Tagmortgage penalty

Posted November 9, 2013 Money saving tips

Tips on how to reduce your mortgage penalty

Interest rates are still near record low levels. You’ve heard your co-workers, friends or family brag how lucky they were to renew into these once in a lifetime rates.

But how you do you take advantage? If you break your fixed rate mortgage then you face an enormous prepayment penalty…we’ve seen reports of $10k, $15k, $20k and even $30k in penalties….Wow!

Well, here’s a few tips…

-first, if you are in a 10 year fixed rate mortgage, and your are at least 5 years into the term, then the maximum penalty is 3 months interest (this is a little known fact… Section 10 of the Interest Act of Canada).

-One more way to reduce the penalty is to utilize the annual prepayment privilege that’s within the mortgage. Most mortgages have between 15% and 25% prepayment privileges which equates to a 15% to 25% reduction in the penalty…. Continue reading “Tips on how to reduce your mortgage penalty”

Posted October 18, 2013 Money saving tips

Is there a better mortgage rate out there?

You’re 2 years into your mortgage term. You got a great rate… or so you thought…? But now you aren’t sure. So much talk about record low interest rates… You begin to question.. Maybe there’s a better deal out there? Did you choose the right product and Lender? Has your mortgage advisor or broker contacted you during those two years? Does this sound familiar?

We’ve all heard of buyer’s remorse…. That’s when you make a purchase, only to regret spending the money days or weeks later. I’m seeing a lot of people second guessing their mortgage decision recently. And I have news for you… RELAX! There is a way to check to and see if you made the right choice, and better still, there is a way to see if you can do better today. Continue reading “Is there a better mortgage rate out there?”

Posted May 8, 2013 Bank News

More BIG SIX BANK penalty nightmares… when will Canadians learn to look elsewhere for their mortgage?

Here’s a great article from The Star’s Ellen Roseman on mortgage penalty nightmares. She shares just a few stories out of the dozens she’s received over the past little while. There is no reasonable justification for charging borrowers these inflated penalties… If you think your immune from these penalties, think again.

Notice the name of the Banks that are mentioned in her article… Yes, part of the BIG SIX club… Don’t get lulled into believing that dealing with a BIG SIX BANK offers some sort of immunity from higher penalty charges… The experiences of these borrowers and countless others proves otherwise…

I’ve been getting more calls and comments on this recently… $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 in penalties. How is it that the smaller Lenders can offer the same or better interest rates, and not charge these inflated penalties? The BIG SIX BANKS reported a record $30billion combined profit in 2012…!! Doesn’t make any sense, does it? And yet, it continues…

Remember, there are several other Lenders that don’t calculate their penalties with the same inflated formula… Seek advice from a mortgage broker… get another opinion… There are better options and I have access to them! It’s no secret…. I’m happy to share this info to anyone that wants it.

Come on Federal govt… do something to stop this madness and protect Canadians from this gouging!

Your best interest is my only interest!

As always, I welcome your comments, calls and questions.

Steve Garganis 416 224 0114 steve@mortgagenow.ca

Posted April 1, 20133 Comments Debt

Mortgage Penalties exposed… an in-depth study, part 2…the update.

Two years ago I published, what would become, my most widely read article. Mortgage Penalties exposed…. an in-depth study reveals unjust penalties was written to show just how unfair penalties had become. The surprising results showed that the BIG SIX BANKS were the leaders when it came to charging the highest penalties in Canada. If you had a Fixed rate mortgage and thought your mortgage penalty could only be a 3 month interest charge, you were in for a huge shock.

Consumers were experiencing $10k, $15k, $20k and even $30k in prepayment penalties and more! Ridiculous amounts. Put another way, these penalties equaled 12, 16, 20 months worth of interest and sometimes more! But we also discovered some good news.. There are better alternatives to the BIG SIX BANKS.! There are several other Lenders that don’t use the same inflated and unfair prepayment penalty calculation as the BIG SIX BANKS. There are other Lenders with competitive, and often better, interest rates, and with much lower penalties. That original study opened the eyes of Canadian borrowers. (another eye-opening stat…the BIG SIX BANKS reported a record $30billion in combined profits for 2012.)

Two years later, with more consumers being forced into Fixed Rate products, we thought it was time to revisit Mortgage Penalties and see what changes had been made, if any…

Continue reading “Mortgage Penalties exposed… an in-depth study, part 2…the update.”

Posted December 18, 20122 Comments Case study

Fed govt, BIG SIX BANK’s pushed us into Fixed rates!…part 2 of 2.

IT’S NO COINCIDENCE THAT THE BIG SIX BANKS CONTINUE TO REPORT RECORD PROFITS.

The Bankers were onto something. Now if they could only keep Variable rate pricing higher or make it tougher to get a Variable rate mortgage…. In 2010, the Fed govt would help increase those Bank profits…All new Variable rate mortgage borrowers would need to qualify at the Bank posted 5 year fixed rate. The Feds said they had to tighten Mortgage Lending Rules… They had to make it tougher to qualify for a mortgage with fluctuating interest rates to ensure we would not have a ‘housing bubble’ and a ‘mortgage default problem’… This pushed out 5% more borrowers from qualifying for, and benefiting from Variable rates. And by the way, at that time, Variable rates ranged anywhere from 1.50% to 1.95% compared with the best discounted 5 yr fixed rate of 3.89%…..! Anyone seeing a pattern here? (Some stats to remember…Mortgage defaults have been under 0.50% for over 15 years are currently at around 0.33%… this is at or near record lows!!… so where’s the problem??)

This is also when the BIG SIX BANK’S inflated, and unfair mortgage penalty calculation came to light. The lower rates became, the higher mortgage penalties climbed… $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 in mortgage prepayment penalty charges were popping up in mortgage blogs and news sites. Even the media had to jump in and cover some of this… And when Canadians needed a break in their mortgage payments, they were left out in the cold. These inflated penalties made it impossible to get out of their higher Fixed rate mortgages without paying an enormous penalty. Continue reading “Fed govt, BIG SIX BANK’s pushed us into Fixed rates!…part 2 of 2.”