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TagMortgage penalties

The Great Mortgage Reset

A FOUR PART SPECIAL EDITION… PART 3 of 4

Canada’s mortgage lending rules and policies are broken.  They just don’t work.  And the more our Federal government tries to help, the worse it gets.  This is a 4 part series of what our government can do to make home ownership affordable.

KNOWING THE PAST WILL HELP OUR FUTURE.

I’m going to list some of the changes that have handicapped Canadians from buying and renting.  There are over 30 changes over the last 18 years but I’m just going to list the ones that have had the greatest impact.  Notice the pattern of ever tightening government lending rules that increase a homeowner’s

Continue reading “The Great Mortgage Reset”

The Great Mortgage Reset

A FOUR PART SPECIAL EDITION… PART 1 of 4

Canada’s mortgage lending rules and policies are broken.  They just don’t work.  And the more our Federal government tries to help, the worse it gets.  Message to the government… STOP TRYING TO HELP!.. CAUSE YOU AREN’T! 

And if you think the interest rate cuts will solve all of this, guess again. There’s a lot more to it.

Continue reading “The Great Mortgage Reset”
Beware of Mortgage Penalties

Beware of Mortgage Penalties

Beware of Mortgage Penalties

I originally posted a breakdown of how mortgage penalties are calculated by different lenders on January 4, 2011.

A recent article outlining how TD Bank charged a $30,000 mortgage penalty to a woman forced to sell her home due to the Covid-19 pandemic shows how this remains relevant today.

WE TOOK THE MYSTERY OUT OF HOW PENALTIES ARE CALCULATED

We decided this needed a more detailed explanation… but a strange thing happened when we started to answer these questions. We made a startling discovery. We caution you – the results could get your blood boiling if you’ve had to pay a penalty!

We found that the banks have shrunk or reduced the spreads between their Posted and Discounted rates on shorter-term mortgages over the past few years… and this has had a huge impact on Interest Rate Differential (IRD) penalty calculations. Continue reading “Beware of Mortgage Penalties”

When Second Mortgages Make Sense

When a Second Mortgage makes good financial sense.

When Second Mortgages Make Sense

Quick, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of “second mortgages”?   For some, it could be that shady-looking character in a smoke-filled pool hall… guys with gold chains and a baseball bat nearby. Maybe you’re thinking of someone in financial trouble? Or, perhaps it’s just someone who doesn’t want to pay outrageous costs and penalties to refinance their existing mortgage.

The mere mention of second mortgages conjures up all sorts of images. Most of them, negative. For many, a second mortgage can be a last-resort solution during a financial crisis. For several others, it can be an opportunity to save money. That’s right, to save money.

Sure, second mortgages carry a higher interest rate than first mortgages, but they can also serve a purpose. One of those purposes can be to save you money. Yup, I said it again. There are some new trends emerging with today’s new mortgage products that are forcing consumers to seek other options. Two of these trends are INFLATED PREPAYMENT PENALTIES and NO FRILLS MORTGAGES! Continue reading “When a Second Mortgage makes good financial sense.”

Picture of a man celebrating with his arms lifted in the air representing the happy clients that saved money by breaking their mortgage

These 3 clients broke their mortgages, paid a penalty, and still saved between $9,000 and $26,000!

Picture of a man celebrating with his arms lifted in the air representing the happy clients that saved money by breaking their mortgage

While I originally posted this article in September of 2015, I think now is a good time to take another look.

Fixed mortgage rates are at an all-time low.  If you have a mortgage that is over 3.09%, then you should consider breaking it, paying the penalty and getting into today’s lower rates.

That’s the short answer… the full answer is a little more complex, but it’s really just simple math.   If the savings is greater than the cost to break, then the answer is obvious.  You should do it!   I’ll give you some real life examples of clients whose savings could be huge $$s today if they paid their mortgage and the penalty and went into a new lower rate mortgage. Check out these success stories…
Continue reading “These 3 clients broke their mortgages, paid a penalty, and still saved between $9,000 and $26,000!”