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Kris - Victoria BC
Thanks Andrew! Really puts clients first and works hard finding the best product. Very friendly and professional. Best broker in Victoria!
Calvin - Victoria BC
I got help from Andrew 2 times to purchase homes in 1 year. He helped me to save as much I can and provided good advice. If I do need mortgage again I will contact Andrew. Thanks Andrew.
Ranjit - Victoria BC
Andrew is a hardworking Mortgage Broker.He responds quickly and get your deal prepared quickly. He explains Mortgage terms well. He gives practical advice. He is Knowledgeable. Will recommend him as Mortgage Broker without hesitation.
Matt - Victoria BC
Andrew and his team were excellent. Very thorough, great communication. Highly recommend!
Your Mortgage Pre-Approval
(...what you need to know)
Need a mortgage pre-approval before you go house hunting? Find out how much you can afford well in advance. This will keep you focused on shopping for homes within your price range. When you qualify for a pre-approved mortgage, you’ll be certain of the size of mortgage for which you qualify. Often you can lock-in your rate for a specific period of time up to 120 days. And even if you don’t qualify for a pre-approved mortgage initially, we work with you to assist with your financial strategy and budgeting. All at no cost to you. Everyone deserves a home. Let’s work together to make it happen for you.
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How It Works:
Step 1: Your Mortgage Needs
Our initial consultation is all about you. We can meet in person or schedule a short phone call. We know the questions to ask to get the heart of your pre-approval requirements quickly. Will this home be your primary residence? Will there be rental income from a suite? Or will this property be an investment rental property? Each home purchase and pre-approval situation is unique. We take the time to understand what your immediate and long term goals are so that you are purchasing with confidence.
Step 2: Your Application
Many clients are well-prepared and can easily complete our secure online form. But some have a more complex application and require a more consultative experience. We have the flexibility to receive documents via email, fax, off-site meeting or in person in our office in order to expedite the application processing. The goal is to get you pre-approved and we have the flexibility in our process to accommodate your schedule. We walk you through income qualification, and your credit report so you can understand how they tie together to create the basis of your application.
Step 3: Your Pre-Approval
Once you have your pre-approval you can search for your new home with confidence. You’ll know the type of property, the price range and whether there must be an income suite. As the property is the asset that is securing the financing, the property itself plays a very large role in the final approval. In general you will want a thorough home inspection, and the lender may need a full appraisal of the property in order to meet the final mortgage approval criteria.
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Important Factors for Your Mortgage Pre-Approval
Income Qualification
Income qualification is different for everyone. It might be as simple as your last 2 years T4’s or Notice of Assessments. If you are self-employed it may require your full T1 General tax returns. And if you own a corporation we may need the corporate returns as well. In some cases it may be difficult for you to prove your income so we will have to find a suitable mortgage product that can accommodate your stated income situation.
Credit Score
Did you know that there are millions of errors on credit reports? And in some cases there is old data that is critically affecting your ability to borrow. We approach your credit report in logical way and do a thorough assessment so you can ensure the accuracy of the data. This is the number one reason we like to see people well in advance of their home purchase. Sometimes it can take months to repair a credit mistake. See us early and let’s make sure your credit is accurate. And what about the conventional wisdom that says your score goes down every time your credit report is accessed? It is quite possible that repeated credit access by potential creditors can affect your score. Since we only access your credit once and have access to dozens of lenders, we minimize this possibility.
Down Payment Verification
Are you planning to use savings for your down payment? You will need 90 days of account history. Are you planning to use a gifted down payment? You will need the proper gift form. What about using RRSP’s for your down payment? Yes you can do that as well. There are certain rules that allow you to access your RRSP funds without penalty, essentially loaning the money to yourself. The funds have to be paid back on a set schedule and you cannot have owned a home in 4 years. What if your co-applicant or spouse has not owned a home in 4 years, but you have? Well you can still use the $25,000 allowance from your co-applicant or spouse. Call us for details!
Closing Costs Verification
Most lenders will want to see about 1.5% of the purchase price available for closing costs. Closing costs are made up primarily of legal fees – budget around $1000 – and Property Transfer Tax. If you are a First Time Home Buyer and the property meets specific criteria this can save you thousands of dollars and the requirement for these funds to be available on closing can be waived. Call us at 250-483-5558 for more details.
