Does this sound like your Bank?

THE PHONE CALL RIGHT AFTER THE OCTOBER 2008 U.S. SUB-PRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS

It’s November 2008.  News of the U.S. Subprime mortgage crisis has just broken out.   Panic sets in around the world.  Stock Markets collapse.  Govt’s are scrambling to avoid an economic recession…. or possible depression.

Your Banker calls with some advice about how this will affect your mortgage. You’re concerned and don’t understand how these world events will affect you…. The Banker recommends you get out of your Variable Rate mortgage and into a Fixed Rate mortgage…. or they recommend an early renewal of your Fixed Rate and lock into a new 5 year term…

Back then, the best discounted Fixed rates were hovering at 5.95%.  You listen to the Banker’s advice… after all, they are supposed to look out for your best interests, right?

WRONG!  Time for a reality check…Your Banker’s advice was dead wrong…. when economic times are tough, interest rates don’t usually go up, they go down….  Anyone that is in the Financial Services industry should know this….  and yet, that’s exactly how this scenario played out for thousands of Canadian homeowners.

Some say it’s easy to look back and be critical… I agree… except I go on the record with my personal opinions…. Had you been one of my client’s, you would have received my warning to watch out for ‘special bank offers’ and not to lock into any lock term product….. here’s a link to my October 13, 2008 Market Trends report.

BUT IT GETS WORSE…..

You want to take advantage of these record low rates that have been around for the past 12 months….. after all, if you had stayed in a Variable rate, (like 80% of my clients did), you would have enjoyed rates as low at 1.35% during that time..  Instead, your Banker hits you the infamous BIG SIX BANK penalty calculation and wants a penalty of $10,000.  OUCH!  How’s that for a double slap in the face?

Does this even sound possible?   Guess what… it’s not only possible but it happened….and it happened to thousands of Canadian borrowers….  In this example, the borrower has paid over $14,000 in extra interest charges, so far… We trusted the BIG BANKS because they are on every street corner.  They are on TV, in the media, and are so highly regarded in global banking communities…  But how does this help you, the individual person?  or the average family with a mortgage that’s trying to get ahead and benefit from these record low rates…

This isn’t about bank bashing… this is about Banker’s given too much respect and offering little or nothing in return…. Far too many borrowers have gone through  the scenarios described above… and it’s really unfortunate.   By the way, the mortgage balance for this client is only $118,000.… imagine what the loss would be if their mortgage balance was $200k or $300k or more!!

THE GOOD NEWS…..

Yes, there is some good news… You don’t have to make the same mistake…  you can benefit from other people’s experiences…  Get yourself a Mortgage Broker working for you…  An independent expert with an unbiased opinion.   If you were a client of mine, you would have received numerous warnings about these so-called ‘special offers’…and to avoid them…doing so would have saved you around $7,500 per year on a $300k mortgage…

It’s never too late…  Getting a great rate is important, but being in the right mortgage product is where you will truly save thousands… We’ve been helping Canadians do it successfully for years…….. Feel free to call me if you need help….

Steve Garganis

416 224 0114