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Pat Sawler
902-465-5533
HALIFAX OFFICE:
1959 Upper Water Street
Suite 1301
Halifax, NS B3J 3N2
SURREY OFFICE:
7404 King George Blvd
Suite 200
Surrey, British Columbia, V3W 1N6
Nova Scotia Brokerage 2021-3000179
Broker 2021-3000180
Qualifying rate change
As some of you may know that we have a mortgage stress test or qualifying rate of 5.25%. This is to help insure that when you are qualifying for a mortgage you will still be able to make the payments if and or when the rate changed to 5.25%. What many of you may not […]
Overheated
In the past few days there have been several articles all taking about the potential upcoming downfall to the Canadian real estate market. If this is true should you be worried. Let’s examine a few things first, the pandemic changed a lot of things about our lives and with it came the ability to work […]
KYC
In the financial services industry which I work as a mortgage broker, it is expected that we all practice KYC also known as know your client. Without doing so how can I possibly recommend a mortgage product for their current needed or requirement. When I started doing this 20 years ago there was always a […]
Tell your story
Not every mortgage application is the same, and thankfully no two lenders are the same either. This is why it is vitally important to tell a very compelling story with every mortgage request submission. You see this is because lender’s policy’s often are not black and white and clients don’t always fit in the same […]
Prime Rate Change
Yesterday at 11am Atlantic Standard Time, the Bank of Canada increased it’s overnight interest rate from .25bps to .50bp. Thus all the banks followed by increasing their prime rate from 2.45% to 2.70%. Except for one key lender who was at 2.60% and has now increased to 2.85%. As a quick comparison for those who […]
Virtually yours
Since the start of the pandemic, I have pretty much eliminated face to face meetings. I may have done 3 in the past 3 years and hundreds of virtual meetings. Of those three meetings in person one did not show up, so I am not only losing the actual time that I have blocked off […]
Seller’s Market
As many of you know we are definitely in the midst of an intense seller’s market. New properties hit the market only long enough in some cases for your first and only viewing before it is sold shortly there after. It’s also the low number of new listings that are pushing the pricing higher on […]
More Options
One of the benefits of dealing with a mortgage broker is that we have more financing options for our clients from more diverse lenders. Yes I know the other side of the debate and the multitude of products available at the big banks. However more products from the big bank may not help you when […]
Do the Math
There is a lot of talk about the Bank of Canada changing overnight lending rate at it’s next meeting. So some ill informed homeowners are rushing to lock in their mortgage rates to avoid any rate hikes. That is entirely understandable if you are risk adverse, however if you haven’t already I think there is […]
Cost of Opportunity
Nothing absolutely nothing is free in life. There is always a cost whether it be time or money. In this case I am talking about opportunity cost. Sometimes the cost to take advantage of an opportunity is more that other times specially if you are backed into a corner and the only financing option is […]
Commercial mortgage priorities
So you have finalized your plans, gotten all your quotes, applied for your permits and have hired a general contractor for your new commercial construction project. Next on your list is to secure your financing so construction can start. Now while you have owned several homes and a few small residential rental properties, this is […]
Referable
The goal of any service based business is to cross the tipping point of huge outlays of time and capital in marketing and instead receive the bulk of new business through referrals. In order to accomplish this you must treat each and every client like your one and only client and work to not only […]
Private Sales
We are currently in the midst of an intense seller’s market. As a result some home owners are resorting to selling their homes privately in an attempt to avoid paying realtor’s fees. However if you are considering this, there are a few things you should know. Realtors may not show your home to their buyers. […]
High Tech
There have been a lot of changes to the brokering business in the 20 years since I have been doing it. When I started in 2002 all client meetings were done in person, all applications were done on paper, all documents were collected on paper and faxed to respective lenders and client data bases were […]
Should I refinance?
After looking at your Christmas bills you may be wondering if it is a good idea to refinance your mortgage. Below are a few things to consider to help you to properly make your decision. Will it lower my over all payments? It’s best to look at everything you may want to include in your […]