UNBIASED AND INDEPENDENT SINCE 2009

Online shopping for Stocks, Vacations and Mortgages.

Posted November 7, 2019 Case study

Online shopping …. Stocks, Vacations and Mortgages. What’s the difference?

Is choosing a mortgage as easy as booking a trip or trading a stock? Let’s find out!

Sure, you can book a flight online or buy a stock through the web. But, can you really choose the right mortgage product on your own? Can you really find the absolutely lowest cost mortgage financing option? I’ll bet some consumers can. I’ll also bet the vast majority cannot. There’s a steady stream of horror stories, on this news site and others, that show just how costly and financially dangerous it is to be in the wrong mortgage product, with the wrong lender.

I’ve shared dozens of those experiences on this site. Consumers who were directed into the wrong mortgage by their Banker or by some web site claiming to offer ‘the lowest rate’. I empathize with these consumers as I believe they were just trying to save some money but instead ended up paying far more than they had to. Continue reading “Online shopping …. Stocks, Vacations and Mortgages. What’s the difference?”

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.”

Good debt and Bad debt - Credit Debt Loan Mortgage

Posted October 24, 20191 Comment Consumer Debt

Good debt and Bad debt…. do we Canadians recognize the difference?

I saw this article from earlier this year about Good debt and Bad debt. Canadian Personal debt levels have now surpassed $2.21 trillion. That’s a big number, should we be concerned? I started to wonder how much of this is Bad debt? Let’s take a closer look at these stats. Continue reading “Good debt and Bad debt…. do we Canadians recognize the difference?”

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….”