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Posted Mortgage News

Darryl Sittler made his fortune in real estate, not hockey.

RRSP home buyers planLast week, I had the privilege of attending REIN’s (Real Estate Investment Network) monthly workshop.  One of my childhood idols was a guest speaker.  I’m talking about Darryl Sittler, the former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.   In case you haven’t heard of REIN, let me share some details about this group of professionals.

REIN is a group of real estate investors that get together to network and share valuable information that affects real estate in Canada.   The leader of the group is Don Campbell.   If you haven’t heard of him, you should.  His approach to buying investment properties has proven to be very sound and profitable.  His “top ten best cities to invest” is legendary. Continue reading “Darryl Sittler made his fortune in real estate, not hockey.”

Posted Consumer Debt

Rising personal debt levels.. but how about rising asset levels?

net worthEver notice how all economic news is bad?  Seriously, when was the last time you heard Canadians were doing well, financially?   Even when we came out of the October 2008 U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis (notice I’m very specific about the cause of that recession) with flying colours, we kept seeing the same negative messages about how lucky we were to come out of this as strong as we did.

But here we are, 5 years later (hard to believe it’s been 5 years) and all we keep hearing and reading is how the economy is fragile… the housing bubble is coming… personal debt levels are at record highs…  housing affordability index has increased (this measures how much of your income is used for housing)…   This all sounds terrible and depressing.. maybe we should sell everything, move to another country and herd sheep? Continue reading “Rising personal debt levels.. but how about rising asset levels?”

Posted Money saving tips

Mortgage rates hit all-time lows….it all adds up to record savings too.

graph trend downMortgage rates are still low… In fact, they are at record lows…  5 year fixed rates for qualify products can be found at 2.89%… some No Frills products are at 2.79% (stay away from these products)..   Put another way, for every $100,000 of mortgage you borrower, your payment is $468/mth.

Compare this with the average 5 year fixed rate for the past 25 years being over 7.00% and you have huge potential savings.  That same $100,000 mortgage would cost you $700/mth… That’s a $232/mth difference.  No wonder more Canadians are buying homes, buying rental properties or tapping into their equity to invest. Continue reading “Mortgage rates hit all-time lows….it all adds up to record savings too.”

Posted 4 Comments on Baby Boomers 10 yr real estate retirement plan Case study

Baby Boomers 10 yr real estate retirement plan

Last week, I was asked to comment on BMO’s Retirement Report  which pointed out that more Canadian Baby Boomers are using their home as their retirement fund.  The BMO study shows the baby boomer generation were not downsizing like many experts were thinking.  But instead, they are buying bigger, more expensive homes.   The thinking is that the higher priced homes will grow their retirement fund more quickly and more securely.

Several Financial Experts commented on this study…. mostly offering negative reviews about this retirement strategy….. including BMO… you know, eggs in one basket, diversification, that sort of thing…  there is merit in the statements but I really don’t agree with the negative spin….. Here’s a link to my quotes about the “10 year plan” in The Star.

The 10 year plan has grown in popularity over the last 5 years as we’ve seen the value of our RRSPs or other investment drop in value.   It’s capitalizing on real estate values going up over the long-term.    It’s really simple to understand….

THE 10 YEAR RETIREMENT PLAN

Here’s an example of what one couple did….Let’s say you’re between the ages of 35 and 55.

  • You own a home worth $500k.
  • You have a $300k mortgage., but you can afford to buy a $700k home.
  • Your new mortgage is $500k.
  • You are committed to keeping that home for 10 years….and you can afford the payments..
  • In that 10 years, the goal is to pay down your mortgage by at least half, if not more. (a realistic goal considering the average Canadian pays off their home in 12 to 17 years).
  • if your home goes up by 5% each year, on average (and this is probably a realistic number looking back at historical values), then your home should be worth $1.14million.  
  • the 10 year timeframe is critical… we want to give enough time to live through any up or down real estate market…

Using the example above, in 1o years you should have a mortgage of $350k or less and house worth $1.14millon… that’s $790,000 of equity in your home.   Oh, and it’s all Capital Gains Tax Free….

Does it sound too easy or too good to be true?   It’s really not… take any 10 year period in history…  work out your own stats… This is reality…

By the way, the couple I’m referring to are real… they are actual clients of mine.   They bought their home in 2007 for $850k… They have paid down their mortgage to $300k…this is way ahead of schedule…(the low interest rates have helped)….  The value of their home today is approximately $1.5million.  They have $1.2million in equity today.  They estimate the home will be worth $2million in 5 years…  but even if it isn’t, even if the property is only worth $1.2million 5 years from now, I’d say they’ve done pretty well, wouldn’t you agree?

And for those that prefer stocks and bonds, then stick with those investments…  There isn’t one good strategy…  This plan is less exciting and probably a little boring…  but I like boring when it comes to my money and my retirement…

This plan isn’t for everyone.  You need to be comfortable with debt and understand real estate…. and you need to commit to owning real estate for 10 yrs (it doesn’t have to be the same house.. you can move)…

If you need help with this plan or just want more info to help understand it, give me a call anytime.

Steve Garganis 416 224 0114 steve@mortgagenow.ca

Posted 1 Comment on Bond rates up 0.30%…and 5 yr mortgages at 2.99% disappear.. for now. Interest rates

Bond rates up 0.30%…and 5 yr mortgages at 2.99% disappear.. for now.

Last week we saw 5 yr fixed mortgage rates hit 2.99% for the first time ever (these are full featured mortgages, not No Frills products).   But these rates didn’t last long… just 3 days later, bond yields spiked up and mortgage rates followed…  5 yr fixed rates now sit at 3.09%.

The 5 year Govt of Canada bond yields are up 0.30% since July 24th, and are currently sitting at 1.42%.  That’s a 26% increase in 2 weeks.  These bond yields have a direct effect on 5 yr fixed mortgage rates.     If bond yields continue to go up, we could see mortgage rates go up further.    Looking further ahead, the 2yr Govt of Canada bond yields provide us with a 6 month outlook…  they have also gone up from 0.93% to 1.16%, a 20% increase… if the yields stay at this level, we should look for rates to go up slightly…

Still, these are historical low rates… anything under 4.00% is ridiculously low…  We haven’t seen 5 yr fixed rates under 4.00% for over 40 yrs..  This isn’t time to panic…it’s still a great time to borrow money…

This seems to be an ongoing pattern.  Rates go up temporarily, then they drop… they go up, then they drop…    We’ve been stuck in this cycle for over 2 years.  But hey, who’s complaining?  Not anyone with a mortgage….not any real estate investors… this means money is cheap….. and it makes investing in real estate a very attractive option.

For those of us with a pension or if you are heavily invested in stocks, bonds or mutual funds, then you won’t like these low rates as they are keeping your Return On Investment very low……  Personally, I have some money in mutual funds and some stocks…..I started with my RRSP in 1990…. they were supposed to be a safe, long-term investments…. The only problem is, I’ve never made any positive return… Sound familiar?   The only ones making money are the Fund Managers (with their 2% Management fees) and Investment Advisors (with their 5% or 6% Deferred Sales Charges).

I lost my appetite for stocks and mutual funds, in 2000… the year of the dot com, dot bomb, internet stock market crash… the markets have been a roller coaster ride ever since… I got off that ride in 2004 and have never looked back.

If you’re looking for investment strategies in mortgages and real estate, drop me a line or give me a call… I’d be happy to share some of my knowledge and experiences of others that are enjoying positive returns elsewhere.

Steve Garganis

416 224 0114  steve@mortgagenow.ca