For 8 months I was part of a BNI Group in Edmonton called BNI Limitless. I will write more about that experience overall in a separate blog post. For this post I am including EVERY single 1-minute weekly presentation that I did during those 8 months. Hopefully these topics inspire any future mortgage brokers in BNI to give their group something of value. This post is actually packed full of great information which ultimately allowed my fellow members understand how to send better referrals my way. Hope you enjoy!
Weekly Presentations
- August 29, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, I hold BNI Limitless’ mortgage broker seat.
Our team at Ratefair helps people look for homes with confidence by helping them understand what their monthly payments will be, with the goal of getting them pre-approved into a rate hold for up to 120 days. The ultimate goal is to get their project funded!
We’re looking for clients who are serious about making a move, getting their debt in-line, upgrading, down-sizing, renovating or relocating?
Our ideal client will be open to communicating with me, disclose all necessary finances for qualifying, and willing to provide any additional documents that our lender partners may require throughout the process.
If you know of anyone in your networks that may have recently gone through a job change – either good or bad – this could open up some further questions around debt consolidation if it was a job loss, or potentially around some upgrades or new home shopping if it was a promotion.
Regardless, if anyone you know simply needs some advice or mortgages, I’m here to help!
Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- September 5, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, I hold the chapters mortgage broker seat.
Our team at Ratefair helps people shop for homes with confidence by helping them get pre-approved into a rate hold for up to 120 days. The ultimate goal is to get their project or dream home funded!
In today’s landscape and potentially another rate hike tomorrow, the reality of home ownership has shifted further away then ever before for some people from “finding their dream home,” and is steering more toward survival mode until the market levels out.
Some of my files lately have been finding creative ways to consolidate debts, payoff owed taxes through a refinance, relocate to Alberta from ON & BC to afford a higher standard of living and navigate alimony payments through divorces; one person I helped recently is dealing with their 3rd divorce and a foreclosure!
I’m asking each of you to reach out to some of your responsible friends, family and colleagues who may have fell on hard times, but are serious about getting back on track before their credit may be damaged beyond repair for years to come. Coming up with a plan today may be the best investment in their time to set themselves up for that dream home tomorrow.
Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- September 12, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, your chapters mortgage broker.
Given how uncertain the market is today, I want to tell you a little bit more about how my families mortgage helped us during difficult times, and how this inspired me to become a mortgage broker in the first place.
When I was laid off, all the natural emotions, panic and uncertainty quickly followed. How would I ever be able to afford our bills AND the monthly mortgage payment?
I will forever be grateful for the type of mortgage we were setup with: Variable rate with a Home Equity Line of Credit, or HELOC. Because my lender allows fixed payments with their variable rate mortgage, combined with the safety net of our HELOC and flexible prepayment privileges for when times were good, this made for the most comfortable, uncomfortable job-loss I could imagine.
If you know of anyone coming up for renewal that may appreciate the same piece of mind in a volatile market, please tell them I am happy to meet for a coffee and share the best parts my own personal experience.
Please visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- September 19, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, your chapters mortgage broker. My job is to help people shop for homes with confidence by matching them with the perfect lender for their own unique circumstance in life.
Each file we encounter is different. Not any two peoples situation will ever be the same. Mortgages can be synonymous with the best and worst times of anyone’s life.
Choosing the right mortgage broker is synonymous with getting the right mortgage with the right lender. We actively engage with nearly 20 lenders and have access to several dozen more given the National strength of Dominion Lending Centres, centralized access desk. This means we can confidently match you to the right lender for your uniquely structured loan in Alberta or BC.
I am asking you to dig deep into your personal networks for anyone coming up for renewal who is ready to start shopping around. That IS our job after all, shopping around so our clients don’t have to.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- September 26, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, your chapters mortgage broker. With people living longer and retirement savings well below comfortable retirement expectations, people are looking towards accessing the equity in their home more than ever before through reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages were once perceived to be a “last ditch resort” for borrowing money, but now our country exceeds $4B/year in reverse mortgage loan originations so people can enjoy their retirement or watch their children benefit from their inheritance while they’re still alive.
In the past week I have had two of the 3 reverse mortgage providers in Canada reach out and present to our team, and 2 files hit my desk that may qualify for these unique programs.
If you know of anyone over the age of 55 who may be cash poor but house-rich, meaning a great deal of equity in their home, the reverse mortgage may be the ideal solution for them.
Feel free to pass my contact info along if you know of anyone 55 or older that might want to learn more about using a reverse mortgage to better their lives.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- October 2, 2023
Hey guys, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair.
Today will just be a reminder of the 4 main reasons your referrals should consider working with a mortgage broker instead of the bank:
- We’re in this for the long haul so it’s in our best interest to focus on the long term relationship. I’ve personally had 9 different mortgage advisors over 14 years with major banks, and don’t know if any of them work there anymore.
