Take Control of Your Mortgage in 2016 – Your easy, quick win, New Year’s Resolution!

Mortgage Tips Nathan Lawrence 4 Jan

It’s officially 2016!!  So what have you resolved to do this year?

  • Exercise more?
  • Go on that dream vacation?
  • Spend more time with family and friends?
  • Work less??…maybe work more?
  • Tackle your debt load?
  • Buy a new home?

 

Regardless of the resolutions that you’ve committed to, sometimes the best way to get moving with new commitments is to start with an easy win!  Something that can get you motivated!  Something that can be completed easily, with little work on your part!

What?!?! …that’s exactly what you’re thinking isn’t it? …”Which of those resolutions can be done easily?”  “Where is this so called ‘easy win’?” 

Every year, we make huge commitments to ourselves and we often fail because we become discouraged quickly.  I’m here to tell you that some resolutions are much simpler than we make them out to be.  For instance, saving interest, taking control of your debt and improving your monthly cash flow…that’s right…this can be an easy win.

It all starts with taking a look at the largest debt that you have, your mortgage.  Most home owners don’t take the time each January to have an independent Mortgage Broker assess their mortgage and how they might be able to better leverage home equity in their favor.  We often avoid talking about our finance and debts, which makes sense given that money is often one of the leading causes of stress in a home.   As Mortgage Brokers, we take your whole application and from that financial picture we look at how you could:

  • save interest,
  • reduce your month payments,
  • consolidate debt,
  • or pay your mortgage off sooner.

 

So how is getting a better handle on your finances an easy win?  Simple!… it involves very little of your time and commitment…actually, it will only take about 5 minutes right now to get the ball rolling. Heck, you’ve taken the time to read the blog, what’s another few minutes of your time to get a no obligation second opinion?    Step 1: Complete our online application and hit the “Easy Button” or in this case the “submit” button.   Did you hit it?? Great, now on to step 2… Sit back and let our knowledgeable team of Mortgage Professionals take it from here!

 

Happy New Year!  Wishing you and everyone you know a Happy, Prosperous and Stress Free 2016!

Your Mortgage Tidbit – Pre-Payment Penalties

Mortgage Tips Nathan Lawrence 17 Dec

Did you know that when looking at Mortgage Pre-payment penalties, that they are not all created equal??  The formula and penalties themselves are pretty consistent but the numbers they use in those formulas could lead to a Pre-payment penalties that are significantly different from one lender to the next. #MortgageTidbit #NowYouKnow #SaveOnInterest #NotCreatedEqual #WeLoveMortgages

Your Mortgage Tidbit – That’s an Expensive House!

Mortgage Tips Nathan Lawrence 19 Nov

By: Nathan Lawrence & Brianna Shortreed

Your Mortgage Tidbit:

Recently we found this article talking about the sale of the most Expensive Condo in Canada!  Check out the article Here!!!  So because we love mortgages so much and because we were curious…We put together the numbers to look at.

Assuming the following…

Purchase Price: $55,000,000

Down Payment (20%): $11,000,000

Mortgage Amount: $44,000,000

Interest Rate: 2.59%

Term: 5 Year Standard Fixed Closed

Amortization: 25 years

Here are a few BIG numbers for you:

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $199,083.00

Total Mortgage Payments Made over 5 years: $11,944,980.00

Total Interest Paid over the 5 year term: $5,252,927.00

#MortgageTidbit #NowYouKnow #SaveOnInterest #WeLoveMortgages

That Oh SO Important Financing Condition

Mortgage Tips Nathan Lawrence 16 Nov

By: Nathan Lawrence

There you are, sitting down with your realtor and preparing an offer to purchase for that amazing home that you just looked at this afternoon. You get to the point in the conversation with your realtor about the need for a financing condition and you’re trying to remember what you talked about with your Mortgage Broker earlier in the week….were you approved? Pre-approved? Pre-qualified?

So here’s the thing, when it comes to placing an offer on a new property, the financing condition should always be there. The only reason for leaving the financing condition out of an offer is because you know that you could dip into your savings account right now and buy the house with cash if you had too.

If you cannot purchase the house with cash, then you really should have that pesky finance condition in the offer and here is why…

We know already that you’ve met with your Mortgage Broker, they have everything on file and they have told you that you’re pre-approved. It is important to understand that the pre-approval they issued is based on the information they have collected about you. However, they have no information about the house that you’re eventually going to purchase.

When your future lender reviews an application in full, there are two sides to your application. There’s you and then there’s the house. It’s important to note that the lender is investing in the whole package and at this point, no one knew what house you were going to buy. Your Mortgage Broker isn’t likely to receive any information on the specific property until you have an accepted offer. It is at that point when they will update your application and send in all of the details for a formal approval.

So you’re now wondering why all of this matters considering that during your pre-approval meeting your Mortgage Broker told you that you’re the perfect clients (great income, great credit, great down payment and just all around great people).

But what about the property? The lenders (and CMHC if you have less than 20% down) want to know that the same is true about the house you’re buying. Here are just a few questions that they are asking themselves about the house:

  • Is it being purchased for fair market value?
  • Is it located in a marketable neighborhood?
  • Are there any major or obvious defects that could affect its value
  • Is the house a previous grow op?

If something negative about the house comes back as part of the review, it could mean that the lender (or CMHC) could decline to finance the property. The financing condition gives you a way out of the agreement should something happen at this point. If you don’t have a financing condition, you could end up being legally tied to purchasing the home, with or without financing lined up. Definitely not a position you want to be in, so take the time to protect yourself by ensuring your offer to purchase includes a financing condition – and speak with us at Dominion Lending Centres.

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