Both Sides Of A Collateral Mortgage
“A Collateral Mortgage Charge
Pros And Cons”

Collateral mortgages are getting more air play as some of the main line mortgage lenders are slowly or quickly moving to them.
Unlike a standard mortgage that results in a charge being placed on the property title, a collateral mortgage is actually a promissory note with a lien registered against the property.
In the past, collateral mortgages in the mortgage financing world were mostly used with secured lines of credit, but now there is a greater interest in using them with conventional mortgage lending.
The reason for this is two fold. First, because normal regulatory limitations on loan to value do not apply, a mortgage lender can register a lien for an amount greater than the property value, at a rate higher than current market rates. This allows the lender to be able to provide additional advances as well as increases to rate during the life of the mortgage without having to pay out the existing mortgage or re-register mortgage security.
So on the one hand, the collateral mortgage provides borrowers with potentially easier access to future borrowings at lower mortgage placement costs. On the other hand, the collateral mortgage also serves as a barrier to the lender to get a second mortgage from a different lender as the collateral charge will not provide any security value to another lender, regardless of the amount of money owing on the original mortgage.
As a mortgage tool, the collateral mortgage and be a great fit for a borrower, provided they understand how it works and the benefits it does offer are things that the borrower thinks they may be able to take advantage of in the future.
That being said, a lack of full understanding of how the collateral mortgage will function can cause problems down the road, especially if the borrower is not able to qualify with their existing lender for incremental borrowing at a time when funds are required.
But even if incremental funds cannot be secured, the borrower can still take advantage of the prepayment options provided in their collateral mortgage, refinance with another mortgage lender and discharge the collateral mortgage in the process. This will incur incremental legal costs and in most cases a collateral mortgage cannot be relocated to another lender so a new mortgage will need to be underwritten and charged on title.
The best course of action to find out more about a collateral mortgage or a specific mortgage program that may or may not have a collateral mortgage charge associated with it is to work with an experienced mortgage broker who can serve as an independent adviser to you for no cost in most cases.
Click Here To Speak Directly To Toronto Mortgage Broker Joe Walsh
Ontario Mortgage Broker
Mortgage Prepayment Disclosure
“Mortgage Prepayment Disclosure
Set To Get Clearer”

By November, 2012, all mortgage lenders governed by the department of finance are going to have to provide more clear and concise mortgage prepayment penalty information which will need to include how the calculation will be made, calculation sheets for borrowers to utilize, where to find the different inputs into a calculation, and even how to prepay the mortgage without incurring a prepayment penalty.
This move has been promised for the last two years by the department of finance and now its finally coming into practice.
While greater transparency is welcomed by all mortgage holders, some would argue that the finance department has not gone far enough and in fact should require all mortgage lenders to follow a completely standardized prepayment penalty policy and calculation.
The argument against this is that each lender has a different set of costs they are trying to protect themselves against, and forced to follow a single prepayment policy, there could end up being higher rates in the market place and a reduction in the number of different mortgage programs that exist in the market today, which effectively is a reduction of choice to the consumer.
And while a standardized prepayment policy and payment is not likely to be legislated any time soon, the implementation of more transparent prepayment language is definitely a step in the right direction and will provide consumers not only with better tools to avoid prepayment penalties, but to also make better decisions with respect to selecting a mortgage in the first place as prepayment penalty is typically one of the least focused on an understood aspects of a mortgage contract.
But even with greater disclosure, potential prepayment calculations can still be difficult to understand fully. Which is why its always good to work with an experienced mortgage broker who can help you compare and fully understand the potential prepayment penalty that you could be facing with different mortgage options you are considering.
There can at times be a trade off between rate and prepayment in order to meet your preferred mortgage repayment strategy, so its definitely a good idea to go through the exercise of fully understanding this item before signing up for any mortgage program.
If you would like to better understand your prepayment options for a mortgage you have right now, or for a mortgage you are looking to get in place, I suggest that you give me a call so we can work through the lender’s prepayment policy and calculation together and help you determine which course of action makes the most sense for your situation.
Click Here To Speak Directly To Toronto Mortgage Broker Joe Walsh
Ontario Mortgage Broker
2.99% Mortgage Rate
“The Market Is A Buzz With The New 2.99% 5 Year Mortgage Rate”

