Salt Spring Island - Perfect for Families

Hi Everyone,

I firmly believe that Salt Spring is an ideal place to live for nearly everyone, but especially for families and retirees. Since my husband and I moved to Salt Spring for the purposes of the former, (with dreams of the latter) I'll speak on this subject first.

Over the past couple years, my husband and I were deciding where we should move to in order to start a family. Living in Vancouver, we had come to understand that the city was probably not our ideal environment for our children. We weighed a lot of options, both larger and smaller communities, and had several requisites and preferences. After much deliberation we realized there was truly only one choice. Granted, I grew up here on the island, so my opinion could be biased, but here are the main reasons we felt Salt Spring was the place for our family:

- Access to health care (including state-of-the-art and comfortable birthing rooms on island, and short to non-existent waits at the local emergency room)
- Quality and variety of education (numerous standard and alternative elementary schools, and well established middle and secondary schools)
- Daycare and preschool availability
- High level of personal safety (exceptionally low crime rates, and the island has it's own Police, Fire and Ambulance stations)
- A warm community that celebrates family, diversity, creativity, eco-friendliness, and world-mindedness
- Access to amazing natural beauty (lake swimming and hikes are the norm)
- Easy access to the 'outside world' (museums, concerts, medical specialists etc. are close enough to take advantage of)
- Relatively inexpensive housing when compared to Vancouver
- Possibly the best weather in Canada

Since we moved here there have been a few more additions to the island that have made it even better. These include our new bus service and our first indoor pool which is set to open early next month. Also, we've noticed many people are moving here with the same ideas we did, creating a excellent, supportive, sub-community of young families.

We have been very happy with our decision, and are now looking forward to the arrival of our first baby in September. I know our little one will adore this island as much as we do.

If you are considering moving to Salt Spring to start or raise your family, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

All the best,
Neacol

Revisiting Past Posts #4 - Why a Mortgage Broker is Better than your bank

Hi Everyone,

I found this post on my old Vancouver blog, and it's just one more that's as useful today as it was when I first posted it.

Hope you find it useful.

All the best -N

Why a Mortgage Broker is better than your bank.

The first step to buying is getting that mortgage pre-approval out of the way, and I always recommend to my clients to work with a mortgage broker and not their own banks. There are several reasons for this, and they all stem from the fact that your bank is limited to working with what they can offer, while a broker works with what every bank and other financial institution can offer. They have more flexibility, and can even get different companies to compete for your business. Here are a few examples of how they are a better choice:

Lower interest rate: I can almost guarantee you'll get a better interest rate through a mortgage broker than through your own bank, no matter how long you've been a customer there. The bank can give you their lowest rate, but almost always there is someone else out there who can do you one better - and a broker can find that gem for you.

More mortgage options: Banks have a limited number of mortgage types available to offer. Mortgage brokers have access to several kinds of product, from 100% or even 103% financing, to cash back options and more. They can give you options your bank will never be able to. Brokers tend to be a little more creative and flexible as well, they may come up with options you never considered before.

Mortgage assumption: You've found the perfect house, and now you discover the current owners have an assumable mortgage that will save you thousands of dollars a year - what a find! Trouble is, if your pre-approved mortgage is through your bank, and their assumable mortgage is from somewhere else, you'll have to start from scratch with your approvals at the new bank. This can cost valuable time while trying to get your subjects removed, and you now have a new relationship to build with a complete stranger from another bank. If you worked with a mortgage broker, they could easily work the assumable mortgage for you - no new applications, no surprising new relationships.

When looking for a mortgage broker, it's important you seek out a good listener, and someone who really understands your financial situation. If you'd like a recommendation, or have any questions, I'd be happy to help, as always.

Have fun,
N