CategoryMoney saving tips

Posted May 10, 2013 Money saving tips

Mortgage rates hit all-time lows….it all adds up to record savings too.

Mortgage rates are still low… In fact, they are at record lows… 5 year fixed rates for qualify products can be found at 2.89%… some No Frills products are at 2.79% (stay away from these products).. Put another way, for every $100,000 of mortgage you borrower, your payment is $468/mth.

Compare this with the average 5 year fixed rate for the past 25 years being over 7.00% and you have huge potential savings. That same $100,000 mortgage would cost you $700/mth… That’s a $232/mth difference. No wonder more Canadians are buying homes, buying rental properties or tapping into their equity to invest. Continue reading “Mortgage rates hit all-time lows….it all adds up to record savings too.”

Posted May 8, 2013 Bank News

More BIG SIX BANK penalty nightmares… when will Canadians learn to look elsewhere for their mortgage?

Here’s a great article from The Star’s Ellen Roseman on mortgage penalty nightmares. She shares just a few stories out of the dozens she’s received over the past little while. There is no reasonable justification for charging borrowers these inflated penalties… If you think your immune from these penalties, think again.

Notice the name of the Banks that are mentioned in her article… Yes, part of the BIG SIX club… Don’t get lulled into believing that dealing with a BIG SIX BANK offers some sort of immunity from higher penalty charges… The experiences of these borrowers and countless others proves otherwise…

I’ve been getting more calls and comments on this recently… $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 in penalties. How is it that the smaller Lenders can offer the same or better interest rates, and not charge these inflated penalties? The BIG SIX BANKS reported a record $30billion combined profit in 2012…!! Doesn’t make any sense, does it? And yet, it continues…

Remember, there are several other Lenders that don’t calculate their penalties with the same inflated formula… Seek advice from a mortgage broker… get another opinion… There are better options and I have access to them! It’s no secret…. I’m happy to share this info to anyone that wants it.

Come on Federal govt… do something to stop this madness and protect Canadians from this gouging!

Your best interest is my only interest!

As always, I welcome your comments, calls and questions.

Steve Garganis 416 224 0114 steve@mortgagenow.ca

Posted April 29, 20137 Comments Case study

So-called “Best Rate sites” are put to the test with shocking results.

There’s been a surge of ‘Best Rate’ sites popping up… Chances are, you’ve probably seen one or more of their online ads… You know the ones…‘shopping’ for the Best mortgage rates in Canada’ and ‘comparing Canada’s mortgage brokers for the best rate”. It does sound great… and it seems to be getting lots of attention… Even the media are covering and quoting these sites… And although I like that these sites promote how Mortgage Brokers can offer great rates, I’ve noticed some disturbing trends that you need to watch out for.

“I JUST WANT THE BEST RATE”

You say you want the ‘best rate’? Really? Or do you want to pay the least amount of money on your mortgage? I’ll bet it’s the latter. Make no mistake, these two things are very different and I’ll prove it. But let’s face it, the rate gets everyone’s attention.. Most people don’t want to hear anything beyond that.. until they get burned for $$thousands on the mortgage later on.

Now what if I told you that 80% of my clients were paying a rate of 1.35% during 2009 and 2010, would that get your attention? Of course. And it’s true. 80% of my clients were in a Variable Rate mortgage based on my recommendations….and almost all of them didn’t panic and lock into a fixed rate (like the BIG SIX BANKS wanted them to)…they stayed in those products based on my specific advice recommending they not lock into a Fixed rate…. That’s called being in the right product at the right time. My average client saved $6,000 during that time. Continue reading “So-called “Best Rate sites” are put to the test with shocking results.”

Posted April 27, 20131 Comment Money saving tips

What can $100 do when it comes to a mortgage?

When it comes to mortgages, $100 isn’t gonna get your very far. But what if you paid an extra $100/mth towards your mortgage? It’s not a lot of money these days but it can add up to some good savings.

We looked at a $300,000 mortgage with a 2.89% rate and a 25 year amortization. At the end of 5 years, the borrower had paid off an extra $6,444. The balance owing was $249,435. And their remaining amortization was 17 years and 9 months instead of 20 years. This also represented an interest savings of $11,423 over the life of the mortgage. Not bad.

Now let’s look at paying an extra $200 per month. At the end of 5 years, the borrower had paid off an extra $12,888 . The balance owing was $242,991. And their remaining amortization was 15 years and 11 months. This represented an interest savings of $20,708 over the life of the mortgage. Continue reading “What can $100 do when it comes to a mortgage?”

Posted April 1, 20133 Comments Debt

Mortgage Penalties exposed… an in-depth study, part 2…the update.

Two years ago I published, what would become, my most widely read article. Mortgage Penalties exposed…. an in-depth study reveals unjust penalties was written to show just how unfair penalties had become. The surprising results showed that the BIG SIX BANKS were the leaders when it came to charging the highest penalties in Canada. If you had a Fixed rate mortgage and thought your mortgage penalty could only be a 3 month interest charge, you were in for a huge shock.

Consumers were experiencing $10k, $15k, $20k and even $30k in prepayment penalties and more! Ridiculous amounts. Put another way, these penalties equaled 12, 16, 20 months worth of interest and sometimes more! But we also discovered some good news.. There are better alternatives to the BIG SIX BANKS.! There are several other Lenders that don’t use the same inflated and unfair prepayment penalty calculation as the BIG SIX BANKS. There are other Lenders with competitive, and often better, interest rates, and with much lower penalties. That original study opened the eyes of Canadian borrowers. (another eye-opening stat…the BIG SIX BANKS reported a record $30billion in combined profits for 2012.)

Two years later, with more consumers being forced into Fixed Rate products, we thought it was time to revisit Mortgage Penalties and see what changes had been made, if any…

Continue reading “Mortgage Penalties exposed… an in-depth study, part 2…the update.”