How much more stress can we take as Canadians?

Why hit homeowners and hope-to-be homeowners without adequate time to plan and adjust?

Prior to October 17th, in order to qualify for a typical 5-year fixed rate mortgage amortized over 25 years, as long as you had a 5% down-payment, you could qualify at the rate you’d pay. Right now, that’s 2.44%-2.49%. Very low, yes. Now suddenly you are forced to qualify as though you have payments at 4.64%! This is a fictitious rate set by the Federal Government that no one pays.

For example, under the old rules, a renter paying $1200 per month, could get into a home for $1226 per month plus $200 in property taxes, even with a small car payment they could have qualified for a home. As of this week, the same person will have to qualify for a fictitious payment of $1546 per month, a payment he or she will not make in the 5-year term of the mortgage. In fact, the homeowner won’t even have to make that payment at the end of the 5 years either, because he will have paid down $42,000 of principal off his mortgage!

Think about it for a moment. Renters are trying to get into the market as first-time homebuyers. Most of them are young Canadians with children and huge debts from student loans, credit cards and cars (at insane interest rates of 18%+!) Why are they allowed to accumulate all of this debt? Why are they now excluded from their Canadian right to own property in their native land? Why haven’t the Feds addressed consumer debt, which is the real threat to Canadians’ financial health?

It’s a fact. Housing prices in Vancouver and Toronto are insane. But so are rents. And, this phenom is seeping into every area of civilized cities and towns across Canada. Something has to change so that Canadians can afford to have shelter.

We don’t live in Toronto or Vancouver. We live in small town Ontario where people can still buy a starter home in our small community for $280,000. On the flip side, as many people from larger city centres plan for retirement, they have been cashing out of their higher priced homes to move here where it’s more affordable. All of this will change now with the Federal Government’s new mortgage Stress Test.

The Federal Government says it’s trying to avoid a bubble and protect Canadians from mortgage defaults. Defaults in Canada has never been much more than less than ¼ of one per cent. Compare that with US defaults of 10%+ as a result of the subprime days.

It leaves us wondering… What The FrootLoops is their agenda? We have an inkling and it rhymes with “thanks”… more on that to come…

There is always a silver lining and we are here for you to help navigate and plan. We’d love to hear from you.

We can now say without question, that the Tipping Point has occurred. By definition, this is the point at which a series of incidents has become significant enough to cause a larger, widespread, more important change.

Let us explain… When we first started this business 16 years ago in Mount Forest, we got all the tough mortgages.  From self-employeds who wrote their income down, to people on disability income,  homeowners with bad credit etc. endless problem mortgages were the norm for us.

Essentially, people who didn’t have a hope in hell of getting a mortgage from bank would turn to us. We worked with everyone, helping where we could and always giving sound advice.  With our help, many people were able to get into homeownership or refinance to improve their lives.

A few years in, we started to get what we considered to be ‘prime mortgages’.  Many of these clients were first time homebuyers looking for a little hand-holding during the home buying experience… and we were there for them. These clients had newer jobs, good credit and a downpayment.

About five years ago, our business started changing and momentum skyrocketed. Suddenly, professional people, homeowners with great credit, CEOs and people without any issues started flocking to us. Before we knew it, we were top brokers in Canada, operating from little ol’ Fergus.

Some said they came because of our reputation and others just liked the personal touch.  Still others liked how we would spend time and didn’t rush them out the door as they discussed their ideas to purchase or refinance.

The other day, it finally sunk in.  ‘We have arrived, we are now mainstream!’ The Tipping Point had occurred!

We looked at our list of clients from the past month and 90% of them had no issues. They consisted of teachers, a fireman, local government worker, several factory workers, local business owners, a lawyer, bank teller, a realtor and what really surprised me was a senior accountant who earns 7-figures. The accountant was definitely skeptical when he came to us.  He just intended try us out after getting the run-around from the bank he had been dealing with for 40 years.  After his mortgage closed with us last month he wrote us saying, “How quickly things got done by Price Team Mortgages compared with my old bank, was shocking!,”

We will always help the little guy, but it is so incredible to see how our mortgage business that started with just Ron and Tracy working from home, has matured into a thriving business on Tower Street. There are now seven of us, including daughters Jennifer and Melanie, who are all dedicated to finding the very best mortgage solution for each and every client.

