With 47 per cent of homeowners scheduled to renew their mortgages this year, 2018 is a year of change for lots of Canadians.
Here are the top 8 things you can do to get the best renewal:

1. Pull out your mortgage renewal now, and start early. When you are proactive instead of reactive you can see if there is anything on your credit score or lifestyle that we can modify to ensure you are positioned for the best renewal. You are only in a position to do this when you start early- in the last year of your mortgage you will have the most amount of options available. For example, there can be an inaccuracy in your credit report or you may be considering an income/job change that would impact your options. We can look at timing accordingly for you.

2. Do not just sign the renewal offered. Lenders can change the terms of your mortgage, and the renewal you are signing can cost you up to four per cent of your equity if you are with the wrong lender for your current life stage.

3. Most people think the best rate is the best renewal – WRONG. The terms are most important and with all terms moving or selling is the only reason most people think they would ever break a mortgage- THIS is simply not the case, a change in the interest rate market, divorce, health, job change, investment opportunity and many other reasons would contribute to a future modification being beneficial for a consumer.

4. Take into consideration lender history. The lender can have a higher prime then anyone because they know the cost to leave outweighs staying the course. The lenders are very smart with their calculated risks- and this is not something they have an obligation to disclose.

5. Remember your lender has a bias – their job is to handcuff you so they can make as much profit off you as possible- don’t be a victim.

6. Do not shop each lender on your own, it takes points off of your credit score. All lenders have different rates based on your score and you want to position yourself to get the best. By using a mortgage professional, they can shop multiple lenders protecting your credit using only one application, while the rate variation can be on average a half a percent!

7. Don’t get sucked into the online rate shopping- any monkey can post a rate online and you can drive yourself crazy looking at something that does not exists. In today’s complex mortgage market there are significantly different rates based on – insured mortgage vs uninsured mortgage, switch vs refinance, purchase or renewal, principal residence vs rental, salary or self-employed, 600 credit score or 700 credit score, amortization of 20 years to 30 years, type of property condo vs house, and leased land or freehold. The variations can mean a difference in thousands of dollars. Like diagnosing a medical condition, you can’t go online, you do have to put in the appropriate application and supporting documents to verify which options are available to you that will result in the lowest cost in borrowing.

8. Remember your mortgage is the largest debt and investment most of us have, when you contact an independent mortgage professional, we are going to invest all the work and expertise and advise you in your best interest regardless if we get your business. We may after our review advise you to stick with your existing lender, or make another recommendation for you. We are only here to enhance your finances and save you money, and there is no cost for our service.

Shari Letsos
Senior Mortgage Professional
Cell: 604-723-7721
www.Shariletsos.ca

Sletsos@dominionlending.ca
Dominion Lending Centres Mountain View

We are all familiar with the banks and local credit unions, but what are monoline lenders and why are they in the market?

Mono, meaning alone, single or one, these lenders simply provide a single yet refined service: to fulfill mortgage financing as requested. Banks and credit unions, on the other hand, offer an array of other products and services as well as mortgages.

The monoline lenders do not cross-sell you on chequing/savings account, RRSPs, RESPs, GICs or anything else. They don’t even have these products and services available.

Monolines are very reputable, and many have been around for decades. In fact, Canada’s second-largest mortgage lender through the broker channel is a monoline lender. Many of the monoline lenders source their funds from the big banks in Canada, as these banks are looking to diversify their portfolios and they ultimately seek to make money for their shareholders through alternative channels.

Monolines are sometimes referred to as security-backed investment lenders. All monolines secure their mortgages with back-end mortgage insurance provided by one of the three insurers in Canada.

Monoline lenders can only be accessed by mortgage brokers at the time of origination, refinance or renewal. Upon servicing the mortgage, you cannot by find them next to the gas station or at the local strip mall near your favorite coffee shop. Again, the mortgage can only be secured through a licensed mortgage broker, but once the loan completes you simply picking up your smartphone to call or send them an email with any servicing questions. There are no locations to walk into. This saves on overhead which in turn saves you money.