The mortgage market has started off 2012 with a bang with BMO leading the way with their 2.99% fixed rate five year residential mortgage.
Added to that the news last week that the Bank of Canada will not change the overnight lending rate which has been sitting at 1% for the last 16 consecutive months (new record), and all near term indications are that rates are going to stay where they are, or perhaps even go lower in the short term.
The advertising of the 2.99% mortgage rate has taken the market by storm with lenders, brokers, and consumers getting caught up in a major mortgage product offering a still lower rate than we’ve gotten used to over the last number of years.
But while the rate is exceptional, the overall mortgage product does come with its limitations.
First of all, this is a closed mortgage with an annual prepayment option of 10% when the industry average is 20% per year.
This mortgage product has other stripped out features that are common in most other BMO residential mortgage products.
But lower rates, mean lower risk, so its not uncommon, and even expected that the lowest rate offerings on the market are going to have mortgage feature trade offs to consider.
That being said, if you can work with the 5 year term as written, then this is an excellent rate which is going to be in place for a full 5 years, regardless of what happens in the mortgage market place during that same time period.
In keeping with the cost benefit argument, we also currently have at our disposal a 2.99% mortgage rate product for a term of 4 years where many of the aforementioned standard mortgage features are not stripped out of the product.
So for those of you who are looking at a great rate and all the bells and whistles, this is a great product to consider for a new home purchase or a mortgage refinancing scenario.
Even though the market place is blessed with a large cross section of mortgage products, each lender is trying to differentiate themselves in the market to some degree, so its important to be able to understand not only the selling features of any given mortgage product, but also how they will be applied in real time once you have a mortgage in place.
Therefore, we always strongly advise that you work with an experienced mortgage broker who can go through the mortgage programs most relevant to your requirements, and take the time to help you clearly understand the trade offs from one product to another as well as how each product may impact you projected financial planning.
If you’re interested in learning more about these lower interest rate mortgages on the market, I suggest that you give me a call so we can quickly go through your requirements and discuss mortgage programs that are the best fit for your needs.
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Reducing Consumer Debt In 2012
“Using Mortgage Financing To Reduce Overall Consumer Debt In 2012″

We are now closing in on one year since the mortgage rules have been tightened up for insured mortgages.
With regular news reports on the high levels of consumer debt in Canada, there has even been some talk about further tightening of mortgage regulations.
While its hard to imagine further changes to mortgage rules at this point, it is somewhat surprising to read news reports that make claims that Canadian consumer debt is higher than American or British consumer debt levels.
Of course we have to take all these reports with a grain of salt as virtually all are done through some sort of survey for which the related accuracy or inaccuracy can be roundly debated.
Regardless of which country’s debt load per capita is higher, the fact remains that the average Canadian is carrying a high debt load and is having trouble getting it paid down.
Reducing debt load is all about paying down the principal loan or debt amount outstanding.
Being that most people are not likely going to be able to suddenly increase the amount of money they make each and every month, the debt reduction exercise has to turn to putting more of the available dollars towards principal reduction.
This is primarily done in two ways.
The first most obvious way is to reduce discretionary spending and put those dollars against debt balances outstanding.
The second most potentially impactful way to reduce debt is through reducing the cost of capital on the debt that is outstanding.
The keys to reducing the cost of capital on debt is to access cheaper forms of capital by leveraging assets that can be pledged for security and your personal credit score.
This is where mortgage financing comes into a play in a major fashion for those that have equity in real estate.
Consumer debt is in many cases unsecured debt which not only tends to provide higher and higher interest rates over time, but also has a negative impact on your credit score when you are utilizing a high percentage of available credit.
And most of the debt or credit that impacts your credit report is unsecured and/or revolving forms of credit, not mortgage credit.
So when you are able to pay down the sources of credit through mortgage financing or mortgage refinancing, you can potentially access cheaper capital through mortgage financing and have your credit score improve through lower credit utilization of the sources of credit that are tracked by the credit bureaus. This will in turn lead to lower cost secured and unsecured consumer debt.
As I stated at the outset, a lower overall cost of capital allows more of your monthly cash to be available for debt pay down.
While this is not going to be a solution for everyone with high consumer debt, for those that have equity in real estate, there is no time like the present to see if you can devise a debt reduction strategy through greater leverage of mortgage financing.
The best way to determine what options are available to you and how to go about taking advantage of them is to work directly with a Toronto Mortgage Broker who has the experience and lender sources required to make this approach work.
Ontario Mortgage Broker
Collateral Charge Mortgage Heating Up
“Another Major Mortgage Lender Moves To 100% Collateral Charge Mortgages”

