Tag Archive for: mortgage excellence

Practice what you preach

There is no easy way to say other than yesterday was a monumentally challenging day on many fronts. Nobody died or was diagnosed with a terminal illness but was challenging none the less. I talk about positive mindset all the time and yesterday it was time to put into practice what I preach on a daily basis.

Today I am thankful for my support system as I would be lost without them, that inside every challenge is an equal sized opportunity and that I read all those personal development books for a reason and now it’s time to put them to work.

“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, to fall to the level of our training.” Archilochus Greek Solder 650BC

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

Mind over matter

Minor annoyances tend to grow much larger when attention is put towards them. Someone cuts you off in your morning commute and suddenly you are in a bad mood all day. Your team loses the big game ( sadly it happened) or the injection site of your vaccine is sore. You could focus all your energies towards what didn’t go as you planned or you can acknowledge it and get on with your day.

This is my frame of mind today. Yes they lost, that happens and I was still immensely proud of their performance during this year’s playoff run. There was also a brief time when I got up this morning and noticed that my shoulder was sore. I just acknowledged it and got on with my day. Ran 5K and just got back from donating blood and feel awesome actually.

Don’t dwell on what didn’t go your way, focus instead on where you want to go. Your day and your life will be much better as a result if you think about what you want rather than what you disagree with or what causes you some discomfort. Cause if you don’t mind it doesn’t rally matter.

Today I am thankful for the great people at Canada Blood Services who always make me feel comfortable and special, the arrival of my new barbell so I can show my kids how to lift and just generally feeling unstoppable.

“Rule your mind or it will rule you.” Buddha

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

This is just a short post to remind you that when applying for a mortgage the lender will require 90 days history to show your down payment. If you have more than one account, then 90 days from all your accounts. This is to prove that you did not borrow it and also did not obtain it through nefarious means.

A word of advice about your bank statements, redacting anything on the statements will cause them to be rejected. Honestly the potential lender does not care if you purchased medicinal marijuana or spent your last pay check at the strip joint, both are legal. You are potentially borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars, everything will be checked and double checked.

Today I am thankful for reminders for appointments so they will not be forgotten, my girls who were rock stars on their exams and waking up to find out that my team had won the nigh before.

“It is well enough that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” Henry Ford

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

Creating your own down payment

Normally down payments can not be borrowed. However there are a few ways around this legally and ethically. So let’s first state that the down payment must be in your possession for 90 days and you must be able to provide bank statements to support that.

  1. You can borrow it from an existing line of credit. This should not be from the same source that is providing your mortgage, and you must be able to debt service for the payment.
  2. It can be gifted from a blood relative. A gift letter is required and you will then need to provide a statement showing that you are in possession of the funds.
  3. You can borrow it from your RRSP’s under the Home Buyer’s Plan. For a single applicant this amount is up to 35K and for a couple it is 70K. This is a tax free withdrawal and you have 15 years to pay it back.

However there is a better way to do the last step, and it’s best to start it as tax season is kicking off in February. Firstly consult a certified financial planner to find out your unused contribution room. Determine how much you need for your down payment. Take out an RRSP Loan for the amount of your unused contribution room. Then put this money in your RRSP for at least 90 days. Record this RRSP contribution on your tax return to get a refund. After the 90 days have passed take out the money from your RRSP and repay the loan. Lastly use your tax refund for your down payment.

Today I am thankful for the ability of exercise to clear my head, quiet early mornings while everyone else is still asleep and getting a peek at British farming life on the new Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s farm.

“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute the most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.” Thomas Jefferson

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

New House or new car?

The good weather if finely here and also now that phased reopening plans have started, this means that more and more people are out and about. I have noticed lately that lots and lots of people are shopping for a new vehicle, this is also coinciding with our current hot real estate market where it seems that everyone is also shopping for their first home or their dream home.

However I must caution you that as nice as those new wheels are, I would hold off on that purchase until after you have closed on your home. This is because that for every $400 in vehicle payments, it is effectively taking away $100,000 worth of purchasing power for your home. In the way that real estate has risen in the past year this is more like 200K as what was selling for 400K last year is now selling for 500K.

Finding out that your significant other is expecting does not mean that the 1st major purchase should be a mini van. Get the house sorted away first, keys in the door and closed BEFORE you even consider getting the vehicle. Just because you have received your mortgage approval does not mean that you can now put appliances on credit or finance a new vehicle. Lenders do a soft credit check prior to closing and if anything has changed prior to closing they will pull the financing. If a new vehicle is absolutely necessary prior to getting your home, buy used, buy cheap and pay cash.

