Jonathan and Mandy bought their first home in Milton, Ontario, two years ago. The purchase price was $500,000. They were determined to get a conventional mortgage and were able to come up with a down payment of $100,000 by combining $20,000 in gifts received from their parents, saving another $10,000, and borrowing $35,000 from their RRSPs each. They were approved for a 3.5 percent 25-year mortgage for $400,000 with monthly payments of $1,997.07. In addition, they chose to pay the lender another $400 per month for property taxes. So far everything has been going well. They both have good jobs. Jonathan makes $69,000 a year and has a monthly take-home pay of $4,025. Mandy earns $35,000 and has a take-home pay of monthly $2,175. They have no credit card debts but pay $700 per month for an auto loan and RRSP loan repayment. Other monthly expenses are as follows: home insurance $60, auto insurance $200, utilities $450 ($250 is for heating/hydro), food $700, and transportation $350. What is left is either used for entertainment or put into a savings account. Mandy is now six months pregnant with the couples first child and she is worried about whether they will be able to meet their living and financial expenses while she is on maternity leave. She is also wondering whether, in the event her mother is unable to look after the child, they can afford monthly childcare expenses of $600 or more for the baby when Mandy returns to work. Questions

1.

While on maternity leave, Mandy will only receive 55 percent of her salary. Taking this and some of the additional baby costs (such as diapers and formula) into account, will the Jonathans be able to make ends meet? Are there any expenses they can reduce to help meet their obligations?

Calculate the maximum monthly mortgage payment, the maximum mortgage amount, and the maximum home purchase price - Mandy and Jonathan could have afforded based on the GDS ratio and TDS ratio guidelines. Would this have been wise? Explain your analysis.

Why are todays consumers spending and borrowing heavily? Assuming you are a financial planner what advice would you give to your clients regarding this? (

What risk is there with the housing boom that Canada is seemingly in and what implication does a rising interest rate environment have in Canada?