Flexibility

Flexibility is the ability to bend easily without breaking or in the case of this post to adapt quickly to a changing environment. The changing environment in this case is the ever changing mortgage market. Just a year ago 5 year fixed mortgage rates were in the low 2% range and now they are above 5%. The variable rate as well has seen some changes too going from 2.3% for prime last year to now sitting at 3.7%.

One of the great things of the fixed mortgages, if you were lucky enough to get one when they were at their generation lowest point is that low payment that you have is set for the length of your term. The downside however is if you need to break your mortgage for whatever reason your new rate will be much higher if you chose to go back with another fixed rate.

Now with gas prices and the prices of other commodities starting to come back down, there is some hope that the sky high inflation that we are now experiencing will be starting to come to an end. If this is the case and rates start to come back down, both fixed and variable, then those who are on variable will have the flexibility to capitalize on those changes.

Today I am thankful for the change of pace that a rainy day brings, corny Dad jokes and mid week long runs.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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

Set your intensions

Henry Ford famously said that “whether you think you can or think you can’t you’re right”. This boils down to the fact that you get what you think about, positive, negative, good or bad. So set your intentions for your best possible results and make them happen.

Yesterday I talked about it being the perfect day. So as it turns out because I had set positive expectations for the day, great things happened as a result. We all want good things to happen in our lives but many of us don’t know how to turn the switch to improve our moods.

I just finished a great book called “The Happiness Experiment” by Shawn Achor and one of the things he mentioned is just sharing a smile with someone for as little as 7 seconds could have a profound effect on their day. So start with that one simple action, your mood and the other persons will improve dramatically.

Today I am thankful for all the positive results that stem from a positive frame of mind, July which means the Tour de France and meeting new people on my walk with the dog.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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

Perfect Day

Every once is a while the stars seem to align and everything about your day just falls into place. When those days happen you just want to make a carbon copy of it for the other 364 days. Your renewed sense of optimism presents you with options you never thought of before and allows you to spread your good day to others.

This is the kind of thing I want going viral. Not a virus or cat videos but that sense of contentment and optimism of those really great days. So if you are having one of those perfect days as well, call an old friend, buy the car behind you their meal when you get to the window or go out of your way to just help others today.

Today I am thankful for an amazing run and workout this morning, the power of endorphins to boost your mood and perfect weather on this beautiful summer day.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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

Pink Elephants

Telling yourself or someone else not to think of a particular thing like pink elephants, chocolate cake or that big presentation with the board on Tuesday will guarantee that will be all you are able to think of. Obsessing about something in particular especially if it is a current problem or challenge will just guarantee that you will not be able to solve it.

More answers will come to you when you are relaxed and at ease than when you are stressed out thinking about something. So step away from your current issue and go for a walk or a run and clear you head. Once relaxed and at ease the answers you were stressing about will come to you. For me this is the amazing power of exercise. It is pretty hard to think about what is bothering you when you are lifting an olympic barbel or trying to set a new PR on your run.

Today I am thankful for the restorative power of a good long run, the sounds of birds while reading on my back deck and the unconditional love and loyally of my dog.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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

Point of view

So yesterday I made a comment on Twitter about how great I thought Canada was to live in ( as it was Canada Day after all). Sure we are not perfect, no person or place is. However people came out of the woodwork to tell me ( a stranger as we had never conversed before) how wrong and stupid I was. I do totally understand that we are all entitled to our own point of view, however what we are not entitled to is to shove our opinion down someone else’s throat and insult them in the process.

Social medial and our current political climate seems to have given people free reign to say and do whatever they want without reproach. However this is confusing free speech with just being ignorant. Free speech allows you to freely express your option but does not permit you to insult someone in the process.

Today I am thankful for a speedy 50K bike ride with my friend this morning, a quiet house upon my return and modern medicine that has been developed to treat this virus that is still persisting.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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

Happy Canada Day

While we may not be perfect and have made some serious mistakes in the past with how we treated the Indigenous population, I still believe that Canada is a great country and I am proud to call it my home.