Taking a similar move to TD Canada trust, ING Direct will now require that all their new mortgages be placed with a collateral charge.
The collateral charge mortgage has made a lot of news lately in terms of how it will impact borrowers and borrower movement from one mortgage lender to another.
If you’re not completely up to speed on the topic, lets walk through a simple example.
If you have a $300,000 property and accept mortgage financing for $150,000, the mortgage lender will register a collateral mortgage for the full property value or $300,000.
From the lender’s point of view, the borrower can now refinance and/or take on secondary mortgage products from the lender without incurring any legal costs.
From the borrower’s point of view, the collateral charge pretty much eliminates the ability to get second mortgage financing or home equity lines of credit from any other lender than your first mortgage provider.
For a more in depth discussion on the topic, here’s a link to a recent article on the ING collateral mortgage move …. http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mortgage_trends/2011/12/ing-direct-goes-collateral.html
ING appears to be banking on the fact that is going to be better for the majority of its customers and that’s why its making the move. One can also argue that it may further increase borrower retention as well as provide a spring board or ING’s much anticipated HELOC program launch which would work well with a collateral mortgage for existing clients.
In the article linked to above, there is also the debate as to how the competitive landscape will now change among mortgage lenders.
With a collateral mortgage, once a term is up, it will be interesting to see how the competitive offerings change with respect to paying switchover fees to grab customers. Right now, there aren’t many lenders that offer it, but that could change in the near future as well.
Ontario Mortgage Broker
Fixed Vs Variable Getting More Interesting
“Major Banks Starting To Eliminate Variable Mortgage Rate Discounts?”
This week there was an interesting development among two of the big 5 banks in Canada where Royal Bank and Scotia Bank went from advertising their variable mortgage rate at a discount to the prime rate, to posting rates at a slight premium to prime.
This further tightens up the spread between variable mortgage rares and fixed rates, further fueling the debate over whether to be going fixed or variable now and in the near future.
You can find a more detailed discussion on this topic at the following link … http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mortgage_trends/2011/12/variable-discounts-turn-to-premiums.html
Over the past number of months, there has been a lot of discussion on forums and different publications on the fact that banks are making considerably more margin on long term fixed rates as compared to the now paper thin margins on the variable rates.
Variable rate pricing issues aside, there would appear to be less profit making opportunities for banks in the capital markets as the world continues to try and pull out of the financial malaise we ourselves in.
And with the ongoing pressure to keep profits up, perhaps pushing consumers more towards the long term fixed mortgage rates is a strategic move on the part of banks to replace revenues down in other areas.
Regardless of whether the change in pricing is driven strictly by increases in costs or an attempt to flip the average mortgage portfolio more towards fixed from variable, the market rates have changed and once again consumers must consider whether they are better off with a variable rate or a fixed rate mortgage, and at what point is the difference in the two worth the risk, especially for home owners on a tight budget.
It will be interesting to see how the other major banks react in the weeks ahead as well as the other major mortgage providers.
If you have rate options available to you, the current trends should be worth paying attention to.
Ontario Mortgage Broker
Reverse Mortgage Stats And Considerations
“Here Are Some Reverse Mortgage Statistics And Discussion Points”

