by Allen Ehlert | June 1, 2025 | Lender, Mortgages, Real Estate
If you’ve ever sold a home that came with more drama than a Real Housewives reunion, you know how messy things can get when there’s more debt on the property than equity. And if your client has a first mortgage, a second mortgage, and took out some equity to...
by Allen Ehlert | May 28, 2025 | Home Specifications, Mortgages, Real Estate
A Historical and Legal Argument for Upholding Property Rights in Canadian Neighbourhoods When homeowners resist changes to their neighbourhoods—particularly the addition of multi-family housing in established single-family areas—they’re often labelled with a...
by Allen Ehlert | May 25, 2025 | Mortgages, Real Estate
A house foundation is the structural base that supports a home, distributing its weight evenly and providing stability against shifting soil, moisture, and environmental conditions. In Canada, where climate and soil composition vary widely, the choice of foundation...
by Allen Ehlert | May 23, 2025 | Mortgages, Personal Finance, Real Estate
Imagine a man and a woman want to get a mortgage to buy a house. The man has a dry wall business where he doesn’t pay himself much to keep his income taxes down, and the woman is a full-time permanent dental hygienist. Should they apply for a mortgage under a...
by Allen Ehlert | May 23, 2025 | Economy, Mortgages, Real Estate
Anyone who has been following what is going on in the current real estate market knows we are faced with a profound contradiction: too many listings in the midst of a housing crisis wherein we are undersupplied with homes. It’s nuts! In my town, the housing market is...
by Allen Ehlert | May 20, 2025 | Mortgages, Real Estate
Development costs refer to the expenses incurred in the process of developing a property. These costs can be quite extensive and vary greatly depending on the project’s scale, location, type of development, and other factors. Here’s a breakdown of typical...
by Allen Ehlert | May 19, 2025 | Mortgages, Real Estate
In Canada, wells are a crucial water source for many rural and semi-rural properties where municipal water services are unavailable. Homeowners rely on wells to access groundwater for daily use, including drinking, cooking, and irrigation. The need for a well...
by Allen Ehlert | May 19, 2025 | Economy, Mortgages, Personal Finance, Real Estate
You don’t need to be a real estate expert to feel it: house prices seem out of reach for the average family. But why? What’s keeping prices so high when affordability has clearly left the building? As someone who gets into roughly a hundred homes every month,...
by Allen Ehlert | May 18, 2025 | Real Estate
Ontario reduces taxes to encourage the construction of rental accommodations. The Ford administration is eliminating the sales tax on eligible purpose-built accommodations, such as apartment buildings, student housing, and senior housing. This proclamation of tax...
by Allen Ehlert | May 17, 2025 | Economy, Mortgages, Personal Finance, Real Estate
Canada is no stranger to natural disasters. From wildfires in British Columbia to severe floods in Ontario and Quebec, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and costly. Beyond their immediate devastation, these disasters also have long-term economic...
by Allen Ehlert | May 16, 2025 | Mortgages, Personal Finance, Real Estate
Canada is currently facing a significant housing shortfall, with a need for an additional 35 million housing units by the end of the decade. Affordable housing is a critical component of addressing this issue, and involving the private sector is essential. In this...
by Allen Ehlert | May 14, 2025 | Personal Finance, Real Estate
Discover the lucrative world of real estate and infrastructure investments, where long-term contractual cash flows and natural dividend growth create fertile ground for financial success. In this artilce, I explore the benefits and opportunities that these sectors...
by Allen Ehlert | May 12, 2025 | Mortgages, Personal Finance, Real Estate
Over 60% of the available listings in the busy city of Toronto belong to investors. While this might seem like a lucrative venture, the reality is that many investors are struggling to maintain their real estate holdings. This phenomenon not only affects landlords but...
by Allen Ehlert | May 12, 2025 | Home Specifications, Mortgages, Personal Finance, Real Estate
Welcome to the spring real estate market. As the temperature warms and leaves return to the branches of trees, homes for sale with inground pools return to the market as a point of appeal to would-be buyers. As a professional home inspector and mortgage agent in the...
by Allen Ehlert | May 11, 2025 | Insurance, Mortgages, Personal Finance, Real Estate
Building a new home, undertaking a major renovation, or adding a legal secondary suite can be one of the most exciting — and financially rewarding — projects you ever take on. But before the first shovel hits the ground, it’s critical to understand one of the...
