One of the decisions you will need to make before your new mortgage is set up, is what kind of payment frequency you would like to have. For many, sticking to a monthly payment is the default, however, different frequencies may end up saving you less interest over time.

Monthly Payments

Monthly payments are exactly as they sound, one payment every month until the maturity date of you mortgage at the end of your term. Took a 3-year term? You will make 36 payments (12 payments a year) and then you will need to renegotiate your interest rate. 5-year term? You will make 60 payments.

$500,000 mortgage

3% interest rate

5-year term

$2,366.23 monthly payment

$427,372.90 remaining over 20 years

$69,346.70 paid to interest

$72,627.01 paid to principal

Semi Monthly

Semi-monthly is not bi-weekly. Semi monthly is your monthly payment divided by two. That means, you are making 24 payments every year, but each payment is slightly less than half of what the monthly payment would of been.

$500,000 mortgage

3% interest rate

5-year term

$1,182.38 semi monthly payment

$427,372.99 remaining over 20 years

$69,258.59 paid to interest

$72,627.01 paid to principal

Bi-Weekly

Bi-weekly, you are not making 2 payments every month. With 52 weeks in a year, you are actually making 26 payments, 2 more than semi-monthly (2 months a year you make 3 bi-weekly payments). The interest paid and balance owing are slightly less than the others, but mere cents. You will still need to make payments for another 20 years.

$500,000 mortgage

3% interest rate

5-year term

$1,091.38 bi-weekly payment

$427,372.36 remaining over 20 years

$69,251.76 paid to interest

$72,627.64 paid to principal

Accelerated Bi-Weekly

Just like regular bi-weekly, you are not making 2 payments every month. With 52 weeks in a year, you are actually making 26 payments, 2 more than semi-monthly. However because this is accelerated, the payment amount is higher.

$500,000 mortgage

3% interest rate

5-year term

$1,183.11 accelerated bi-weekly payment

$414,521.40 remaining over 17 years 4 months

$68,325.70 paid to interest

$85,478.60 paid to principal

You have increased your yearly payment amount by $2,384.98, $11,924.90 over 5-years. That extra $11,924.90 has decreased your outstanding balance at the end of your mortgage term by $12,850.96 because more of your payments went to principal and less went to interest. Also, you will now have your mortgage paid off more than 2.5 years earlier.

The same option is available for accelerated weekly payments which will shave another month off of time required to pay back the whole loan as well. If you can afford to go accelerated, your best option is to do so! Especially in the early years where a larger portion of your payments are going towards interest, not paying down your principal.

If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional near you.

Contact me for your best mortgage options 705.669.7798 or trina@ndlc.ca

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#bestmortgageforme #executive #firstimehomebuyer

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Principal and interest are the two components that make up a mortgage payment. Principal is the portion of your payment that goes towards paying down the outstanding balance of your mortgage. Interest is the other portion of your payment which goes directly into the pockets of your lender and does not contribute to paying down your mortgage balance.

What some people may not realize is that a compounding interest rate (what the majority of all mortgages are) is weighted differently depending on how many years you have left on your mortgage.

If a young couple were to purchase their very first home, lets say $500,000 for example, and they had a $100,000 down payment, their mortgage would be $400,000. If they had today’s interest rates, their mortgage would be around 3%, compounded semi-annually, over 25 years with their interest rate re-negotiable every 5-years if they keep the same term. Assuming they were able to get 3% for the entire 25-years, their monthly payments would be $1,892.98 a month for the life of their mortgage.

Their first payment however is not $1,892.98, with 97% of it going to paying down the $400,000 balance and 3% going towards interest. The very first payment would actually be broken down as $993.81 of interest and $899.17 going towards paying down the principal balance of $400,000.

Now, it wont stay like this forever, the very last payment before the first 5-year term is up would be broken down as $854.62 going towards interest and $1,038.36 of the $1,892.98 going towards paying down the principal. It wouldn’t be until year 10 where the interest portion dips below $500.

If you can, any pre-payments you make each month will directly pay down the principal balance outstanding. This will also in turn, allow for less interest to be charged as interest is always calculated based on the current balance outstanding. In the later years, it may not be as advantageous, but in the first 5-10 years, it can be extremely beneficial.

If you want to see the break down of principal and interest portions inside your own mortgage, feel free to reach out to a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional near you.

Contact me for your best mortgage options 705.669.7798 or trina@ndlc.ca

#trinamortgages #mortgages #ndlc #freedomofchoice
#bestmortgageforme #executive #firstimehomebuyer

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Large home purchases that require a mortgage present unique challenges in the Canadian Mortgage market. Sliding scales, director approval, multiple reviews, it all adds up to difficultly getting larger mortgages approved, unless you’re working with an experienced mortgage broker.

In 2012 the government of Canada removed the mortgage insurers ability to approve mortgages of $1 million (or more) with less than 20% down payment. As a result of this change, the minimum down payment for homes over $1 million starts at 20% of your purchase price and increases.

Since any home purchase over $1 million cannot be insured against default, the lender applies a sliding scale to reduce their potential for loss if the borrower defaults. Consequently, large mortgages present a unique challenge, especially in the Vancouver/Toronto market.

Depending where you live, most lenders consider home purchases over $500-750,000 to be large enough for them to want to mitigate their risk. In larger urban centres like Vancouver & Toronto, lenders will consider purchases up to $1 million before increasing the down payment with sliding scale.

Sample sliding scales for Vancouver/Toronto:

• 20% down payment on the first $1,000,000, plus 40% down payment on the balance over $1,000,000
• 20% down payment on $1,250,000, plus 50% down payment on the balance over $1,250,000
• 20% down payment on $1,500,000 plus 40% down payment on the balance over $1,500,000
  Every lender has their own risk level for expensive home purchases.

