CategoryMortgage Tips

Posted February 26, 2015 Bank News

NO SET UP COSTS!! Secured line of credit at Prime plus 0.50%!

A few months ago, I announced a special promotion. A secured line of credit, at Prime plus 0.50% (2.85% plus 0.50% = 3.35%) with NO set up costs. The response has been so overwhelming that I’m publishing this promotion once again.

FREE legal fees and FREE appraisal fees. The Bank is covering both these costs. You pay nothing. $0.00. It’s just that simple. AND, this Bank will go in 2nd position behind your existing 1st mortgage if necessary.

You must qualify, of course. Good credit, stable income, qualify real estate, etc. If you are interested in this product, contact me for details. This is a limited time offer. We do not have an expiry date but it can be terminated at any time.

Brokers and Agents, please do not call. I am not able to share this offer with you. Sorry.

Your best interest is my only interest. I reply to all questions and I welcome your comments. Like this article? Share with a friend.

Steve Garganis 416 224 0114 steve@mortgagenow.ca

Posted January 29, 20153 Comments Bank News

BIG SIX BANKS finally cut Prime rate.. Well, sort of…!

Last week, the Bank of Canada (BoC) cut their overnight rate by 0.25%. The move surprised all the so-called ‘Financial Experts’… (well, not me… As I had suggested rates were likely to drop in the previous week’s article and also in the previous month).

Our BIG SIX BANKS had their own surprise for us. Instead of passing along the usual rate cut to consumers, they sat on their hands and did nothing. In fact, TD Bank felt good about it and made public statements about how their Bank Prime rate wasn’t fully influenced by the BOC rate. (That’s such a load of bull, you can almost smell it coming out of your screens!)

And also last week, the Banks immediately cut the rate they pay you on your savings by that same 0.25%. Continue reading “BIG SIX BANKS finally cut Prime rate.. Well, sort of…!”

Posted December 31, 2014 Debt

Looking ahead to 2015 rates and trends

Seasons Greetings! Happy New Year! Quick thank you for making 2014 a great year! Hope yours was just as special. And I’m wishing you much success and happiness in 2015.

I’ll make this quick as I’m sure you have some New Year’s Eve celebrations to attend to.

QUICK YEAR IN REVIEW.

Interest rates haven’t really changed this year.
5 yr fixed rates are under 3.00%.
Variable rate pricing improved to around Prime less 0.60% (less in some cases and dropping).
In fact, looking at the big picture, interest rates haven’t really changed much in the last 4 yrs. Yet, you wouldn’t know it by reading the newspaper headlines….(sorry to my media friends…)

Let’s get to it. MY THOUGHTS ON 2015. Continue reading “Looking ahead to 2015 rates and trends”

Posted October 27, 20141 Comment Mortgage News

Bi-weekly payment myth…. it won’t pay your mortgage off faster.

Bi-weekly payments won’t pay your mortgage off faster. Yup, it’s true. Around 4 yrs ago, I wrote an article showing some simple but effective math to explain this. Recently, I’ve had several readers and clients ask me about bi-weekly payments.

I thought I’d repost that article as it seemed to get a lot of attention and answered a great many questions on what it really takes to pay your mortgage off faster.

Repost from July 2010….

Back in the mid 90’s, 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….save 4 or 5 years off your amortization…. Sound familiar? Well, BI-WEEKLY PAYMENTS DON’T REALLY SAVE AS MUCH AS YOU THINK!

And I’ll prove it…. here’s the straight facts! Continue reading “Bi-weekly payment myth…. it won’t pay your mortgage off faster.”

Posted October 21, 20143 Comments Bank News

RBC charges homeowner $8900 penalty, or 15 months interest charge!

Picture this… Your mortgage is with the biggest Canadian Bank in Canada. You feel safe. You got a great rate at the time… 2.99%. What could go wrong? Well, for these clients, and hundreds others, plenty!

Check out the RBC Discharge stmnt oct 2014 showing an Interest Rate Differential (IRD) prepayment penalty of $8912 on a mortgage balance of $213,562. Now, $8912 is a lot of money, but you’ve seen me expose even higher penalties in the past. Penalties as high as $35,000 and $40,000. But, put another way, that’s over 15 months worth of interest penalty being charged. And that’s just ridiculous!

NEWS FLASH! This type of inflated prepayment penalty calculation isn’t exclusive to RBC, the rest of the BIG SIX BANKS use a similar calculation. And they’ve been getting away with these outrageous penalties for over 14 years! (actually, this isn’t a new story.. I’ve been writing about these nightmare, or bankmare, penalties for years.)

Let me put this another way…. Continue reading “RBC charges homeowner $8900 penalty, or 15 months interest charge!”