Are Bank Teaser Rate ever really Worth it?? Recently CIBC came out with a 1.99% Teaser

General Vince Tarantino 12 Apr

 HERE IS THE SKINNY ON THE CIBC 
4 YEAR 1.99% OFFER %*****. Notice all the Asteriks!!! 

ALWAYS DO THE MATH especially when you see an asterisk . LOL 

Nonetheless after reading this please rest assured that at DOMINION LENDING CENTRES SUPREME we are here to help you and HAVE NO ASTERISKS when arranging a Mortgage for You. We are offering a solid 4 year 2.49% fully featured NO ASTERISK 

Read the following excerpt from -Alyssa Furtado 

“1. The Special Mortgage Offer from CIBC

CIBC currently has a 4-year fixed mortgage promotion with a teaser rate of 1.99% for the first 9 months, followed by 2.83% for the rest of the term. Assume you’re buying a $400,000 home with 20% down ($80,000), which leaves you with a $320,000 mortgage loan.

At 1.99%, your payments for the first 9 months would be $1,354/month. Subsequent months, when the rate jumps to 2.83%, would be $1,487. The teaser rate is a discount of $133 on the normal payment.

How does this look over the course of the 4-year term?

You would pay 9 months x $1,354 = $12,186
Followed by 39 months x $1,487 = $57,993
$12,186 + $57,993 = $70,179

What if, rather than going for the teaser rate, you just got a 4-year fixed mortgage for 2.49%, which is the best mortgage rate on our site today. In this case, based on the same $400,000 house and $320,000 mortgage, your monthly payment would be $1,432.

48 months x $1,432 = $68,736

That’s a savings of $1,443 ($70,179 – $68,736) over 4 years compared to the CIBC offer described above.

You shouldn’t just look at the numbers when comparing mortgages, however. Another key part of your decision rests on the terms and conditions of each offer. One aspect in particular you should find out is whether there are any unusual restrictions on your ability to make prepayments towards your principal.”

BMO’s 2.99 Rate

General Vince Tarantino 30 Mar

To all of my REALTOR friends who have clients wanting the BMO 2.99% product … BMO is offering max 25 yr am, term is fully closed, no refi’s or early renewals, IRD is typically a min of 4%, lower prepayment options, less payment frequency options. So much for their tag line Get Home Free Faster! Clients have already reported that the restrictive terms have not been fully disclosed to them. Home Trust has a great 2.99% product without restrictions & 20/20 prepayment privileges right now (deals must fund by June 30th, 2014)! Call a Dominion Lending Centres agent for more details if you have clients wanting a 2.99% rate as it’s exclusive to Dominion Lending Centres..

Should you Buy Property On Leased Land

General Vince Tarantino 19 Dec

Great article on leased land,

 

Should You Buy Property On Leased Land?

The pros and cons of purchasing a house through a land lease contract

By Moshe Pollock
Generally, a person purchasing a home buys the house and the land upon which it is situated. But there is a form of home buying where only the house is purchased and the land is leased. This form of financial arrangement is called a land lease. There are various reasons why one might wish to enter into a land lease agreement rather than a home purchase.
A common situation is one where an investor wants to retain ownership of a parcel of land but not develop it. The owner would enter into the land lease contract with a developer to build a home and then sell it. But the land would not come with the house. Usually a land lease will be for between 50 and 99 years. If the lease is near the end, the owner will generally renew it, although with a rental increase. There are advantages and disadvantages to this form of home ownership.
The advantages of land lease contracts
The most significant advantage of a land lease is that the purchase price is almost always much less than that for a home bought in the traditional manner. Not buying the land saves money. This enables you to purchase a higher quality home in a more expensive residential area than you might otherwise be able to do. Also, because you don’t own the land itself, you will have no or low property taxes to pay.
Typically land lease homes are part of residential communities that provide common services and facilities. Amenities might include private playgrounds, swimming pools, tennis courts, party or conference rooms and so forth. There would be homeowner association (HOA) fees. But they would most likely cover lawn mowing, snow removal and similar services.
The disadvantages of land lease contracts
There are downsides to holding property under a land lease contract. It is often problematic finding financing for land lease homes. This makes them harder to sell. HOA fees for these properties are invariably higher than those for comparable houses owned outright or for condos. The residents generally share in the cost of the lease of the land. That portion of the lease might appear in the monthly HOA bill. In addition, the HOA might make large assessments to cover major community improvements. If you don’t use certain costly amenities such as a golf course, you might find maintenance or major upgrades to be overly burdensome. You also might wish to do your own landscaping.
The most significant disadvantages are economic issues. Home ownership is a good hedge against inflation. When you are paying off a fixed-rate mortgage, your monthly payment remains the same when inflation rises. For a leased-land property, the lease payments and monthly HOA fees will increase at the rate of inflation or greater. At the same time, your home will decrease in value as the lease term approaches its end. Also, you will not be building any equity in your leased land residence. At the expiration of the lease, you could lose all of your equity according to the surrender clause of the lease.
Other land lease agreement considerations
Other considerations to examine before signing a land lease agreement include the amount of time remaining on the lease. If it is less than the time you plan to live in the house, you need to know your status at the expiration of the lease. This information is also critical in financing the home. If the remaining lease term is less years than what you want a mortgage for, it will be very difficult to obtain the financing. You also need to be fully aware of the terms of the surrender clause. The amounts of the monthly lease payment and HOA fees, how often they are adjusted, and by how much, are very important.
Buying a home through a land lease contract can be an attractive option in light of the lower purchase price. It is essential that you study the matter and obtain advice from professionals who are knowledgeable about land lease agreements.

