Christine Buemann Mortgage Broker

Paying off your mortgage can seem like a daunting task. While statistically, most Canadians are putting extra money own every month, here is a gentle reminder about how a little bit can go a long way when it comes to mortgages. On a $250,000 mortgage here are a few scenarios that can help you cut years off your mortgage: ·          Switching to bi-weekly or weekly payments . You could cut almost 3 years off of your amortization by simply switching to accelerated bi-weekly or weekly payments. ·          Round up the bi-weekly payments.   The original payment would be roughly $617 so if you rounded that up to $650, you could cut off 4.5 years. ·          Increase your monthly payments. Monthly payments simply work better for some people. If you were to round up your roughly $1234 payment to $1300 a month, you could still cut off 2 years. We are still in an environment of extremely low rates. Now is a great time to not only pay down your mortgage as fast as you can, but in

Traditionally the role of a Mortgage Broker was viewed as an alternative if you were declined by “your” bank. Times have changed and the role of independent brokers has evolved drastically. More and more people are preferring to have an professional work on their behalf instead of negotiating directly with the bank. Not only are the rates we have access to typically lower, you are also able to have an unbiased opinion as to what product / lender will be most suitable for you in order to maximize your savings potential. Scotia, TD, CIBC and RBC all currently have the same current rate “special” of 3.79%. I currently have access to a great lender offering a “special” of 3.39%. Let’s compare the numbers. Here is a breakdown of the savings for the following mortgage amounts: $200,000 mortgage ·          $43 a month ·          $3800 over the term $250,000 mortgage ·          $53 a month ·          $4750 over the term $300,000 mortgage ·          $64 a month ·        

Whether you are looking to start building credit, or repairing your current credit, there are very similar requirements. Here are the basics of what you should be aiming for: ·          2 different sources of credit ·          The limit of both should be at least $1000 ·          They generally prefer to see at least a 12 month history ·          Payments made on time every month ·          Balances kept low (under 30% if you can) The easiest way to start is typically with a pre-paid (or secured) card. I currently have access to a very reliable lender who is offering secured VISA’s. You can choose anywhere from $500-$10,000. You also have your choice of interest rate. For a fee of $5 a month, your rate would be 14.9% and for no fee it is 19.99%. The only stipulations are that you must be discharged from a bankruptcy if you are going through one and if you are in a consumer proposal, you must be up to date with your payments. They are ok with having collections items

It is vital that you determine how much you can afford before you start looking for a house. If you begin by looking at houses outside of your price range, you may set unrealistic expectations and the homes you can afford may appear disappointing by comparison. You also want to be confident that your monthly payments are sustainable and realistic for your budget. Here are a few tools to help you carefully consider the size of mortgage that is most suitable for you: Household Budget Calculator http://www.cmhc.ca/sharing/en/householdbudget.html Mortgage Affordability Calculator http://www.cmhc.ca/sharing/en/affordability.html Mortgage Payment Calculator http://www.cmhc.ca/sharing/en/mortgage-payment-calculator.html http://www.christinebuemann.com

Consistently tightening mortgage rules combined with low interest rates have caused several lenders to revise their guidelines for gifted down payments. As per CMHC, the person gifting the funds has to be a relative and the funds have to truly be a gift (no repayment required). Traditionally, they have only required a gift letter signed by both parties along with proof of the funds being deposited into the recipient’s account. Several lenders have now adjusted their supporting document requirements and they will now need to see one of the following along with proof of the funds being in the recipient’s account: 1.        Proof of the funds being in the relative’s account prior to the transfer of funds 2.        A letter from the relative’s financial institution stating that they have adequate funds to cover the gifted amount   Lenders now have more pressure to evaluate the overall risk of a file and although CMHC does consider this type of down payment to be “traditional”, m

If you live in Prince George and have a rental property or rent out a portion of your home you will be required to purchase a business license starting in the new year. It was an interesting move by city council last week and it will be even more interesting to see how it pans out. Many feel that the reason why this was implemented was to increase revenue for the business license program, however an increase to the fee for businesses may have had a lesser impact than the new rental requirements. In this CKPG news report they have stated that "the city feels the need for a license will ensure that rental properties are up to code and not illegal. The business license fee for rental properties will be $155 per year, per property." Although most homes in Prince George are zoned to allow a rental suite, the majority of them don't currently comply with the requirements to make them "legal". Here is an article from the City of Prince George detailing their req

Hello! As you may recall, we upgraded our company name last year from Verico LendingMax Mortgage to Verico Premium Mortgage. My e-mail address changed however my website and phone number stayed the same. Our e-mail provider is longer forwarding e-mails from the old address so please take a moment to update my e-mail address to the following: christine@premiummortgage.ca I have also attached a contact file if you use Outlook or a similar program. If you have sent an e-mail to cbuemann@lendingmax.ca recently and I have not responded, I apologize.

