Many Canadians dream of owning rural property(including farms) with lots of land AND low taxes. For decades mortgage lending on rural properties with ‘acreage’ has been restricted to the value of the house and 1 to 5 acres maximum, depending on the lender. This meant that purchasers were required to bridge the gap with their own money, that is, equal to the value of any excess acreage that was not valued for mortgage purposes. The reality was that unless you had a very large down payment and/or you were willing to take on a higher interest second mortgage, it was not feasible to purchase such a property. Our new ‘breakthrough’ financing program changes all that with prime residential rates on properties with up to 200 acres. Eligible properties must be owner occupied, principal or secondary residences anfd have residential, rural or agricultural zoning. This can include hobby farms and year round recreational(cottage) property with large acreage as well. Rental properties and vacant land do not qualify.

John and Jacqueline Pelletier from Burlington were one of the first to benefit from this new program. They recently bought a 100 acre property at a purchase price of $1175,000. We were able to get them a $905,000 first mortgae at 2.25%/35 year amortization. The full purchase price was accepted as value and the required down payment was 270,000. In the past, lending value would have been limited to the house and 5 acres and the maximum loan would have been approximately $550,000 requiring a whopping down payment of $625,000 or $355,000 more than double required now. Without question it is considerably easier to finance such a property under this new program.

Refinancing is allowed, however certain other restrictions apply.

Should you currently own such a property(want to refinance)or are looking to purchase one, call us today for more details, and take advantage of 35 year amortizations before they disappear on March 18th.

Call us first, and have 25 years experience working for you

That’s the Taco Bell slogan. It’s meant to remind us that fast food doesn’t end with hamburgers. In the world of mortgages, the closest equivalent to “the bun” is the 5 year fixed mortgage. It has been the most popular mortgage/term in Canada for decades. Why? Because Canadians are(generally speaking) ‘risk averse’ and so we pay a hefty premium for ‘safety’ and ‘peace of mind’ by choosing a fixed rate versus a (lower) rate tied to prime.

Like the weather we seem to constantly talk about ‘rates’. by the way, the last place you should ask about where rates are headed is the bank, who last week predicted a two per cent hike in the next two years. OK. Here’s a tip, they are likely to be wrong again. Two years ago they said the same thing. We thought the era of ultra low rates was ending. Wrong. Has the party ended for good, or will rates increase for a year only to decline again? Folks, nobody really knows, and predictions have proven to be highly inaccurate. So don’t ask the bank their opinion about rates because their response will likely be short sighted.

So why does it seem the banks(like the media) always try to put fear into us. And why do the banks always tell us to ‘lock in’ to a fixed rate if we have a variable? The answer is to make us act(panic) from fear, so they will make more profit. Did you know, that over 70 per cent of 5 year fixed rate mortgages are redone every 3.5 years. What this means is that the banks also get a ‘penalty’, usually thousands of dollars from fixed rate mortgages. If you were in a variable or 3 year fixed term mortgage, you would have little or no penalty AND you would also save thousands in interest. Factor the penalty into the ‘effective’ interest rate and you are paying a fixed rate even higher than you think.

We always say “Pay yourself the spread, not the bank. “This is how you will “REALLY get ahead. For example, a 3 year fixed 3.35% $300,000 mortgage with a 25 year amortization will save you approximately $4,676 over 3 years, and 7,795 interest savings(that’s no chump change) over 5 years currently at 4.14%. And get this, if you were to make the equivalent of the 5 year fixed payment(1,600.91)versus the required payment($1,474) of your 3 year mortgage, you will pay your mortgage down much faster saving thousands more. Choose a variable mortgage tied to prime, currently .75% below prime or 2.25%, your interest savings over 3 years is around $10,590, and $17,650 versus choosing a 5 year fixed rate mortgage. That’s a lot of money!

So folks you can see what a ‘huge’ premium you are paying when you take a 5 year fixed rate. If you are a first time buyer, or you have a large mortgage(little equity) and consumer debt, it makes complete sense for to go with a fixed rate. Otherwise there is great merit in considering several other options which we will discuss next week.

Call us first, and have 25 years experience working for you.

Awe the call to the land…the open space, fresh air, low taxes. it could be the fond memories of driving the tractor with dad as a kid, or weekends at grandpa’s farm. It could even be finding a plac when the neighbour can look into your kitchen. We hear it lots. We want to buy a farm. many people have a desire to buy a farm. “they ain’t makin more land,” is the adage.

The issue has always been the land. You see lenders won’t give value to the land or the barns unless you are a commercial farmer.(that’s a whole different kettle of fish) suffice to say, higher rates than residential mortgages, financial statements, costly appraisals and the bank would limit the amount of equity you could mortgage to 65%. And still encumber everything including all the machinery, equipment, and the last I heard your first born child. Well not many of us can make a living being a farmer these days but some do want to play farmer in their free time.

and that’s why we are pleased to announce, “you can now buy a farm.” Show this article immediately to your wife! We have a lender who has decided to get into the hobby farm business and ou can ow put as little as 20% down. Now here’s the kicker. They will take into account the value of all of the land up to 200 acres. Most lenders today will do house and five acres when they value a farm. And the mortgage rate can be as low as 2.4% variable and up to 35 years amortization.

“It’s about time, said a local appraiser. We just had a client who works as a teacher in guelph purchase a 70 acre farm in Bruce County with a beautiful home for $419,000. His payment with 20% down is less than $1,200. Finally buying a farm is no longer an impossible dream. Call the Price Team today!