and/or other real estate. Covers mortgages, credit cards, interest rates, children’s education savings plans, joint accounts for couples and the like.

First-time Homeowner? Follow these 3 tips for a smooth financial transition

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By Gary Bordeaux

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Becoming a homeowner is an exciting, pivotal and sometimes overwhelming time in a person’s life. A home is likely the largest investment you’ll ever make, so it’s important to go into it with a clear head and a solid (yet still flexible) plan. Even though everyone’s experience will be different, there are still some things that remain similar for everyone adjusting to life as a homeowner. If you’re embarking on this journey and could use some direction, keep reading. Here are three tips to keep in mind that will ensure this transitional time is the best it can be.

1.) Make essential upgrades that will improve functionality and save money

When you purchase a home, you’re also purchasing any essential items that might come with it, such as appliances, water heaters or even a home security system. Since all of these are major parts of a home, pay attention to their condition regardless of what the inspection report says.

It’s not uncommon for new homeowners to have to spend money right off the bat on either repairing or replacing these types of items. This adds up, so pay attention to where (and how) you’re spending your money. So, while it might be tempting to go on shopping sprees for new furniture and home decor, try to wait it out until you have a grasp of how everything is working. There’s not much worse than being short on funds when you need them most!

For instance, maybe your new home came with an older water heater that doesn’t heat efficiently. Maybe it’s too small to meet your needs, or maybe it just doesn’t work consistently. A simple call to a firm like this water heater company in Thousand Oaks can determine the best course of action to take to ensure your hot water situation improves quickly. A more efficient water heater also means more money saved, so you can go ahead and buy that new piece of art for your new mantel.

2.) Prioritize Convenience

When you purchase a home, you might have certain things in mind that you’d like to do, such as installing new flooring or painting throughout. Both can be costly and time consuming, and both have one thing in common. They’re much easier to do when your new home is empty, before you’re actually living in it. This is a situation where it’s important to prioritize what will make your life easier, especially when the projects are inevitable. As you’ll quickly figure out, you will have plenty of decisions to make along the way and some will carry more weight than others.

3.) Get a Home Maintenance Plan together (and stick to it)

As a new homeowner, you will quickly realize how there is always something that needs to be done. If you don’t set up some sort of schedule or guide to manage to-dos, your new adventure can quickly become a huge source of stress. Since nobody needs that, make sure you don’t skip this part. Breaking it down seasonally is a great place to start, also including recurring tasks such as cleaning and landscaping. Continue Reading…

BBC StoryWorks #3: The case for locking in to Fixed-rate Mortgages at today’s ultra-low interest rates

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The third article of six planned to appear on the BBC StoryWorks website in Canada has now been published. You can find it by clicking on the highlighted headline here: Embracing the Fixed Rate Mortgage.

As explained in the first instalment, the articles look at Covid-19 and the impact on the real estate and mortgage industry. The articles appear weekly and run into November.  The last three articles will look at the case for locking the investing experience following Covid, optimum strategies going forward and close with retirement strategies in the age of Covid.

In the second article of the series we made the case for why you might want to go with a variable rate mortgage and keep your interest costs as low as possible at today’s historically rock-bottom rates. In this article — written with my input and sponsored by TD Bank — we take the opposite view and present the argument why you might consider locking in to the safety and security of a 5-year fixed rate mortgage.

After all, there’s a lot more room for rates to rise than fall from here, and staying variable may be especially stressful for those with larger mortgages. True, you may be able to save a few basis points in interest charges by staying short but at what cost in anxiety and sleepless nights?

Variable mortgage rates remain a tad lower than fixed but is it worth taking a gamble with variable to get the absolute lowest rate or is it better to choose the safety and security of a fixed rate mortgage? Today’s record low 5-year fixed rates has made Lethbridge-based fee-only financial planner Robb Engen (and regular Hub contributor) rethink his past strategy of staying variable.  He points out any upside with variable rates is largely gone now as the prime rate is likely as low as it’s going to get.

Both variable and fixed rates may be under 2% these days

“Fixed and variable mortgage interest rates [for the same term] are pretty comparable these days,” says fee-only financial planner Jason Heath, managing director of Toronto-based Objective Financial Partners.
Continue Reading…

BBC StoryWorks #2: The case for staying with variable rate mortgages at today’s interest rates

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The second article of six planned to appear on the BBC StoryWorks website in Canada has now been published. You can find it by clicking on the highlighted headline here: Strategies for a Low-Interest World.

As explained in the first instalment, the articles (written by me) looks at Covid-19 and the impact on the real estate and mortgage industry. The articles will appear every week and run into November.  Later articles will look at the case for locking in to fixed-rate mortgages, the investing experience following Covid, optimum strategies going forward and close with retirement strategies in the age of Covid.

The second article just posted looks at why variable-rate mortgages may still be the optimum route for homeowners to go, seeing as interest rates seem destined to remain “lower for longer.” Mortgage rates are as low as anyone could reasonably have hoped to see in their lifetimes, but rock-bottom rates are also putting upward pressure on home prices. As noted in the first article, even prices of suburban and rural properties are rising, as the pandemic changes the supply/demand dynamics of where we work and live.

Rates are unlikely to spike upwards as long as the pandemic is a factor. Based on recent statements by central Banks around the world, it’s reasonable to expect interest rates will remain “lower for longer,” if not indefinitely at least for the foreseeable future. In mid-September the US federal reserve said rates won’t be raised before 2023.