Consolidate Your Debt   The key to getting rid of debt is to commit to fixed, not declining, monthly payments. With your 19.75% credit card, if you were to pay off a debt of $30,000.00 at a fixed payment of $600 per month, you would pay the debt off in just under 9 years, and pay approximately $30, 000.00 in interest.   Suppose you take out a home equity loan at 4% interest. If you pay it off at $600 per month, you will retire the debt in just under 4.5 years – 4.5 years sooner than with the credit card. But best of all, your interest cost will be reduced from $30,000.00 to $3,000.00. That's approximately $27,000.00 in your pocket with exactly the same monthly payments!   In the real world, of course, your debt may not reside on one, but multiple credit cards. The practice of transferring all of your debt to a single loan is called debt consolidation.   Here's how it works: 1. Add up all your credit card debt. 2. Take out a single loan, such as a home equ

Interest rates are still going up and they are moving quite quickly. If your mortgage is coming up for renewal in the next few months, you have a few options: 1.        Do nothing and wait to see what interest rates are at when your renewal date arrives. 2.        Contact your current lender to see if they offer “early renewal” options. Keep in mind that if you choose to renew early and rates go down at all, you will only get the rate that you have locked into. They may also offer you a “blended” rate which could be higher than you could get elsewhere. 3.        Contact your Mortgage Broker to get an approval with a 120 day rate hold. If rates go down, you will get the lower rate but if they go up, then you are protected. This way you also avoid paying any payout penalties. The only cost to switch your mortgage in BC is a mandatory $75 fee to remove the old mortgage from the land title and register the new one. Most lenders will require the standard employment confirmation document

Bond rates have hit a 2 year high! What does that mean for you? It means that there is more pressure on fixed rates and most lenders are starting to increase them once again. It is important to note that fixed rate mortgages are influenced mainly by Government of Canada bond yields. Variable rate mortgages rely heavily on the Government’s overnight target rate which sets the Bank’s prime rate. S everal months ago, we could easily get 5 year fixed rate mortgages at 2.89%. After these current rate increases, most lenders will be offering around 3.59% for their “discounted” rates. On a $300,000 mortgage, that is a difference of almost $110 a month and almost $10,000 interest over a 5 year term.     Most lenders will offer pre-approvals or rate holds which may be slightly higher than their discounted rates. If you are considering purchasing or refinancing – it is a good idea to lock in to a 120 rate hold as soon as possible. Please contact me today for current rates or for any mo

Every time your mortgage term is up, you have the option to renew with your current lender or you can switch to another lender if they are offering you a better rate or more suitable product. The statistics are staggering as to how many people simply renew with their current lender when they could have gotten a better rate and saved thousands of dollars by switching to another lender or least negotiating a better rate with their current one. The main reason why many choose to stay with their current lender is because they generally have to re-qualify if they switch lenders. We now have access to a lender who has great rates and they are current offering a simplified transfer in program. Here are the program requirements: ·          No new money is being added (so no capping of penalties/fees) ·          Valid CMHC or GENWORTH Insurance ·          All Applicants at current employer for min 2 years (please note this is not for Stated Income clients) ·          The Employ

Are you considering including renovations in your next home purchase? Each insurer ( CMHC , Genworth and CG ) has their own guidelines however here are the basics on how it works: ·          You can generally add up to 10% of the value of your purchase price into the mortgage (potentially to 20%, depending on the lender and insurer) ·          It is important to note that your mortgage will be based on the total improved value which means that your down payment and closing costs will be increased o    For example, if you are purchasing a home for $200,000 and you plan to include $20,000 in renovations, your new purchase price becomes $220,000 and you are required to put $11,000 down instead of $10,000 ·          You will have to provide quotes to for the work that is going to be completed prior to the mortgage being approved o    Items that can be removed from the home (appliances, furniture ext) cannot be included as renovations o    You can do the work yourself or have

On June 27 th , CMHC published their newly defined Debt Ratio Standards. These are the guidelines for calculating debt ratios and confirming income documents. These changes are set to be implemented by December 31 st of this year. Many lenders have already adopted some of these changes however, Mortgage Brokers currently have access to numerous lenders who are still being flexible with their calculations. Please read the CMHC release for the full details   here . Here are the topics of discussion: Income ·          Variable Income: No change. The average of the last 2 years unless it’s declining, then the lowest. ·          Self-employed Income (without traditional documentation to support income verification): No more “stated income” where the take the client’s word on their income. Must have documentation to support it. Most lenders have already adopted these policies. ·          Rental Income: Most lenders already use these. We may see more conservative amounts being a

There have been many changes in the mortgage world in the past 3 years, more specifically in the past 6-12 months. There are many changes to lender policies that have unfortunately moved qualified buyers to a position where they cannot qualify for a mortgage or perhaps have fewer options. There was a well written article in Canadian Mortgage Trends last week ( please take a moment to read it here ) and here are a few changes they have highlighted: ·     Some lenders now factor in a monthly payment for secured credit lines with  zero balance.    *this is by far creating the most issues ·     On revolving unsecured credit, monthly payments are being set at 3% of the outstanding balance . ·     Many lenders now calculate heating costs using a specific formula based on property size . ·     Conventional variable-rate mortgages and fixed terms less than 5 years are now qualified using the Benchmark Rate.   Here are a few more changes that I have noticed as well: ·    

There are 2 different ratios that lenders use in order to determine your maximum mortgage amount. (GDS) Gross Debt Serving Ratio : This pertains to the costs associated with owning the home. That includes your mortgage payment, property taxes and heat. Traditionally $100 flat rate has always been used for the heat amount, however since the mortgage changes last year that amount will vary by lender. No more than 35% of your gross income can be used towards the combined total of those expenses. If you have a credit score above 680, that is increased to 39%   (TDS) Total Debt Servicing Ratio: That includes all of the expenses listed for the GDS as well as any other monthly obligations. That could be credit cards payments, loans, child support ext. Keep in mind that for most revolving credit (credit cards, lines of credit ext.), they will use at least 3% of the balance as your monthly payment. No more than 42% of your gross income can be used towards all of your debts combi