Here’s an article I can across this morning about Reverse Mortgages that I wanted to share.
The article provides some basic statistical information on the target market for reverse mortgages to provide some insight as to the average borrower profile for those that sign up for reverse mortgage financing.
Here is the link to the article… http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mortgage_trends/2011/11/reverse-mortgage-facts.html
In addition to the article itself, there is also an interesting discussion from readers underneath with some differing options on reverse mortgage products.
As the discussion goes, on a direct comparison with other strategies that seniors or retired individuals can pursue to fund their retirement, a reverse mortgage product is not likely the best potential choice they can make.
But other choices like selling your home and investing, or taking out a home equity line of credit, take a certain level of knowledge, execution, and administration that not all individuals possess or have the confidence in being able to complete.
The reverse mortgage is an option and it certainly has a market for this “done for you” mortgage product.
One of the key take aways from the discussion is that individuals considering reverse mortgages consider consulting with their own family members before making a final decision, but that of course is always going to be up to the individual.
If you’d like to get more information on reverse mortgages, give me a call and I’ll make sure you get all your questions answered right away.
Click Here To Speak Directly To Toronto Mortgage Broker Joe Walsh
Ontario Mortgage Broker
Mortgage Broker Services
“First Hand Account Of Mortgage Broker Services”
In a recent article in the Globe and Mail, one of the writers for the Globe provided a first hand account of a consumers experience working with a mortgage broker.
The person in question was a first time home buyer, so had never gone through the process of acquire a mortgage previously.
But the article points out the benefits of using a mortgage broker for refinancing or renews as well in order to get market representative rates and terms and fit your requirements.
Here’s a link to the article. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/home-cents/why-use-a-mortgage-broker/article2232577/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Report%20On%20Business&utm_content=2232577
While as a mortgage broker I am obviously a believer of the value we provide to our customers, but its always good to have someone else making the case for what we do and provide consumers with a third party account of the benefits of using a mortgage broker in the first place.
If you are in need of a mortgage for any residential or commercial need, I suggest that you give me a call and we’ll go over your requirements together and discuss different options that are available to you in the market.
Click Here To Speak Directly To Toronto Mortgage Broker Joe Walsh
Ontario Mortgage Broker
Standard Charge Terms
“Make Sure You Clearly Understand Both Borrower And Lenders Responsibilities Before Signing A Mortgage Contract”

When you accept a mortgage offering from a mortgage lender, you are also accepting the standard charge terms created by the lender and outlined in the mortgage contract.
The standard charge agree outlines the rights and responsibilities of the borrower during the time the mortgage is outstanding.
Failure to comply with all the listed requirements can put the mortgage into default, allowing the lender to exercise their rights which are also outlined in the document.
Once the mortgage contract is signed by the borrower, the borrower agrees to and promises to uphold each of obligations or covenants that are outlined in the mortgage contract.
Here are a list of the basic mortgage covenants that are likely to appear in the standard charge terms that a borrower will need to sign to receive mortgage funding.
- Loan Repayment. The borrower agrees to repay the loan based on the repayment schedule that is outlined in the mortgage contract.
- Property Insurance. The borrower promises to keep adequate property insurance in place in order to protect the value of the real estate and concurrently protect the lender from any loss due to fire or other event that would damage the property and reduce its value.
- Property Maintenance. The borrower agrees to keep the property in a good state of repair and basically maintain it in a good saleable condition.
- Waste Management. The borrower agrees to not perform an actions or conduit that would result to waste being present on the property which could create damage to the property.
- Property Taxes. The borrower agrees to pay all property taxes in full and when do. If the borrower fails to pay the property taxes, the lender can pay them for the borrower and then add them to the total balance owing.
Failure to comply with any and all of these covenants will result in the lender considering the borrower to be in default at which time the lender can exercise its rights which have been agreed to by the borrower when the mortgage contract was signed.
The lender also has a number of covenants that they must agree to as well.
- Certificate Of Discharge. Once the borrower or mortgagor has paid off the mortgage in full, the lender or mortgagee is required to provide the borrower with a certificate of discharge to officially communicate that the mortgage was paid in full.
- Assignment Of Mortgage. The borrower has the right to assign an outstanding mortgage to a new lender, provided the borrower or mortgagor is in good standing and that the borrower has the right to redeem the mortgage.
- Provide Quiet Possession. Other when in situations of default, the law provides the borrower with the right of quite possession which basically means the borrower can possess the property without any interference from the lender or mortgagee.
While the above borrower and lender covenants are going to be standard in just about any mortgage, the important thing to understand is your obligations as a borrower and the rights of the lender that you are agreeing to on signing.
You may not be able to alter any of these covenants or requirements, but you do need to understand them and comply with them in order to avoid the lender taking action against you in a situation of covenant default.
Ontario Mortgage Broker
Prepayment Penalty Calculations
“Prepayment Penalty Calculations Continue To Be Foggy For Most Borrowers”