Today I am thankful for another beautiful Sunday morning run on the trail, my favourite team sill in the hunt for the Stanley Cup and prospects who call on the weekend cause the banks are closed.

“Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.” Paulo Coelho

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

Busy vs Effective

Let’s face it we are all guilty of being busy. Constantly moving from one task to another but never really accomplishing anything. Busy just fills time, effective gets things accomplished.

I have talked about planning your day and working your plan in the past. Recently while reading an excellent book called The Ultimate Sales Machine, the author Chet Holmes talked about a simple yet effective strategy of touching something once. What this basically means if you are going through your email for example and the note requires action, do it right away and then move on to the next task. No more piling things up for odd chance that you will complete it later.

It is small but effective strategies like this that will allow you to accomplish more in your days, weeks and years. Don’t fill your day with busy work and activities that don’t move the needle. Start a task, finish said task then move on to the next one.

Today I am thankful for the sound of the rain over night, the dirt that it washes away and green that is brings especially this time of the year.

“If the ladder is not leaning up against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” Stephen Covey

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 to Normal?

Whenever massive changes happen to us as individuals or as a society there is always a pull to return to the previous norm or the baseline. Take weight loss or weight gain in terms of muscle mass. Sometimes people who have undergone radical personal transformations whether through losing massive amounts of weight or gaining muscle mass often return to their previous state once the catalyst is no longer present. People get married, or divorced, get promoted and or lose a job or a thousand other things thus causing them disruptions to their previous habits and returning them to their previous state.

Now that our daily infection rates have been steadily dropping and vaccinations rates have been steadily increasing are we going to return to exactly how we have lived before? Are people going to continue to wear masks out in public or at least doing the flu season? Is the current real estate market going to return to what it was like in 2019 prior to the pandemic? As for the last question this will entirely depend on new listings coming to the market as we are currently experiencing a severe lack of supply thus causing the outrageous demand and multiple offers on almost every listing.

Only time will tell how things unfold. I suspect there will be more listing on the market but not sure if it will be enough to quell the pent up demand. As for mask wearing I am all for wearing one in crowed spaces or during flu season however most people may not want to stick out being to only one wearing one.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel, but the way out is through”. David Allen

Today I am thankful the kids going back to school, beautiful morning so my son could walk to his school and Teachers who adapted quickly to the remote learning then back to the classroom.

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

Go for the easy win

After a year and a half into this pandemic many of us are feeling burnt out, overwhelmed or just plan run down. The good news is that the end is in sight with more people getting vaccinated and new infections steadily decreasing. Nova Scotia and many other provinces are entering a phased reopening so things will slowly get back to normal.

In the meantime a few simple things to lift your spirits and give you a sense of accomplishment that may help you feel less stressed out. Try a 5-10 minute meditation to help change your state of mind. Go for a good 20-30 minute walk in the sunshine, the endorphins and the sun will definitely improve your mood. Make your bed immediately upon getting up as this is will put the first check in the win column for the day. Reach out and call an old friend as the conversation will do you both good.

So if you are in the real estate market like myself and many others just take a deep breath and take it one task at a time. I remind my pre approved clients that it may take several tries to find the offer on the property that sticks. This is a game of patience more than anything else. Knowing that it will all workout eventually is the best attitude to have.

Today I am thankful for a beautifully sunny walk with my dog, a great podcast ( 10% Happier) to listen to while we walked and to be able to workout outside in the warm June sun.

“In dealing with this who are undergoing great suffering, if you fee “burnout” settling in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long term perspective.” Dalai Lama

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

Rainy days and Monday’s

These are a few of the things that should not get you down. In fact no outside influence should have any effect on your overall mood. It should not really matter if it is rainy or sunny, your team wins the big game or looses, you get the date with your crush or they turn you down, you got the job or not or if your offer was accepted or not on the home you wanted to purchase.

The only one who decides your current mood is you. So when you get up in the morning, decide right away that it is already going to be a great day irregardless of what happens. Just having the right attitude will tend to make more of the great things come your way in the first place.

Today I am thankful for how great I feel after running 15K yesterday, clients who maintain a positive attitude in this challenging market for buyers and the therapeutic effect of writing every day.

“People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude”. John C Maxwell

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