Tag Archive for: Vancouver Mortgage Broker

Redemption

The one constant in life is change. I can guarantee that you are not the exact same person that you were 10 years ago. Experience shapes and changes us all, most times for the better and sadly sometimes for the worse. So there is a very good chance that the person who let you down & disappointed you years and years ago has also changed for the better.

Redemption whether asked for or not is something that we should all allow to happen. Resentment towards someone else because they did you wrong a long time ago, only prevents you from moving forward. Let it go and move on with life. There is a good chance that they have forgotten about it anyway. Once forgiven it will be like a weight has been lifted from you allowing you finally to move on to bigger and better things.

I have always loved this Muhammed Ali quote ” A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has just wasted 30 years of his life”.

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

2022 Federal Budget

Yesterday the federal government tabled the 2022 federal budget. While it seems that we are getting away from the spend your way out of the pandemic, this one seems more focused on the need to improve access to housing for Canadian’s. Here is how it is going to effect the real estate sector.

  1. They will invest 4 Billion over 5 years starting this year on a new housing accelerator fund aimed at increasing municipal housing.
  2. $1.5 Billion over the next two years on a rapid housing initiative with 25% aimed at financing for Women focused housing projects.
  3. A $7,500 tax credit to renovate your home or create a back yard suite for family or someone with a disability.
  4. The creation of a new tax free savings account for those under 40, that will allow first time home buyers to save up to $40,000 with tax free investments and tax free withdrawals.
  5. Increasing the firs time home buyers tax credit up to $10,000 with $1,500 in support directly to home buyers and it will be retroactive to home purchased since January 1st/2022.
  6. They are also increasing the home accessibility tax credit to $20,000, this is for renovations or alterations that improve a home’s accessibility.
  7. They are putting aside $475 million to provide a one time $500 payment to those facing a housing affordability challenge
  8. There will be a new rule implemented as of January 1/2023 labeled as the anti flipping rule as it will impose a tax on the profits of a sale of a home if it was owned for less than 12 months. This will focus on those who attempt to flip for profit rather than those who’s family situations require the sale of the home.
  9. They have also announced $5 million towards the creation of a home buyers bill of rights aimed at ending blind bidding. This will also include a legal right for home inspections something buyers have been waiving in favour of winning the bid.
  10. A temporary ban of foreign buyers ( non owner occupied) from buying residential properties here over next two years.

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

Now it’s official

Yes I know that Spring official began just over two weeks ago. However according to many who love sports it officially begins today. This is because the baseball season and the Masters golf tournament both start today.

I know my Dad and my wife’s Dad are both looking down today to cheer on their favourite teams and players. Although our beloved Montreal Expos are no longer playing the love of the game is still the same.

Speaking of the Masters what makes this year’s tournament so much more interesting is the return of Tiger Woods. After a near fatal car accident last January to returning to the Masters where he won the green jacket 5 times is an amazing accomplishment. While I have not heard his name mentioned as a potential winner, I would definitely not count him out.

Are your dreams & goals big enough to overcome any obstacle? A lot of people counted Tiger out from what he has gone though over the past 10 years. However he has never given up and continues to inspire us all with his persistence and his determination to win. Things will come up today or tomorrow that will knock your off your game, the key is the get back up and start over and keep moving forward.

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

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 rate. The prediction is that it will go up by .50% to 3.20%.

To put it in a little bit of perspective the last time that we had rates in the mid to high 3% range was in November and December of 2018. When the 5 year fixed rate got up to 3.69% for two months before going back down slowly. Then with the onset of the Pandemic in 2020 the 5 year fixed rates bottomed out at 1.79%. However bond yields are up due to inflation levels that we have not seen in 30 years and the instability of the War in Ukraine is not helping calm things down much either.

My role as your advisor is to give you the best advice so you can make a knowledgable decision about what to do about your mortgage. There are pro’s and con’s to all the options, it is best to chose the option that will allow you to comfortably sleep at night. Ask me and I will tell you the facts about the 5 year fixed vs the variable vs the short term 1 year fixed. Ask as many questions as you want as this is an important decision to make.

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

Walk the talk

All the best trainers and coaches know that success leaves clues. If you are not getting the results that you want then look to those who are succeeding. While there is no guarantee that doing exactly what they do will make you successful, I am fairly certain that it will however dramatically improve your results compared to what you are already getting.

As we are leading up to the Masters golf tournament this week, I recently read an article about Tiger Woods. There was an event a few years ago that featured Phil Mickelson & Tom Brady vs Tiger Woods & Payton Manning. Tiger being the hyper competitive person that he is really wanted to win the event. Payton on the other hand was prepared to approach it the same way that he has always approached golf which was to show up to the course 20 minutes early, hit a few balls then start. Tiger had him show up early, do his full warm up and prep work and approach it like the pro that he is and they ended up winning.

So if you are feeling a little bit off for some reason today, then just decide to walk, talk and move like someone who has it all together. Be confident that it will all work out and sooner than later you will be pleasantly surprised on how well things have gone for you today.

Today I am thankful for the brighter mornings, the bad weather that did not amount to much yesterday and the feeling of a fresh shave early in the morning.

