Top 7 Reasons to Take Equity From Your Home One of the nice things about being in the real estate industry for so long is I have seen lots of examples of Canadians boosting their net worth dramatically by virtue of building equity in their home. When I look back five, ten years ago, I...Read More

Three Ways to Take Equity Out of Your Home One of the benefits of our bullish real estate market is many of you have accumulated substantial equity in your homes. Some are content to think of this as a core part of their retirement plan, while others are itching to put this equity to good...Read More

Effect of consumer proposal on spouse Hi Ross, my wife and I have a joint MasterCard with a $25,000 limit, and we are maxed out. I have several other significant debts and I plan to enter into a consumer proposal. My wife is petrified her credit history will be adversely affected by this. In fact,...Read More

Second time bankruptcy Hi Ross, looks like I have to do a personal bankruptcy. I owe $59,000 across several credit cards and my minimum monthly payment is over $1,700! Back in 1997 I declared bankruptcy (for only $10,000 in debts), and it went pretty smoothly. Now I am making around $70,000 per year, and I...Read More

Will bankruptcy protect home equity Hi Ross, Many years ago my wife and I took the advice of a well meaning financial planner and invested in a mass marketed tax shelter which was based on donations of art works. Not long after CRA took a dim view of this, and reassessed us both significant amounts...Read More

Talk to Your Creditors, Delay a Lien on Your Home Dear Ross, I owe a ton to CRA and less to a few other creditors.  At present there is no lien on my property by Revenue Canada (CRA) or any other lender. I am thinking about my options, one of which is selling my house...Read More

Can She Consolidate Her Debts Dear Ross, I own a rural property outside of Barrie. I also have a car loan, and I am two years into a five year consumer proposal. I hate having to make three large, separate payments for each of these things. Is it possible to consolidate everything into one larger...Read More

Joint Debts and a Spousal Consumer Proposal Dear Ross, my wife and I have a joint line of credit (LOC) for $20,000. I am considering entering into a consumer proposal, and during this process, I will pay back $5,000 or so directly to this LOC via my payments to the trustee. I understand my wife...Read More

Rob Carrick’s Facebook page (17,500 subscribers and counting) recently sparked a discussion about debt coaching to help debtors find relief from the oppression of carrying too much balances on their available credit. Eric Putnam from Debt Coach Canada stepped in to explain how his company helps Canadians get out of debt. Eric said “our fees...Read More