Tag Archive for: mortgage professional

Spring Forward!

Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour before you got to bed tonight. Starting tomorrow your days will be brighter and you will get an extra hour of day light. All of which means that spring is just around the corner.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).

10 Things NOT to do once your financing is approved.

Congratulations you have just been approved for a mortgage on the new home that you are buying. You went through all the steps with your banker or broker and now all you can do is wait till you pick up your keys on the closing day in a few weeks.

You may think that just because the bank signed off on all the conditions that you are free to do what ever you want and that there would be no repercussions effecting your purchase. Sadly this is not the case. The lenders continue to work on your file behind the scenes up until your closing date.

Any material change that you make from the date you received word that all your conditions were met until the closing date may in-fact effect your ability to close the transaction.

Here are a list of 10 things in no particular order of what NOT to do prior to closing on your new home.

  1. Don’t quit your job.
  2. Don’t suddenly become self employed
  3. Don’t commit a crime or get arrested
  4. Don’t finance your furniture
  5. Don’t finance a new vehicle
  6. Don’t get divorced
  7. Don’t go on a spending spree on your credit cards
  8. Don’t close any credit accounts
  9. Don’s apply for new credit
  10. Don’t increase the limits on existing cards

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).

Subject free offer’s

This is when you write an offer to buy a property without any conditions. So there would be no financing condition, no property inspection and no subject removal period. Once accepted by the vendor ( the seller) it’s a done deal. Well at least in your mind and the sellers mind it’s a done deal. Unless you have the cash on hand don’t do this, and I’ll tell you why.

Yes I know that the real estate market across Canada is crazy right now. I was speaking with one of my local Realtors this week and he told me about a property in my subdivision that was listed for 349K, had 28 offers and ended up going for 646K. This was absolutely un heard of almost a year and a half ago.

That 60 second pre approval you have in your hand isn’t actually a pre approval. However unless they pulled your credit, reviewed your income and verified your down payment, it’s most likely a rate hold. That is great as fixed rates have been increasing lately but it does not allow you the put in a subject fee offer.

While it’s true that we have many sources of funding available to you in Canada these days. If you were thinking of going subject free and using 5% down payment, those sources have now shrunk to 3. This is because we only have 3 high ratio mortgage insurers in Canada, CMHC, Canada Guaranty and Sagen ( formally Genworth). Also a bad idea if you are putting 20% down or more as lenders will require an appraisal. Now what if that appraisal comes in less than your agreed upon price? If this happens you will have to make up the difference from your own pocket.

Lastly if you are putting in a sight unseen offer, as these have been happening. You could find out that the house has a cracked foundation, was a former grow op/meth lab, has a mold problem or is just plain non conforming. You may be perfectly suited to getting financing but that house is not.

For most people this is your single largest financial transaction in your lives. Don’t put yourself in jeopardy by presenting a subject free offer.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).

Peaks and Valleys

There are seasons to the year just like there are peaks and valleys to your life. If you are like many where the last year with the pandemic was challenging for you both personally as well as financially then you should now be starting to pick up steam and make improvements to many areas of your life. I know that it is that way for me. Just know that the bad times never last forever, and that the one thing constant in life is change. Like my great Mother use to say, ” weather and your underwear are things that change on a constant basis”.

Now since I am in the mortgage business this is how it relates to my field. If you have been listening to the news you may have heard reports that mortgage rates are rising. While that is true, it is also not. Let me explain. Five year fixed mortgages rates have started to move upwards over the past two weeks. However variable rates have not changed. You see the fixed rates are based on bond yields which have been rising thus changing the five year mortgage rates. The variable rates on the other hand are based on the Bank Of Canada prime lending rate, which as they have announced today is not being changed.

So even though the fixed rate payment will be set for the term of your mortgage, you will end up paying less and have a lower penalty to break with the variable. I am here for you if you have any questions but variable is looking like the best way to go. So if your current lender is calling you asking if you wanted to lock into a fixed rate, DON’T DO IT!

“Remember that our problems come in waves, but so do the solutions” Tony Robbins

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).

Crazy ones

Steve Jobs was one of my business idol’s. Not just because I am a huge Apple geek, but also because he saw things differently and found ways to make things happen. The common expression goes that if you want something done just ask someone who is busy and they will find a way to do it. Look for the men and women of action, the risk takers and those with a sense of urgency.

The same goes with your mortgage request. Find someone who is willing to go the extra mile and get your financing completed. Every mortgage file is unique like your fingerprint. No two are exactly the same. Let me find the solution that works best for your situation.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).

Celebrities

While people gather around the virtual water cooler ( cause we are still in a pandemic) discussing the lives of celebrities, just a heads up that I won’t be one of them. I have loved this quote above from the moment that I saw it many years ago and it sums up my personal philosophy to a T.

Be of a great mind.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).

On A Roll

Let’s say you have made a commitment to read more, exercise, eat better or save money. You have been doing great for the past 30 days but today it requires more mental energy than it normally does. However you know if you miss a day, that it will lead to 2 and then your great work from the past 30 days will be gone.

