Laurie Kotak
4-580 Pembina Highway R3M 2M5 Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Happy New Year to everyone celebrating today!!!

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope that you have a safe and healthy holiday season!!!

I am going to be posting some helpful tips this month on getting yourself well positioned to get pre-approved for a mortgage. The upcoming spring season is often when people start to consider seeing what is possible. February is the month that your employer and the government (if applicable) will be sending you the T4 or T4E slips. Ensure that you keep them in a safe place as many lenders want to see your last 2 years of T4s to confirm your employment income!

This is interesting how our desires in a home have changed given how much time we have all had to be at home this past year. Many of us are working from home and need room for that for sure!

I know that this has been a rough year for all of us and here is hoping that 2021 is much better!!! Happy New Year to all!

Here are some great ideas to help you during these times as I know it is tough for many people. If you have questions about your credit or how to protect it, please reach out and I'm happy to help!!

I hope that everyone enjoys their Halloween in whatever shape that may take this year.

I know that things are tense right now and many of us can't be with our extended families. I hope that everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving weekend in whatever form that takes. Happy Turkey Day!

Hey everyone, please be careful as there are way more CRA scam calls and emails going around now that the data breach was announced. This afternoon I have received 2 voicemails and we have had an email too. Never respond!!!

Beautiful starter home in St. Vital!

Lovely house in Crestview!!!

What a wonderful surprise today to have these beauties delivered to my office by two awesome clients that just purchased their first home together! I'm a very lucky girl!!! Thank you Courtney and Dana, you are awesome!!!

With COVID-19 challenges that include layoffs and deferred mortgage payments, getting a mortgage may be a bit tougher for some, whether it’s for a first home, or refinancing to consolidate debt, or simply renewing your existing mortgage with a new lender to take advantage of a lower interest rate. But it doesn’t mean you’re shut out of the market completely. It just means you have to plan ahead and be careful managing your debt load. Lenders generally look at two primary fa...ctors to determine whether you qualify for a mortgage loan -- the Five Cs of Credit, and at a couple of ratios. It’s these ratios that are affected by changes to interest and qualifying rates. The first factor is your ability to make your mortgage payments and your willingness to make those payments. This factor is categorized into the five variables. They are: 1. Capacity: Can you repay the mortgage loan? This is the most important of the five. A lender will look at your credit report and review your debts to see if you’ve paid them on time. Lenders don’t like to see missed payments consistently. One or two missed payments is okay, if they can be explained away. 2. Capital: This is the amount of money you have to invest in the property yourself. 3. Character: This is subjective: It’s an impression of your trustworthiness. It’s the big picture. Lenders look at how long you’ve been employed and how secure you are. They will also look at your ability to save and manage your credit. 4. Collateral: Yes, your cash flow is important but so is the property you’re buying. The house is pledged as security for the loan. 5. Credit: This is your credit history the more years you’ve been an active credit user the better. Now, the ratios. There are two critical ones that lenders use to determine your ability to service your debt your gross debt service ratio or GDS and your total debt service ratio or TDS. To qualify for an insured mortgage loan, or high-ratio mortgage, your GDS cannot be higher than 39% of your gross income. GDS is the amount spent on housing -- principal mortgage payments, interest, taxes and heat. The TDS includes all your debt and cannot be higher than 44% of your gross income. Currently, we are in a low rate environment and the Bank of Canada suggests rates will stay low for at least another year. Despite the challenges of getting a mortgage, especially in areas where house prices are rising, there is still market activity. The Canadian Real Estate Association reported the following: National home sales rose 63% on a month-over-month basis in June Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 15.2% year-over-year The number of newly listed properties climbed 49.5% from May to June So, right now the housing market appears to continue to be strong. Working with a mortgage professional can help you realize your homeownership dream, so let’s schedule a conversation. Call or email me today!

I hope that everyone is enjoying this awesome August long weekend!!!

The final draw of the Love-19 campaign. I'll miss this!!!

Another great home!

Check out this nice home in St. B!

This is so true! We need to explore at home this year and find the little gems we didn’t know about!

I hope that everyone is enjoying our Labour Day weekend!!!

**GIVEAWAY** The final draw in my Love-19 local business campaign is for a $50 gift card to Calabria Market and Wine store on Scurfield. They have been in business for 25 years and have a restaurant and grocery and wine store, specializing in Italian products. Their food is awesome!! If you haven't already, you can enter at https://laurie.love-19.com. The draw will be held on Tuesday.

The lucky winner of the $50 gift card to Nuburger is......Susan Gill! I will be in touch shortly. The last draw will be announced tomorrow.

