Choosing A Realtor?

Choosing the right realtor can help ensure you get the right house at the right price. Here's a checklist of some questions you may want to ask potential realtors before deciding to work with one.

Qualifications
Ask to see a personal brochure or resume. Look for experience in your area, in your price range, and letters of reference.

Full-time realtor
Ask if this is their full-time career and whether they're committed to it in the long term.

Strategy
Ask how they'll approach your home search. Simply rely on MLS listings? Or do they have other sources of homes to show you? Are they willing to change their strategy to adapt to market conditions, or are they inflexible?

Length of time for search
How long do they think it'll take? What's the average length of time in your area and in the current market?

Price negotiation
What's the current selling price versus asking price in your area and in the current market? Is their personal sell vs. ask price better or worse than average?

Support staff
Ask whether they have support people to assist in the process. This also gives you an additional contact when you need it.

Viewing appointments
Do they prefer to pre-book viewing excursions or are they flexible enough to show you listings as they become available?

Peel Affordable Ownership Program – Up to $10 000 in Government Assistance!

The Ontario Government has designed an Affordable Home Ownership Program to help provide low-to-moderate income residents who are currently renting the opportunity to qualify for down-payment load assistance when they buy a home in Peel Region (which covers Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga)

This program will assist eligible applicants who have a total annual income of $75,800 or less and a purchase price that does not exceed $247,000.

Qualifying applicants can receive up to a maximum of $10,000 in assistance.

Who Qualifies for this Government Assistance Home Ownership Program?
o Applicants must be 18 years of age or older
o Applicants must not own or have an interest in another residential property
o The home must be the sole and principal residence of the purchaser
o The applicant must currently be renting and looking to buy a sole and principal residence
o The applicant must have a total household income not exceeding $75,800
o The applicant must be able to obtain a mortgage and demonstrate sustainability
o Participants may not include anticipated rental income from a portion of the property in order to obtain a mortgage
o The applicant must be able to pay all additional closing costs
o The applicant must supply all necessary documentation to the Region of Peel

The down payment loan is for a 20-year period and no interest is charged if:
o The home remains the sole and principal residence of the owner.
o The home cannot be rented, leased or sold in the 20-year period.
o On the 20th anniversary date of the agreement, the loan is automatically forgiven provided there has been no default.

Repayment of the loan is required when:
o The home ceases to become the sole and principal residence of the owner.
o The home is sold before the 20-year affordability period.

If the home is sold before the 20-year affordability period, and there is a value increase, the down payment loan must be repaid plus five per cent (5%) of the capital gain (appreciation).

If the home is sold for less than the original purchase price, the owner does not pay appreciation and the principal is forgiven (the sale must be at fair market value and must be an arm’s length transaction)

Participants on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Applications and further program information can be obtained at www.peelregion.ca/homeinpeel, by calling 905-453-1300
or via e-mail at homeinpeel@peelregion.ca.

Questions?
Please feel free to contact us or visit our website if you would like more information about mortgage brokerage services.

What Is A Green Mortgage?

So you'd like to lower your screamingly awful utility bills and help the environment by installing double-paned windows and ceiling insulation, but you don't know how on Earth to cover the cost right now, even though the improvements eventually pay for themselves and then some. One possibility is to refinance your house with a "green mortgage." Or you could buy an already-energy-efficient home with a "green mortgage."

A green mortgage simply is a type of mortgage that provides you a money-saving discount or a bigger loan than normally permitted as a reward for making energy-efficient improvements or for buying a home that meets particular energy-efficiency standards. So, it's easier for you to qualify for a loan. Green mortgages hinge on the principle that a more energy-efficient home means lower utility bills and, as a result, greater income, qualifying a prospective homeowner to buy a more expensive house. Officially, the mortgages often are called Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs) or Energy Improvement Mortgages (EIMs).

Example: When Chris and Lisa bought a home, their lender made it possible to add ceiling, floor and furnace duct insulation by adding $2,300 to their loan – bumping it from $142,500 to $144,800. That raised their monthly mortgage by $17, but their utility bills dropped by $45 monthly.

Arnold Molder is a local Toronto Mortgage expert who has been pioneering Green Mortgages in Toronto. Please feel free to contact him at (416) 461.0204 ext 1

What Is A Mortgage?

For most people, buying a home means taking out a mortgage. That means you borrow money to buy a home, using that home as collateral for the loan. Financial institutions—banks, trust companies, insurance companies credit unions, caisses populaires, finance companies and pension funds— lend money for mortgages.

