As I’ve said many times, one of the single greatest determining factors in whether you can become qualified for a mortgage and the interest rate at which you do, is your credit history. Many people unfortunately don’t know this, and can be completely blind-sided when it comes time to qualifying. However, the truly unsettling idea […]

Here is the final blog in the REVERSE MORTGAGE series. If you missed the first two, you read them here and here: Eliminate mortgage payment – Retired, or wanting to retire, but still have a mortgage and mortgage payment to make? Use a reverse mortgage to pay off the traditional mortgage, getting rid of that […]

While most people know the main things they need to buy a home, such as stable employment and enough money for a down payment, there are a few other factors that may help you realize you’re ready, perhaps even earlier than you thought! As a mortgage broker, it is my job to ensure that each […]

Perhaps you remember the Seinfeld episode where George Costanza catches someone double dipping in the salsa. While this is considered unsanitary and bad manners, some forms of double dipping are okay. Sometimes two levels of government want you to do something, so they offer you an incentive. The idea is that people’s behavior over time […]

We all do it. Even I fall guilty to it at times. It’s really a part of Human Nature…and really what fun is life without it? What exactly are we talking about? Dreaming. We make grand plans and lay them out with the utmost care. We write them out, daydream about them, and (hopefully) we […]

You may have heard that rates are changing, and that is true. They don’t call it war for nothing and you need an expert by your side! Think of mortgage brokers as your loyal soldiers. What we are seeing is exactly what we anticipated when prime rate goes up and discounts go down. Confused? Don’t […]

Fixed Interest Rates This is usually the more popular choice for clients when it comes to deciding on which type of interest rate they want. There are many reasons why, but the most unsurprising answer is always safety. With a fixed interest rate, you know exactly what you are paying every month and you know […]

Five-year fixed mortgage rates continued their upward march last week as the five-year Government of Canada (GoC) bond yield they are priced on hit its highest level in seven years. Meanwhile, five-year variable-rate discounts deepened, further widening the gap between five-year fixed and variable rates. When I started working in the mortgage industry in 2005, […]

If you currently have a variable rate, it is likely you are well positioned for variable mortgages with the spread widening from the fixed. So what happens when the prime rate changes? When Prime Rate changes, whether it’s an increase or decrease, the customer is advised via letter that their payment will change. With most […]

When I started working as a broker in 2005, the mortgage industry and the financial industry in general weren’t very eco-friendly. Let’s face it. When someone buys a home, there’s a paper trail. Starting with the mortgage pre-approval which can run four pages, the Offer to Purchase, which is another 12 pages, income documents, notices […]