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

Positive feedback

Why is the default feedback mechanism for people to be negative. We don’t learn to improve by receiving constant negative feedback day in and day out. Psycologists and animal trainers both agree that the way to implement a change is through positive feedback. Yet if we receive feedback from 10 people and 9 are overwhelming positive but one was negative why do we only focus on the negative one?

The same goes for the news that we read, stories of war, devastation or financial collapse get more attention that the positive human interest stories. Look at social media, when there is a there is a post about an important topic, controversial or not there is always tons of negative feedback. Why is it that people find it so easy to tear someone apart from their keyboard yet they would never say the same thing to someone’s face?

Try for just one day that if you have nothing good to say then say nothing at all. Find every reason to give someone positive reinforcement, even if it’s something small like holding the door open for you. These little ripples of positive energy is exactly what the world needs right now. Whether Mahatma Gandhi said it or not, “be the change you want to see in the world” is a great quote to live by.

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

Preparation

One of my favourite Ben Franklin quotes is ” by failing to prepare you are preparing to fail”. The overall theme of life is to prepare for the unknown and the unknowable. This could also be one of the reasons I love crossfit so much as you never know what the “Workout of the Day” was till you showed up for class. So you train for everything from strength, to metabolic conditioning ( cardio for you regular folks) and mobility and everything in-between.

So as you look outside today and see a sunny blue sky and think what a wonderful day, I encourage you to also look ahead and prepare for the upcoming storm for tomorrow and be ready. The same thing applies to life, it could be a wonderful day today but would you be ready if the shit hit the fan tomorrow? How are you planning for the unknown, do you have a supply of food, medicine and cash to keep you over if you lose power for a few days or if an unexpected bill arrives?

In regards to your mortgage, are you just making your minimum prescribed interest & principal payments while on a variable rate? Or are you paying more to prepare yourself as rates rise. Those of us who chose a variable rate were given a generational gift of extremely low rates. However remember that we had to qualify at a much higher rate to get approved. So it’s not too late to contact your lender and increase your payments so you are prepared as rates change over the next few months. Variable rates are still at an advantage over the much higher fixed rates so adjust your payment rather than switching to fixed.

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

Cold Turkey

Going cold turkey generally refers to stoping a bad habit quickly and suddenly. It is usually in reference to quitting smoking or drinking. Tony Robbins famously says that it is in our moments of decision that our destiny is shaped. Or as Yoda says ” Do or do not, there is no try”.

With some habits there is no shade of grey, you either do it or you don’t. So it is really up to us to decide if that habit serves us or not. If it doesn’t then it may be time to drop it and replace it with a better one. I mean that because bad habits must be replaced by something if the change is going to stick for the long term.

We live in a vacuum so if you stop watching 3 hours of tv every night, you will need to find something else to fill that same amount of time. It’s best to pick something new that will serve you instead. My dad smoked for years and whenever he tried to quit he would always pick up drinking pop or eating candy bars. Thus these new and equally destructive habits didn’t help him and he would fall back into smoking. So find something positive that will change you for the better.

I recently gave up surfing social media, yes cold turkey. I had not planed it in advance I just did it when I realized that 5 mins of scrolling would lead to 45 minutes of productivity lost and nothing learned. So I channeled that into reading more, and am now on my 10th book of the year. Find something destructive that you could switch out for something constructive.

Today I am thankful for the chocolate challah bread that my wife brought home this morning, lessons learned from reading a biography of one of the greatest minds to have ever lived and for that Etta James song stuck in my head.

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

Hire an expert

Generalist are fine when the problems or issues are minor, but when they are important or vital it is time to consult an expert. I was having issues with my feet this winter and asked my GP about it when I saw her. While the level of care is normally great for minor issues, if you have a specific problem then it’s time to see the expert. A quick visit to a podiatrist quickly fixed my issues.

When people are a jack of all trades they tend to be a master of none. We can’t all be polymaths like Leonardo Da Vinci who excelled in engineering, science, medicine and art. The same also applies to your need to finance your next home or your dream home. There are those who work for the big 5 banks who do mortgages, lines of credit, investments, checking & savings accounts and insurance. While I am quite sure that they are good at a few of those fields they can’t possibly be an expert in all of them.

Your home for most people is your single most important investment over your lifetime. You should not put this in the hands of someone who is only average at doing it. You should be dealing with an expert, someone who specializes in that field.

Today I am thankful for the fact that I sought the advice of an expert, having a busy schedule and having options for challenging files.

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

First Things First

There is a reason why the flight attendants recommend that in the event of an emergency that you put your mask on first. This is because in order to help others you must first learn to help yourself. While you may think that this is contrary to how it should go, it actually makes sense.

You can’t help your loved ones financially if you yourself are in need of financial assistance. It is almost impossible to calm down a situation if you yourself are not under control. How the heck can you help those around you with their health if yours is in a state of disrepair. Do as I say an not as I do is not an answer.

Learn to take care of yourself first so then you can help those around you. Have at least 30 minutes of “me” time every day just so you can properly meet the stresses of the day. Pay yourself first from every pay cheque so you will have some for the rainy days ahead. Lastly but mostly importantly take good care of your health as we are here for a short time not a long time so do your best to make every second count.

Today I am thankful for the beautiful sunrise I saw in Halifax while walking my dog at 6am today, flexible lending policies from lenders so files can get closed and past clients with more projects.

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