For your next mortgage, please give us a call or drop in anytime.  No appointment is needed here.

Here is something you will never see written in an article about mortgages.

Ron and I started our mortgage business 16 years ago with the value to always ‘do what’s right for the client’.  It was humble beginnings for sure working from our home helping one client at a time. We faced and continue to face many difficult decisions but every night we are able to sleep peacefully knowing that we always do what’s right and in the best interest of our clients. We try to stay ‘heart centered’ in all of our mortgages we arrange. For us it’s not a transaction, it is about getting to know our clients, many of whom are now good friends.

In a world, where it’s all about ‘me’ we wanted our business to be all about ‘you’. Kindness, integrity, truth are values we have integrated into our daily dealings with new homeowners and existing clients. My father taught me to always ‘do your best’ and that value is what we adopted from Day One.

We dig deep. We get to know our clients on a personal basis. We often get challenged with difficult decisions but before figuring out the solution for you we always ask ourselves:

• Is this solution in the best interests of our client?
• Are we really helping you?
• What are all the possibilities here?

Our real goal is to help everyone no matter what their circumstances. Isn’t that why we are all here. To help each other on our way home. In a world, that seems to have lost many of its old values as financial institutions seem to have forgotten their fiduciary responsibility, we have built a wonderful business just by sticking to our basic values, to help, to treat everyone with kindness and respect, and to be transparent and communicative during the entire process.

For an honest, safe mortgage that is in your absolute best interests, please give us a call and experience the difference that a team of caring mortgage professionals can offer in your life.

An article in The Financial Post Saturday May 28th entitled, “THE FIXERS”, referred to the manipulation of the gold market worth trillions of dollars per year where bankers collude and conspire to manipulate the price of gold stock before they place buy and sell orders designed to maximize profit. Folks, we need to wake up and understand that as Canadians we need to stop living up to our stereotype as mild mannered, polite, law abiding, and naïve citizens who continue to put trust in our banks. We are the envy of much of the world, but more and more we get the short end of the stick. We are being taken advantage of in almost every way by our big powerful, self serving banks who too many of us continue to put on a pedestal and with blind faith continue to believe that they are good and to be respected.

Banks Profits Continue to Increase, Canadians Continue to Struggle

Let’s face it. The banks represent an ‘oligopoly’ which by definition is a small group with like interests who band together for maximum results. Canadians are being taken advantage of to the nth degree as the banks have acquired a permanent hunger for ever increasing – record setting – profits, year after year.  This is true with investing, lending and banking in general. It has gone too far and nothing is being done about it. Our federal government has no resolve in this matter.

What Can We Canadians Do to Help Our Financial Well-Being?

It would appear that class action lawsuits are the only thing that can work as a tool to force the banks to behave more responsibly and within limits that are just and fair. Three areas that should be brought to action by us Canadians and that will make a large impact to our financial well-being are: ‘Collateral Mortgages’ which we continue to warn about; ‘Mortgage Penalties’ which have become unconscionable; and ‘Life Insurance’ which is little more than a scam, all these are documented by CBC Marketplace. It takes awareness and anger for that matter, to muster up the energy to look for a resolution. Unfortunately, at times the only resolution is a class action lawsuit, and it all starts with a petition against such wrongdoing.

Having published articles weekly now for almost 12 years, we have taken on the role of consumer advocate. We are doing our best to expose and bring awareness to ‘the people’ about bank practices which we have witnessed the troubles encountered first-hand dealing with our clients. But it is not enough. The injustices we are seeing must be stopped and made right going forward for us Canadians so that we can rest assured that our hard earned dollar does not continue to be eroded by usurious fees and non-transparent banking practices.