The major difference between a bank and monoline is the exit penalty structure for fixed mortgages. With a monoline lender the exit penalty is far lower. That is because the banks and monoline lenders calculate the Interest Rate Differential (IRD) penalty differently. The banks utilize a calculation called the posted-rate IRD and the monolines use an IRD calculation called unpublished rate.

In Canada, 60% (or 6 out of every 10) households break their existing 5-year fixed term at the 38 months. This leaves an average 22 months’ penalty against the outstanding balance. With the average mortgage in BC being $300,000, the penalty would amount to approximately $14,000 from a bank. The very same mortgage with a monoline lender would be $2,600. So, in this case the monoline exit penalty is $11,400 less.

Once clients hear about this difference, many are happy to get a mortgage from a company they have never heard of. But some clients want to stick with their existing bank or credit union to exercise their established relationship or to start fostering a new one. Some borrowers just elect to go with a different lender for diversification purposes. (This brings up a whole other topic of collateral charge mortgages, one that I will venture into with another blog post.)

There is a time and a place for banks, credit unions and monoline lenders. I am a prime example. I have recently switched from a large national monoline to a bank, simply for access to a different mortgage product for long-term planning purposes.

An independent mortgage broker like me can educate you about the many options offered by banks and credit unions vs monolines.

Shari Letsos
Senior Mortgage Professional
Cell: 604-723-7721
www.Shariletsos.ca

Sletsos@dominionlending.ca
Dominion Lending Centres Mountain View

2018 SPRING MARKET PREDICTION & WARNING

Most Realtors I speak with on a day-to-day basis have buyers starting to stack up like cordwood, and a very limited supply of properties to show said buyers.

Turns out the Pacific Ocean, US border, North shore mountains, and the ALR all remain intact. No expanded land supply in the Lower Mainland. Thus, no expanded supply of properties to market. Yet migration and immigration numbers remain strong, largely due to strong employment numbers and – despite the recent sub-zero temperatures – a pretty awesome climate in general.

Strong demand, strong employment numbers, and limited supply. Which leads to what in the months ahead?

Most likely it leads to several buyers feeling immense pressure to write subject-free offers. Perhaps the single worst idea in real estate.

Frankly, if the BC government truly wanted to do something to cool the market they would implement the same policy for used property transactions as exists on sales (and pre-sales) of brand new properties – a mandatory 7-day rescission period – a forced time of cooling-off during which one can get their finances in order, perform a property inspection, etc.

Think about this: In BC one cannot write a subject-free offer on a new build unit. And so there are no competitive bidding wars (lineups for three days in advance, yes, but risky binding contracts, no). In other words, the one type of property that presents the least risk – a brand new build subject to current building standards, fully inspected by the city, and covered under warranty… this is the one you cannot write ‘subject-free’ on.

Yet our policymakers think it is A-OK to walk across the street and write a blind-bid offer, perhaps paying 10% more than the next-closest offer, on a 100+ year-old house containing asbestos tiles, poly B piping, vermiculite insulation, knob-and-tube wiring, unauthorized renovations, work not done to code, etc.

Yeah, that’s totally cool. Go crazy.

If you are thinking that the industry loves this subject-free, rush closing date environment, you would be incorrect. Realtors, appraisers, lawyers, notaries, bankers and Dominion Lending Centres Brokers alike would all be quite happy to see some form of legislation implemented to slow buyers, and perhaps slow the market down in general. Removing the mechanism that creates this market madness would be applauded by all corners of the real estate industry.

A pre-approval is not worth the paper it is printed on, and once again this coming spring several buyers will succumb to the pressure to write subject-free offers based on a misunderstanding of how little validity a ‘pre-approval’ has. Hard lessons will be learned.

There is only one time that a buyer should even consider writing a subject-free offer, and that is when they have the capacity to close the purchase with cash. Otherwise, always insert into an offer a ‘subject to the buyer obtaining satisfactory financing’ conditions. Cover your buttocks.

Get ready for another rocking and raging spring market.

Shari Letsos
Mortgage Specialist
Direct: 604-723-7721
sletsos@dominionlending.ca
www.ShariLetsos.ca
Dominion Lending Centres Mountain View