Tag Archive for: mortgage excellence

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 have heard is that this qualifying rate or stress test rate has now increased.

Actually it has not changed but it has increased so let me explain. The way the stress test works is that it is based on the contract rate ( your mortgage rate) plus 2% or 5.25% which ever is greater. The stress test rate of 5.25% has not changed but the mortgage rates have thus moving the qualifying rate now above 5.25%.

Rates have been increasing as bond yields have changed as they have over the past several months. Yesterday they increased again. Notification received last night that 5 year fixed rates were changing to between 3.54 to 3.84% depending on loan to value ( percentage of down payment compared to the value of the property) and the type of program. So based on these things it would change your qualifying rate to 5.54 to 5.84% thus further reducing your buying power and affordability.

One option would be to go with a variable rate as that still uses the 5.25% qualifying rate until those rates change or select a 1 or 2 year term instead. If you are in the market to purchase a home this year, then please reach out to me so we can lock in your rate now before the next rate increase.

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

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 remotely and yet still be productive. As a result there have been plenty of people leaving the major centre’s and moving to the suburbs and also to other provinces to get that better quality of life and the slower pace.

The interprovincial migration coupled with the recent higher level of International migration has led to record levels of demand for housing. When you put the migration in with lower multi unit and single family housing starts this creates higher demand for the units currently available on the market. Now this year it has heated up even further with a sharp drop in the available listings on the market. So what does hit the market tends to sell for well over the listing price.

Now we circle back to the original point, should you be worried that you just paid 150K over asking to secure your home? I don’t think so and this is why, if you plan to stay in your new home for at least 10 years then any market correction combined with the paying down of your mortgage will balance out in the end. However if you are speculating and hoping to flip it for a quick profit, that may be easier said than done as homes that require a lot of work are still selling for top dollar.

Here are the stats that one of my local realtors just posted. Prior to the pandemic HRM was averaging around 3000 active listings so that means that buyers had lots of choice and homes tending to sell within 60 days which was always the normal rule of thumb. Today we have just over 200, and they are only staying on the market for up to 17 days or long enough to have the financing secured. These homes are also selling for 110% of the listing price on average. All this helps create the 15-20% gains in value that we have seen in the past two years.

When listings and or available units ( multi residential) start to increase to catch up with demand then we will start to see the market to calm down and actually get back to normal. The recent increase in mortgage rates has had no effect on cooling the market. People still need a place to live and until there are enough of them out there this will continue at least for the short term.

“A housing bubble is a run up in housing prices filed by demand, speculation and exuberance” Investopedia

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

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 lot of face to face time. The initial meeting to find out their requirements, follow up to gather documents and finely another meeting to sign everything. So there was lots of face to face time.

Now most of my meetings are conducted over Zoho meeting ( virtual meeting software), with follow ups on the phone, text or email. My role as I see it as their mortgage consultant is to present the best possible options and then help my clients decide. There are no cookie cutter solutions in this industry, one size defiantly does not fit all when it comes to your financing. So without getting to know you and your unique situation it is very difficult to find a solution that is ideal. I am only a phone call away if you ever have any questions.

Today I am thankful for the snow flurries during my morning run, a great book about a visionary and getting to know lots of great people.

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

Doom Scrolling

Doom Scrolling or wasting your life away on social media. Thanks to Apple’s screen time feature I had discovered that although I was working 10-12 hour days I was still loosing way too much time to social media. You see a few minutes to see what your friends and family are up to can lead you down of rabbit hole and 45 minutes later your commenting on the latest crisis du jour and now your productivity is out the window.

So a few months ago I decided that I was no longer going to scroll endlessly on social media. I still have my accounts but I only check them when I get up at 5am and have them open just long enough to clear out any notifications and that’s it. I still love the idea of social media to help connect us to those around us. However the darkside has also turned me off.