TOP 7 REASONS TO AVOID A BANK MORTGAGE
Back in 2010 the Big Banks introduced a new mortgage product called a ‘Collateral
Mortgage’ (CM). Today, Banks no longer offer the traditional ‘standard charge’
mortgage. CMs are dangerous and should be avoided. Here’s why:
1. CMs act as revolving credit giving you global limit access for potential future needs
without the need to pay legal fees. What, no lawyer? Look out it’s a trap.
2. The Collateral Mortgage is registered for more than the value of your property. Hence
it appears you have no equity. Therefore, no other creditor will touch you.
3. CMs secure every unsecured credit item ie) credit cards, loans, lines of credit etc.,
without your knowledge. Banks do not willingly tell clients this!
4. Even if you never miss a mortgage payment, but might be late on a few credit
card payments, the bank has the right to put your mortgage into default and increase
your interest rate.
5. Because CMs give the bank virtual control over your finances and are more difficult
to get out of without huge fees, the bank does not need to be competitive. They can
charge more and they can refuse you more easily. They end up with more profit, you
end of paying more. This is anything but a safe and friendly mortgage.
6. The banks now charge mortgage ‘break’ penalties, which are excessive and
unconscionable. When most people enter into a mortgage, they think they will not
move during the typical 5 year term. But life happens. Job loss, relocation, divorce,
death and the decision to move up or down etc., cause over 40% of borrowers to
break their mortgages. The cost is huge. Instead of paying 3 months’ interest like
before (typically $2,100) you now pay 3-4x more. We have seen some penalties
exceed $20,000. As a result many can’t move, and worse.
7. With every bank mortgage, staff are trained and get bonuses to sell mortgage life
insurance. They don’t ask any questions, nor are they trained to. This is the worst
scam of all. You are asked one very long, ambiguous (not several clear specific)
question(s) about your health history. If you are confused and want to decline
coverage they try to scare you into signing. This is called ‘Post Claim Underwriting’
where approval is automatic and premiums are collected until there is a claim. The
goal is then to deny any and all claims as possible. It really is a form of entrapment.
Beyond Collateral Mortgages, Penalties and bank Insurance the banks purposely
conceal and avoid providing proper disclosure makes getting a bank mortgage today,
very perilous.
We would be happy to sit down with you to share more. Please get informed.
Please watch these CBC MARKETPLACE episodes on YOU TUBE: COLLATERAL
MORTGAGE or COLLATERAL DAMAGE; COLLATERAL MORTGAGES - WHAT YOU
NEED TO KNOW; THE POSTED RATE SCAM about penalties; and ‘IN DENIAL -
MORTGAGE INSURANCE CANADA. They speak for themselves. It goes much deeper.
We are on your side. Please call us for more info.

CBC MARKETPLACE EXPOSES UNDERSIDE OF BANK MORTGAGES
If you own a house and have a mortgage, you must get informed about what’s really
going on with bank mortgages. In fact once you’ve watched these episodes, you will be
shocked, disgusted, even appalled and angered.
Kudos to CBC MARKETPLACE for doing such a good job and a public service by
exposing the extent to which the banks have gone to gouge customers for the sake of
profit.
The episodes can be found on YOU TUBE. Look for COLLATERAL MORTGAGE or
COLLATERAL DAMAGE; COLLATERAL MORTGAGES - WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW; THE POSTED RATE SCAM about penalties, and IN DENIAL - MORTGAGE
INSURANCE CANADA. The last one is a real jaw dropper as we see real life examples
of how lives are being destroyed. Victims use the words SCAM, SNOW JOB,
ENTRAPMENT etc. and they are ‘pissed’ as was stated more than once.
We have had clients call current bank practices ‘criminal’. One recently said “They are
getting away with murder.” You may feel the same way after you watch. At the minimum
our banks our cunning, callous, deceitful, and all too powerful. They have honed their
craft with such precision down to a science.
After one episode about collateral mortgages TD and the other big banks promised
changes to explain in easy to understand language, both in branch and online. CBC
went back to 3 branches to test this out. TD failed miserably and it became clear that
the banks ‘filibuster’ like politicians do by not really answering the question asked, and
often not at all. Because they just don’t care.
You owe it to yourselves to learn as much as you can about current bank practices. You
owe this to yourselves, especially if you are homeowners. Stop letting the banks take
advantage of you.
The old Mr. Potter (banker) was crafty. Today’s Mr. Potter is more than cunning.
For your next mortgage ask yourself where you can find a mortgage you can trust that is
not dangerous to your financial health. It should be clear, that is not with any big bank.
We deal with over 40 lenders who have policies and practices that are fair and friendly,
and we invite you to sit down with us for a leisurely discussion that will benefit you
greatly.

