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At some point we all need someone to lean on. For a few mortgage applicants, that someone is a co-signer or guarantor. If you’re expecting to use someone else to help you finance your home it’s important to be aware of the differences between a co-signer and a guarantor so let’s clear those up.

Despite the fact that people often use both terms interchangeably they actually have very different rights and responsibilities attached to them. A co-signer is viewed as a co-owner even though they won’t be the one making the payments. This is because the co-signers name also appears on the title holding them equally accountable. A guarantor, on the other hand, basically acts as the payment enforcer and while they will also be held liable should the applicant default they don’t appear on the title.

Co-signers
You may be asked to use a co-signer in order to cover a gap in income. Remember that your co-signers name will also appear on the title so they will need to sign all of the mortgage documents as well. Their name will remain on the title until you are able to qualify for the mortgage on your own.

Guarantors
Guarantors are called upon when the applicant has a qualifying income along with credit issues. This means that the guarantor’s credit will need to be checked. The lender will also ask this person to disclose their assets, liabilities and income.

If you have any concerns about qualifying for a mortgage please contact yourbank/mortgage broker . I know that adding a co-signer or guarantor to your mortgage isn’t always ideal so let’s see if together they can devise other mortgage strategies to meet your needs.

CALGARY — Are we looking at another residential condominium boom in the city?

This weekend two high-profile projects launch sales initiatives on the next phases of their developments to capture the renewed interest in the market.

Keynote Urban Village is opening its doors Saturday to a new show suite for its Residential Tower Two project in the east Beltline area while University City on Saturday and Sunday is having a VIP launch for a select group of people for its Building 3 project at the Brentwood LRT Station.

“Activity in the condo market has been gradually improving. Gains in employment, favourable mortgage rates, and price reductions have attracted buyers to the condo market, especially those looking for their first place. A majority of the condo sales in the city of Calgary were for units less than $300,000,” said Richard Cho, senior market analyst in Calgary for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

“We are also expecting to see more new apartment condominiums break ground in the coming months. There has been an uptick in the number of apartment permits issued, signalling the intention of more activity.”

According to the CMHC August had the highest number of monthly apartment starts since May 2008 with 451 units breaking ground in the Calgary census metropolitan area.

The second Keynote residential tower will be 29 storeys high, and will include 250 suites and a wet spa. Possessions are scheduled for the summer of 2013.

Keynote Urban Village project sales manager Jeannie Elrafie said sales have been surging over the past eight months and that’s “telling us there is an upswing underway in the Calgary real-estate market.”

“We’re getting a lot more demand than we ever were,” she said.

Keynote Urban Village encompasses nearly an entire city block on 1st Street S.E., between 11th and 12th Avenues. The Keynote development already includes the 26-storey Residential Tower One with 179 units, and a 14-storey office tower with featured tenants CH2M Hill and Aon Reed Stenhouse Inc., and about 1,500 employees. It also has 40,000 square feet of retail space, occupied by Sunterra Market, Starbucks, and a full-service RBC Royal Bank branch.

Just last week the city’s subdivision and development appeal board gave the green light for the construction of the first two condo highrises for the University City project.

An invitation for the VIP launch of sales for Building 3 says 400 condos sold in five days for the project’s first two buildings. Sales this weekend are for a select group of clients. A public launch is expected to be announced next week.

The first two towers are 18-storeys each with 216 units in each. The master-planned community will eventually consist of between 600 to 700 residences across from the University of Calgary at the Brentwood LRT station.

The University City website says phases 3 and 4 of the project will consist of 12-14 storey buildings while phase 5 will be four storeys.

CALGARY — The average price of resale homes in Calgary topped $400,000 in August, according to a report released Friday by the Conference Board of Canada.

The board said all residential property sales in the city hit an average of $404,755 during the month, up from $391,497 a year ago.

The seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of sales also jumped to 22,092 from 18,816 in August 2010.

And the annualized rate for new listings has also increased to 44,940 from 43,536.

The board said the sales to new listings ratio in Calgary increased to 0.466 in August from 0.410 a year ago.

The board also forecasts short-term year-over-year price growth of between five to seven per cent for Calgary.

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, month-to-date up to and including Thursday, there were 740 single-family MLS sales for an average price of $466,754 and 307 condo sales for an average of $302,460.

For the same period in 2010 up to Sept. 22, there were 682 single-family transactions at an average of $467,486 and 258 condo sales for an average price of $280,790.

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Welcome to the Elements of Mission condo building!  Located on the banks of the Elbow Bow River and in the heart of the desirable community of Mission!  This trendy building is close to the Talisman Center, pathways, 4th Street and 17 Ave shopping, pubs  and restaurants, downtown and the LRT.  This is your opportunity to live the million dollar lifestyle for a fraction of the price.  This fabulous open plan 1 bedroom + large den condo features a titled underground parking stall, secured access, a south balcony with plenty of natural light and a gas outlet for BBQ, in suite storage and in suite laundry.  Inside there are 10′ ceilings, hardwood floors, maple kitchen cabinets, stainless steel appliances, a raised eating bar and plenty of closet and storage space .  Condo fees are very reasonable at $285/month!  Don’t miss out!

Calgary will once again become Canada’s fastest growing metropolitan area over the next two years, said the Conference Board of Canada.

In its Metropolitan Outlook Winter 2011, the reporter stated “the continued recovery in the energy sector will boost economic growth by 3.7 per cent in 2011 and above four per cent the following year, placing Calgary at the top of the growth leaderboard in 2012.”

Calgary mortgage broker Taz Rajan has already seen this rebound occurring from her own experience with a 30 per cent increase in mortgage business in 2011 over 2010.

“I expect to see a slow and steady growth in mortgage business over the next two years,” Rajan told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “I agree that growth in GDP and net migration to Alberta will help the province’s real estate market, and that 2011 and 2012 will be slightly better years for mortgage business than 2009 and 2010. I don’t see any dramatic increases due to the balancing out of strong GDP and migration versus the withdrawal of government stimulus, increased rates and new mortgage guidelines.”

Meanwhile, most of the other 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) will be weighed down as the nation’s economic recovery slows. Only Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, London and Sherbrooke anticipate higher real gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year compared to 2010.

“Most Canadian cities rebounded well from the recession,” said Mario Lefebvre, director of Centre for Municipal Studies. “This year, however, a weaker domestic economy, winding down of federal and provincial government stimulus measures, and uncertain economic conditions in the United States will result in stable or lower growth in a majority of cities.”

In 2011, Windsor is expected to have the fastest growing economy with GDP rising 3.9 per cent. Regina’s GDP will grow by 3.5 per cent; Saskatoon by 3.4 per cent and Edmonton by 2.6 per cent.

http://www.canadianmortgageprofessional.com/news/calgary-to-be-canadas-fastest-growing-cma-by-2012/76129