Mortgage Intelligence

Oshawa's Mortgage News Desk!

Monthly Archives: July 2018


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Prepare early for your mortgage renewal

Simply put, it’s become a lot more complicated to renew a mortgage in Canada. Some clients are surprised to discover they don’t qualify for the best rates with their current lender, or that they can’t switch their mortgage to a new lender for a better rate.  Our advice?  Start preparing early. Here’s why:

  • New accounting rules called IFRS 9 (IFRS stands for International Financial Reporting Standard) will cause lenders to pay closer attention to any warning signals that clients may have trouble paying their mortgage. As a result, if your lender feels your risk has increased i.e. perhaps your credit score has slipped, they may then offer you a higher rate at renewal, even if you have never missed a payment. Good news – download my MOPOLO APP to monitor your credit score monthly!
  • Do you have an “uninsured mortgage”? If you want to switch to a new lender for a better rate, that new lender will need to qualify you using the new “stress test”, which may affect your ability to move your mortgage, and giving your lender no incentive to offer you the best rates at renewal. We can help you understand your options. One of the things we’ll look at is whether we can switch your mortgage to a lower-rate insurable mortgage: a move that could offer huge savings over the long term. Not sure if your mortgage is insured or not? We can find that out for you.
  • Mortgage rate trends. While fixed rates are higher today than they were a year ago, many lenders are offering exceptionally low rates on their variable rate mortgages. In addition to offering the ability to save on interest, a variable mortgage can be significantly less expensive to get out of should you need to.

It’s critical that you work with a mortgage expert who has access to more than 50 different lending options, including credit unions that aren’t subject many of the same rules.  So as soon as you hear from your lender about your mortgage renewal, get in touch with the experts at MiMortgage.ca! Or let’s have a conversation about credit improvement tips or discuss the potential impact of changes in your personal situation like reduced household income.


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Real Mortgage Story for June 2018

Farid & Afra resided in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with their three dependant children. They both have stable income and good credit. The couple were looking to buy their first family home in the GTA and were successful in securing a property. Farid & Afra were referred to the team at Mortgage Intelligence-Oshawa by their realtor, two weeks prior to their scheduled closing date, as the couple was not successful in obtaining mortgage financing through a mainstream bank.

The couple had accumulated debt over the years and as a result there debt servicing ratios were higher than usual, which made the transaction difficult. The MiMortgage.ca team was successful in obtaining mortgage financing by using some unconventional income, within four days, from an institutional lender.

The terms of their mortgage:

  • Downpayment 22%
  • Interest rate of 4.69% for five years
  • Monthly payments of $2,190

In the meantime, Farid & Afra also decided to concurrently explore alternate routes of obtaining mortgage financing for their property and the team at MiMortgage.ca did not hear back from them until four days prior to the closing date. The team at MiMortgage.ca were able to get signed mortgage documents, an appraisal, meet all the lender conditions and have their lawyer instructed with within four days. This particular lender worked diligently to close this transaction in within a few days and the transaction closed one day later than the scheduled date.

If you are in similar financial circumstances, maybe it’s time to get in touch with the experts at MiMortgage.ca. We have access to over 50 lenders and are able to provide the best possible mortgage solution, for you. Contact the team at MiMortgage.ca at 1.866.452.1100 to speak to an expert or apply now.

 


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What’s a monoline lender and how is it different from a bank?

We’re often asked about monoline lenders – who are they, what benefits do they offer, and how do you get access to a monoline lender anyway?

These are all good questions.  “Mono” means “one”.  So it’s a “one-line” lender that doesn’t do anything else except mortgage lending.  They won’t be asking you to do your banking with them, or try to cross-sell you investments. They do one thing: mortgage lending.  They’re an important factor in the mortgage market here in Canada because they improve consumer choice and ensure that our banks remain competitive!

How do you access a monoline lender? Our only job is to get you the perfect mortgage – a combination of rate and features that allows you to live comfortably with your mortgage and save money in the long term. To do that, we work with most of the major banks and credit unions, private lenders, and we work with several monoline lenders. There are a few reasons why a monoline lender might be the perfect option for you.

  1. Lower penalties. A monoline lender’s penalty to break a fixed-rate mortgage is typically much less than what Banks charge. If your circumstances change and you need to get out of your mortgage, this could save you thousands.
  2. Easier to transfer. A mortgage with a monoline lender is registered on title as a “standard charge” rather than a “collateral charge”. That means it can be easier and cheaper to transfer your mortgage to another lender at renewal for a better deal.
  3. Great rates. Monoline lenders do not have bricks and mortar branches so they can keep their overhead costs low and focus on competitive interest rates.

Most monoline lenders are only available through mortgage brokers, which is one of the reasons so many Canadians are turning to mortgage brokers for their purchases, refinances and renewals.  Get in touch with the experts at MiMortgage.ca  at 1.866.452.1100 for a review of all your lender options for your next mortgage.

Some of the Monoline Lenders we deal with – Merix, First National, MCAP, RMG, CMLS


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Happy Canada Day!