ELIMINATE DEBT BY MOVING UP WITH ONLY 5% DOWN
Most home owners think that only first time buyers qualify for the minimum 5% down
rule and that 20% down is required.
Not true. The 20% equity rule applies to refinance only. Yes it used to be the 5% down
was only for first timers and to qualify you could not own for at least 5 years. Those
guidelines where quietly eliminated back in 2002 when lending became easier. The
important news is that they are still in effect.
We see many people who want to move up and eliminate consumer debt but believe
they need 20% down. For this reason they think there is not enough equity to do both.
Wrong. We have successfully helped many clients sell their homes, pay off all existing
debt, putting 5% down on the next purchase all at the same time lowering their total
payments slightly.
END RESULT: BETTER/BIGGER HOME WITH DEBT GONE! Take Vicky & Tom who
had $80K in credit card debt and loans costing them $1,686 per month.
They sold for $357,000 less mortgage of $223,000 leaving a net $134,000 less 5% real
estate commission $17,850 less consumer debt $80,000 leaving them with $36,150
cash.
They bought a beautiful much larger home for $454,000 with 5% down of $22,700
leaving them sufficient funds for legal and closing costs. Note - with a 20% down
payment, this never would have worked. They also purchased bridge financing so they
could take 3 weeks to decorate and make some changes to their new home before
moving in. A low/no stress move indeed!
The magic lay in the final tally and swapping bad (high cost) debt for good (very low
cost) debt. Because todays rates are below financing costs 5 years ago, Vicky & Tom
ended up saving $416.00 a month from their previous situation.
Obviously to make it work, they needed to have sufficient equity and income to qualify
for the bigger mortgage, but what a solution. One that improved their quality of life
greatly, starting afresh with no consumer debt.
Many feel stuck with high consumer debt and payments and no where to go or get out.
We may have an answer for you.
Please call us for a free, no obligation review of your situation. We will provide you with
our analysis of your ability to trade up, possibly eliminate your debt, and put a big smile
on your face.
We love finding solutions like this, that you will not get from a bank.

ARE BANKS BECOMING MORE LIKE CASINOS?
While this is a simple question, the answer is much more complicated especially when it
comes to a mortgage.
Let’s start with the graphic of Mr. Potter (a former movie actor) which reads “THE
HOUSE ALWAYS WINS!” Well that is definitely true of both casinos and our banks as
well isn’t it?
If you think about it, the casino always tells you the rules. When you gamble at a casino,
you are informed and aware of what you are doing, right?. You also know what your
odds of success are.
When it comes to dealing with our banks you are at an even greater disadvantage
because you DON’T KNOW THE RULES (the Terms) OF THE GAME nor does the bank
fully inform or fully disclose important features you should be aware of. These features
can only be found in the fine print which you do not see until after the mortgage closes.
This is the lawyer’s closing package which comes months later.
Does this seem fair to you? For those of you frequent the casino, would you ever risk
your hard earned money if you didn’t know the rules? Highly unlikely right? Because it
would mean the equivalent of financial suicide wouldn’t it?
So why do 7 out of 10 Canadians still deal with and trust their banks when so much
more money (in the $100’s of thousands of dollars) is involved with a mortgage? The
reason probably lies with history more than anything else. ‘Old habits die hard’ as the
saying goes.
At least with a casino, it’s a level playing field because you know the rules and you take
your chances accordingly. With the banks it is not a level playing field. In fact the playing
field is full of potential, invisible pot holes. So how can you navigate around them when
you can’t even see them? You simply can’t can you?
If more Canadians realized that the risks involved when getting a bank mortgage can
actually be compared to gambling at the casino, would they take that chance? The
‘game of chance’ should only apply to gambling don’t you think?
For your next mortgage, if you want an honest, trustworthy, transparent and ‘feel good’
experience that gives you all the facts/information you require, please call us first and
have our team of caring professionals provide you with the best financial solution you
have ever had.

