The Downsizing Dilemma

With almost 50% of homeowners ready to retire and wishing to stay in their home and 30% of those people with most of their money tied up in home equity, the downsizing dilemma is real. Can they afford to stay in their home or is downsizing the better option.

In the past, retired couples or a widow would keep their clear title home and use pension and investment income to live. They would only sell the family home and move into a retirement home when health issues forced the move or upon death of both people. Times have changed.

People are living longer and want to stay in their home. The cost of living has risen and, due to higher home values, the amount of equity in that home is greater than ever. Many home owners are being stretched with their budget and their retirement income is insufficient to maintain their lifestyle.

We have found that many retired people are unable to meet their budget each month and are using a line of credit and/or credit cards. This becomes a vicious cycle and the cost of interest pushes them to the wall and they reach their maximum limits. Then they are forced to sell their home or reduce their lifestyle to manage. Often family members are unaware till it becomes a serious matter. Planning ahead is essential to avoid this situation and lower stress levels for all family members including the aging parent.

In a recent Globe and Mail article, Scott Hannah of the Credit Counselling Society talks about the risks.

Some homeowners now recognize the need to look to their home as a source of income from home equity financing.

There are a growing number of programs designed specifically for homeowners over the age of 55. Each comes with different requirements, advantages and benefits. It is important for retiring or retired people to talk with their family and then in a group with their independent Dominion Lending Centres mortgage broker and financial planner.

For some family members, the next step is for the aging parent to downsize to a new home. For some, it is to stay in the family home and set up an equity plan to maintain a safe place and comfortable lifestyle. Consideration must be made for current income, current budget and future needs.

–  by Pauline Tonkin

Fixed-rate mortgage: What lenders you should do it with and why

25-year amortization or 30 years? Insured or Uninsured? With an A Lender or B Lender? These are just a few of the questions people have to decide on when they are pursuing a mortgage. But the biggest question of all: Fixed Rate or Variable Rate?

With the instability of the market, and the Bank of Canada’s continuous rate hikes, many people now are flocking towards a fixed rate mortgage over a variable rate. What this means is that they are choosing to essentially “lock in” at a rate for the term of their mortgage (5 years, 10 years, 1 year…you name it). Now there are benefits to this…but there are also disadvantages too.

For example, did you know that 60% of people will break their mortgage by 36 months into a 5 year term? Whether it’s due to career changes, deciding to have kids, wanting to refinance, or another reason entirely, 60% of mortgage holders will break it.

And just like any other contract out there, if you break it, there is a penalty associated with it. However, there is a way to avoid paying more than is necessary. This applies directly to a fixed rate mortgage and we can help you decide what lenders you should go with.

If you have a FIXED RATE MORTGAGE:
There are two ways your penalty will be calculated.

Method #1. If you are funded by one of the Big 6 Banks (ex. Scotia, TD, etc.) or some Credit Unions, your penalty will be based on the bank of Canada Posted Rate (Posted Rate Method) To give you an example:

With this method, the Bank of Canada 5 year posted rate is used to calculate the penalty. Under this method, let’s assume that they were given a 2% discount at their bank thus giving us these numbers:

Bank of Canada Posted Rate for 5-year term: 5.59%
Bank Discount given: 2% (estimated amount given*)
Contract Rate: 3.59%

Exiting at the 2-year mark leaves 3 years left. For a 3-year term, the lenders posted rate. 3 year posted rate=3.69% less your discount of 2% gives you 1.44%. From there, the interest rate differential is calculated.

Contract Rate: 3.59%
LESS 3-year term rate MINUS discount given: 1.69%
IRD Difference = 1.9%
MULTIPLE that by 3 years (term remaining)
5.07% of your mortgage balance remaining. = 5.7%

For that mortgage $300,000 mortgage, that gives a penalty of $17,100. YIKES!