So where ever you are today I want to wish you a very happy Canada Day.

Today I am thankful for another beautiful summer day, a great 10 minute workout to clear the head and a great book to read on a holiday.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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

Graduation

It seemed like only yesterday that I was taking my girls to pre school then to their first day of primary, and today they graduated high school. If you don’t pay attention time will fly by and you will miss all the important events in life.

It’s so easy to get stressed out about the every day events in life and totally miss what’s really important. So slow down, take a deep breath and try to enjoy all the special events.

Today I am thankful for how hard my girls worked for the grades they got, a nice celebration lunch with the family and that they had their choice of where to go to university.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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

Personal Outlook

Your personal outlook, yes I am talking about whether you see the glass as being half full or half empty, effects everything in your life. I prefer to see it as half full and view challenges or issues that pop up as learning experiences rather than failures.

We can’t get through life without any struggles, but it’s how we deal with them that sets us all apart. This does not mean that you should walk around with rose coloured glasses on but that you should instead adopt a more optimistic view of life.

Whatever life has thrown at you in the past you have gotten through. Things that you thought were going to be doom and gloom did not end up that bad, it just prevented you from seeing the solution as quickly. New opportunities come up every day if you keep and eye out for them.

So while we are currently in a high inflationary environment, it will not last forever. The current high prices and higher rates will level off. If you see it as just part of a natural economic cycle you will also know that it will pass soon enough.

Today I am thankful for a great run this morning before the city really woke up, having the flexibility to work at home or from wherever I want and for opportunities that came up yesterday cause relationships matter.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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

Poodle Power

I have always had a dog in the family for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid we had Shepards, Collie’s and Beagles. As an adult who still has the occasional severe bout of asthma we opted for a Poodle as that is what my wife grew up with. So today we have a standard Poodle name Augustus, but most times we just call him Augie.

I have met more people in my neighbourhood while walking Augie than through my kids school. He is a great icebreaker but does not like to stop too long to chat as when he is on his walks ( yes they are his walks) he wants to keep going.

I don’t post a lot to Instagram but when I do they are usually pictures of my wife’s gourmet meals, workouts or pictures of my dog. Today a new clients sent me an email to help her secure financing and said that the determining factor to do business with me was my Poodle.

Today I am thankful for Augie’s new role as business development manger for Craigburn Capital, the feeling I got after doing a workout that I didn’t want to do and the peace and quiet of the morning when everyone else is still asleep.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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

Third option

Sometimes when people are going through a tragic or life changing event it has often been thought they would get through it either with no change to their lives or making it much much worse. As a result you could see people be unfazed by what just happened and carry on with their ever day lives but you could also see people become paralyzed with fear, develop PTSD and becoming unable to function properly.

These could be responses to major life altering health events like having a heart attack, stroke or being diagnosed with cancer. There could also be major fearful events like being in a war zone battle, being the victim of an assault or from a financial perspective suddenly and unexpectedly losing your stable employment or going bankrupt.

However there is a third option. The often talked about “what does not kill you makes you stronger” approach. We have all heard those stories where people have taken that once stressful event and used it as a catalyst to radically improve their lives. David Hogg was a student in Parkland Florida when 17 of his fellow classmates were killed and used that event to now speak out against gun violence. Terry Fox lost a leg to cancer and didn’t sit at home and mope but instead created a Cancer fundraiser and ran across Canada. I also personally know someone who went bankrupt a few years ago and did not let this ruin him and is now tops in his field in Canada now making over 1M a year.

The trick is to not view the event as a permeant life altering failure but as a learning or growth opportunity. Year after year people radically change their lives after a heart attack, stroke, divorce or bankruptcy. If it does not kill you, it has the potential to make you stronger but only if you can see that possibility.

Today I am thankful for an early morning run to improve the mood, my daughters home made cake and new people I’ve met this week.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

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