**GIVEAWAY** The 2nd last giveaway in the Love-19 small business draw campaign is a $50 gift card to Nuburger . Check out their menu at www.ilovenuburger.com. You can enter at https://laurie.love-19.com. If you have previously entered, you are already in. Draw will be held on Thursday night!

The lucky winner of the $50 gift card for Miller's Meats is.....Lorie Chaikowski!!! I will be in touch soon. Stay tuned for the next draw location to be announced shortly!

**GIVEAWAY** The next draw in the Love-19 local business campaign is for a $50 gift card to Miller's Meats!! With barbecue season upon us, who wouldn't want some nice cuts of meat to grill! Miller's has 4 locations in the city. If you have previously entered these draws then you are already in, otherwise you can enter at https://laurie.love-19.com. Draw will be held on Sunday. Check them out at www.millersmeats.com

The lucky winner of the $50 gift card to Meraki Spa is......Patti Charison!!! My lovely assistant Joey helped with the draw! I will be in touch soon and stay tuned for the next draw location!!

Here is the 2nd part of the tips on maintaining your credit. It really is a good practice to check your report often and ensure that there are no errors and as they say, be more concerned with the 'hygiene' than the actual number. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Continuing with the credit score theme, this is a good article that explains some of the differences between what you, as a consumer see, and what I see. Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you!!!

**GIVEAWAY** Our next draw is for an award winning spa in the Garden City area. I received such a glowing nomination for this spa and the work that the owner and her team have been doing to raise money for food banks and to support front line workers as well as women's shelters. Meraki Beauty Inc. is located on Leila and the winner will receive a $50 gift card for any of the services. They are now open. Their website is www.merakibeautyinc.com. You can enter at https://laurie.love.com.

Well we just had the next draw and the lucky winner of the $50 gift card to Taverna Rodos Restaurant & Lounge is Anna Seno!! I will be in touch shortly and stay tuned for the next draw to be announced tomorrow! Four more to go!!

Last night I went to Taverna Rodos Restaurant & Lounge to pick up the gift card for tomorrow's draw and I can tell you first hand that the food was SO SO SO good!!! Enter at https://laurie.love-19.com

Sorry for the delay everyone, today was a bit nuts! The location of the next $50 gift card as nominated by some local fans, is Taverna Rodos Restaurant & Lounge. They are located on Roblin Boulevard and are a local favourite. The menu is available at www.taverna-rodos.com. You can enter the draw at https://laurie.love-19.com The draw will be on Sunday morning since I was so late posting this! Stay cool everyone!

I hope everyone enjoys their day!!!

Hey everyone, sorry the evening got away on me last night! The lucky winner of both the Leopold's gift card and The Park Theatre gift card is Julie-Anne Thiessen!!!! I will be in touch shortly! Since Wednesday is Canada Day, I am not going to hold a draw that day and will restart next Saturday for our last 5 Love-19 draws. I hope everyone enjoys the holiday!!! I will announce the next draw on Thursday.

**GIVEAWAY** This draw is a bigger one for our last weekend in June! This Saturday night the south Osborne draw is for a $50 gift card to The Park Theatre AND also a $50 gift card to the bar next door, Leopold’s Tavern Winnipeg Osborne!!! Once everything opens more fully it could be a date night or whatever you like. The Park is directly next to Leo's and they are both happening places on the weekend. Enter to win at https://laurie.love-19.com. www.myparktheatre.com www.leopoldstavern.com

The lucky winner of tonight's draw for the $50 gift card to Black Market Provisions is Adriana Sedlak!!! I will be in touch soon. Stay tuned tomorrow for an exciting announcement for the draw on Saturday!!!

Here is a graphic that helps you to understand how your credit score is determined. What you see as a consumer from your bank or on credit karma is not the same as what we see when you are requesting financing. These are the categories that go into determining your score. It is very helpful to try to keep your credit cards below 75% of your limit, lower if possible, because utilization is 30% of the total score. If you have questions, please reach out and I'd be happy to discuss!!

**GIVEAWAY** This week we are showing some love to south Osborne Street!! Both draws will be for businesses in that area. To start us off is Wednesday's draw for a $50 gift card to Black Market Provisions!! They are not open yet to the public but are taking online orders. They are a cute shop on south Osborne owned by 2 ladies who started out with ice cream and now have all sorts of yummy and fun things available!! They were nominated by a resident of the area who loves the store and wanted to support them. You can enter at https://laurie.love-19.com. Check them out at www.blackmarketwpg.com!!

I hope that everyone enjoys celebrating Father's Day today! Thanks to all the dads out there!!!

