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Posted 4 Comments on Mortgage Life insurance… what’s this all about? Mortgage Products

Mortgage Life insurance… what’s this all about?

You’ve bought a house… you’re arranging the mortgage financing… and now your broker or banker starts talking about life insurance or mortgage life insurance…..   sound familiar?   Choosing the wrong coverage could cost you dearly.

Today, we’ll clear up some things very important but often overlooked subject.

Does anyone really enjoy talking about life insurance?  I don’t, but we must understand what this product is all about…and why you shouldn’t just waive the coverage.

Life insurance and mortgages go hand in hand.   After all, for most of us a mortgage is the biggest debt we’ll ever have.   And if you should exit this world before that mortgage is paid off, the only thing you want to leave behind are good memories, not a big mortgage payment.

Mortgage Life Insurance or Creditor Insurance as it’s more commonly known with the finance world, is insurance that covers your mortgage balance as of the time of death.    This is not my favorite insurance product but it does have it’s place and it can be used temporarily by most of us.   Here are some good and bad points about the product:

THE GOOD

  • it’s group insurance, meaning it’s easier to qualify for as there are less questions asked.
  • coverage can be instant, as of the mortgage approval.
  • it’s good short term coverage until you get a more comprehensive analysis done.  (I can’t tell you how many clients took this insurance temporarily but continue with the policy for years…. we all love to procrastinate when it comes to insurance).
  • for smokers or those in less than great health or poor lifestyles, this could be a good option.
  • this insurance can be cancelled at any time.

THE BAD

  • your coverage decreases as you pay the mortgage down… but your premiums remain the same.
  • it’s more expensive than most other forms of life insurance such as term policies.
  • speaking of term insurance, your coverage remains the same throughout the 10, 15 or 20 year term that you choose, making this a more enviable product.
  • mortgage life products are not underwritten at the time of application but only at time of death… and your claim can be denied even if you had been paying the insurance premiums for years…
  • your BANK loves mortgage life insurance.   At renewal, when you’re 5+ years older, they will use this against you to get you to sign their renewal… meaning you may not be able to shop for the best mortgage rates!   (Don’t think the BANKs don’t know this.. as a former banker, we were encouraged to use this sales tactic).

HOW TO BENEFIT

Take the mortgage life insurance, speak with your insurance advisor, get your needs reevaluated, get better coverage elsewhere if possible, then cancel the mortgage life insurance..  Yes, in other words, use mortgage life insurance as a temporary coverage…. And please get your insurance needs looked once in a while.. at least every 5 years.

If you have any comments or if you need help finding a reputable insurance advisor, call me.   I’m always happy to help.

Steve Garganis

416 224 0114

steve@mortgagenow.ca

 

 

Posted Mortgage News

Mortgage Broker vs. Mortgage Specialist

Getting calls on this topic once again so I thought I’d clear the air on this very important topic.   So what’s difference?   They both arrange mortgages…. and both can offer advice and product select, right?  WRONG!!!.   The differences are a plenty….I’ll cover the more relevant ones here.

I’ll start with the a quote from a recent Bank of Canada study that tells the story very clearly: “… borrowers who use a mortgage broker pay less, on average, than borrowers who negotiate with lenders directly.”   click here for the entire study.

I can probably stop writing after that statement but I wanted to point out a few more things:

  • A Specialist works for one Bank or a single Lender.    They are employees of the Bank or Lender.   They can only offer you one brand of products.
  • A Broker is independent.  They are not employees of any Bank or Lender.  They can offer products from several different Lenders.
  • More Lenders competing for your business means betters terms and rates.
  • A Specialist isn’t required to be licensed to arrange mortgages.   There are no standards for educational requirements (although most Lenders do provide some in-house training).   
  • A Broker must successfully complete a Provincially regulated Broker course and continue to maintain their good status to keep that license.
  • A Broker can provide unbiased advice.  They work for you, the borrower.

Look, you wouldn’t ask Burger King who makes the best burgers and expect them to say Harvey’s?   So why would you ask a Bank Mortgage Specialist to tell you which Lender has the best mortgage product for you?   Enough said.

Banks and Lenders are great suppliers of money, but they can’t give unbiased advice.  They can only offer you their products…and they will try to charge the highest rate possible…  but that’s okay.  They are a business.  And they will always try to maximize the profit for their employer, the Bank.

If you would like to compare mortgage products and rates, call your Mortgage Broker.

Don’t have one?, then call me.  I’d be happy to help.

Steve Garganis

416 224 0114

Posted Mortgage News

HELOC’s capped at 65% but some exceptions still apply..

Earlier this month marked the beginning of the end of 80% loan to value HELOCs.   Several Banks and of the Financial Institutions began to cut back the maximum LTV from 80% to 65% as per OSFI’s regulations.   But there are a few loopholes in the new rules….