Here is an example and you can extrapolate it how you like. Say that you are into works of art and really love Monet, suddenly your feed is full of his works of art and groups to join and you’re able to connect with lots of like minded people. However this is really limiting as well as what if you also like Renoir, Picasso, Dali or Van Gogh, but the Monet people that you have connected with only like Monet and that’s it.

Finding a difference of opinion is really the spice of life. We can’t be all of one and none of the other. There is so much going on in the world and it’s best to approach it with an open mind. Social media, as good as it gets tends to group us around similar interests and that is far too limiting. So if I am not commenting on your latest cat photo, your vacation selfie or any number of your special occasions it’s not that you’re not important to me it’s just that I am no longer scrolling my life away.

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

Spring has Sprung

As of 12:33 Atlantic Standard Time Spring 2022 has officially arrived. Now for longer days, better weather, the sounds of the birds and more listings for all the people who want to get into the real estate market. I am certain that the first three will be here in no time at all, it’s the last one I am worried about.

Right now it’s the historically low inventory that is pushing prices to historic levels. As much as the central banker want to believe the raising interest rates will cool the market, I believe the tipping point will be when more people start to sell and the price wars start to simmer down.

In the mean time enjoy the nice spring weather. If you are a home buyer just keep trying as long as you persist you will have a chance to become the winning bidder.

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

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 box.

In our notes with every mortgage request I tell a story around the 5 C’s of credit ( Character, Credit, Capacity, Collateral and Capital). Doing this will allow me to address any weaknesses of the client, why it happened and why it won’t happen again and build on the strengths to show why this mortgage request should be approved.

Due to the fact that some clients background in the 5 C’s is not ideally suited with the major A lender, that is why it is great to deal with a broker who has much more options. When all fails with A lenders we have alternative and then private sources. While nobody has the perfect past, as long as clients are open and honest about what happened then things can be dealt with so options can be found.

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

Dig Deep

There are times in life when we are digging our selves into deeper debt or we are digging deep into our reserves of courage and determination to prevent that from happening. It really is a fine line between either one. All it takes is the confidence to know that we can do it. Getting into debt over your head is fairly easy thing to do, working your tail off to pay it all off takes some hard work but it is definitely worth it in the end.

So decide right now which direction you want to go. One will open multitudes of options for you but the other one will make you feel trapped and not knowing which way to turn. I know which way I want to go. Dig deep and give it your all.

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

St Patrick’s Day

May the luck of the Irish be with you all day today. It’s the one day of the year when you can have your green beer and shamrock shakes ( are they still a thing) and celebrate all things Irish.

Also since it is St Paddy’s day, here is an Irish blessing for you.

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

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

Relax

Stress effects us all in different ways. As I just recently discovered. The last few days I have had a pain in the right side of my jaw. I booked a time with my family dentist only to discover that the muscles and tendons in my jaw were overly tight. I didn’t think I had any cavities as I’ve never had any but was surprised to hear being stressed and tense could cause jaw pain.

So as a result here are some things that could help you relax.

  1. Go for a walk in the woods
  2. Get a massage
  3. Do a workout
  4. Talk with a loved one
  5. Have a pice of dark chocolate
  6. Have a cup of green tea with honey
  7. Do a short meditation
  8. Close your eyes and count 10 deep breaths
  9. Get some sunshine
  10. Get or give a hug to a loved one ( the dog works too).

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

Preventative Medicine

Brushing your teeth is preventative medicine so you don’t get cavities. The same as doing exercise to prevent cardio vascular disease. However I also think that this applies to your finances as well.

Saving 10% from every pay cheque should be automatic and taught in high school when kids are getting their first jobs. Take the 10% off the top and put it in a separate account that you can’t touch. This way it will build with the power of compound interest and possibly with a little help from the market if it was invested wisely.

Doing this will allow people to build up a sizeable nest egg when it comes time to purchase their first home several years later. This also teaches you proper financial responsibility, as learning how to manage your money when you are young pays dividends when you are much older.

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