Tag Archive for: Vancouver Mortgage Broker

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day

We once had a PM who tried to tell us that there were two types of Canadian’s. The old stock Canadian’s who had been here for a few generations and those who only arrived in the last generation. Well my family has been here since the mid 1750’s but it pales in comparison to the Indigenous population who have been here for thousands of years.

So today we should all pause and celebrate their culture & heritage and the fact that we still share their land. Speaking of the land, on key Indigenous value that we should all adopt is something called the “Seventh Generation Principal”. This means that we should make our decisions today based upon how those decisions will effect the future seven generations. We must realize that we are only here for a short period of time and to take care of the earth so it is here for future generations to come.

When we truly stop and listen to others we will find that we will learn so much. The Indigenous people in Canada have such a rich cultural heritage and by learning more it will enrich all our lives.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Cost vs benefit

The old adage of you get what you focus on is spot on. People can make a heaven out of hell or a hell out of heaven. If you’re in a good mood then the chances are that you will find things to support that, and the same goes if you are in a foul mood.

Benjamin Franklin has a quote that I have always loved ” The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”. Meaning if you value low prices more than quality then you will always have issues with quality and as a result will end up costing you more to replace it.

I have pretty much always been a Mac computer user. Yes they are more expensive than the comparable PC computers but in my personal experience the quality is so much better. My Mac’s have lasted me on average 6-7 years, which is much longer than my PC loving friends.

To take this back to what I originally wrote about, if your focus is on cost you will miss out on all the other benefits that a good quality product will bring you. Take private mortgages for example. Yes they are expensive and if you are able to obtain what you need with institutional or alternative financing then proceed with that option. However if your only option is a private loan to prevent you from loosing your home then cost actually becomes secondary to the benefit it provides.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

For all the Dad’s

Happy Father’s day for all the Dad’s out there. My Dad has been gone for 10 years now and Father’s days are not the same with out him. So if your Dad is still around today then give him a big hug for me.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Nip it in the bud

The first sign of any unwanted behaviour it’s best to nip it in the bud, or put a stop to it before it gets out of control. You notice that your pants don’t fit right anymore, don’t wait till you need a whole new wardrobe, do something about it now. Suddenly having too much month left at the end of your money, do something about it now before it gets out of control. Weeds taking over your garden, nip them in the bud before they have a chance to take over.

Some pundits ( arm chair economists) says that the Bank of Canada reacted too late to the rising inflation and should have acted earlier by increasing the overnight lending rate much sooner that it did. The BOC actually started increasing the rates right around the time that the inflation started to get out of control.

The CPI (consumer price index) numbers averaged in the 4% range right up until January of 2022 when it crept over 5% for the first time. It has since gone from 5.1 in January to 5.7% in February and 6.7 & 6.8 in March & April when the BOC took action by increasing rates. While the numbers for May have not come out yet they are predicting it to remain high again and thus almost guaranteeing another rate increase when the next BOC meets in July. So the number speak for themselves and I don’t think they waited too long, but who knows how long it’s going to last before it starts to come back down again.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Psychological Barrier

A psychological barrier is a commonly held belief that something can’t be done until someone brave enough proves everyone wrong. Take Roger Bannister for example, nobody believed that the human body could be able to run the mile in less than 4 minutes. So on May 6th, 1954 he proved them wrong by running it in 3:59.4. With this barrier broken, the record only stood for 46 days till it was broken again.

The last 10 years or so we were holding onto a psychological belief that interest rates would stay low forever. Thus giving us access to basically cheap money for as long as we wanted. This barrier too was broken this week when the 5 year fixed discounted rate rose above 5%. Our continued inflationary pressures that have pushed prices of food, fuel, housing and now bond rates to new levels.

Just a year ago the 5 year fixed discounted rate was at 2.09%. Today this same product is now at 5.09%. Even with the low rates of last year we were qualifying clients at the stress test rate of 5.25%. Now it’s the contract rate + 2%, so that means to qualify you must stress test at 7.09%. So if you were on the limits of your debt service ratio’s last year to get approved at 500K, you now have to set your sights at a lower price point. Either that or find a co-signer to help you qualify.