Now let’s look at the other method (one used by most monoline lenders)

Method #2:
This method uses the lender published rates, which are much more in tune with what you will see on lender websites (and are * generally * much more reasonable). Here is the breakdown using this method:

Rate when you initially signed: 3.24%
Published Rate: 3.34%
Time left on contract: 3 years

To calculate the IRD on the remaining term left in the mortgage, the broker would do as follows:

Rate when you initially signed: 3.24%
LESS Published Rate: 3.54%
=0.30% IRD
MULTIPLY that by 3 years (term remaining)
0.90% of your mortgage balance

That would mean that you would have a penalty of $2,700 on a $300,000 mortgage.

That’s a HUGE difference in numbers, just by choosing to go with a different lender! Knowing what you know about fixed rate mortgages now, let a Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Broker help you make the RIGHT choice for your lender. We are here to help and guide you through the mortgage process from pre-approval onward!

– by Geoff Lee

What should come first, the house or the car?

So you just got a shiny new car, and now you want a shiny new home to go with it. Will that new car payment affect your mortgage pre- approval? The short answer… absolutely it will.
Recently, I have encountered many people looking to pre-approve for a home purchase that do not qualify. While it may be in part because of the mortgage “Stress Test” rules, a good portion is due to large debt obligations such as car loans. I have witnessed applicants that have brand new car loans/leases with huge payments and not one gave thought as to whether it would affect their ability to qualify for a mortgage.
Unless you have already done your home work with your mortgage broker by getting a mortgage pre-approval that factors the new car payment into it and your budget, you may be in for disappointment.
However, it doesn’t necessarily have to be one or the other. Here are some tips to get set for mortgage approval success.

1. Get pre-approved. Seek the guidance of your mortgage broker to know exactly what you qualify for before you start the house hunting process. Knowing what your maximum purchase price is, helps you and your realtor.
2. Be realistic with what you can afford. Start by looking at what you pay in rent now. That’s a good starting place to figure out what you can pay on a mortgage. However, you also must consider what you can get approved for.
3. Remember to save and budget for more than the mortgage payment. When you own a home, your monthly payment consists of more than just the mortgage payment. You will also pay property taxes, home owner insurance, and utilities on top of your other monthly debt obligations. Having emergency savings can help alleviate the stress of taking on the financial responsibility of a owning a home.
4. Clean up your credit. Paying off credit balances can not only help improve your credit score, it can also increase your buying power.
5. Avoid making big financial changes. This is the big one. Most lenders want to see that you’re a stable applicant. Doing things like buying a new car before you buy a new house does not establish you as stable. Similarly, opening new credit cards, or making a drastic change to your employment can also be detrimental to getting approved for a mortgage.

When in doubt always seek the advice of your Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional.

– by Lynn Nequest

Cash Back and Decorating Allowances on New Build or Pre-sale Purchases

As the market shifts, developers will increase their incentives to buyers with cash back and decorating allowances on new build or pre-sale purchases. It is very important to review those options with your real estate agent representative and vital to consult with your Dominion Lending Centres mortgage broker. Although these offers may seem attractive, they can impact your financing and could cost you thousands of dollars.

Before you write a contract on a new build or pre-sale, ensure you have set up your team including a real estate agent and mortgage broker. Always consult with them to ensure you have sound advice. Do not rely solely on the developer’s sales representative.

What happens when you sign a contract on a pre-sale?

When you visit the sales centre for the pre-sale and decide to write a contract you have a rescission period where you can back out of the purchase. The contract you sign is drafted by the sales centre and once you remove any conditions, you are locked into the purchase. Therefore it is essential you have your real estate agent with you at the time of signing or at a minimum, they review the contract. It is in your best interest you fully understand the terms, the disclosure statement, what you are buying, schedule to build, GST, deposit schedule and any incentives.

Once you remove any conditions, the deposit is paid to the developer and a schedule set for all other deposits till the building is complete. Those total deposits are typically 20% of the purchase price. That is money you will not receive back if for any reason you are unable to proceed with the purchase. Some contracts allow assignment to another buyer, but those must be approved by the developer and may come with restrictions. Your realtor can guide you on these matters.

How Will Cash Back or Decorating Allowances Impact Your Purchase?

