Approved or qualified

There is a vast difference between getting pre-approved for a mortgage and getting pre-qualified. One holds your rate for up to 120 days and allows you to go house hunting and the other just gives you rough idea of what you can afford. Yes getting a pre-approval will take some time but it is worth it in the end. There is nothing worse for you realtor than finding out after you have been house hunting that you in-fact can’t get the financing for the house you want cause you didn’t take the time to go through the formal pre-approval process.

In this hyper competitive housing market it is absolutely necessary to get pre-approved BEFORE you start house hunting. Here are the steps to take, complete the mortgage application and submit all necessary supporting documents with the application. Together we will review your credit, income and down payment then discuss the various mortgage options. Once you have settled on what you like, we will submit your file for a pre approval rate hold. The banks are very busy so it may take a few days to get it back. Once it is back then go shopping with confidence.

Today I am thankful for my internal alarm clock waking me up at the perfect time, First time clients closing on their home today and kids up early and out of the house with their friends.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

90 Days History

When applying for a mortgage it is necessary to provide 90 days history of your down payment. This is to prove that you did not borrow it or it was not obtained through illicit activity. Often clients have more than one bank account as a source for their down payment. This will require that we provide the lender with 90 days history for each account that is associated with the down payment. Also any large deposits much be throughly explained. We will need to show the sources of the large deposits and 90 day history of said deposits if required by the lender.

Once all funds can be accounted for, then and only then will the lender sign off on your down payment. Anti-money laundering rules are in place for a reason and deposits over 10K will be heavily scrutinized. Everything involved in securing your financing this is the most time consuming and is a big relief once completed to the lenders satisfaction.

Today I am thankful for the persistence of clients and the patience of my underwriters, the relaxed pace of the weekend not that the work actually stops and the way my dog looks up at me when we go for a walk and it’s priceless.

“Former US House Majority Leader, Tom DeLay, has been sentenced to three years in prison. One year for money laundering and two more for his performance on Dancing with the Stars.” Jay Leno

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Deadline Anxiety

We all have deadlines in life from when to file and pay your taxes to due dates of new arrivals to your family and lastly and importantly for my business are deadlines for financing to purchase your new home. When you are prepared you can deal with deadlines much easier. However sometimes things are outside of your control which cause complications. Which is why you get an accountant not your buddy to do your taxes, take your significant other to have the baby at the hospital and seek the advise and guidance of a mortgage broker to do your financing.

The current state of our real estate market is really an issue outside our control. For example the local real estate market here in Halifax is up over 56% vs the same time last year. This is just us and Ontario is also up and they are 14 times bigger by population than us. This has created a significant backlog with the lenders. What used to take hours is now taking days. So while I insist that my clients provide all documents up front and upon submission, it is still taking time for the lenders to pick up the files and review all the paperwork.

So we must continue to practice a game of patience. Patience to see if our offer gets accepted and patience to have the bank review and sign off on all your documents. This is not my first rodeo and things will work out but they are taking some time to get there.

Today I am thankful for the best run I’ve had in over a month which may have been because I have been watching so much of the Olympics, that we are all in great health and have had all of our Covid shots and for clients and vendors who are patient while the banks do their thing.

“Overdeliver on promises and deadlines. Show up early, deliver your product early, and deliver more than you promised. Overdeliver now, and in the future, you will be overpaid.” Clay Clark

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here


Back up plans

Sometimes you need back up plans for your back up plans. Today is one of those days. Found out when I turned my computer one that one of my private lenders decided not to do a transaction. Since they are lending their own money they are fully right to do so. Several frantic calls later I was able to secure another lender. Sometimes being prepared means having more than one plan.

Today I am thankful for the fair on the Halifax waterfront where my kids has such a great time last night, having developed a large list of contacts from 20 years in this business so knowing who to call when is vital and the fact that my teenagers sleep in is priceless.

“Everyone loves the backup” Donovan McNabb

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Bull by the horns

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Be Flexible

Not every file gets approved exactly how it was originally submitted to the lender. The key is to be flexible and to be able to amend or change things as required by the lender. It could be a larger down payment if possible, paying off some more debts or the addition of a co-signer. All these things change the context of the loan and can take it from a decline to an approval.

