We see it everyday — qualifying for a mortgage has become harder. Without a doubt, it is one of the most daunting eras for mortgage financing, especially for first time home buyers. With the new “stress test”, home buyers and current homes owners are feeling frustrated, and ultimately stressed not knowing where to turn to next.
Continue reading “Taking the “Stress” out of “Stress Test”” »
Once again, TD is back on the hot seat with Marketplace for lack of transparency with their mortgage products. Please read below what was recently published on www.MortgageBrokerNews.ca.
Continue reading “TD On The Hot Seat With CBC’s Marketplace” »
We are moving to a new location in Kelowna! Effective Nov.1st, our new address will be:
#102B – 1658 Commerce Ave., Kelowna, BC V1X 8A9
(off Enterprise Way)
Continue reading “What’s new at The Mortgage Centre – BC Direct Mortgages!” »
Some of you will be first-time home buyers soon and you may be asking family or close friends where they would suggest you go to discuss your future mortgage needs. Some may refer you to their lender of choice or directly to an Accredited Mortgage Professional (a mortgage broker). Continue reading “Know Your Mortgage!” »
Effective May 01, 2014, CMHC has announced an increase to their mortgage insurance premiums across the board. The premium increase ranges from 0.05% to 0.40% depending on the loan-to-value ratio. As a reminder, mortgage loan insurance is a requirement by lenders when your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price. Continue reading “CMHC Increases Mortgage Loan Insurance Premiums” »
Most of us can agree that paying off your mortgage as soon as possible is a great plan. The simplest and easiest way to reduce your mortgage is to accept a bi-weekly payment on the onset wherein your combined payments for the year total 26 which means you have paid one extra month’s mortgage payment in your first year. Continue reading “Is Pre-Paying Your Mortgage the Best Strategy?” »
So your mortgage is coming up for renewal soon? This is a great time to get some professional advice and review your current mortgage situation. Most of our clients will call us regularly throughout their term to discuss current rates and trends along with keeping abreast of any new products and features that may be beneficial to them in the future. We absolutely encourage and advise all our clients to keep in touch in order that they keep well informed and also getting themselves prepared for renewal time.
Continue reading “Mortgage Up For Renewal? Call Us First And Save Money!” »
Many of our clients that are considering a purchase of a residence in the near future find it beneficial to discuss the various mortgage options available to them and to obtain a pre-approval beforehand. Whether they are first-time homebuyers needing lots of information and advice, or are savvy, more experienced homebuyers just needing the comfort of knowing what their mortgage limitations are, a pre-approval will accomplish that. Continue reading “Looking For A Home? Get Pre-Approved First!” »
We have helped many of our clients purchase a rental property over the years, and, in some cases, some clients were in a fortunate situation to purchase several rental homes that have not only added net worth to their portfolio (as the mortgages have been paid down) but have also added a nice ongoing net increase to their annual income (great for your retirement years!). So . . . how easy is it to get financing on a rental home today? Continue reading “Buying A Rental Property And Need A Mortgage?” »
The Bank of Canada has recently announced that they are not looking to raise their key lending rate anytime soon, so this may be very good news for those of you who don’t mind the added risk of a variable rate mortgage rather than securing a locked-in fixed rate mortgage. We currently have lenders offering variable rate mortgages as low as Prime minus 0.50% (that’s 2.50%!) while the best 5 year fixed rate is currently at 3.54%. This is an approx. 1.00% spread in the interest rate! That’s the good news. Continue reading “Tougher Lending Guidelines If You Choose a Variable Rate Mortgage” »