Quick note to let you know that it has been since before the financial crisis in 2008 that we had 5 year fixed rates above 5%.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Two important components

There are two very important components when considering private lending to meet your borrowing needs. They are rate and fee’s. There are other important components like loan to value and location but today I want to talk about rate & fee’s.

The rate for a private mortgage is typically interest only for a 1 year period. I usually call these bridge loans as it helps bridge you from one situation to another. The rate determines your carrying costs for the loan. While there are various private lenders out there, the rule of thumb I advise clients is that it will be 1% per month interest only calculated monthly, which works out to 12% per year.

The next part is the fee’s. Which is the basically the cost to obtain the mortgage. Similar to high ratio loans where there is a CHMC premium, for private mortgages the fee is the lender & broker’s cost to arrange, secure and lend the money. In most cases this is added to the loan amount and then the monthly payment is based the principal amount + the fee’s. However these can be also be paid upfront and in full upon closing.

Not all private mortgages are created equal. Make sure that the rate and terms make sense to you. Also because of the rate & fee’s these are never supposed to be long term solution but short term fixes, so treat them as such.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Stress Tested

There were plenty of complaints when the OFSI increased the stress test rate from 4.79% last year to 5.25%. At the time the concern was it would remove a lot of buyers from the housing market and cool things off. Well at least this was the goal but it never happened. In hind sight it was good that the stress test rate was increased as it proved that consumers could afford the higher rates if they happened.

So all those who closed last year and chose a variable rate, remember when you were stress tested it was proven that you could afford the higher rates. While you were loving the fact that your mortgage was in the 1% rate for last year. Now with the recent increases to prime you are still in the mid to high 2% range. Still well below the 5.25% stress test rate.

Now the people who close this year, the stress test rate is no longer 5.25% as it will now be the contract rate + 2%. So a current five year fixed rate of 4.89 now has a stress test rate of 6.89. The variable are tested at 5.25% or the contract rate +2% which ever is greater. That means currently 5.25% is the number for variable.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Don’t Wait

Don’t wait till the stars align and everything is perfect in your life to be happy because that very rarely happens. Choose, yes I said choose to be happy now instead. Don’t wait for the perfect job, perfect relationship or your perfect body in order to be happy. Just be happy now and see how the everyday things in your life being to change.

Suddenly the traffic jam is not so bad as it gives you the opportunity to listen to some great music or call your family. Your car won’t start but meet some great people on your walk or bus to work.

Your happiness is not decided by your bank balance, the type of car you drive, the clothes that you ware or how many followers you have on social media. You and only you are in control of your state of mind. So for a little experiment just make a decision that you will not pin your mood or happiness on any external event but will instead decide to be happy irregardless of what life serves up for you.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Necessary Evil

Let’s face it, insurance is a necessary evil. We need it to drive a car, you need it to buy a home or live in an apartment and you need it to run a business. What they don’t tell you is when you need to use it they will make you walk over hot coals, crawl over broken glass and give up your first born to prove that your claim is valid.

I know this is because that people have been less than honest and have taken advantage of them in the past. However isn’t starting with the assumption that the claim is invalid until proven otherwise a poor place to start? Let’s hope that your claims experience is significantly better than the one that I am going through right now.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Celebrate

As I sit here writing this today, I find myself sore in places that I haven’t been sore in quite a long time. I may have over did it just a little bit this weekend, but that in no way means I will changes my approach to fitness. It just means I have to adjust my daily training to account for what I did the previous day.

The main point of my post today is to say that we should all celebrate life. Not just when things are going extremely well, but also when you’re a little sore or a little broke. Being thankful for what you have always has a tendency to bring more of it in your life. Even be thankful for the goals that you have not achieved yet, and especially for the lessons along the way.

It may also have something to do with recently listening to “I just want to celebrate” by Rare Earth. If you are in the mood for a classic rock tune that you may not have heard in a very long time, I suggest that you put it on. Great vibe for a beautiful day.

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 Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here