When the market slows, developers will use incentives such as cash back and decorating allowances on new build or pre-sale purchases as a strategy to increase sales. Regardless if this is a cash back or a rebate for decorating, it will have an impact on the purchase price for the lender on the financing. This is a common misconception among buyers and even realtors who do not understand the process from a financing perspective.

For example: A purchase price plus GST is $800,000. The developer is offering a $20,000 decorating allowance. The lender will automatically deduct the $20,000 from the purchase price. Your new purchase price will be $780,000 for financing purposes. This does not change the actual purchase price. You still have to pay the developer $800,000 for the home. The lender will lend on the $780,000 only. Therefore you must pay in cash at the time of funding the $20,000 difference.

The developer has sold you the idea you are receiving decorating upgrades of $20,000. You are receiving the value of that allowance BUT make no mistake you are paying for it.

If the incentive is a cash back amount in the above example, you will receive the cash back from the developer at the time of completion. However, the lender will still only offer financing on the lower value minus the cash back amount.

– by Pauline Tonkin

Mortgage Insurance 101

For a first-time home buyer, the types of insurance surrounding a mortgage can be confusing, so it’s important to know what insurance covers what.

There are 3 main types of insurance to know about when buying a home.

Mortgage Default Insurance – If you put less than 20% down on a home you are buying, Government rules are you must pay for Mortgage Default Insurance which covers the lender should you default on your mortgage payments.

There are three mortgage default insurers in Canada – Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corp. (CMHC), Genworth or Canada Guaranty) The purchase of this insurance solely benefits the bank/lender.

Mortgage Insurance and/or Life Insurance

You’ve just made the biggest purchase of your life: a new home for you and your family.
• What’s the best way to protect your investment if you die?

Insurance is the answer. But what kind: mortgage insurance or life insurance?

There are important differences between the two that we’ll examine.

Please note: Mortgage/Life Insurance is not mandatory to qualify for a mortgage.

You have made the biggest purchase of your life… how do you protect yourself and your family? Many people say they have life insurance through their work, but is it enough?
• The question you should be asking is – do you currently have enough life insurance in place right now, equal to your mortgage amount?

Top Benefits of purchasing Mortgage/Life Insurance

1. Peace of Mind – creates a sense of security that your loved ones will be taken care of if you pass on.
2. Mortgage Can be Paid Off – whereby any other policies that are held will be able to assist with other needs.
3. Family can Stay in their Home – if there is the unfortunate life event that is the death of the Mortgage/Life Insurance policy holder, the mortgage can be paid off which will allow the family to stay in their home and not become displaced, causing additional anguish.
4. The Younger you are, the Less Expensive – Which means that insurance is extremely affordable for a young, and likely, first time home buyer.
5. Good Health = Coverage for Unexpected Illness Later on – After illness strikes, it is more difficult to acquire life insurance.

Mortgage/Life Insurance is an option that anyone with a mortgage should consider. Ask me about a referral for reputable and credible insurance.

While we’re discussing insurance, there are other types of insurance you need to consider as well…
• Fire insurance – most lenders will want to see that you have fire insurance in place, prior to funding your mortgage to “protect” their investment.

Additional insurance options:
• Disability insurance
• Personal content insurance

Mortgages are complicated… BUT they don’t have to be! You need to protect your investment by engaging an expert.

Contact a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional to discuss a mortgage that works for you (not the bank)!

– by Kelly Hudson

What is the difference between a Mortgage Broker and a Mortgage Specialist

With the importance of real estate in Canada, it is vital to understand how the various professionals in the sector operate when buying a home.

Sooooooo… what is the difference between a Mortgage Specialist & a Mortgage Broker? At the surface they sound the same
• They both arrange mortgages
• They both can offer advice and help you select a mortgage, right?

WRONG!!! There are many differences… Let’s check some of them out!

• A Mortgage Broker works for you! Their role is to act as a link between you and the lenders so that you do not have to spend your valuable time learning about mortgages and shopping around for the perfect mortgage. Mortgage brokers do the legwork and negotiate on your behalf for lenders. They are your point of contact for everything related to your financing your home.
o Bank specialists are employed and paid by the bank and work on the bank’s behalf.

