Justin & Kelly Noda

First Time Home Buyer Incentive...is it really an incentive? Three words that best describe the First Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI) program that was launched back in Sept 2019 - OVERRATED, UNDERUSED, and CONFUSING. But that could change as early as this coming spring as the programs maximum thresholds have been increased to capture a more broad range of buyers in Canada's two highest priced markets; Vancouver and Toronto....Continue reading

Good Morning! We've been getting lots of questions lately on the topic of Mortgage Discharge Penalties and Porting, so we thought we should put out an explanation on them. One of the consequences of selling a home is the unexpected penalty that arises as a result of breaking your mortgage contract ahead of its maturity date. The penalty is determined by the greater of 3 months interest, or the dreaded interest rate differential (IRD). And the scary part is that your penalty... can radically change from the day you list your property for sale to the day you sell it, especially in a whacky environment like we are currently in with the recent free fall in interest rates. One way to avoid a break penalty is by porting your mortgage to your new home purchase. HERE's HOW A MORTGAGE PORT/TRANSFER WORKS: There are three (3) Porting options: 1) Straight Port (when you transfer precisely the same mortgage balance to the new property) 2)Port and Increase (when you transfer the mortgage and increase the principle balance) 3)Port and Decrease (when you transfer the mortgage and reduce the principle balance) **depending on the lender, applicants have 30 to 180 days from the sale of their current home to close on their new home to be able to apply the ability to port. Porting a mortgage is subject to the following: *Porting fees: $75 to $400 depending on the lender *A break penalty is actually charged as the initial mortgage needs to (technically) discharge itself off the current land title *The break penalty (or part of it) is then reimbursed upon advance of the newly ported mortgage *Some lenders will waive break penalties (fully or partially) if the closing dates of both properties are the same day Penalty Reimbursements are as follows: *Straight Port - reimbursed in full *Port & Increase - reimbursed in full *Port & Decrease - partial reimbursement [(New Money/Old Money) * Penalty] Impact On Rates: *Straight Port - interest rate remains the same *Port & Increase -Fixed - weighted average blend -Variable - greater of current rates or current rates *Port & Decrease - interest rate remains the same Impact to Amortization & Term: *In all cases the remaining amortization on the new ported mortgage will remain the same as the remaining amortization on the existing mortgage *In all cases the term of the new ported mortgage must be equal to or longer than the remaining term on the existing mortgage Please feel free to comment or message us with any questions and we hope you all have an amazing weekend!

At 10 am eastern, the Bank of Canada made what was scheduled to be its 10th and final interest rate decision of 2020, one of the most active years in recent monetary history. After dropping its overnight rate three times in March, the Bank has held the line on rates since then, including today, but continues its massive quantitative easing program to support market liquidity. As a result of the Bank’s moves, borrowing costs will remain very favourable as 2021 gets underway.... Have a great day!

Happy Friday~ Mortgages are classified as one of the following three; Insured, Insurable, or Uninsured/Conventional. The way a mortgage is priced and qualified depends on how its funds were purchased, acquired or allocated....Continue reading