Colleen is a Calgarian, born and bred.  She has been in real estate since 1990, is a three times  Silver Award winner and a member of the Presidents Club.  Her success comes from her love of marketing and "earning the right to do business with [her] clients".

Colleen believes each home has its' own story to tell, and tailors her approach to reflect the different personalities she encounters. Her methods are innovations in the field, and appreciated by her co-workers and clients and alike.

"My clients like the fact that I'm not sitting waiting," says Colleen, "I'm always trying to make something happen."

Contact Colleen:
www.colleenalbert.com
calbert@telusplanet.net
(403)620-4331

About Realtor Spotlight

 

This type of insurance is required if you have a mortgage on your property. It is also highly recommended even if your property is not mortgaged. There are many different forms and levels of coverage, but they all basically insure buildings on your property, and protect you against personal liability should anyone be injured on your property, or should you accidentally damage a neighbour's property.

Home insurance is a type of property insurance that combines various personal insurance protections; which typically includes losses of one's home, its contents, its use, other personal possessions, as well as liability for accidents that may happen at the home.

If you are taking a mortgage on your property with a greater than 80% loan-to-value ratio, i.e. you are borrowing more than 80% of the value of your property, you will need to pay for high-ratio mortgage insurance, also known as private mortgage insurance.

This is in fact insurance for the mortgage lender, which is paid for by you. If you are unable to pay your mortgage the insurance helps the lender recover their loses.

Although the landscape of private insurers is rapidly changing, the current private mortgage insurance companies are CMHC, Genworth Financial Canada, and AIG United Guaranty.

Here is a table showing the current CMHC insurance premiums:

Table of CMHC Mortgage Loan Insurance Premiums
Loan Size (% of Lending Value)	Single Advance Premium (% of Loan)
Up to and including 65%	0.50%
Up to and including 75%	0.65%
Up to and including 80%	1.00%
Up to and including 85%	1.75%
Up to and including 90%	2.00%
Up to and including 95% Traditional Down Payment Flex Down	2.75% 2.90%
Up to and including 100%	3.10%
Note: See your lender or mortgage broker for premium surcharges and other terms and conditions that apply.

Note that although insurance is available under 80%, it is usually not required. In other words you can ignore the first two rows of this chart.

For more information check out the mortgage types section of this website.

Title insurance is available to protect sellers, purchasers, lenders and borrowers. It provides certainty by insuring the state of the title at it's registration date.

A title insurance policy costs a one-time premium for total coverage. It is typically used when there are questions about the state of the title, or when a portfolio of properties is being purchased. Title insurers in Canada are federally regulated.

Risks covered by title insurance:
Someone else owns or claims to own an interest in the property
Documents not properly signed, sealed or delivered
Fraud or forgery affecting the owner's interest in property
Defective registration of documents
Lack of access by car or by foot from the property to public roadway
Restrictive covenants limiting the use of the property
Liens on the property such as outstanding property taxes
Builder's liens (A charge against a property of money for the builder)
Un-marketability of title or land, including un-marketability due to defects revealed by a real property report
Easements
Work orders
Either the title holder or a neighboring property is forced to remove structures that violate zoning laws or the title
Adverse circumstances that would have been disclosed by a local authority search, such as an indication that a building permit had not been issued