• A Mortgage Broker can work with many different lenders across Canada, rather than working for one financial institution. Therefore, Mortgage Brokers can offer you more choices with competitive rates and terms including: Big banks, Credit Unions, Trust Companies, Monoline Lenders (broker only banks) and private lenders.
o Usually Mortgage Specialists only have access to their lender’s products. In a typical situation, homeowners could end up with a higher interest rate than other institutions. This occurs because the homeowner must negotiate for themselves and Mortgage Specialists are usually paid according to the rate they sell you.

• A Broker must successfully complete a Provincially regulated Mortgage Broker course and exam. (In BC, Mortgage Brokers must be licensed by FICOM) They continue to maintain their good status to keep that license by taking professional development education courses.
o Bank specialists are not licensed and require no formal training. There are no standards for educational requirements (although most Lenders do provide some in-house training).

• Because Mortgage Brokers don’t work for a specific lender, you get impartial advice about a variety of lenders
o A bank specialist can only offer their own institutions products, good or bad.
o Specialists don’t have access to other lenders, so they won’t recommend another lender’s product offerings.

• Mortgage Brokers use their knowledge and experience to negotiate the best possible terms and rates for you from a variety of lenders, based on the best fit for your situation.
o When you see a bank specialist, the mortgage negotiating is typically left up to you.
o Will the bank specialist negotiate on your behalf or the banks?

• For conventional financing, the services of a mortgage broker are generally FREE to you. If there is a cost, you will be advised of those costs up front. Brokers get a finder’s fee from the lender once they place your mortgage. Therefore, brokers are motivated to get the best terms and rates for their clients.
o Bank specialists are paid by the bank
o Some banks offer bonuses if specialist gets their client to pay higher interest rates or sign up for other bank services.

• Mortgage Brokers work on a referral basis and are self employed. Most of their business is done through word of mouth referrals, therefore a Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Broker is motivated to ensure their clients are extremely happy and satisfied to keep their business growing.
o A bank specialist is generally an employee of the bank, generating business through the bank’s existing customers.

• Most Mortgage Brokers are available for appointments outside banking hours (nights, weekends) at their client’s convenience.
o Bank specialists are generally only available during regular banking hours.

• Mortgage Brokers are focused on your mortgage
o Specialists are trained and rewarded on cross selling. Some will push you to consolidate all your banking services with them when getting a mortgage (credit cards, insurance, RRSP, lines of credit, etc.)

Would you ask Tim Hortons who makes the best coffee and expect them to say Starbucks? Not likely…  So why would you ask a Mortgage Specialist who works for a bank, to tell you which Lender has the best mortgage product for your situation.

– by Kelly Hudson

The Mortgage Insurance Market & Wholesale Lenders

The Canadian mortgage market used to be very simple. We had the big banks, credit unions, and trust companies.

However, almost 20 years ago, the Canadian government made three major changes to the Canadian mortgage industry. First, the government and CMHC put their weight behind Canadian mortgages by guaranteeing an insurance payout to lenders in the event that a borrower does not pay. Yes, the Canadian taxpayers are on the hook if CMHC goes under.

Second, Canada also began to allow lenders to pay for mortgage insurance for their borrowers, even though the insurance was not required. Borrowers would not know that their mortgage is insured, rather the lender would pay for, and insure the mortgage on the “back end” in order to make the mortgage less risky. I.E: if the borrower did not pay, the insurer would pay the lender (just as they would pay if the borrower had less than 20% down payment and was charged for insurance themselves).

And third, Canada allowed its lenders to bundle up their mortgages and sell them to investors. The securitization of mortgages (the process of taking the mortgages and transforming them into a sellable asset) allowed investors to purchase many mortgages at once, knowing there would be a specific return. The return here would be just less than the interest rate on the various mortgages (less because the lender has to make a little bit of money for creating the mortgage bundle or security).