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Victoria BC Mortgage News and Trends
Canada Mortgage Qualifying Rate Lowered to 5.19%
Bloomberg Canada – July 19, 2019 The Bank of Canada has lowered the rate used by mortgage stress tests, used to qualify homeowners for mortgage borrowing limits, for the first time in three years. The central bank’s five-year benchmark qualifying rate is now 5.19 per cent, down from 5.34 per cent. It’s the first decrease in the five-year fixed mortgage rate since September 2016, when it dropped from 4.74 per cent to 4.64 per cent, and increased steadily since. Rob McLister, founder of mortgage comparison website RateSpy.com, says the dip will increase the buying power for mortgage borrowers by allowing them to afford up to 1.4 per cent more home. For example, someone putting a 20-per-cent down payment on a home who makes $50,000 per year can now afford $4,000 more home, according to calculations by Ratespy.com. “It will have an incremental boost for housing,” McLister told BNN Bloomberg’s Greg […]
What are the Best Mortgage Rates in BC
Understand Discounted Rates and Understand the Possible Penalties. The truth about the Best Mortgage Rates in BC. If it’s too good to be true it often is… Sometimes you’ll see a you found a deeply discounted rate advertised in BC. Is the broker local in Victoria or in another city and can you go and meet with them to discuss the critical details? Is it a national bank offer or and can they clearly explain the penalty structure to you? We pride ourselves on offering the best rates, on mortgage products that are client-friendly, meaning flexible and low-fee. Our clients often hear of national ‘rate sites’ promoting rates that are ultimately not available, and people have wasted a lot of time and created more stress than is required, at an already stressful time. A large number of Canadians are forced to terminate their mortgage contracts early due to an unforeseen […]
Stress Test Mortgage Update – November 2017
New “Stress-Test” 2017 / 2018 Mortgage Rules Changes Explained Recently as you have probably heard in the major news media, like Global News and CBC, late in 2016, new rules were announced by OSFI with respect to residential home mortgages. The decisions leading up to these new rules are primarily driven by ‘expert’ concerns about rising home prices in a few Canadian markets Vancouver, and Toronto. Prices in Victoria, BC are up significantly as well but our demand continues to outstrip supply even after the first wave of new rules have been implemented. The thinking behind making it more difficult for Canadians to buy and refinance is that it might calm down the housing market, and specifically limit price increases. I’m not going to get into it too deeply here but the thinking behind these new rules is counter-intuitive, and possibly quite damaging to Canadian families and the Canadian economy […]
The In’s and Out’s of Mortgage Pre-Approvals
When you’re house hunting anywhere in the greater Victoria area; from James Bay to Oak Bay, from Saanich to Langford, it’s a great idea to know the mortgage amount you qualify for, your monthly payments, and that your interest rate will be held for a specified period of time i.e. 90 to 120 days. In some cases the pre-approval and rate-hold period can be even longer. This way you can shop within your price range, you don’t have to worry about rates rising, and both realtors and sellers will know you’re a serious buyer. This is particularly important in a tight market where inventory is low and there is competition between several buyers. Be realistic and make sure you can afford that pre-approved amount; review all of your home ownership expenses and your monthly budget including property taxes and regular upkeep. Keep in mind that not all pre-approvals are the […]
Buying a fixer upper? Looking to renovate?
So you’re one of those buyers who absolutely loves older homes: the character, the unique architecture, the settled neighbourhood… and maybe the great value. Maybe its James Bay, or Fairfield or Oak Bay. Sometimes older homes with “great bones” sometimes need a little renovation to turn them into the home of your dreams. The Victoria market has many older homes that can benefit from a great renovation and there is the very real possibility of turning your hard work and vision into increased home equity. Unfortunately, sometimes on top of the home purchase price, a few costly renovations can be a big burden on your savings or even worse, your credit cards. We have good news. We can bundle the cost of those immediate renovations right into the mortgage: so instead of sky-high credit card and line of credit bills… you’ve got your mortgage and renovations looked after in one […]
Understanding the “Collateral Charge” Mortgage
What is a collateral charge mortgage? Here’s how it works: the bank registers the mortgage for more than the value of the home at closing. So if you have a $400,000 mortgage and a $700,000 home, the bank will register a charge up to $875,000. This has several side-effects, including locking you in to the lender, their limited products an their rates. We’re not big fans of the collateral charge mortgage – because we’re all about keeping your options open. Collateral charge mortgages are very difficult to transfer to another lender. So you might see a great rate or mortgage feature at another lender, but it’ll cost you to switch. Generally, you would need to start from the beginning of the process all over again, including time and paperwork, and pay new legal fees. There are some lenders who only offer collateral charge mortgages, with catchy marketing terms they like […]
A Changing and Complex Mortgage World!
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) recently announced that as of May 30th, it will stop insuring both second homes and self-employed borrowers who don’t have standard documents to prove their income. Canada’s private mortgage insurers did not follow suit, although putting limitations on their second-home programs. Other new rules currently under review could mean the complete elimination of cash-back down payments. There have been many changes to the mortgage landscape in the last few years, making it more important than ever to get expert and timely mortgage advice and access to as many options as possible. If you’re concerned about how changing rules might impact your home ownership goals, let’s talk!
May 2017 – Victoria Real Estate Market Update
Victoria Real Estate Board – Basic Stats from APRIL 2018 vs APRIL 2017 Net Unconditional Sales APR 2018: 775 Net Unconditional Sales APR 2017: 885 Active Listings End of APR 2018: 2.002 Active Listings End of APR 2017: 1,690 In most price ranges throughout the greater Victoria Real Estate Board it continues to be a ‘sellers market’. Inventory continues to build slightly. The new NDP government punitive real estate related taxes combined with the national mortgage stress-test changes has made it more difficult to buy in theory but what we are seeing is the continuation of multiple-offer situations and aggressive low or no condition offers from buyers. If family or income properties are priced correctly they sell almost immediately. With almost zero vacancy rate and residential rental rates ranging from steady to higher investors continue to see value and purchase residential properties for income generation. Your May 2018 Mortgage Market […]
NDP Government Changes BC Housing Landscape
The NDP provincial government has released its new budget. From a housing perspective here are the highlights (or lowlights depending on your perspective). 1. Speculation Tax This new, annual property tax will apply to foreign and domestic homeowners who do not pay income tax in BC, including those who leave their properties vacant. The new tax will initially apply to homes in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and capital regional districts in Victoria and Nanaimo, Kelowna and West Kelowna. In 2018, the tax rate will be 0.5% of assessed value. In 2019, it will rise to 2.0% of assessed value. 2. Victoria Area Foreign Buyers Tax Effective Wednesday February 21, 2018, the government will increase the foreign buyers tax from 15% to 20% and extend the tax to the Fraser Valley, the capital regional districts in Victoria and Nanaimo and the Central Okanagan Regional Districts. What is a foreign buyer? See […]