BIG SIX BANKS REPORT ‘OBSCENE’ RECORD $34.8 BILLION IN PROFITS FOR
2015...AND STILL COMPLAINING!
This heading is from ‘CanadaMortgageNews.ca’ and we think, is really a headline that
deserves some deep thought.
“RBC reported a $10 Billion annual profit for 2015, almost a third of the whole, gigantic
profit pie. Yet they are crying the blues and warning of troubled times ahead. (uh, that’s
the same speech they’ve made for the past 10 years) this article points out.
“Year after year after year the BIG SIX BANKS continue to report record profits and then
raise our banking fees, hire foreign temporary workers and fire Canadian employees,
and then use off-shore staff to cut their overhead and increase profits further.” All the
while, year after year raising ‘outlook’ concerns and the likelihood of rising rates.
Research shows that in fact BIG BANK PROFITS have grown collectively from $19.5
Billion in 2010 to over $34.88 Billion last year. This is a mind boggling increase of $15.3
Billion higher or approximately 75 per cent in just five years.
Our BIG BANKS ARE SO POWERFUL now that they ignore Bank of Canada efforts to
stimulate the struggling economy, but not passing on reductions in prime rate.
We suggest to you that a big part of this almost sickening profit scenario comes from
MORTGAGE PENALTIES. Such penalties used to be equal to 3 months interest. Today
through years of manipulation, bank mortgage ‘break’ penalties are roughly 4 times
more. Let’s think of this as a 400% increase shall we.
Ten years ago we were used to seeing penalties of $2,000, $3,000, $4,000. Today it is
not unusual to see $10,000, $15,000 even $20,000 plus. Can you imagine this
happening to you? Well it happens every day!
You see, people do not expect they will need to break their mortgage within the term
(most are 5 years) but life happens...job transfer, job loss, divorce, personal credit
problems, a better opportunity to move up (or down), and yes, death in the family. We
see it all. Consequently upwards to 40% need to break their mortgage AND OUCH!!!
Because BIG BANK PENALTIES ARE NOW SO HIGH, many have no choice but to stay
in the mortgage. Others are less fortunate get nailed. Big time!
Folks, your best protection against getting hosed is to seek out a reputable mortgage
company such as ours. Our lenders are both fairer and more competitive in terms of
rate and terms.
For your next mortgage need, please call us first!

RATES GOING DOWN LIKE GAS PRICES
Exactly one month ago the Financial Post carried a front page article ‘Why Home
Owners And Buyers Can Expect More Rate Hikes From Big Banks’. This was after RBC
had raised its rates 10 basis points followed quickly by two others. The article gave the
appearances of perhaps being bank inspired.
This appeared to be a ploy to create the perception that rates were on their way up,
which in the face of falling government bond yields, could not be sustained. In fact rates
have headed down since.
Banks want to create the fear of rising rates any way they can, to get people to jump in
either with a new mortgage or lock into fixed from variable. Then they can charge those
folks IRD Interest Rate Differential penalties (which can be four to five times higher than
three months interest) if they decide to sell within the term. Bottom line? More profit for
the banks.
Not only have we not seen gas prices this low for decades, but mortgage rates have hit
a new ‘all-time’ record low. Our very best unpublished 5 year fixed rate is now an
incredible 2.54% for our best customers versus 2.94% for the lowest bank. Bank posted
is 4.64%. People believed that 2.99% on a few occasions over the past couple of years
was rock bottom. Now look!
The prospect of rates climbing is now minimal as our economy flirts with a new
recession and the Bank of Canada is considering negative interest rates following the
lead of a few other G7 countries. Unemployment remains high and inflation is in check
with exception of food prices. Deflation still remains a possibility.
In other words it is a great time to borrow to renovate, refinance, invest of income
property and sell or buy a home.
Look for our door knocker flyers coming soon with an incredible offer for those thinking
of moving this year. It will knock your socks off. Please call Ron if this is you.
And remember we will pay you $500. cash* if we can’t beat the banks’ offer. Certain
conditions apply.
If your mortgage matures this year, please do yourself a favour and give us a call to
beat your current lender. Blindly signing back the renewal offer is like throwing money
down the drain. Let us help you save.