Ok so the lucky winner of the Little Nana's Italian Kitchen gift card and bottle of wine is.......Bryon Burvill!!! Congrats Bryon and I will be in touch soon! Stay tuned everyone for next Wednesday's draw to be announced soon....have a great weekend!

**GIVEAWAY** Our next draw is Saturday night and is for a $50 gift card to Little Nana's Italian Kitchen on Notre Dame! The owner has also graciously included a bottle of wine with the card! This restaurant had only just opened in December when they had to close early March. They are currently open for take out only as they are quite a small space. During our lock down, they were holding cooking classes on Zoom a couple of times a week and you could sign up, they delivere...d the groceries to you that day and then you learned how to make the meal online. What a great idea! They are planning on restarting that in the fall. Due to the wine being included, the winner of this draw will need to pick it up from my office as I need to ensure that they are of legal age! Castle Mortgage is located at the junction of Pembina and Grant. You can enter at https://laurie.love-19.com. If you have already entered then you are in for this one! Good luck everyone!! www.littlenanaskitchen.com and Little Nana's Italian Kitchen See more

And the winner of the $50 gift card to Oh Doughnuts is.......Renee Swain!! I will be in touch shortly.....thank you everyone for entering and stayed tomorrow for the next draw!

Check out this open house this weekend!

**GIVEAWAY** Everyone, the draw on Wednesday night is for a $50 gift card to Oh Doughnuts!! I have personally never had one but I hear amazing things!! If you have entered already you still can at https://laurie.love-19.com and you can still nominate your favourite local business! www.ohdoughnuts.com

The lucky winner of the $50 gift card to The Grove is.....Kimberly McGill!! Congrats and I will be in touch soon! Stay tuned Monday for the next gift card announcement! If you haven't entered yet, you still can at https://laurie.love-19.com. Have a great weekend everyone!

**GIVEAWAY** This Saturday's draw is for a $50 gift card to The Grove Pub & Restaurant on Stafford! They are still closed but are hoping to re-open in the near future. You can follow them at @thegrovepub and see their menu at www.the-grove.ca. The great news is that this gift card is also good at a couple of other restaurants in town that are owned by the same family. You can also use it at The Cornerstone, The Black Bird Brasserie or The Canteen Coffee Shop!! Enter (if you haven't already) at https://laurie.love-19.com

The winner of the $50 gift card to the Pita Pit is.........Darla Gerbrandt!!! I will be in touch soon! Stay tuned for tomorrow's announcement of the next draw location!

**GIVEAWAY** The next $50 gift card is for Pita Pit Canada!! They have been a local business for over 15 years and have catered many yummy lunches. Pita Pit was also sponsoring lunches for our front line workers during these times, which was awesome!! The draw is Wednesday night. If you haven't already entered here is the link Https://laurie.love-19.com. www.pitapitcatering.com

The winner of tonight's draw for a $50 gift card to Little goat food & drink is Bev McDonald!!!! I will be in touch soon!! Stay tuned for the next draw announcement tomorrow. https://laurie.love-19.com to enter!

A big announcement was made by CMHC yesterday with respect to the rules to qualify for a mortgage. If you are currently looking to purchase a home, please reach out if you have questions and I would be happy to help!!!

Our next $50 gift card is to a local, family-owned restaurant in St. James called Little goat food & drink. Check out their website at www.littlegoat.ca. They are offering take out options via Doordash right now and have great BBQ boxes available as well as menu options to provide a meal for the family. They have also been providing lunches to front line workers which is awesome! They are on Portage avenue around the Grace hospital area. If you haven't already entered the draws you can at https://laurie.love-19.com.

Well, the winner of tonight's draw for the $50 gift card to Prairie Sky Books is......Audrey Foley!!! @Congratulations and I will be in touch soon!!! Stay tuned tomorrow for the next draw announcement!

The next draw in my Love-19 small businesses campaign is on Wednesday at 6pm and the $50 gift card is for Prairie Sky Books!! Prairie Sky has been open since 1978 and is a charming shop in the Wolseley area. In addition to books, they sell clothing, gift items, puzzles, games, decor and artisan items from around the world. Check out their website for more information at www.prairieskybooks.com. Remember you can register (only need to that one time and you're in all the draws) or nominate a business at https://laurie.love-19.com.

Just had the draw for the $50 Saucers Cafe gift card and the lucky winner is Victoria Heart! I will be in touch soon to get the card to you and I'm sure you will enjoy it. Stay tuned for the next draw announcement tomorrow and remember that you can enter and nominate at https://laurie.love-19.com. You only need to enter once and you are in all of the draws!!

