Gord Samuel
11-15243 91st Avenue V3R 9K2 Surrey, BC, Canada

1. Competing with BMO's 2.99% The best rate is not always the best mortgage. There's always give and take: What are the pre-payments? 10% per annum, 10% increase... How are penalties calculated if something comes up and clients need to pay off the mortgage? This is a fully closed term, and there is no discount on the penalty calculation See more

breaking news!! CMHC has announced substantial increases to it's premiums for mortgage insurance.5% down will go from 2.75% to 3.15% effective May 1st read about it here: http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca///nere/2014/2014-02-28-1100.cfm

Good new!! Rates are starting to trend DOWN!! 5 year rates can be as low as 3.09-3.19% with the 5 year variable holding at prime -.50% (2.50%)

BC has just increased the threshold for the PPT on first time buyers. The exception amount will go from $425,000 to $475,000. Very good news for those just getting into the market. This can save the first time buyer thousands of dollars!

FYI: Good news from the US that the federal Reserve will continue buying up the same amount of bonds, this should take the pressure from rising rates for a while and we should even see some easing.

Well rates are rising every 2 days, is it going to stop?? Lock in before it is too late!

The 5 year bond rate is rising in the marketplace so the 5 year mortgage rate will not be far behind....lock in now!!

the 10 year special @ 3.99% is almost gone, don't miss out on this great long term protection from rising rates!

If you are even slightly thinking of needing a mortgage before Dec of 2013, call me now as the rules are changing again to make qualifying much more difficult. Read the article posted earlier today to more info.

Calculation of Debt Service Ratios: Treatment of Key Inputs Effective July 2012, the Government of Canada fixed the maximum Gross Debt Service and Total Debt Service ratios for insured mortgage loans. This change reinforced the importance of ensuring that debt service ratios provide the same measure of a borrower’s ability to service the mortgage debt, regardless of the lender submitting the application to CMHC for insurance. CMHC has collaborated with many mortgage lenders t...Continue reading

If you are getting close to you mortgage term, call me and lock in a rate today in case the rises go up before your mortgage matures. Just makes sense!

Great new 2 year mortgage special....2.69%

Rates have started to rise over the last couple of weeks. Lock your rates in now to protect your new mortgage from further increases.

If you have a mortgage going to come due for renewal in the next 4 months or so, give me a call, we should lock in today to hold the rate for you. Rates are starting to inch up.

The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals says a survey of 2,000 consumers in October, conducted on CAAMP's behalf, suggests that first-time buyers have been hard hit by the tighter mortgage rules. "We worry that this is having a dampening effect on what was an already cooling market and we hope policy-makers will give some thought to addressing the needs of this key sector of the market," association president and CEO Jim Murphy said in a statement. CAAMP... chief economist Will Dunning said the smaller number of first time buyers has already affected the resale market. "The housing resale numbers behave like a canary in the mine for us," Dunning said. "My concern is that a policy-induced housing market downturn creates unnecessary risk that directly affects not just housing but job creation and the economy as a whole." Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has said the new rules were intended to deal with overpriced real-estate in certain cities and certain types of housing. He has said the tighter mortgage rules reduce the risk of buyers taking on too much debt. Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney has also warned that Canadian personal debt levels have reached record high levels, posing a risk to the economy if consumers can't afford to carry their debt once interest rates rise. CAAMP is the national organization representing Canada's mortgage industry. With over 12,250 mortgage professionals representing over 1,700 companies Among findings of the association's semi-annual report: Since the most recent round of mortgage tightening in July, housing resale activity in the August-October period is down eight per cent compared with a year earlier. About 17 per cent of high ratio mortgages funded in 2010 cannot be funded today, including 11 per cent of prospective high ratio homebuyers who can't qualify under the new 25-year amortization rule. Flaherty has reduced the maximum amortization for Canadian mortgages several times in recent years. Most recently, the maximum was cut from 30 years. Previous reforms included reductions in the maximum amortization period to 35 years from 40 and then to 30 years from 35.

We have just joined the Verico group. This will provide much more value for all and at the best rates too! Keep posted for all the developments.

The bond maket rates are rising a bit, so some lenders are raising the 5 year mortgage rates, get those pre-approvals in now.

USA federal reserve has just stated that rates there will not rise before summer, 2014

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent. Global growth prospects have weakened since the Bank's April Monetary Policy Report (MPR). While the economic expansion in the United States continues at a gradual but somewhat slower pace, developments in Europe point to a renewed contraction. In China and other emerging econo...Continue reading

Why enough is enough In an effort to cool some of Canada's heated housing markets, the Federal government once again tweaked its mortgage rules. This time: - It shaved years off the maximum amortization (again), bringing it down from 30 years to 25.... - It limited the maximum amount you can refinance your home, to 80% LTV (from 85%). - Million dollar homes are no longer eligible for mortgage default insurance, and - It lowered debt servicing ratios - the calculation banks use to determine how much mortgage you can afford, based on your other debt loads (GDS is now 39%, TDS is 44%). As mortgage professionals, it's hard for us to agree with these changes. We understand the Federal government's need to curb Canadian debt loads and cool some Canadian housing markets - we just think there are other ways they could have done it. For example, instead of eliminating the 30-year amortization all together, they could have required all homebuyers to qualify for the 25 year, but still be able to access the 30-year should they so choose. They could have also reigned in consumer debt in other areas - like credit card debt or car financing. All things considered, mortgages are a good form of debt - they allow people to invest in assets that will, hopefully, increase in value over time. They're also a forced form of savings. In addition, Canadians have been pretty responsible when it comes to their mortgage payments. Consider these facts: - 31% of recent homebuyers have made either a lump sum payment, increased their regular mortgage payment or both, according to CMHC. In addition, almost half have their mortgage payment set higher than the minimum required. - When it comes to just insured mortgages (those with less than a 20% down payment), 33% of CMHC-insured borrowers are consistently ahead of their scheduled amortization by at least one mortgage payment per year. The figure rises to 64% for those who are ahead of their payment schedule by any amount. - While Canadians are concerned about consumer debt loads in general, only 15% are extremely worried about their own debt levels, according to a recent CAAMP survey. - According to Equifax Canada, Canadians' non-mortgage debt level was 3.4% higher in the first quarter of this year than it was a year earlier. Most of this increase was due to a 9.7% jump in auto financing. Lines of credit have also been rising over the last four years. - The rate of arrears (borrowers having missed three or more payments) on CMHC-insured loans remains historically low at 0.38%. While it's definitely important for the government to do all it can to prevent housing bubbles in this unique time of low interest rates, it can only hold our hands so much. By tightening the rules to protect the few Canadians who aren't responsible enough to take control of their own finances, they're denying the rest of us access to innovative mortgage products that could help us grow our net worth in other areas.

Well the new rules are now law! Hope you all got in your applications in time!