UNBIASED REPORTING SINCE 2009
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?”
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?”
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
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?”
WAS THIS A BIG MISTAKE?
Last week, Stephen Poloz, the Bank of Canada Governor, kept the Prime Rate as is during the 6th of their eight scheduled meetings for 2019. The Current Target rate is 1.75%. (Bank Prime rate is derived from this rate. Today’s Bank Prime rate is 3.95%. Over 99% of time, when the Target Rate is cut, the Banks will reduce the Bank Prime Rate by an equal amount).
This was a very calculated decision that has politics written all over it. While the rest of the world banks have been cutting rates to combat a looming recession due to growing global trade wars and slowing global economies, our Government did nothing. Apparently, the Canadian economy is ‘resilient’. The next Bank of Canada meeting is set for October 30, 2019. Oh, and there’s a Federal election on Oct 21, 2019. Yeah, this has politics written all over it.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MORTGAGE RATES TODAY. Continue reading “Why didn’t the Bank of Canada Gov cut rates last week?”
UNBIASED AND INDEPENDENT SINCE 2009 