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Metropolitan Toronto Condo Outlook

General Vince Tarantino 20 Nov

Written by Genworth

Unit sales in Toronto’s resale market are forecast to

fall by 1.2 per cent in 2012, in line with modest

economic growth and federal efforts to calm overheated

markets. Starts in the new market will drop 2.2 per

cent, even after hitting record levels in the first quarter.

A new land transfer tax and the global recession ended an

impressive string of growth in Toronto’s resale apartment

condominium market in 2008. Unit sales fell 15.7 per

cent that year, while median price growth slowed to 4 per

cent. Demand accelerated again in 2009 and 2010 as the

economy recovered, pushing sales up by nearly 19 per

cent over the two years. The resulting increase in the

sales-to-active-listings ratio, to 41.9 per cent—its highest

level in nine years—then sparked growth in median

apartment prices of 6 per cent in 2009 and 10.2 per cent

in 2010.

In spite of weaker economic growth, continued low

interest rates kept demand in the resale apartment condominium

market strong through much of last year as

well. Sales increased 5.6 per cent in 2011, to just under

23,000 units, while the median apartment price increased

by 7.4 per cent, topping $300,000 for the first time. But

with economic growth remaining modest and with the

federal government introducing tighter mortgage rules,

sales are forecast to fall 1.2 per cent this year and rise

by only 0.7 per cent in 2013. In turn, continued declines

in the sales-to-active-listings ratio will hold price increases

to 1.3 per cent this year and 2.5 per cent next year.

Through the medium term, stronger economic growth

and continued healthy population increases will initially

help to boost unit sales once more, up by 2.5 per cent in

2014. But higher interest rates are then expected to take

their toll on demand, slowing sales growth to 2 per cent

60 Months Ago Rates were double!!??!?!

General Vince Tarantino 29 Oct

Here is a cool article on The Globe and Mail Regarding our times and these historic low mortgage rates.    

“Just 60 short months ago, mortgage rates were double what they are now. That means payments on a 25-year mortgage of equal size were 36% higher than today. Since then, the amortization gods have slashed mortgage rates and payments. Compared to interest costs in 2007, today’s rates would save you $101,700 if projected out over 25 years on a $200,000 mortgage. If you look at the payments on a mortgage that size, they’ve tumbled from $1,284 in 2007 to $945 today. (To put that in perspective, the payment at 0% interest would be $667.) It’s clear that the savings potential of today’s rates is phenomenal. The question is: are Canadians taking advantage of these record-low rates? “Globe

How these new changes as of Jan 17 2011 will affect home buyers

General Vince Tarantino 19 Jan

Q: Hi Vince can you please explain what changes these new mortgage rules will have on new buyers and is it true that i have to put 15% down payment on a purchase from now on?. Thank you Rosalia

Hi Rosalia,
When purchasing a home for principle residence you DO NOT need to put a minimum of 15% down payment.  You can still put as little as 5% down.  What has changed is that Maximum Amortizations have been reduced from 35 years to 30 years. People who wish to refinance and /or take equity out of their home CANNOT EXCEED 85% loan to value of their home.  These changes are meant to help  encourage responsible lending and push people to increase equity rather than debt in their homes.  The new rules will be taking effect on March the 18th of this year.