Price or product?  That is the question.

Over the last number of years the focus on mortgages has been rate.  Who is offering the most competitive rate?  A lot of people have overlooked the products themselves in search of the best rate.  There is a lot more to packaging a mortgage than simply rate.

Some things to consider when discussing the best mortgage product for your particular situation are:

1. How long will you be staying in the property?

If you intend on moving in certain length of time, matching the term may be the best option for you.

2.  Do you intend on making extra payments on the mortgage? If so, how many extra    payments will you be making and how much extra will you be paying off per year?

If you are in a position to make extra payments on your mortgage, the prepayment options on your mortgage should be paramount to you.  Prepayment privileges change from lender to lender.  In addition to prepayment, the type of mortgage you choose will affect your ability to repay your mortgage faster.

3.  Are you comfortable with a fluctuating payment to potentially maximize interest rate savings?

A variable rate mortgage is sometimes beneficial in certain rate environments.  There is a risk that your payments could increase, but you may be able to save money compared to other fixed rate products.

4.  Are you looking to purchase additional properties in the future?  Will you require access to the equity in your home to do so?

If you are looking to purchase additional properties and you will need to access the equity in your home, a long-term fixed rate may present an obstacle.   The term and rate that you choose will affect the penalty to break or add to the mortgage.

These are only a few items to consider when structuring your mortgage.  There are many different terms and rates to choose from.  Matching the best product at the best rate is a job left to an experienced mortgage agent.

how to choose the RIGHT mortgage broker.

how to choose the RIGHT mortgage broker.

We already know the answer to this question.  It’s me.  Why? What’s the difference?

The majority of homebuyers start off by speaking with their banks when shopping for a mortgage.  Not a bad place to start.   They are the people that handle your day - to - day transactions, Visa’s, lines of credit, TFSA’s, safety deposit boxes, etc.   There in lies the problem.  Most of the bankers out there are “Jacks of all trades,” and masters of none.   As a matter of fact, they do not require a license to give advice to people on what is generally the largest purchase of their lives.  Coming from the Banking world, I experienced this first hand.  As a broker, we do need to be licensed.  We also need to renew our professional licenses and memberships annually.

EXPERTISE

You don’t go to a mechanic for a nice steak, and you don’t ask your butcher to change your alternator.  So why would you trust your mortgage to an institution that has limited options?  Choice is power.

EXPERIENCE

As a broker, we offer you options.  Our responsibility is to look at your entire financial situation and match you with the best lender.  We don’t try to put a square peg in a round hole.  Before I became a mortgage specialist with the banks, I was an insurance and investment broker.  I have the knowledge and experience to deliver the best advice for now and the future.

OPTIONS

We have access to more than 20 lenders including many of the Canadian Chartered Banks.  We have access to Credit Unions and companies called Mortgage Backed Security companies.  MBS’ specialize in mortgages and some offer Homeowner Lines of Credit. 

SAVINGS

How do we get great rates?  Easy.  The lenders do not pay for our location or expenses. They don’t pay us a salary.  Unlike the bank, we do not create overhead costs for the banks and lending institutions.  They reward us with great rates.  We often get rate specials that banks do not have access to.

PERSONALITY

Why not have a great time while getting a great mortgage?  Somehow I get invited to a lot of my client’s weddings…. Weird. Awesome.

CONVENIENCE

We have a convenient location or I can come to you.  We work around your schedule. You are not limited to the operating hours of the bank.

ACCESIBILITY

Cell – 519.630.5905

Office – 519.433.5013

Fax – 519.433.0402

Email – Andrew.young@bemortgagewise.ca

Twitter - @Ayoungmortgages

Website – www.mortgagewisefinancial.com

In person – 259 Wellington Rd. London, Ontario N6C 4N7

Facebook – You can find me

COMMUNITY FOCUS

For every deal funded, I make a donation to the non-profit organization of your choice.  This directly affects your community and perhaps the people you care about the most.

When I am not working on getting people the best mortgages possible, I serve on the program board and centre board for Merrymount Children’s centre.  I have recently volunteered my time to the planning committee for the Comedy Night in support of Merrymount Children’s Centre coming up on November 7^th, 2013.

So if you appreciate EXPERTISE.

Looking for someone with extensive EXPERIENCE.

Wishing to explore your OPTIONS.

Enjoy SAVING your money.

Understand the value of CONVENIENCE.

Admire ACCESIBILITY.

Appreciate someone that gives back to the COMMUNITY.

You don’t need to look any further. 

Thank you for your continued support through your referrals.

Thanks for visiting an AWESOME approach to MORTGAGES.

For the younger buyer.....How to get prepared for your first home!

 

"Hey Andrew Young, I’m younger and I want to be prepared to buy a house in a couple of years, what do I need to do?"

There are usually four major components to getting you approved for a mortgage:

1. Employment - We need to prove that you have a source of regular income.  In general, after you start your new job, you will need to be employed by the same company for a minimum of 3 months or until you pass probation. 

2. Down payment - We need to see how much down payment you have and prove the source of the funds.  The minimum down payment amount is 5% of the purchase price of the home.  For down payment proof, we will need 90 days record of your bank account, RSP’s or TFSA.  Also, you can obtain your down payment as a non-repayable gift from a direct family member. 