Jerry Seinfeld had created a system where by he sat down every day and worked on developing new material. In order to continue to make progress the key was to never break the chain. A little bit every day will make you better, and the key is consistency whereby you don’t miss a day.

I made a commitment just over a month a go to post every day. It doesn’t matter how small a post it was the key was to post something and be consistent. Just like it is with my exercise routine. The only rule is to not miss a day. In order to improve we have to continue with the daily efforts.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).

The Rate Game!

Over the last few weeks the rates on five year fixed mortgage have steadily risen as the corresponding bond yields have also increased. This all has to do with recent concerns with inflation or better yet a game of cat and mouse between bond traders and the FOMC ( Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee) which sets the US federal funds rate. You see the traders believe that the FOMC have the funds rate set too low so as a result they are pushing the yields up higher to see if the FOMC will react.

You may be asking how does this effect you and me here in Canada. Well their actions have increased the yield of our five year bonds and thus drove our fixed rate mortgages higher. Mortgages which as of late were at historic low rates. So if you have heart set on a 5 year fixed mortgage rate and are currently shopping for a new home, now is the ideal time to lock in your rate with a pre approval.

However do you know what may be a better option? Historically the better option has always been to go with a variable rate. Not only do you get a lower rate, but you also have a much better penalty if you have to break it. This would three months interest vs a very probable Interest Rate Differential penalty.

Another differentiator is the fact that the variable rate mortgage is based on the Bank Of Canada prime rate rather than the whims of the bond market in general. The bank of Canada meets 8 times a year and current the over night rate is set at .25%. The current bank forecast says that the overnight rate will remain unchanged for the rest of 2021 and also for 2022. As for 2023 and beyond it will depend on how the Canadian and global economies recover from Covid-19.

While this is no crystal ball as it is very difficult to predict the market. Generally 9 times out of 10 you will save more money with a variable rate as compared to a fixed rate. Right now, I like these odds and think that people will prefer the variable.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).

We are all connected

Whether you believe it or not, we are all in this together so it works best for each of us if we help each other out. I know that we are all fighting internal battles that nobody really knows anything about. However you have to realize that you are probably not the first in your particular situation nor will you be the last.

In regards to my field, as a mortgage broker there are probably thousands of us across the country. Many more if you add the mortgage specialists who work directly for the banks. Yet even though we work mostly by ourselves and for ourselves a little cooperation can go a long way. I had a file that I was having a challenge getting it approved and funded, I reached out to one of my friends who is a mortgage specialist for a bank and he was able to get it done. Simple as that.

A few years ago I reached out to Dustan Woodhouse a prominent broker in BC who wrote a series of books called “Be the better Broker”. Not only did he take the time to talk with me, someone he didn’t know from Adam, he actually sent me copies of his book. I was blown away by his gesture.

We need more people like Dustan who go out of their ways to help other people. The world will be a much better place if we all turned the focus less on ourselves and more toward others. A cool little side benefit is that the more you give the better you will feel.

With the theme of today’s post you really need to check out Sam Roberts singing We’re all in this together with his kids.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).

My business runs on Zoho

While using a web-surfing tool called Stumbleupon about 12 years ago, I landed on a page about Zoho and it’s products. I had been searching for a great CRM for my business and all the competitors that I had found were much more expensive and not as user friendly.

So here is a run-down of what I am using and hopefully you will find something of value can help you or your business.

I use Zoho CRM to run my day to day business. It helps me track every stage of my clients journey from prospect through to funding. It’s great for keeping in touch with my referral sources as well.

I use Zoho Books for all my accounting needs. It connects to many of the common payment processors links like Stripe or PayPal so you can send out invoices with a built in link and get paid much faster.

I use Zoho Bookings to schedule all my client meetings. I just send my clients a link, they pick the time that is convenient for them and then we meet through Zoho Meeting their video conference tool.

I use Zoho Mail for all my correspondence. It links seamlessly with my CRM so all my client communication is automatically saved to their contact profile.

I use Zoho Campaigns for any email marketing with my clients and referral sources. It syncs beautifully with my CRM and sends out amazing emails with all the back end analytics that you need to know what’s working and what’s not.

The chatbot on my website is also Zoho product called SalesIQ. It pings my Apple Watch, then my iPhone and my computer when I have a new visitor using chat on my website. This gives me the opportunity to communicate timely & effectively with those who visit my page. The Form that is on my website was created by Zoho Forms. That brings everything directly to my Zoho CRM.

I use Zoho Sign for all my clients mortgage approval documents. Now in the age of Covid where almost everything is done virtually this has been an amazing tool to have.

I am most likely leaving some products out of the mix but this should give you a pretty good idea about what is possible with their expert suite of products. What really makes this attractive for me is the fact that they have all these products bundled together as a package called Zoho One and what’s even better is the cost, which is only $30us per user per month! This is a tremendous value, compared to what you may already be paying for your CRM, your Zoom, your accounting program and all other similar products. So if you like any of these products please subscribe through my Zoho One Link and it will give you the most bang for the buck.

I really hope that I was able to add some value to your day and just make life more organized and structured. You won’t believe how much more effective these products make me.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard 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).