Mortgage prepayment penalty clauses and calculations are some of the most difficult things anyone can try to understand in the world of consumer finance and perhaps beyond.
The major banks in particular are famous for providing very cryptic language that can be difficult to understand and even harder to apply to your mortgage if and when you get into a situation where you are looking at prepaying the mortgage outside of the allowable provisions that don’t invoke a penalty for doing so.
Consumer frustration has built to the point that class action lawsuits have been filed against mortgage lenders with the plaintiff’s claiming that the prepayment penalties calculated and charged were not appropriate or enforceable.
The purpose of a prepayment penalty is allow a mortgage lender to not be placed in a loss position on a mortgage when interest rates are falling.
Mortgage lenders provide funding on a margin between their own cost of funds and the mortgage rate provided. If a borrower prepays the mortgage during a time when interest rates are lower than when the mortgage term was issued, then the borrower will not be able to replace those funds in a lower interest rate market without incurring a loss or at the very least a lower profit margin.
So while the applicability of a prepayment penalty makes business sense, mortgage lenders have not gone out of their way for the most part to make the wording and the calculation of the penalty easy to understand for the borrower. And in the case of some of the class action lawsuits, the claims speak to vague or unenforceable wording being used.
Whether these lawsuits hold any water or not is yet to be seen. But the reality here is that the mortgage industry as a whole as a ways to go to make the understanding and application of the prepayment penalty more customer friendly.
And we are starting to see this with certain lenders. We can only hope that the trend to greater transparency and clarity with this issue will continue.
In the mean time, if you are entering into a mortgage that has a prepayment penalty clause, make sure that you take the time to understand it so that if and when it becomes applicable to you there aren’t going to be any surprises.
One of the ways to gain greater insight into prepayment penalty clauses provided by various mortgage lenders is to work with an experienced mortgage broker who can guide you through the nuances from one mortgage lender to another and put you in a position to make a more informed decision when it comes to selecting a mortgage option.
Ontario Mortgage Broker
Best Of Both Worlds
“Lower Rates And Flexible Repayment Terms Are The Best Of Both Worlds When It Comes To Mortgage Financing”

There is a lot in the news these days about household debt rising in Canada, due largely in part to the low cost of money that is currently available.
Economists are concerned that even though things are going well for Canadians compared to people in other parts of the world, that we risk backing ourselves into a corner with higher debt levels that leave our economy vulnerable when interest rates eventually go up.
So while it only makes sense to take advantage of lower interest rates when it makes sense, it is also possible to have the best of both worlds, that being lower cost of capital and lower debt.
Assuming that paying down debt is important to consumers, then it makes sense to be budgeting your cash flow to apply more to debt reduction when cash is being freed up by lower interest rates.
The challenge for most debt reduction is that it needs to be structured in order to occur.
For instance, if someone has a mortgage or a car loan, they will have an amortized payment can identifies how much money they need to spend every month on debt service.
As debt holders, we get conditioned to having this amount available and direct the remaining cash flow to other expenditures.
With a little bit of focus on personal cash flow, its usually very possible to come up with some amount of incremental money during the year that can be applied to the outstanding mortgage balance above and beyond the payment amount.
Over time, even small amounts can eat into the balance owing and significantly reduce both interest costs and total debt load.
And because many of the residential and commercial mortgage programs today are filled with different payment options to retire your debt sooner without prepayment penalties, it truly is a period in our history when you can have the best of both worlds.
The challenge is coming up with a financial plan that you can implement to pay down your mortgage sooner, and then making sure that any mortgage you enter into has the payment features built in to accommodate your plan.
Low levels of interest can allow you to afford the things you need today. A proper debt retirement plan will make sure you are in good financial shape into the future, regardless of where interest rates moves.
A little bit of planning and for thought can go a long way and save you a considerable amount of money along with reducing financial risk.
Ontario Mortgage Broker
Mortgage Lending Services
“Here’s More Information About The Residential And Commercial Mortgage Lending Services We Provide”

Click Here To Access All Of Joe’s Contact Information
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Mortgage Application Form
To View A Copy Of Our Mortgage Application Form,
Click The Link Below.
If The Application Form Does Not Open Up On Your Screen, Right Click On The Link And Save It To A Location On Your Computer.
The Mortgage Application Will Be Saved As mortgage.application.pdf At The Location You Selected
On Your Computer

Once The File Has Been Saved, Locate The File On Your Computer, Click On It And A PDF Reader Will Open It Up For You.
Most computers already have a PDF reader installed but if yours doesn’t, you will need to download the following:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
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