Private individuals also lend money for mortgages. Private lenders often advertise in the classified advertising section of newspapers.

Mortgage brokers usually do not lend money. They find a lender for you. They may charge a fee, but usually the fee is paid by the lender.

Mortgage payments are blended payments. This means that the payment includes the principal— the amount borrowed—plus the interest—the charge for borrowing the money.

You repay the mortgage in regular periodic payments. You can make payments once a month, once every two weeks, or once a week. Most people make monthly payments. The payments are usually level—the same every month.

The payments may also include the property taxes, which the company collecting the payments forwards to the municipality on your behalf.

A conventional mortgage is for an amount that does not exceed 80 per cent of the appraised value of the property or the purchase price, whichever is lower. Your down payment is a minimum of 20 per cent of the purchase price. With a high-ratio mortgage you pay less than 20 per cent of the cost of the home as a down payment. There are programs that allow qualified borrowers to put as little as 5% down payment.

The lender needs mortgage loan insurance with a high-ratio mortgage. It protects the lender and, by law, most Canadian lending institutions are required to have it. They will usually pass the insurance premium costs on to you by adding it to your mortgage principal amount.

Having mortgage loan insurance means that if you, the borrower, default on your mortgage the lender is paid back by the insurer. With the risk of losing their money removed, lenders have the confidence to make mortgage loans of up to 95 per cent of the purchase price of your home.

Mortgage loan insurance is not the same as mortgage life insurance. Mortgage loan insurance assures the lender of repayment if you default. Without mortgage loan insurance the lender would not make a high-ratio loan. Mortgage life insurance pays off your mortgage in full if you or your spouse dies.

You might take over the seller’s mortgage—called assuming an existing mortgage —as part of the price you pay for the house.

Assuming an existing mortgage saves you money on the usual mortgage arrangement costs, such as appraisal and lawyer fees. You don’t have to arrange financing from another lender and the interest rate on an existing mortgage may be lower than the prevailing market rate.

A vendor take back (VTB) mortgage means that the person who sells you the house lends you the money to buy the house. The seller may offer the VTB at less than bank rates. Some sellers will sell the mortgage to a third party rather than holding it.

A second mortgage is a mortgage loan for money in addition to the money owed under a first mortgage. A second mortgage has a higher interest rate than a first mortgage. It also has shorter amortization— the period over which a loan is repaid. Homeowners often use a second mortgage to pay for renovations. Once you have looked at all the options and chosen a lender, the paperwork starts.

Although it usually only takes a few days to get approval for a mortgage, give yourself plenty of time. When you put in your offer to purchase, this is almost always on the condition of getting mortgage approval.

Some first-time buyers get pre-approval. They submit their financial paperwork to a potential lender and receive approval for a pre-determined mortgage amount. The pre-approval agreement may also guarantee an interest rate for a mortgage taken out during the 60- to 90-day pre-approval term.

Mortgage approval paperwork satisfies the lender that you are able to pay back the mortgage without defaulting.

The lender wants to know such things as your marital status, number of dependents, age, current employment, salary, how long you have worked there, and whether you have any other sources of income. Lenders also do a credit check to find out if you pay your bills on time.

The lender will ask for a list of your assets (such as vehicles) and liabilities (such as credit card balances and car loans).

If you would like to get approved today you can complete an on-line application or call Christopher Molder (416) 461.0204.

SHOULD I USE A MORTGAGE BROKER?

If you are buying a home for the first time or not entirely financially literate, you need to understand how the mortgage system works and what type of mortgage is best suited for your needs. The best person to help you navigate through all the difficult choices you have is a mortgage broker. By combining professional expertise with access to many different lenders and hundreds of mortgage products, a mortgage broker is the best professional to have on your team. A good consultant will suggest an efficient and cost-effective method of selecting, negotiating and organizing your home financing options.


You may ask the question:
"But why should I use the services of a mortgage broker instead of going directly to my bank?"

When you apply for a mortgage with a mortgage broker you are effectively applying for a loan with all the lenders the mortgage broker works with. Thus you provide yourself with a wide variety of lenders to choose from. Your Mortgage Consultant is completely impartial and will then help you make the right selection for you.

Mortgage financing may appear to be a long term liability. It is the job of a mortgage broker to identify the best mortgage product, with the right features, which matches your personal finance situation. First to assist you select the right lender, then guiding you through the whole mortgage process , helping you at every stage along the way. Brokers can help you analyze and make a comparative study of hundreds of different mortgage products and then identify the one that is most compatible for you. The broker will be there to assist you throughout the entire process of securing your home loan.