Don’t take the first no or decline as a reason to believe that your mortgage request will never get done. There is more than one lender through the broker channel and plenty of ways to restructure ( legally & ethically) your request for approval. In addition to the AAA lenders, I also have access to a few alternative lenders and several private sources as well.

Today I am thankful for being able to finish my morning run just before the rains came, taking the first of my kids to get her second shot and having clients who are flexible and able to adept to lenders needs to get their requests approved.

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” Albert Einstein

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Privacy

There nothing more important to people than their personal financial details. However it is this same information that I require to process your mortgage request. I need to be able to confirm your income, your assets and liabilities so the lender will be satisfied in lending you money to buy or refinance your house. Like the technology I use, I am a vault when it comes to your privacy.

My online portal (Finmo) that clients use to apply for their mortgages has the same high level of security as your online banking. So the safety of your financial information is of paramount importance. Also as a part of the process, clients give consent to release their information and as such it is only used to assist in the mortgage process. Your employers are also required to confirm your employment by way of an employment letter stating your position, rate of pay and tenure. The consent form you completed as part of the process can be provided to your employers if they require it to release your information.

Today I am thankful for the prompt response of a contractor to look at an issue in my house, a lender offering solutions so a file can get approved and the scale finally going the right way and for me that would be up.

“When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.” David Brin

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

COF

Condition of financing is an important part of buying your next home. That is if you require bank financing to get it done. Since we are still in the midst of a very active real estate market, putting down 5 business days to secure financing will not be sufficient. In a normal market banks pick up a new file from 4 -24 hours after submission. In this market it is taking several days, and even longer with some lenders.

To expedite the process, all required documents must be received up front and upon submission. This will allow the fastest turn around time possible as we will only have to review your documents once. This will ensure a happy client, a happy broker and a happy underwriter. Which is what we all want.

Today I am thankful for accepted offers for my clients to submit on Monday mornings, all documents upfront to make everyone’s lives much easier and deposit confirmations on a Monday. It’s going to be a great week.

“Getting paperwork under control makes me feel more in control of my life generally.” Gretchen Rubin

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Backtracked!

This past week Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) backtracked on an unpopular policy move they made at the start of the pandemic last year. They tightened underwriting guidelines to limit debt service ratio’s for insured mortgages to 35/42% of GDS/TDS. This is because last year CMHC incorrectly estimated that the pandemic would cause a softening in the housing market. What happened was exactly the opposite. Instead of home values dropping by up to 18-20% they increased by the amount that they thought we were going to lose.

The other two insurers Canada Guranty and Sagen ( previously know as Genworth) who normally follow in lock step with whatever CMHC decides to do decided to keep their policy the same and allow for ratios up to 39/44. So what happened is that they ( Canada Guranty & Sagen) had a rapid increase in market share of the insured mortgage business as the housing market heated up.

So CMHC with their new leader, Romy Bowers decided that they could no longer live by Evan Siddall’s erroneous policy change and thus shrinking market share and changed back to 39/44%. Only time will tell if this will do anything to help them recapture their lost market share.

“We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” Rick Warren

Today I am thankful for a storm that passed quickly and left no damage in it’s wake, a expected rainy day that turned out quite nice and fresh strawberries and cream for snack.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Win some lose some

Someone told me the following expression years ago and it applies perfectly to sales, “Some will, some won’t, so what, who’s next!” I had a prospective client come to me last week who told me upfront that she was talking with two other potential financial sources. Knowing that I was already in a competitive environment didn’t really my approach to dealing with a client.

I want all my clients to be comfortable dealing with me as this is as much personality fit as it is numbers fit. You see there are potentially hundreds of options to people to get their mortgage done in our market and in spite of what some say we all have access to roughly the same rates. So file lost yesterday means there will be one gained today as it always balances out in the end.

Today I am thankful that my hockey team extended their season by another game, solutions found quickly to perceived crises and new leads to make up for clients who left.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here