All-in-one mortgages are an amazing tools for people who like to pay their mortgage down fast and save tens of $1,000s of dollars in interest.

1. Manulife One lets you consolidate your debts to reduce your borrowing costs.

Your Manulife One account allows you to consolidate all of your debts (loans, credit cards, etc. – up to your borrowing limit) at a competitive, low interest rate. By repaying your higher-cost debt from your Manulife One account, you could reduce your interest costs and become debt-free sooner.

2. Manulife One uses your income and savings to reduce your borrowing costs even further.

The best way to lower your borrowing costs is to pay down the principal that you borrowed. When you transfer your savings and/or short term investments into your Manulife One account, they go immediately towards paying down your borrowings. The same applies to your income. Every deposit that you make into the account reduces your debt, saving you interest costs until you need to withdraw funds again to pay for your monthly living expenses. Over time, what you save in interest will likely be more than what you would have earned.

3. Manulife One simplifies your banking by bringing your income and debt together.

With a Manulife One account, your income and your debt are all together. So you don’t need to write cheques or transfer funds from one account to another. This way you never need to worry about missing a mortgage payment. Plus, your Manulife One account lets you:

• Pay bills by cheque or online (including pre-authorized bill payments)
• Pay for store purchases with a debit card (including getting cash back)
• Withdraw or deposit funds at ABMs
• Plus much more.

There’s just one difference – whatever is left over in your Manulife One account at the end of the day goes directly towards reducing your borrowing costs. So all your money is working for you as hard as it can – 24/7/365.

4. Manulife One lets you enjoy financial flexibility.

Some traditional mortgages make it difficult or inconvenient to repay your debt more quickly. But with Manulife One, the debt in your Main Account is automatically reduced any time you make a deposit to your account. And, when you have extra money to deposit, such as a gift, bonus, tax refund, etc. your debt is automatically reduced. This gives you the financial flexibility to pay down your debt on your terms, not on your bank’s terms.

Manulife One also gives you the financial flexibility you need to deal with unexpected expenses or take advantage of great buying opportunities when they come up; and you don’t have to jump through hoops to do it. You can access the equity you’ve built up in your home (up to your borrowing limit) at any time just by writing a cheque, making a debit purchase or transferring money electronically.

With Manulife One, you’ve got the flexibility to repay your debt more quickly when you have extra money available and also to conveniently access that money when a spending need arises.

Watch our video and like it on YouTube and refer to our BLOG Post to Download more information.  for more information.  Please feel free to share with your clients or anyone you know looking for a mortgage.

Click the link below for our YouTube video!

If you have any clients looking for a mortgage pre-approval or mortgage advice please have them visit our website or call Peter at 204.227.2744.

COVID-19 UPDATE:

While we are all in disbelief, the world must go on.  Last week we fielded over 200 inquiries regarding mortgage options and deferred payments.  As usual,  everyone has jumped the gun.

The government, the banks, our lenders have all announced up to 6 month mortgage deferrals.   How does one qualify?  How many months is each lender allowing?  What are the criteria?….  At this point?  Nobody knows.

Lenders are being inundated with telephone calls up to 5000 calls per lender per day.  Wait time are up to 4 hours if the phone call even gets answered.  From what we have gathered so far, one must be directly affected by the Covid-19 crisis due to illness and/or employment layoff.   Each lender is looking at the borrowers individual situation on a case by case basis.

New purchasers need to be somewhat certain that their employment will continue beyond the crisis.  A layoff before possession could cause a lender not to fund your mortgage.  Realtors, you need to be aware of this fact when writing up offers to purchase.   How is Covid-19 going to affect sales contract?  That will be an ongoing question to be determined.

Existing mortgage holders.  Now is the time where you may want to refinance and pull out equity if you are able to and qualify.   We are recommending having access to 6-12 months of household income in had as we navigate through this global crisis.  Should there be enough equity to borrow against, we recommend trying to get a Home Equity Line Of Credit or simply refinancing your existing mortgage.

Finding updates or any information in the financial industry has been very frustrating.  Dominion Lending Centres has created an website dedicated to Covid-19 updates and information.  You can access the website through our website by clicking on the “Learn More” on the blue Covid-19 bar.

Please watch our YouTube video and stay safe.

Click the link below for our YouTube video!

Wow! What a couple of weeks. As covid-19 continues to spread throughout the world and the markets and economy are facing impending turmoil everyone is left wondering what’s going to happen and what is the best thing to do?
Unfortunately, we don’t have all of the answers. However, in an attempt to do our very best for our clients and business partners, we have started Virtual Mortgage Appointments where clients can book an appointment on our website and we can process their mortgage application through video conferencing.

Interest rates are dropping. You may want to consider a refinance or to get pre-approved for your next home.

As a result of Covid-19 Canadian Mortgage Insurers are rolling out a payment deferral program for up to 6mos to help ease any financial burdens. Health concerns are weighing heavily on the markets. We don’t have many details at this early juncture but will post updates as we learn more.

Watch our video and like it on YouTube and watch out for breaking updates. Please feel free to share and follow.

Click the link below for our YouTube video.

We wish everyone good health and should you have any questions please contact The Mainstream Mortgage Team.

Getting the best interest rate is the most important aspect of getting a mortgage, right?

If you answered YES, this article was written just for you.

The rate is very important and this article is going to illustrate the math and savings one can achieve with using a mortgage professional.