- Banks may offer higher rates at renewal since they’ve already earned you as their client. It is our job to shop around for not just the best rates, but for the best terms for each unique client
- We say YES when the bank says NO! We have many A lenders that can get the deal done if your profile no longer fits within your banks portfolio due to policy changes
- We have no hidden fees, in fact our services are free to our typical clients. The lender pays us our finders fee upon funding and that’s it
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- October 10, 2023
Hey guys, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair.
My goal today is to mentally prepare you for my feature presentation next week by planting some seeds on some more challenging types of files.
I want you to clear you minds of what your “typical mortgage” may look like and instead think about what that typical mortgage may look like in today’s market with skyrocketing rates, debt loads at unprecedented levels Nationwide, credit damaged beyond repair, people relocating to less-expensive Provinces, divorces as a by-product of the Covid years, or simply limited income due to retirement, mat leave, pat leave or disability payments.
If any of these issues sound familiar, now imagine a typical file having a combination of them.
The good news? In all situations were able to find viable options for the client. Next week I will go over 3 of these scenarios and how we were able to find a creative solution.
Please put your referrals in touch with me if they need some guidance or advice.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- October 17, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, your chapter’s mortgage broker.
In your opinion, what makes a good mortgage broker? Is it someone who simply gets you the best rate? Or do you care more about the service itself.
Rate is important, VERY important, there’s no doubt about it. But what if you don’t qualify for the best rate that you overheard your friends talking about, or that you saw in an email blast? What if once we review your file, those 5 year fixed insured rates you phoned me about have nothing to do with your unique file? Often there is confusion between which rate pertains to your own unique circumstance.
Most common clients only know to ask about rates, but in my presentation later today you will see 3 perfect examples where the solution itself is not about the rate but instead finding the right lender to help solve the client’s unique problem.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- October 24, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, your resident mortgage broker.
Working with a mortgage broker should be the first step in the home buying process; which is establishing a budget. This should be right before hiring a realtor and obtaining a formal pre-approval. Too often lately I’ve encountered clients that are already way down the rabbit hole in their home search and haven’t considered all of the costs and responsibilities that come along with homeownership.
If you download my app and use the “required income” calculator it can easily help your referrals with a budget since it lets you know what your minimum household income should be to afford a specific property and all of the key associated costs. Better yet, have them fill out the 60 second “pre-qualification tool” that may, at the very least put their realtor at ease even if they haven’t gone through the full pre-approval process quite yet.
Reach out to learn more about all the different calculators within my free app! I will share it again right away in our WhatsApp chat.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- October 31, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, your chapters mortgage broker.
Did you know that we can work with nearly any credit score? Some of our Alternative lenders, or “B” lenders may often have minimum requirements of a credit score of at least 500 or 550, but quite often they have no minimum requirements at all if the ratios, income, subject property and down payment all make sense. Private lenders don’t care about credit scores at all and are mostly focused on the property itself and the exit strategy after 1 year, maybe 2 years, TOPS.
Given the increased popularity in shorter term mortgages to ride out these insanely high interest rates, why not keep your options open? Especially if it means using this time to rebuild bruised credit? An alternative lender just may be the short term solution if the client can afford the upfront fees and higher rates for 12 to 24 months.
If you know of anyone who is working their way back towards strong credit, we might just have some great options to choose from!
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- November 7, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, your chapters mortgage broker.
In the past week I have taken two files away from the client’s long-term major bank and placed their mortgage with a different prime lender altogether. Although both for different reasons, lack of customer service or any push for an exception was the underlying reason why. They both could have easily retained their clients with any sense of urgency or thinking beyond their standard policies. Simply becoming available at convenient times for the client was over half the battle in both situations.
I am asking each of you to keep your ears out for anyone in your networks who has expressed frustration with their current mortgage product or lender. We often already work with that persons current bank and can act as an independent advisor for not only that lender, but many others to provide unbiased advice. Sometimes they may just need a change of perspective and the solution already lies within their current lender.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- November 14, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair, your chapters mortgage broker.
Writing a mortgage file takes patience and dedication to the process. We strive to make it as easy as possible for the client by acting as an intermediary between them and the lender, however in order to reach the ambitious deadlines each step along the way starting with your pre-approval, all the way to “file complete,” we require full engagement from everyone going on the mortgage.
Our close attention to detail throughout the process means we will be asking for documents as the lender conditions for them.
I’m asking that if you refer a client to me, you give them a heads up that Casey is willing to give them his 110% as long as they are prepared to help me build that file from start to finish.
There are a lot of moving parts in putting a mortgage together, as long as we have the clients’ commitment from the beginning I am confident we can find a solution for them.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Turning complex into simple while making your next big move happen.
- November 21, 2023
Hi everyone, Casey Struck your chapters mortgage broker with Dominion Lending Centres Ratefair,.