**GIVEAWAY** The next draw is Saturday night and this time it is a $50 gift card to Saucers Cafe on Academy!! Saucers has been open for 18 years and is known for their great lunch wraps. The whole menu looks awesome! You can check it out at www.saucerscafe.com. They are currently available for takeout and will be opening soon. They also offer catering. Special bonus for me was discovering that I went to high school with one of the owners! Remember you can enter at https://laurie.love-19.com

Okay everyone, I know lots of people are waiting to hear who won the $50 gift certificates to Carlos & Murphy's so without further ado....the winner is Lisa Neufeld!!! i will be in touch soon to get it to you! Congrats and everyone stay tuned for the next draw announcement tomorrow!!!

**GIVEAWAY** The next draw for the Love-19 local business campaign is on Wednesday night and it is for 2 $25 gift cards to Carlos & Murphy's on Osborne. They have been in business for 35 years and are a well-loved local restaurant. Enter the draws and/or nominate your favourite business at https://laurie.love-19.com.

And the winner of the gift certificate to Santa Ana Pizzeria is Robin Ruel!!! I will be in touch soon! Congrats and remember everyone there are still 16 draws.... https://laurie.love-19.com

Big news everyone! I just picked up the gift card for the Santa Ana Pizzeria draw tomorrow and they added to it, so tomorrow night is now a $70 gift card draw!!! Please share with your friends because they are SO SO SO good, it smelled divine inside when I went there. Link below....let's show them some love!!! https://laurie.love-19.com Santa Ana Pizzeria & Bistro www.santaanabistro.ca

Ok everyone, so the next draw is on Saturday night and it is for a $50 gift card to Santa Ana Bistro on St. Mary's. I can personally attest to the fact that they have amazing pizza!! Check out their menu at www.santaanabistro.ca or follow them at Santa Ana Pizzeria & Bistro. Remember the link to enter is https://laurie.love-19.com or to nominate your favourite local business!!!

Sorry, I'm a little late with this but the winner for today's draw of a $50 gift card to Chip’s Vintage is Wendy Scurfield! I will be in touch to get Wendy her gift card. Remember that there are 17 more draws. Please share this link so that more people can enter and also nominate more local businesses! This is fun, let's keep it going!!! https://laurie.love-19.com

Our next draw is tomorrow at 5pm!! The $50 gift card is for Chip’s Vintage....make sure you enter and share to your friends!!! https://laurie.love-19.com

The second Love-19 giveaway draw is a $50 gift card for Chip's Vintage store on Lilac Street. The owner is Andrew Chipman and he opened the store in February of last year. They have had to close their doors during this time and are looking forward to opening again when the time is right. They specialize in vintage wear but also carry lots of local music and artists and also bring in work from across Canada. Their website is www.chipsvintage.com and they can be found at Chip’s Vintage. Draw is on Wednesday afternoon! You can enter the draws or nominate a business at : https://laurie.love-19.com/

Our first winner of the $50 gift certificate to Omas Bakeshop is Caitlin Regnier!!! Next draw is Wednesday, tomorrow I will reveal the next business. Please remember to sign up at this link to enter and/or nominate your favourite business. Please share to friends and family, no strings attached, just sharing some love!!! https://laurie.love-19.com/

Don't forget to enter my contest...first draw is tomorrow!!! https://laurie.love-19.com/

The first draw for the Love-19 giveaway will be held on Saturday and the $50 giftcard is from Oma's Bakeshop on Henderson Highway. Take a look at all of the tasty treats that they have and they are known for the best sticky buns!!! Omas Bakeshop www.omasbakeshop.com

Hey Facebook Friends! Do you know of a small business in Winnipeg that has been affected by this crisis? I'm looking for nominations of businesses to be a part of my Love-19 giveaways. Please click the link below to nominate your favourite business!! https://laurie.love-19.com/

Hey everyone, today I am launching a Love-19 local business campaign!! I will be holding weekly draws to give away gift cards from Winnipeg businesses. More information below and to enter please go to this link: https://laurie.love-19.com/

To all of our nurses who are working so hard to keep us safe and putting themselves at risk, THANK YOU!

I was so happy to be a part of helping this client purchase his new home!!! MIKE KNOX - Realtor it was great working with you!!

I know that this is a strange year and many people won't be able to see their mothers but I hope that you still find a way to connect and enjoy the day!!!

Happy Star Wars Day everyone!

Now this is pretty awesome!!!

I have been using Zoom to stay in touch with friends and family in addition to webinars in our industry. Some of these are great ideas. How are you using technology during these times???