3. Credit - We need to prove your identity and show that you repay your debts in a timely fashion.  We do this by collecting your name, address and Social Insurance Number.  We access your credit bureau via Equifax or Transunion.  These companies track your payments, balances and repayment history.

4. Affordability – We perform a calculation to discover your Total Debt Service Ratio (TDSR).  It’s a calculation that takes your monthly ‘must pay’ items (credit card, line of credit, car loan or student loan) and we divide that by your gross monthly income (income before taxes).  From that we have a ratio that indicates how much of a mortgage payment you can afford.

Here are some tips for you…

Manage your credit

Do yourself a favor - if you borrow it - pay it back!  Credit cards debt is not free money.  Pay more than the minimum balance on your credit card debt every month or it will cost you a fortune and take you many years to pay it back. 

Keep the correspondence from your student loan provider(s).  There are often mistakes on credit bureaus that can be cleared up with the proper paperwork. 

Don’t take on more than 2 credit cards.  It is redundant to have more than 2.  Beware of the ‘in-store’ credit cards.  If you don’t pay the balance off monthly, you could be charged 18-28% interest on the balance.  The less debt you have, the higher the mortgage amount you could be approved for.

Save your money

Set up an account (High interest savings or TFSA) and make regular contributions.  It may be easier to setup a regular deposit amount through your bank.  It is best to use the power of interest to help you save for a house.  You can use the Home Buyers Plan (HBP) where you can contribute into an RSP and use that money as down payment.  You do have to pay that money back into your RSP over a 15 year period.  You get a 2 year grace period where you don’t have to make payments.

In closing;

1. Pay your debt on time and often
2. Keep records of the debts you incur
3. Don’t take on more credit than you truly need
4. Set up a savings account and make regular deposits

If you follow these simple steps, you will be in great financial shape to buy a house.

Thanks for visiting an AWESOME approach to MORTGAGES. 

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at:

Andrew.young@bemortgagewise.ca or directly at 519-630-5905.

Amazing in 2013 - Broker with a Difference

You wanna know what's new for 2013?  Well here's a sneak peak....

1.  New Lenders offering Greater Flexibility
2.  Satisfaction Guarantee
3.  Twitter - @Ayoungmortgages
4.  Network of Real Estate and Financial Professionals
5.  Donations made for every deal funded

These are just a few of the new ventures for 2013.  Looking forward to becoming your mortgage professional in 2013! 

Is it a good time to buy a house?

Yes!


Two Reasons...

1.  Buyer's market - better deals
2.  Low interest rates

Put those 2 together, you get a great deal on a house with a low interest rate!!!

Any other questions?

Thanks for visiting!

What's up with appraisals?

 

What’s up with Appraisals?

Let me begin with saying I am not an appraiser.  After many years in the real estate business as a Mortgage Broker and a House buyer, I have developed an understanding of the valuation of Real Estate.

Over the last 3 years, it has become increasingly difficult to anticipate the value of homes.  This has hindered refinances, debt consolidations and sometimes purchases. 

Values will change with the Real Estate market and with the economy.  As the banks tighten up their lending guidelines, more often than not, real estate values drop accordingly.  It is common to find that values drop in a “slow economy” like we are experiencing currently. 

How do appraisers establish a value for your house?  Glad you asked.

Age of the home

Condition of the home

Layout

Size (square footage)

Garage size (how many cars / size)

Land size (frontage / depth)

Recent sales of comparable homes in similar neighborhoods

Appraisers use their knowledge of neighborhoods and resale

Many times, people mistake the value of their home as what they could sell it for on the market.  The real estate sales market is not always indicative of the real value of the home.  For instance, just because the house down the street went multiple sale and went $25k over asking price does not make your $200k home worth $225k.   That is a result from a market condition.

It is important to seek out an experienced appraiser.  You can just ask me and I can get a great one for you!

Bottom line, “before you buy, sell or renew, speak with Andrew!”

Cover your ASSets

 

Cover your ASSets

Welcome back to an AWESOME approach to MORTGAGES.  We have missed you. 

If you didn’t already know, I recently got married and went on a wonderful honeymoon.  We traveled Eastern Europe and saw some amazing sights and met some brilliant people. 

During the process of preparing for the wedding, there were some very important things we needed to address.  We chose the menu for the dinners, the cake, the flowers, the seating arrangements for the tables, etc.  But there were a couple of fundamental things we addressed to protect ourselves before we got married…

1. We reviewed our life insurance, critical illness and living benefit policies
2. We created a will to protect our families and ourselves if anything were to happen to us.

Some might not think this to be very romantic, but it is necessary.  We had a great experience creating our will and our lawyer made it tremendously easy for us.  This process was seamless and we are more than happy with the result.  Our will is in a safe place and we have informed our loved ones the location of our will. 

Whether you have just recently secured a mortgage, renewing soon or have paid off your mortgage.  Please review your financial plan and your insurance needs.  There are many stages in life that you need to have proper insurance and adjust your financial plan.  In life, it is my goal to protect my beautiful wife, in the case that I am no longer around. I want her to be in a great position where she doesn’t have to worry about money and concentrate on erected a statue of me.

The bottom line is to get someone to look at these items for you!  I have some brilliant people I work with who will help guide you through the process and deliver relevant, realistic advice.

Please let me know when you would like me to introduce you to the professionals I use to take care of the important things!

As always, wishing you all my best!