Now, mortgage investors are looking at two things: investment return and mortgage risk. The lower the risk of an investment, the lower the return an investor may be willing to see. Because Canadian lenders can insure their mortgages against default (non-payment), investors are very keen on purchasing these mortgages. Thus, investors provide lenders with a lot of inexpensive money to lend out, which in turn, provided for better interest rates for borrowers.

As an aside, an example of investors may be one of Canada’s large banks, an American bank, pension funds, and/or other financial institutions.

The result was the emergence and major growth of mortgage finance companies, called wholesale lenders or monoline lenders.

Monoline lenders, encouraged by access to cheap capital, set up efficient mortgage underwriting (approval) operations and were able to provide flexible mortgage products and better-than-the-banks interest rates for their clients.

The overwhelming majority of wholesale lender mortgages are back-end insured by the lender, packaged up, and sold to investors.

What is interesting here is that wholesale lenders will insure mortgages transferred from one institution to another – something that banks do not do. This allows for better interest rates when renewing with a wholesale lender than if renewing with your current bank lender.

If you have any questions related to mortgages, contact your Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional today.

– by Eitan Pinsky 

All About Pre-Approvals

Are you in the market for a new home? That’s great – but if you’re not already pre-approved from your mortgage broker, be sure to read on.

Pre-approvals are very important for two reasons.

They give you confidence in knowing that a specific amount of financing is available for you.
A pre-approval can put you in a positive negotiating position against other home buyers who aren’t pre-approved.
Not all pre-approvals are the same, though. There are essentially three different kinds.

• The first occurs when you meet with a mortgage professional and tell them how much you make. They’ll say something along the lines of “Great, you’re pre-approved.” The mortgage professional has only looked at your income. There is no real pre-approval.
• The second kind is when a mortgage professional asks you how much you make and then pulls your credit bureau. This allows a mortgage professional to lock in your mortgage rate for up to four months. This pre-approval still isn’t a sure thing.
• The third kind of pre-approval – and the one that we do – is a lot more encompassing. We get all of your papers prepared right off the bat, which allows us to eliminate any unforeseen issues with your approval. Sure, it’s more work up front – but we do this because it’s the right thing to do.

If you’d like to get a pre-approval, contact a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional! We’re here to help.

– by Eitan Pinsky

Mortgage Protection Plan

Insurance coverage is something that everyone is “pitched” at some point or another in their life. Unfortunately, a lot of us have a negative attitude towards insurance or warranty as it is perceived as being a cash grab. Yes, if you are purchasing a flat screen T.V., that extra 2-year warranty for $100 might be a little excessive. However, when it comes to covering monthly mortgage payments or the outstanding balance of your mortgage upon death or injury, yes, it is important to have.

Every single person is offered life and disability insurance when applying for a new mortgage. As a mortgage broker, it is our obligation to offer you Manulife’s Mortgage Protection Plan. Even if it is something you do not want or do not have a need for- we still require a signature confirming it was offered. Reason being, is when John Smith breaks his foot two years down the road and can’t work to cover his mortgage payments, Manulife needs to confirm that the client passed on the opportunity to have their payments covered.

Now, is Manulife’s mortgage Protection Plan, or, MPP as it is known, the most comprehensive coverage out there? No.

Is MPP better than any coverage you are ever going to receive from a bank directly? Yes.

Manulife’s MPP is a 60-day money back guarantee, with coverage that follows you lender to lender. It will cover disability injuries preventing you from work, and is underwritten before your coverage begins, not when a claim is made.

Most banks do not allow you to take their mortgage insurance to another lender. So, if after 10-years of paying your premiums you decide to leave your bank and go to a credit union, your coverage is no longer in affect and all that money you spent on your monthly premiums is now worth nothing. Scariest part about bank coverage, is the health evaluation is done when a claim is made, not when you sign up. Can you imagine not making a claim for 20-years and then being declined on coverage because you have developed health issues not relevant when you signed up in your 20’s?

If Manulife Mortgage Protection Plan is not for you, there are insurance brokers out there we have access to who can offer alternative solutions. The biggest thing though is to make sure you have SOME coverage, because you won’t know you need it until you do. If you have any questions, contact a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional for help.

– by Ryan Oake