With the new maximum 25 year amortization,  and refinances now restricted to 80 per cent, mortgage financing has become both more difficult and expensive* with higher payments, and more income needed. The above applies to high ratio mortgages only. Note we still have 35 year amortizations for conventional mortgages. The silver lining is that although payments are now higher, the interest is not and you will be paying down your mortgage sooner, and building equity faster.

On the weekend we drove the entire Fergus/Elora market and it was ‘spooky’ how few For Sale signs we saw. Many streets had ‘no’ homes for sale at all, and it just felt weird. We checked out 3 listings, 2 MLS and 1 Property Guy private for sale and guess what? They were all sold, just waiting to firm up the financing. Inventory is way down. People have been spooked by all the negative press and have hunkered down. We just hope that if you are one of them,  you have taken yourself to financial safety.

Folks if you are buying, it has never been more important to make sure not only that you qualify but how much you qualify for. If you go to a bank, unfortunately because they only do a superficial check, the pre-approval may be of little value. If you come to us, you will receive a ‘GUARANTEED’ pre-approval you can ‘bank’ on …LOL…and we likely will not finance you with a bank because of the collateral mortgage products they have…look out.

We had a couple buying a home last week who planned to get the smallest mortgage they could by putting down the entire inheritance they received. He works in the auto industry and she was self employed. This spelled ‘Caution’ to us from an employment standpoint, so we suggested they take a comfortable mortgage and bank and invest the rest. We convinced them to keep reserve cash in the event of another down turn and potential job loss.

Have you planned ahead for a possible downturn or a drop in house prices? If not we suggest you do. Leveraging your mortgage to generate a financial ‘safety’ cushion at today’s rock bottom rates…(we now have a 3.89% ten year fixed rate mortgage…unbelievable)…offers potentially huge savings of tens of thousands of dollars over the next decade, and it will keep your payments low, low, low.

Call us today to make an appointment for a mortgage (financial) check up, and learn what options and strategies are available to you. We have many more than the banks do.

HOW TO SAVE $70,000 IN 5 YEARS

Ross and Marie bought a home 4 years ago with zero down and an interest rate of 5.79%. They have two young kids, a car loan and other debts of around $25,000. that they were having trouble paying down, and were paying mostly interest.

They approached us two years ago to see if we could help. Because the value of the house was not sufficient to enable a refinance and the penalty was considerable, they had to wait.

This time the value came in higher and the penalty was modest enabling us to get them a new 5 year fixed rate mortgage at 3.14% and to pay off all their consumer debts which alone were costing them $746 a month. Since the new mortgage payment was only $35/mth higher and they no longer had any debt payments, they will now save a net $42,660 over the next years. Not only that but they will pay less mortgage interest because of the great rate we got them. We also suggested that they consider taking a 25 year amortization which they could readily afford, saving them 11 more years in mortgage payments. The total savings is in excess of $70,000 over the next 5 years.

They were absolutely shocked at how much our new mortgage was going to save them and Ross said “You just saved me two years wages in the next 5 years, I can’t believe it.” Not only that but their  mortgage balance is going to be that much less too, at the end of the term.

Folks the above ‘success story’ is based on a small $125,000 mortgage. Just imagine the savings with a bigger mortgage. The average mortgage we do is over $225,000. If you are carrying ANY consumer debt, shed it now. Call us today for a mortgage checkup, and please please avoid getting into the new bank Collateral Mortgage product unless you are fully aware of all the pros and cons. We deal with over 40 lenders (including the banks) but we try not put anyone into one of these mortgages.  

Call us today for an appointment to learn more. We are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, and Saturday from 9 to 5 to serve you.