Christine Buemann Mortgage Broker

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