Sacha Peter of The Divestor provides this article, Canadian Interest Rate Projections, in which he makes some predictions about mortgage rates over the next year. This could prove to be some important information for those readers currently wondering what type of mortgage they should consider.

We received the following notice from the GMREB this morning. If you visit Centris, you can enter to win a $25,000 down payment! Contest starts April 7th.

The City of Montréal has announced special incentives for first-time home buyers, in an effort to keep young families from moving out of the city core.  The CBC has more information:

The City of Montreal has sweetened its home ownership incentives to encourage families to choose the island over suburban living.

The incentives target couples with children who want to buy new property with at least three bedrooms.

First-time buyers with families are now entitled to a $12,500 subsidy if they buy a three-bedroom home under $295,000.

The older subsidy is capped at $10,000 for homes worth a maximum of $265,000, bought by families with at least one child.

Childless households are eligible for a one-time grant of $4,500 to buy homes worth a maximum of $235,000.

All subsidies remain limited to first-time homebuyers.

Mayor Gérald Tremblay said the subsidies should tempt people to stay in Montreal.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/03/22/montreal-subsidies-for-first-time-family-homebuyers.html?ref=rss#ixzz0jD2scAzt

Brian Williams, the anchor of NBC Nightly News, posted a lovely post-Olympics thank-you note to Canada on his blog:

After tonight’s broadcast and after looting our hotel mini-bars, we’re going to try to brave the blizzard and fly east to home and hearth, and to do laundry well into next week.  Before we leave this thoroughly polite country, the polite thing to do is leave behind a thank-you note.

Thank you, Canada:

For being such good hosts.

For your unfailing courtesy.

For your (mostly) beautiful weather.

For scheduling no more than 60 percent of your float plane departures at the exact moment when I was trying to say something on television.

For not seeming to mind the occasional (or constant) good-natured mimicry of your accents.

For your unique TV commercials — for companies like Tim Hortons — which made us laugh and cry.

For securing this massive event without choking security, and without publicly displaying a single automatic weapon.

For having the best garment design and logo-wear of the games — you’ve made wearing your name a cool thing to do.

For the sportsmanship we saw most of your athletes display.

For not honking your horns. I didn’t hear one car horn in 15 days — which also means none of my fellow New Yorkers rented cars while visiting.

For making us aware of how many of you have been watching NBC all these years.

For having the good taste to have an anchorman named Brian Williams on your CTV network, who turns out to be such a nice guy.

For the body scans at the airport which make pat-downs and cavity searches unnecessary.

For designing those really cool LED Olympic rings in the harbor, which turned to gold when your athletes won one.

For always saying nice things about the United States…when you know we’re listening.

For sharing Joannie Rochette with us.

For reminding some of us we used to be a more civil society.

Mostly, for welcoming the world with such ease and making lasting friends with all of us.

Source

We recently read a wonderful article by Anna Vozza for the Windsor Star, about how to decide when to sell your home:

* 5 year fixed rate at 3.75% guaranteed until July 15th;
* 5 year variable rate at 2.05% (prime – 0.2%)

2) Mortgages for non-residents – no income confirmation necessary, 35% down-payment, all countries.

3) New immigrants – min. down-payment of 10%

You can e-mail Lesley at lesley.wright@bmo.com, or call at (514) 808-3661.