Experience Counts: advice

Friday, 16 May 2014

What? Only 1.99 Percent Financing. Wow!

What? Only 1.99 Percent Financing. Wow!

The news is all abuzz about the latest rate offered by the Investors Group. They are now offering a 36-month closed, variable-rate mortgage at 1.99 per cent, well below the current standard of around three per cent.

Against the advice of the Jim Flaherty

The late Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty opposed the rate when in the past, the Bank of Montreal first tried it. He criticized the mortgage rate as possibly destabilizing the economy by triggering a drop in the housing bubble.

What Does Joe Oliver Think?

Earlier this year, Joe Oliver took over as finance minister from Jim Flaherty and as he has stated in the past, the government has no plans to intervene in a private market setting. According to him, a mortgage rate set by a ‘private’ business is a ‘private’' decision.

But, Investors Group is Getting a lot of Press

Kerri-Lynn McAllister of RateHub.ca, a company that tracks mortgage rates has stated, "When somebody comes out with a rate like this it gets people talking about mortgages…it heats up the market.”

Don’t Get into Financial Situations that You Shouldn't Be In

Peter Veselinovich, vice-president of banking and mortgage operations at Investors Group, said, Like with any other product, when it comes to the three-year mortgages, Investors Group will "make sure that it's the right product for the people and that they can afford it and have the appropriate cushion." He cautioned that the one condition attached to this low rate is that you can't break the mortgage unless you sell the property for the three-year period.

Check Out the Other Guys

Royal Bank has lowered its rates on several fixed-rate mortgages this January. This brought its five-year closed rate to 3.69 per cent. It now sits at 4.94 per cent, while the variable five-year rate is at three per cent. The next lowest rate for a variable three-year rate from one of the banks came from Laurentian Bank at three per cent. The latest figures are Scotiabank’s five-year variable rate at 2.60 per cent. BMO, TD, CIBC, Laurentian and National Bank are all at about three per cent, according to RateHub.

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Friday, 9 May 2014

Mike Holmes Advice for Calgary

Mike Holmes - photo courtesy holmesspot.blog

Mike Holmes Advice for Calgary

This year’s flooding in Calgary could be less than last year. That’s good. In 2012, mountain snow was a lot thicker than it is now. Plus last year there was the torrential dump of rain from mid-May to mid-July. This caused much flooding. There’s now way to predict the rain but last year’s advice from Mike Holmes was to, “Have patience.”

Wait until You Have all the Information

People don't realize, Mike Holmes cautioned back then, closing up their houses when they are soaking wet is not a good plan. If people come back later and suck all that water out then rip everything down there they may be forgetting about hydronic pressure. If this pressure leans against the foundation of your home, saturated with water, the foundation could cave in. “So, again, moving too fast is a really bad thing,” he stated.

People Begged for Help

Last year, Mike Holmes and his crew were filming the Calgary flood. He advised people that had water above the first floor to have patience. He said that he understood how devastated they were. “They don't know what to do. They've got mortgage payments, they've got rental payments…they’re moving to somewhere else.” He quipped that there may be a storm after the storm.

Everyone's Running in the Wrong Direction

After the aftermath of all that, and people moving in the wrong direction for example closing up their houses, they soon came to realize that they had nothing but problems. They couldn’t sell their homes. And again, why? Mike Holmes advice again was, “If you don't have patience, you're going to have a problem.” It’s best to get good advice from the experts and follow the plan. That’s how to make it right.

The Latest News on Calgary Flooding

City Officials, this year are keeping a closer eye on all the factors that could lead to overland flooding. In a briefing recently they stated that there are areas of potential concern especially if spring runoff occurs too quickly. They did stop short of sounding alarm bells at this point in time.

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