Tag Archive for: Mortgage rates

It's not always about the rate

It’s NOT always about the rate!

Marketing people are clever. They know that we will be attracted by the shiny object, the sexy supermodel or the fancy headline. This is why car companies still market cars based on their 0-60 times or their range for the electric vehicles. When all that really should matter is their reliability, safety and that there is a robust charging network for the electric vehicles. 

People use to sell office photocopiers based on speeds and feeds. Computers used to be advertised based on the gigahertz of the processor. When all that really mattered was that it printed or faxed your documents and ran your necessary programs to get your work done.

Mortgates are no different. Watching a few minutes of the Leaf’s hockey game last night I saw an advertisement for one of the new national players in the mortgage space and … Read more

Changing Rates Again

Changing Rates Again

Bond yields increased again yesterday so therefor the fixed mortgage rates on which they are based also increased. If you are putting down less then 20% your 5 year fixed AAA rate is now 3.84% which is up by .05 basis points since last week. However if you are putting down 20% or more your AAA rate is now at least 4.09%.

The prime rate on the other hand is still 2.70%, and most lenders are offering discounts of prime less .90% now where last week they were offering discounts of up to prime less 1.10. So if you have a variable rate or are pre approved on a variable rate take note that the bank of Canada meets next on April 13th to announce the next change to the over night lending rate which will then change the prime … Read more

The rate game

The rate game

When the first thing that you talk about with clients is rate, then you have just limited yourself to being a rate broker. I told another broker on our national facebook group that if you do this you have to be prepared to live by the sword and die by the sword.

Actually rate will not dictate your final payment as much as amortization. If you are buying with 20% down or more you have the choice to extend your amortization out to 30 years. This is also available if you are refinancing. Doing this will help lower your overall monthly payments as well.

There is more to a great mortgage than just the rate. You need to consider flexibility like pre payments privilages, portability, and potential penalty to break the contract.

Today I am thankful for the slower pace … Read more

Get your affairs in order, your debts that is

Ides Of March

Unless you are Julius Caesar you have nothing to fear about the Ides of March. Before Brutus and Cassius made March 15th infamous it was notable for several Roman religious observances. Notable of which was the feast of Anna Perenna the goddess of the year, which people commonly gathered for picnic’s, drinking and revelry.

However one of the lesser know facts about today was that it was also the deadline for settling debts. Speaking of debts how are you making out with yours? Are you settling your debts every month or are you just treading water making the minimum payments. As a homeowner, there is no better time than now to look at combining all your debts into one payment.

Some of the benefits of refinancing and consolidating your debts using your home equity is that you will get access … Read more

Mortgage Rates and why to go Variable

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 … Read more

Different Mortgage Rates and Programs

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 … Read more

Demystifying the 5 year fixed rate mortgage

If this title alone does not get you I don’t know what will. Most people opt for the 5 year fixed rate mortgage because of the security of knowing what your payment will be from month to month over the next 5 years. However how do you know if you got the best 5 year product. In case you did not know there is more than one out there.

Lender’s price their fixed rate products based on how long that they have to guarantee the rate. These rate guarantee’s range from 30 days all the way up to 120 days. So as a result the quicker you can close the more likely you will get the best rate in town.

Here are a few examples.… Read more

To break or not to break?

Well that is the question. Wondering whether to break your current mortgage to take advantage of the lower rates that are currently offered. Well here is an example that you can apply to your situation to see if now is a good time to take advantage of the lower rates.

Interest Rate Differentials (IRD)

Often a client needs an “idea” of how much their existing mortgage penalty might be before he decides to refinance or do an “early switch” with pre-payment penalty.

If the penalty is based on a rate differential, here is a BASIC calculation to figure out a close amount…..

Based on a:

$200,000 with 3 years remaining on a 5 year term of 5.70%….

…because there are 3 years remaining, the current 3 year rate is used to calculate the differential.

If the lenders current 3 year … Read more

Rate decision

Bank of Canada leaves key rate unchanged

Malcolm Morrison, The Canadian Press

The Canadian dollar gave up early gains and moved lower after the Bank of Canada’s announced it was leaving interest rates unchanged and warned of the negative effects of a rising currency.

The loonie was 0.12 of a cent lower to 102.82 cents US after the central bank announced its decision to keep the key interest rate at one per cent.

The bank observed that the economic recovery in Canada is proceeding slightly faster than expected and that “while consumption growth remains strong, there are signs that household spending is moving more in line with the growth in household incomes.”

But the bank also warned that “the export sector continues to face considerable challenges from the cumulative effects of the persistent strength in the Canadian dollar and Canada’s … Read more

Committed?

Are you or should you be? To your goals that is. This hit me when one of my friends from the gym saw me today and commented that I must not be committed as I did not make it in for my regular workout time of 05h30 yesterday. My excuse was that one of our kids was up a few times over night. However excuses be gone, come hell or high water I will certainly be there for tomorrow.

When you think about it, are you committed to the successful attainment of your goals? If you are not, or worse if you don’t have your goals written down ( shame on you if that is the  case) then you are just breathing and not really living.

If getting out of debt is your goal. Then you should write your goal

… Read more