CategoryMortgage Tips

Posted October 30, 2019 Interest rates

Important week for mortgage rates could cost or save you thousands.

Mortgage rates fell by about 1% since January of this year. That rate drop has created a surge in real estate sales across Canada, with September and October seeing a greater than average number of real estate transactions. We also saw consumers taking advantage of these low rates by refinancing their mortgages early.

The Five-Year Government of Canada bond yields have been going up and down like a yo-yo over the last three months, with a low point being 1.13% and a high of 1.58% just this past week. This uncertainty/volatility forced financial institutions to raise their interest rate by about .2% to .3%. Having said that, interest rates are still very low. In my discussions with the major lenders, they are all telling me that it’s busier than usual for home purchases and refinance purposes. Continue reading “Important week for mortgage rates could cost or save you thousands.”

Posted October 17, 2019 Mortgage News

Information vs advice. Why is it free?

The internet is great for researching information, ratings and even advice. With so much available data, it’s hard to decide which is accurate, reliable or even truthful.

Take this site for example. If this is your first visit then you may not be aware of all my credentials nor how accurate my information or recommendations are.

You’re probably making a decision right now. That’s how fast we decide today. I’ve either got your attention or I don’t. Hello to those that continue, or farewell and thanks for stopping by to those that are leaving. (By the way, stick around, you may find this useful). Continue reading “Information vs advice. Why is it free?”

Posted September 26, 2019 Mortgage News

Beware of mortgage fraudsters….

I wrote that back in 2006. Since then we have seen some provincial governments step in with laws to help protect unsuspecting homeowners. You can also purchase Title insurance or an alternative method of protection.

A couple of years ago, Toronto police said a woman used fake ID to get a $300,000 mortgage. The unsuspecting homeowner only discovered a mortgage had been fraudulently registered on their home when they received mortgage documents in the mail.

This is not a new scam. It’s happened many times in the past. Here’s a big one from 2010 that involved $140million and hundreds of people. This one was huge. Most are not this big or elaborate. It’s the smaller ones, like the recent one for $300,000, that are more common place.

HOW IT’S DONE

Continue reading “Beware of mortgage fraudsters….”

A beautiful gift wrapped box - When it comes to mortgages are you looking at the packaging or what is actually inside.

Posted September 19, 2019 Mortgage News

Are you looking at the beautiful box or what’s inside?

If I gave the option of choosing between two cell phones, which would you choose? Both phones had similar specs and were identical in almost every way… except PHONE one came in a nicely gift wrapped box with a bow on it. PHONE two came in a brown paper bag but was less expensive and also had slightly better options.

Most of us would choose PHONE two right? Wrong! When it comes to mortgages, most of us are focusing too much on the beautiful gift box and not paying enough attention to the contents. They say around 47% of all mortgages go through a BANK and 39% go through a Mortgage Broker. Broker share is up, but not enough in my opinion.

When it comes to mortgages, historically the BIG SIX BANKS have been charging higher rates than what can be had from MORTGAGE BROKERS. (see Bank of Canada study ‘competition in the Canadian mortgage market). And their inflated prepayment penalty calculations are now infamous (typical BIG SIX BANK penalties are around 4 times higher than other lenders).
Continue reading “Are you looking at the beautiful box or what’s inside?”

Posted August 20, 20191 Comment Interest rates

Mortgage Rates are still trending Lower… Yes, in August!

A couple years ago, the federal government brought in some tighter mortgage qualifying rules. The ‘stress test’ was just one of several changes, but it’s definitely the most well known.

The feds wanted to slow the housing market. They also wanted to ensure that borrowers could afford the much anticipated mortgage rate hikes. Rates have to go up some time, right?! When?!

Continue reading “Mortgage Rates are still trending Lower… Yes, in August!”