Tag Archive for: Halifax Mortgage Broker

#TuesdayVibe

Well after several months of mortgage rates going down, they turned the corner and started going back up yesterday. As fixed mortgages are tied to bond yields, they hit a 10 month high on Monday with the 5 year bond closing at 0.67% forcing lenders to pass the increase on to borrowers.

The bond yields are increasing because there is belief that the US inflation with rise much quicker than initially expected. Thus taking our Government of Canada bonds up with them. While I have no crystal ball, we have been very fortunate lately with our current rock bottom fixed mortgage rates. Nothing stays low forever, so if you have been on the fence about buying a property then now is the time to get pre approved and lock in your mortgage rate in advance of future increases.

While these increases have only affected fixed mortgages. The variable rate is based on Bank of Canada Prime Rate. Which after their last meeting in January 2021, they kept their overnight rate at .25% and said that it will likely stay unchanged till 2023. So if you are comfortable with a variable rate, and 9 times out of 10 people have saved more money that way, then I would highly suggest sticking with a variable rate mortgage. As an added bonus even if you every break it, your penalty is only 3 months interest vs a much larger penalty for breaking a fixed rate.

Irregardless of slight changes in the 5 year fixe rate, don’t forget that to get a mortgage these days that you must qualify based on the 5 year posted rate of 4.79%. Also known as the stress test. So while your overall potential payment may have increased by a small amount your buying power remains the same.

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

Pat

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).

Plan Ahead!

As the common expression goes ” If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail”. Since today is Sunday, it is the day the highly organized plan for their upcoming week. Athletes that I know call this meal prep Sunday where they prepare the meals for the upcoming week so it’s just one less thing to worry about during the week. They also plan their training for the week ahead.

Burnout is just another way of saying decision fatigue. You get to a point in your day where you are mentally spent from having made too many unplanned decisions. Steve Jobs notoriously wore the same outfit so it was one less thing that he had to decide on for his day.

Start slowly by planning what you will be wearing for the next day by laying it out the night before. I have been doing this for years and it saves a lots of time. Then if you are so adventurous plan the start of your morning. Including the time you will get up, your morning meditation or exercise routine, meal then right up till you start work.

By planning your day, it will make it easier for you to hit the objectives for your week, your month and your year. What every your objective it, plan ahead and break it down so it is more obtainable.

If your plan is to buy your next home, your dream home or refinance your current home let me know as I would love to help you reach your goal.

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

Pat

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).

Take your pick!

The worst kinds of calls to get as a mortgage broker is when someone calls and asks for your best 5 year fixed rate. My answer typically is that it depends. Although I know what the rock bottom 5 year fixed rate is for that particular day, there is no guarantee that is what they will get.

You see after 30 seconds of being on the phone with someone I don’t know their credit, weather they are buying or refinancing, if the transaction would be high ratio or not and if they are self employed and require a stated income mortgage. All these things are required to determine what rate you will eventually receive.

Judging a mortgage by it’s rate is like shopping for a vehicle based solely on the horsepower. There is so much more to consider. This is why when working with a client I need all the documents upfront upon application so we can together find the best mortgage product that meets their needs.

The best rate comes with the best product that meets my clients particular needs at this particular time in their life. Sometimes is 12% , or 4.99% or even better 1.54%. Every situation is different so it’s best to get to know you so together we can find what works best.

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

Pat

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).

Just good enough is NOT good enough!

Sure just getting a passing grade will probably mean that you will graduate high school but just scraping by is not a recipe for success in life. I am sure there are many careers for you if you just want to put in your time, get a pay check and drink with your buddies.

You wouldn’t want the doctor who barely passed med school to operate on you. The lawyer who squeaked by the bar exam to represent you in court. The accountant did the minimum requirements for their CA designation to prevent you from getting audited.

Let’s face it if you have a tooth ache you don’t try to do your own dental work. We all know what it looks like if you cut your own hair ( for those lucky few who still have lots of hair). There are many back yard mechanics out there but I wouldn’t go to them if my vehicle needed serious repairs.

The same applies to your mortgage. It’s because there are lots of brokers and lenders out there that you need to work with someone who will help you sort through it all and find the best product that meets your particular needs. Be aware that shopping for rate alone may come back to haunt you when you find out your lender doesn’t have a portability clause, or calculates your penalty on posted rates or that your mortgage is locked in and closed and you can only break it with the power of sale.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit” Will Durant 1926 ( Sorry not Aristotle folks)

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

Pat

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).

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

Ok I am not asking you to kiss your sister. There is nothing unpleasant here (for you or your sister). Heck it’s practically free. I am going to break with one of my golden rules and talk to you about mortgage rates. Now before you get too excited, I am doing it to illustrate an opportunity rather than as a price comparison tool.

In the 7 plus years that I have been a mortgage broker, I have seen rates go up an down. I have seen 5 year fixed rates as low as 4.5% to as high as 6.2% for the discounted AAA rated clients. The current turmoil in our financial markets has caused a liquidity crisis for many major lenders ( specifically in the US). This has made it necessary for the US government to inject Billions into the capital markets and to the banks them selves. Our Canadian government, thanks to our stronger banks, only had to inject money directly into the capital market. Anyway back to my point, these injections of large sums of cash are now finely finding their way into a position to benefit the consumer. As a result rates are at all time lows. Current 5 year discounted AAA money is at 3.95% and this is unheard of.

You are probably asking yourself, “well what’s in it for me?”. Let me tell you, if you are a home owner and you currently have debt outside your mortgage, like credit cards ( interest rates of 17.99% or more), Car loans (6-9%), unsecured personal loans (at 20% or more), there may not be a better time than now to look at putting all your egg’s in one basket. Doing this will lower your overall cost of borrowing and possibly save as much as several hundred as month.

However I must tell you that there is a downside to these low interest rates. Yes you heard that right, and you deserve to know the truth. You may not know but mortgages are contracts, and if you are in the middle of your contract term and you go to break it, there will be penalties. If your banks says that they are not charging you a penalty that they are just giving you a blended rate, you are still paying the penalty but in the new rate. Unless you have a closed term you can get out of your current mortgage with either a 3 month interest penalty or an interest rate differential penalty. The banks will charge the greater of the 2 penalty’s.

I had a client call me recently about refinancing and they had just signed a new 5 year mortgage about a year ago at posted rates ( which are higher then discounted, today’s posted is 5.45). I did a calculation for them and found out that their penalty would be over 15K. Now don’t get caught up in the number, if you end up saving more over the 5 years than the penalty then it is worth it to pay the penalty. In this case it was not. Please contact my office today to find out if this makes sense for you.

Cheers,

Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.
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PatSawler@Craigburn.com

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