  • The good news is that existing HELOC clients don’t have to worry.. these changes don’t apply to them.  OSFI is allowing them to keep their HELOCs at 80%….
  • Only OSFI regulated Financial Institutions are affected… Provincially regulated FI’s aren’t affected… Credit Unions don’t fall under OSFI’s rule…  there are still some Credit Unions offering HELOCs to 75% and even 80% loan to value.
  • Some of the Banks are still offering a combination of a HELOC and a mortgage of up to 80% ltv as long at you have at least 15% of your balance in an amortized payment schedule, and not interest only payments.

There is more good news… The BIG SIX BANKS can’t offer you an 80% LTV HELOC but the credit unions can… Maybe Canadians will start to seek other Lenders……They may finally discover that there much better options out there.   Watch for the Credit Unions to take a chunk out of the BIG SIX BANK mortgage pie.

Not sure where you fit in?   Call me for details.

Steve Garganis

416 224 0114

Posted Money saving tips

Scotiabank to buy ING….how will this affect you?

Earlier this month, ING Groep, the Dutch financial services giant, announced they were looking to sell their Canadian and UK operations in order to raise cash.   ING received a $10billion euro bailout from the Dutch govt during the 2008 Financial crisis and they want to start paying it back.

It didn’t take long to find a buyer for the Canadian operations.  Scotiabank will buy the Canadian division of ING for around $3billion.   The press release hinted at some good news for the Canadian public.  Scotiabank will continue to run ING as a separate entity.  For mortgage clients, this is mainly good news…. but we do have some concerns… Continue reading “Scotiabank to buy ING….how will this affect you?”

Posted Interest rates

2.89% 5yr fixed rates are available… but are those offers legit…?

You’ve heard the saying, “there are no free lunches”…. or “if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is”.…  I’m not sure how these sayings got started but they probably came from a bad experience…  My favorite is, “the problem with things that are free, is that they cost too much”.…   These sayings can be applied to most things in life…   including your mortgage.

Recently, I’ve seen a growing number of websites and radio ads offering these so-called “great mortgage products” at 2.99% and now 2.89% for 5 yrs… A number of readers have asked me if these offers are legit?  Here’s what I tell them…. Hope you find this useful…

In short, the rates are real but the product offerings come with too many strings attached for my liking….. things like the rates are for CMHC insured mortgages only… or the rates are only held for 30 or 60 days….you can’t pay the mortgage off for the first 3 years…. limited prepayment privileges…..prepayment penalties are far higher than other mortgages….you lose your ability to negotiate a rate if you have to refinance the mortgage.

These product have, and can, end up costing you more in the end.   This is why you won’t see me promoting or advertising these rates.

A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT THESE PRODUCTS ARE ABOUT

In trying to capture market share, some Lenders have created products with slightly lower rates… Ok, I like that part of it…. BUT, they come with inferior terms and restrictions…… and this is where you could end up paying big time, on the back-end of these mortgages.    You’ve seen my previous articles about $20k, $25k, and $30k in mortgage penalties….. This is what makes these products and other NO FRILLS mortgages a bad option…and why I refuse to endorse them.

Let’s face it, the first thing most of us look at is the price… If I said you can buy and iPad for $200, or a 65″ Plasma TV for $500, you would keep listening… In the case of mortgages, we look at rate… 2.89%….  But hopefully, you keep asking questions.  9 times out of 10, you would probably find out there is a catch….. Maybe you have to buy something else, or the make and model is older or of a very poor quality, or the sale was only for a limited time, or it’s a refurbished model, etc….  You get the picture…

In most cases, those offers are just bogus.   The headlines are there to catch our attention… They want to entice you…to get you in the front door or to make that phone call, or to click that link on your computer….The seller is hoping that either 1 out of 10 will not ask too many questions and take the product… or they will shift you into another product… The old bait and switch….  That’s how most of this type of advertising works.  It’s a numbers game…

And it isn’t any different with mortgages.  But the problem with mortgages is that we are talking about a very complex financial product.  A mortgage is a loan agreement, a legal contract that will bind you for 5 years, in most cases.   The loan is secured by your house.  Think about that… You are putting up your home as security… you better understand all the terms, obligations, limitations, restrictions, privileges….. most importantly, look at how much it will cost you to exit this product.

Here’s where I have a BIG problem with these flashy ads….  in most cases, the borrower doesn’t even know what questions to ask…  They can’t get all the required info in order to make an informed decision.     We saw a great example of this earlier this year when BMO offered their 2.99% NO FRILLS mortgage… only, they didn’t market it that way… they called it a Low-rate mortgage…   Quite a play on words.  They made it sound like they were doing us a favour by pushing people into these mortgages… but as my readers know, the limitations to this product can and will prove costly for a large number of borrowers….  which is why I gave that product a huge thumbs down.

For those seeking my opinion and advice, I suggest you take a good hard look at these offers…. ask questions…. you’ll probably end up being part of the “9 out of 10 group” that asked too many questions and saved themselves from a mortgage disaster.

Should you need my help or advice, feel free to contact me anytime.   steve@mortgagenow.ca or 416 224 0114.

Steve