Welcome back, Real Estate Insiders! This month we’re covering mistakes to avoid when building an ADU, the who, what, when, where and why of bidding wars, tenants forced to collect their foreign landlord’s taxes, the “forever renter class”, and so much more! If you haven’t signed up to our newsletters SUBSCRIBE NOW to receive insider updates, tips and advice, the hottest YQG listings, and so much more to keep you informed throughout the month. Let’s dive in!

What Actually Affects Mortgage Rates?

Its not all based on Federal Reserve Rates (only mostly), but there are other areas that also contributed to the sharp increase in mortgage rates and may contribute to them being lowered soon! Read on for more info on the other pieces of the puzzle and why we should “Tame our expectations” for sharp and frequent mortgage rate cuts next year.

READ: Components That Affect Mortgage Rates The Most

40% of Homeowners Could Not Afford Their Home Today

That’s about 2 out of 5! High interest rates mixed with soaring prices have anyone who bought 5+ years ago counting their lucky stars, with baby boomers being the majority of this group. Something needs to be done as it’s never been harder for a first time homebuyer to enter into the market!

READ: Nearly 40% of Homeowners Couldn’t Afford Their Homes Today

Building an ADU? Avoid These Seven Major Mistakes

Take it from the pro! If you plan to build an Additional Dwelling Unit or “Mini Home” in your backyard, why learn the hard way? This video could save you tons of time and money!

WATCH: Avoid These Mistakes When Building A Garden Suite or ADU

The Who, What, When, Where and Why of Bidding Wars

This blogger breaks down the specifics of homeowners who have won bidding wars in competitive markets to see if they have regretted that decision. The answers are surprisingly positive! The most important take away? Don’t overextend yourself!

READ: Understanding Why People Get Into Property Bidding Wars

How to Avoid Unnecessary Taxes For an Estate

Can transferring ownership of a house reduce the tax liability for the estate? This question and more gets answered in this fascinating article. There’s no way around paying taxes, but different scenarios may be suitable depending on your situation. Read on to find out!

READ: Can Transferring Ownership of a House Help Avoid Probate Tax?

Backing up Your Home’s Power Supply – What you Need to Know!

Whether you want the power to fully operate your home during an outage, or simply charge your phone and run the fridge, there’s so many different options and price points to consider, not to mention the fuel source! Read on for the run down on the different styles, sizes, and prices for backup power now that large storms are becoming the norm!

READ: How Much is a Backup Power Supply for your Home?

New Capital Gains Tax – Targeting the Rich, or the Silver Tsunami?

The Silver Tsunami (a.k.a the boomer retirement cliff) is set to be affected the most with this capital gains increase. The timing of this increase seems almost too good to be true for the government as more wealth is set to be exchanged over the next 10 years than ever before. Read more on who the tax increase impacts, and why it won’t be who the government “intended” it for.

READ: Canadian Capital Gains Change Targets Boomers More than the Rich

Government Puts the Onus on the Tenants to Collect Foreign Landlord’s Taxes

Can we get a collective “What the f*&k?”? Tenants now have to withhold rent and submit to the CRA on their behalf. Some tenants say they are threatened with eviction when trying to do so, and are you surprised? Read more on the growing problem here!

READ: Canadian Renters now Required to Collect Foreign Landlord’s Taxes, Withhold Rent

“The Forever Renter Class” – is There Hope on the Horizon?

Although incomes have increased, housing costs have increased far more. Is there any hope for future first time homebuyers to purchase an affordable (and quality) home? Read here why “forever” may be a stretch, and why renting may be the more affordable (and maybe desirable?) option for years to come.

READ: The Rise of the Forever Renter Class

Simple Mistakes Made When Talking Simple Interest

Paying down your mortgage to avoid paying interest seems pretty straightforward, however there are a lot of misconceptions out there when it comes to that versus investing the money. This article does a good job of simplifying those mistakes so you can make a fully informed decision, because knowledge is power!

READ: Simple Interest Mistakes

Cemetery Plot – Could Selling Trigger a Capital Gains Tax?

Keep in mind you don’t own the land, you own the right to be buried there. However with space being limited and land becoming more and more scarce, there are some people who have seen some big returns (even though it’s not really an investment) in their cemetery plot. Could selling this trigger a capital gains tax? Read here to find out!

READ: You Have to Sell a Cemetery Plot—Will you Owe Capital Gains Tax?

How is the Economy Doing? Depends if you are a Homeowner or Renter

This article looks at the economy through two lenses, the homeowner and the renter. It is funny how the same set of numbers can be interpreted so differently! Read why optimism might be correlated with homeownership, and why not to bet against housing long term!

READ: How Homeowners And Renters See The Economy Differently