UNBIASED AND INDEPENDENT SINCE 2009
UNBIASED REPORTING SINCE 2009
Rates are at all time lows and are expected to stay that way for a while! This means payments can’t go much lower. Let’s put interest rates and mortgage costs in perspective.
Here is what MORTGAGE PAYMENTS on a $400,000 mortgage look like with a 30 year amortization:
Continue reading “Rates are at all time lows”
NEW HISTORICAL LOW MORTGAGE RATE MILESTONE REACHED.
Last week, we saw a 5 year fixed rate mortgage at under 2.00%. That’s right… 1.99%. If you qualified, the rate applied to purchases where the mortgage is Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) insured and paid for by the client. But that rate didn’t last long and that offer is over. I know, things move fast.
But let’s get back to current rate offers. We are in uncharted waters, again. 11 years ago, we were coming out of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis… does anyone remember that? Back then, the stock markets crashed, just like this year, they recovered, just like this year, but interest rates remained low for many years. In fact, they remained at or near 3.00% for the next 11 years.
The message here is this…. there will be small moments in time when interest rates will be extra low… this is one of those times. If you have a mortgage, get a review done! Find out if it makes sense to refinance or early renew or to break your current mortgage, pay a penalty and lock into today’s low rates. Speak with an UNBIASED PROFESSIONAL. Speak with an experienced mortgage broker. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Here are some examples of people that paid a penalty and still saved between $9k and $26k.
Steve Garganis: 416-224-0114; steve@canadamortgagenews.ca
Your best interest is my only interest. I reply to all questions and I welcome your comments. Like this article? Share with a friend.
In case you missed it, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced this week that adjustments to the “Stress Test” are coming on April 6th. While the government says the change will make the stress test qualifying rate more responsive to market conditions, what does that really look like?
On the bright side, this new qualifying rate will probably be lower by around 0.30%. This will increase the amount of a house one can buy by around 5%.
Example… $500k increases to $525k.
On the dark side, this isn’t really making a whole lot of difference. I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but I’d like to point out the shortcomings of his announcement. It’s purely political. They said they would do something and I guess, technically they did. But it really has no significant impact.
Continue reading “Adjustments to the “Stress Test” don’t go far enough”
For years, we’ve been told to pay our mortgage bi-weekly. Magically, it will pay your mortgage off faster. Hmm, let’s put that to the test.
(SPOILER ALERT!) Around 10 years ago, I wrote an article showing some simple but effective math to explain this. I’m constantly getting emails from my readers asking me what they should do. Obviously, a topic worth taking another look at.
Let me also say, there is merit to paying bi-weekly… I’ll explain further on.
HISTORY OF BI-WEEKLY PAYMENTS
Back in the mid-’90s, there was a huge marketing blitz by the Big Banks that promoted making bi-weekly payments instead of the traditional monthly payments. The sales pitch was that you could save huge amounts of money and pay your mortgage off much faster, shaving 4 or 5 years off your amortization. Sound familiar? While offering some benefit, BI-WEEKLY PAYMENTS DON’T SAVE AS MUCH AS YOU MIGHT THINK!
And I’ll prove it… Here are the straight facts!
Continue reading “How much do you save with bi-weekly payments?”
You’re two years into your mortgage term. You’ve got a great rate, or so you thought? But now you aren’t sure. With so much talk about record low interest rates, you begin to question. Maybe there’s a better deal out there? Did you choose the right product and lender? Has your mortgage advisor or broker contacted you during those two years? Does this sound familiar?
We’ve all heard of buyer’s remorse. That’s when you make a purchase, only to regret spending the money days or weeks later. I’m seeing a lot of people second-guessing their mortgage decision recently. And I have news for you… RELAX! There is a way to check to and see if you made the right choice, and better still, there is a way to see if you can do better today.
UNBIASED AND INDEPENDENT SINCE 2009 