Conspiracy... at the homebuyer's seminar?

An odd thing happened at the President's Choice seminar for first-time homebuyers Tuesday night in Burnaby.

I was trying my best to stay awake as we listened to a financial planner, mortgage insurance expert, lawyer and home inspector talk about the ins-and-outs of buying a home; not stirring stuff, certainly, but when you're planning to go into debt for at least the next two and a half decades to pay for something, you try to learn something beforehand.

A burly, 40-ish character with an intense, nervous look sat nearby. I hadn't really noticed him before, until he asked some questions that got my imagination racing.

Maybe my brain was just lacking stimulus and made something of nothing. But then again...

"If a spouse dies prematurely, does their interest in the property then go to their partner?" the nervous guy asked.

By itself, the question wasn't all that suspicious, though it didn't really seem the proper forum for it... particularly when the financial planner had just been talking about interest rates or some other topic completely unrelated to the man's question.

But a little while later, the same guy had another question. "If someone gets into a lot of debt and a lean is put on their house, does their spouse have to help repay it? If they are forced to sell their house, does the spouse's interest help pay off the debt?"

Again, the way the man posed the question seemed a little too specific... as though the situation weren't necessarily hypothetical. Separately, the questions seemed legitimate enough, but together... well, let's just say I've probably watched way too many episodes of Law & Order.

At least the possibility of catching another clue to the mystery helped me stay wide awake for the rest of the seminar. I did actually learn alot about buying a home (though we were disappointed we didn't win the $50 Home Depot gift certificate from the random draw).

When I thought of President's Choice, I always thought of those great cookies they make that I used to pig out on. Actually, they've diversified into the financial services biz, and their mortgage service seems fairly competitive. Check out President's Choice Financial Services' first-time homebuyer's page for some good basic info or to sign up for a mortgage seminar. They have some good info about mortage basics, mortgage insurance, obligations of the buyer and seller and lots of other good stuff.

And you never know when you'll overhear something very... interesting... at one of these things.

tags: conspiracy, home buyers seminar, President's Choice Financial, mortgage, basics, murder, mystery