Before we get into the math, we wanted to let you know that in our opinion that mortgage terms are just as, if not more important that the rate.   Pre-payment privileges, penalty calculations, portability and assumability to name a few.  Some low rate mortgages are not portable and have HUGE penalties.

So when comparing rates, please compare the features and terms.

Lets get into the math!!!  #MortgageNerdsLoveMath

The best part of our job is when we are able to save a client 0.50% on their mortgage rate or more.  It doesn’t happen all the time but there are time throughout the year when it does happen.  AND IT FEELS GREAT.

The first calculation I would like to give you is the month payment per $1000.00 of mortgage.   At the time of writing, our best 5 year fixed rate mortgage is 2.34%.  The cost per $1000 of mortgage is $4.40/$1000.  So if you wanted to quickly approximate the month mortgage payment of a $300,000 mortgage, all you have to do is multiply $4.40 x 300 = $1320/month.

Wow 2.34%? That’s amazing.  What if the rate was 0.50% higher or 2.84%?  The cost per $1000 would be $4.65/$1000 per month.  So 300 x 4.65 = $1395/month.

$75 may not seem like a lot of money but it sure adds up.  The interest savings alone is over $6900 over a 60 month or 5 year term.   Not only do you save on interest, but there is more principle paid with a lower rate.  In the above example your mortgage balance will be more than $2,500 less with a lower rate.

So what’s the best thing to do?

Watch our video and like it on YouTube and refer to our “Interest Rates – 101” handout by CLICKING HERE TO DOWNLOAD .  Please feel free to share with your clients or anyone you know looking for a mortgage.

Click the link below for our YouTube video!

If you have any clients looking for a mortgage pre-approval or mortgage advice please have them visit our website or call Peter at 204.227.2744.

The Bank of Canada Brings Out The Big Guns

Following yesterday’s surprise emergency 50 basis point (bp) rate cut by the Fed, the Bank of Canada followed suit today and signalled it is poised to do more if necessary. The BoC lowered its target for the overnight rate by 50 bps to 1.25%, suggesting that “the COVID-19 virus is a material negative shock to the Canadian and global outlooks.” This is the first time the Bank has eased monetary policy in four years.

According to the BoC’s press release, “COVID-19 represents a significant health threat to people in a growing number of countries. In consequence, business activity in some regions has fallen sharply, and supply chains have been disrupted. This has pulled down commodity prices, and the Canadian dollar has depreciated. Global markets are reacting to the spread of the virus by repricing risk across a broad set of assets, making financial conditions less accommodative. It is likely that as the virus spreads, business and consumer confidence will deteriorate, further depressing activity.” The press release went on to promise that “as the situation evolves, the Governing Council stands ready to adjust monetary policy further if required to support economic growth and keep inflation on target.”

Moving the full 50 basis points is a powerful message from the Bank of Canada. Particularly given that Governor Poloz has long been bucking the tide of monetary easing by more than 30 central banks around the world, concerned about adding fuel to a red hot housing market, especially in Toronto. Other central banks will no doubt follow, although already-negative interest rates hamper the euro-area and Japan.

Canadian interest rates, which have been falling rapidly since mid-February, nosedived in response to the Bank’s announcement. The 5-yield Government of Canada bond yield plunged to a mere 0.82% (see chart below), about half its level at the start of the year.

Fixed-rate mortgage rates have fallen as well, although not as much as government bond yields. The prime rate, which has been stuck at 3.95% since October 2018 when the Bank of Canada last changed (hiked) its overnight rate, is going to fall, but not by the full 50 bps as the cost of funds for banks has risen with the surge in credit spreads. A cut in the prime rate will lower variable-rate mortgage rates.

Many expect the Fed to cut rates again when it meets later this month at its regularly scheduled policy meeting, and the Canadian central bank is now expected to cut interest rates again in April. Of course, monetary easing does not address supply-chain disruptions or travel cancellations. Easing is meant to flood the system with liquidity and improve consumer and business confidence–just as happened in response to the financial crisis. Expect fiscal stimulus as well in the upcoming federal budget.

All of this will boost housing demand even though reduced travel from China might crimp sales in Vancouver. A potential recession is not good for housing, but lower interest rates certainly fuel what was already a hot spring sales market. Data released today by the Toronto Real Estate Board show that Toronto home prices soared in February, and sales jumped despite low inventories. The number of transactions jumped 46% from February 2019, which was a 10-year sales low as the market struggled with tougher mortgage rules and higher interest rates. February sales were up by about 15% compared to January.

DR. SHERRY COOPER

Chief Economist, Dominion Lending Centres
Sherry is an award-winning authority on finance and economics with over 30 years of bringing economic insights and clarity to Canadians.

Closing Costs Explained.

Closing costs are one of the largest variables for new home buyers, especially first time home buyers.

All three mortgage insurers require that the clients have their down payment saved + an additional 1.5% of the purchase price for closing costs.   The problem with this is, that closing costs are usually closing to 2.5% to 3%.   This is really problematic when a client finds out that they are a few thousand dollars short to close.

Closing costs include, Land Transfer Tax, Legal Fees and Disbursements, Title Insurance, Interest Adjustment, Property Tax Adjustment as well as any PST on insurer premiums.

Please ask us for our very own closing costs calculator to help calculate your closing costs or down loan our app by visiting our website.

Please watch our video and like it on YouTube and refer to our “Closing Costs Example” for more information.  Please feel free to share with your clients.

Click the link below for our YouTube video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afCGOxdR5fg&t=9s