As you can see, the typical lender sliding scale for jumbo mortgages is very punitive and can result in a much higher down payment when purchasing a home over $1 million.

Lenders want to alleviate the higher risk on purchases of expensive homes, because there is a smaller pool of potential buyers compared to lower home prices. This makes expensive homes more vulnerable to market corrections. If there is a price correction, it can be more difficult for lenders to get their money back, should they need to foreclose.

• Housing prices in Vancouver have been on the decline since 2016/2017: BC housing market shows signs of moderation as some property values drop by 10 per cent

Lenders are risk adverse! When they perceive a risk, they are either going to charge higher interest rates OR lessen their risk with a sliding scale, requiring home buyers to put a larger down payment on properties over their threshold.

Example:

• Base line with no sliding scale home purchase $1,500,000
  Minimum 20% down payment = $300,000
• Down payment required for a home purchase with Sliding Scale 20% down payment on the first $1,000,000, plus 40% down payment on the balance over $1,000,000
  20% down payment on $1,000,000 = $200,000
  40% down payment on $500,000 (amount over $1M) = $200,000
  Down payment required $400,000
  20% down payment = $300K versus sliding scale $400K down payment required – Yes sliding scale can make a big difference in your required down payment!

Sliding scale is designed so that as a property’s price increases, you need a larger down payment.

• Therefore, the maximum loan/mortgage amount available decreases on a proportionate basis.
  To minimize the size of your down payment, you need an experienced mortgage broker who works with a multitude of lenders, giving you the most flexibility with sliding-scale.

Other points to keep in mind with a large mortgage:

• Pay attention to the terms and conditions of your mortgage, especially your prepayment penalties.
  Larger loan amounts amplify the differences in the penalties charged by different lenders.
• Most large mortgage loans must be escalated up the ranks for management approval. This means it can take lenders an extra day (or two) to get your approval back so your subject removal date may need to be longer.
  Typically, I recommend 10 business days for subject removal on large mortgages.
  Another important point to keep in mind, when real estate prices flatten or drop, lenders can become much more conservative when underwriting higher-end real estate. As such, there can be wide disparity in the value different lenders will assign to a property.

Partnering with a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage broker will help ensure that you and your property are matched with the lender who is offering the best fit for your situation.

If you know anyone looking for a high-end home, who needs a mortgage, we can help them arrange the financing. We’ll work together to figure out a budget and down payment (based on sliding scale). Then, we will work with a lender for a pre-approval, so we have a clear picture for affordability.

Contact me for your best mortgage options 705.669.7798 or trina@ndlc.ca

#trinamortgages #mortgages #ndlc #freedomofchoice
#bestmortgageforme #executive #firstimehomebuyer

If you found this information valuable, I only ask that you share with your friends and family.

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We have seen a return of the buyers’ market and many people are asking, how long will this last? While some renters without a down payment might be asking, how can o put a plan in place to own?

With the cost of living so high, and student debts coming out of school, many consumers question how they’re going to come up with a down payment for a home.

Here are some ways you can get it done.

• Decide how much you can save and pick a plan that works for you:  a) A 36-month plan saving $700/month will get you $25,200 (you will need about $2,000 for closing costs if you qualify as a first-time homebuyer) b) A 24-month plan savings $600/month for $14,400
• Get a gift from a family member
• Borrow the down payment, or a portion (which may also help with credit building)
• A combination of all of the above

For those of you that want to partner with government for down payment and profit of home ownership, a new government program can be a helpful tool provided it stays past the October election. https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/nhs/shared-equity-mortgage-provider-fund

You might me reading this and thinking, ‘yeah right, that is not reality.’ Or for some people, you know it might just be exactly what will help them move forward.

Perhaps you have graduated from school and your parents don’t charge you rent. Imagine if you could put one of your paycheques every month aside and try living within those means and budgeting accordingly.

Or say you have a partner and one of you just started work in a specific trade and the other’s paycheque went towards the “home purchase plan.”

Also, if you are within the qualifications to buy, you will be earning a combined household income of $125,000-plus per year, so taking those funds right from your paycheque into your RRSP will have additional tax benefits too where you can use the refund for closing costs or amp up your down payment.

Here’s an example of how this worked for a lab technician and chef with a two-year old daughter.

They did a combination plan as they moved up to Canada from the U.S. two years ago, both got stable jobs and had no outside debt. They were paying $1700 a month rent. They used a $10,000 line of credit they took to put into investment to help establish Canadian credit. After getting the line of credit and placing it into a safe investment, they:

1. Set up an RRSP and placed $600 a month on the loan and $700 a month into their RRSP.
2. Now this family is used to having a cash outlay of $3,000 per month which will be the actual expectation they have for when they buy a home.
3. With this plan, they take a mortgage for a test drive, save money on taxes, establish a great credit score and worked away toward their goal.

Are there holes in the plan? Yes, home prices may go up, there was interest on the loan they paid and they may have to adjust or modify their plan. Their employment can change, however, this practice will only benefit them no matter what life brings their way and there is a sense of empowerment when you have a plan and can see how you can get there.

Do you or someone you care about want to know how they can be set up with a multifaceted plan to help them move forward with a goal of owning a home?

Contact me for your best mortgage options 705.669.7798 or trina@ndlc.ca

#trinamortgages #mortgages #ndlc #freedomofchoice
#bestmortgageforme #executive #firstimehomebuyer

If you found this information valuable, I only ask that you share with your friends and family.

Copyright DLC