Both fixed and variable rate mortgages are under 2%

In Canada, fixed and variable rate mortgages are being offered at less than 2%.   Continue Reading…

8 Employee Education tips on Health Savings Accounts

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Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are often a foreign concept when employers offer them to employees. What should employees know – or ask – about a Health Savings Account offered as a part of an employer’s benefit plan? 

To create this article, we posed that question to employers, employees, and financial services professionals. The focus here is on the United States: An HSA is a type of medical savings account available to taxpayers strictly in the United States who are enrolled in high-deductible medical insurance plans.

Here are eight employee education tips for health savings accounts: 

  • Understand Your Options
  • Analyze your Past Records
  • Focus on Interest Rates and Penalties
  • Understand Your Health Care Needs
  • Research Specialized Service Coverage
  • HSAs Aren’t For Everyone
  • Tax Advantages
  • Other Health Insurance Are Not Allowed Under an HSA

Let’s dive deeper into each education tip offered by employers and financial service professionals.

Understand your options

The first thing to do is understand what a health savings account is. Do your research until you know your options and then understand your options. The golden key here is knowledge. You should never make major decisions without fully understanding what it is you are dealing with. — Ken Chipman, Arrow Lift

Analyze your past records

You should know that Health Savings Accounts aren’t for everyone. Gather all your records and decide if it is something you need rather than something you want to get just because it is being offered. Understanding benefit plans is tricky, but take the time to look through everything. Don’t just go with what everyone else is doing. — Peter L. Babinski, Stomadent Dental Lab 

Focus on Interest Rates and Penalties

Employees should focus on things like interest rate, if the money is pre-taxed and if there is a penalty for early withdrawal. Interest rates often get overlooked, but over time they make a huge difference in the amount of money that is accumulated. Employees should also be aware of the taxing process as well as their options should they need to withdraw the money early. — Ryan Nouis, TruPath 

Understand your Health Care needs 

Like any health care option, a Health Savings Account has its pros and cons. Evaluate your healthcare needs and your budget for the next year. Someone young and healthy will most likely view an HSA as an attractive choice. Someone not as healthy with expensive medical care needs might forego the HSA option. It’s all about doing what’s best for you and your situation and taking advantage of the benefits an HSA has to offer you. — Kayla Centeno, Markitors 

Research specialized Service Coverage

Many employees want to know if they can use their health savings account (HSA) to pay for dental implants. The answer is that in most cases, dentures are eligible for reimbursement with an HSA plan. Dentures may also be eligible for reimbursements through a flexible spending account (FSA), a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) and a limited care flexible spending account (LCFSA). The plan where dentures are often not eligible for reimbursement is a dependent care flexible spending account (DCFSA). When in doubt, always check with your insurance carrier to get a more personalized answer. — Henry Babichenko, DD, European Denture Center

They aren’t for everyone

These accounts don’t make sense for everyone, but are really great for individuals and families with predicted medical expenses above their deductibles. If you know that you will outspend your deductible this year, then I highly recommend an HSA. — Anna Caldwell, Accredited Debt Relief

Tax advantages

Young and healthy employees should really look into the triple-tax-advantage of HSAs as a long-term financial planning vehicle. Continue Reading…

A new blog series on Covid’s impact on housing and mortgages

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The BBC Storyworks site in Canada has launched a 6-part series written by me about Covid-19 and the impact on housing and the mortgage industry. The articles will appear weekly, starting this week. Later articles will look at mortgage options, the investing experience following Covid, optimum investment strategies going forward and close with retirement strategies in the age of Covid.

The first article went up on Thursday and covers how the Work-from-Home phenomenon has impacted where we all live and work. You can find the full piece by clicking on the highlighted headline here: Rethinking Home Base. The series is sponsored by TD Bank.

Working from home is now mainstream, whether temporarily for those still employed, or as a more enduring shift to home-based self-employment. Many technology companies now let employees work from home: some until 2021, some permanently.

“Covid-19 shaped the real estate market during the second quarter in every possible way,” says Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal Lepage. Its latest housing survey showed home prices rising sharply, with supply struggling to keep up with a surge in demand: “As the reality of extended and potentially permanent work-from-home employment sunk in, people pondered both the location and size of their homes,” he said in a release on the survey, “Simply put, larger homes in smaller communities have become more fashionable.”

Many urban homeowners are selling their expensive city homes and swapping them for bigger places in the suburbs or cottage country. Not surprisingly, and as Reuters recently reported, there’s a severe glut of office space in New York City. Many REITs with heavy exposure to offices and malls have been hard hit.

Consumer spending patterns changing too

Covid has changed consumer spending patterns, with less eating out and reduced need for new clothes for the office. Meanwhile, cooped-up homeowners are landscaping back yards, and adding pools and decks. These home-based workers are upgrading computers and office equipment, upgrading smartphones, adding peripherals from Logitech or HP Inc., trekking to Home Depot to retrofit workspaces and ordering furniture online from RH or Wayfair. They stay in touch with customers through technologies like Zoom or Skype. They collaborate with remote co-workers through Slack or Microsoft Teams. They close deals with electronic signatures from firms like DocuSign, while medical professionals consult via telemedicine tools like Teladoc.

Cottage country booming

Cottage country is experiencing a massive sales boom. The story says veteran Collingwood realtor Karen Willison is swamped with business from urban refugees. Far from creating bargains, Covid has elevated home prices across the board, especially those with waterfront.

New retirees figure prominently: Pre-Covid some clients who thought they’d retire in two years are speeding up plans. We’ll look at this aspect more later in the series.