When getting your mortgage approved, we strive to understand your clients unique situation in GREAT detail. This will mean asking them a lot of questions that they may believe their current lender already knows about them. Regardless if this is true or not, policies have tightened up since the last time their mortgage was up for renewal, therefore the new lender we intend to place them with will inevitably be asking more questions this time around.
Consider a cosigner of the same mortgage, typically the parents. Cosigners are becoming that much more common as it has become THAT much more difficult to get the younger generations approved these days.
If you’re referring anyone that will need a cosigner, please make them aware that we will require all of the same information from anyone else going on the mortgage and the title of the property.
Reach out anytime or visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
- November 28, 2023
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Credit issues are on the rise. Not only are consumers taking on larger amounts of debt than ever before, they often disregard their past credit delinquencies altogether. When a debt is assigned to a collections agency, many consumers believe it has been “dealt with” because it has been “written off” as though it will just disappear into the oblivion. This is not the case, and although the original vendor may have stopped reporting this debt to the credit bureau, and perhaps the collections agency never began reporting it in the first place, keep in mind that no A lenders and most B lenders won’t even consider looking at the file until they KNOW that it has been addressed. This can be done by providing a proof of payment or at the very least, a feasible explanation as to why the credit issue happened, how they tried to rectify it and provide any documentation they have to back these claims up.
Please reach out to your referrals that have had credit problems and let them know that we can help them come up with a plan to move forward with a mortgage down the road if it doesn’t work today.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
- December 5, 2023
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Do you know anyone in your networks that truly believe they have a relationship their bank? And because of this relationship they may feel uncomfortable with the concept using a mortgage broker, instead? That mentality is actually SO common that I welcome the opportunity to speak with those referrals.
Helping new clients appreciate that we are in a 100% referrals-based business, it is in OUR best interest to look out for them because we value the relationship and our own reputation is on the line.
In many cases, we are able to act as an independent agent with their current bank while at the same time providing them unbiased advice towards using other lenders that may be able to offer more them even more! Just last week we converted an overprotective father and cosigner of his sons mortgage to using a credit union after a lifetime of banking with Scotiabank, whom we also have access to in our network.
I’m in this for the long haul, ideally for the entire duration of their mortgage, not just the term.
If your friends & family value the relationship with whom they do business, please put them in touch with me.
At the very least, have them visit struckmortgages.com – Love your budget, love your home
16) December 12, 2023
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Rates are on their way down and there is an increase in buyer confidence. We got 5.11% approved last week on a 5 year insured fixed term! More clients are already opting for variable rate products, I just submitted an application yesterday for a 5 year closed variable term. If you are a betting person, this isn’t a bad option if you at all believe that the rates will continue to fall. Some experts are predicting by Q2 next year the BoC will start their periodic 25 basis point decreases.
Regardless of what you think will happen, this optimism sure is a breath of fresh air to end 2023 for homebuyers and clients coming up for renewal.
I’m asking you all to think of anyone in your networks that have been sitting on the fence about purchasing a home to begin the pre-approval process and get into a 120 day rate hold. We can always get them the lower amount if rates fall in that period. Housing supply is still scarce so they will want to have financing in place when they find that perfect home.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
17) January 9, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Today’s message relates to my feature presentation and the importance of being up-front with me or your bank when seeking an approval. Too often lately my clients have been misled by their bank or an online pre-qualification tool that overstates their qualification amount.
In fact, my own pre-qualification tool on my app can easily overstate a mortgage amount simply because it doesn’t ask enough questions.
As a broker, consider us to be like the triage nurse before your documents get sent in to see the doctor for a professional diagnosis, whereby the underwriters of the lender perform the surgery. If you don’t provide the triage nurse with the right info up front, you may get sent to the wrong specialist (or wrong “lender”) for help.
Limited information will get you limited approvals that may not even satisfy your financing conditions in time.
I’ll explain more in my presentation shortly on how withholding info up front will come back to haunt you later.
Visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
18) January 16, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Fixed mortgage rates continue to make their way down! The advertised 5 year fixed rates at the major banks averages 5.24% for insured and 5.65% for conventional. There are quick close rates available as low as 4.99% for high-ratio insured 5 year rates. One brokerage in ON is offering the lowest rates in the country right now; a bought-down rate of 4.69% in some provinces on a 5 year! Likely with some strings attached.
Variable rates tend to be around 1% to 1.5% higher than their fixed counterparts and are a very popular option right now for those hedging their bets that they will recoup their higher initial cost and then some later into their mortgage, maybe around years 2 & 3.
If anyone in your networks have been sitting on the fence waiting for their moment, some experts are saying that Q1 may be the best time to purchase for years to come if house prices shoot up again.
Feel free to pass my number along for a chat or visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
19) January 23, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
There is often a misunderstanding about pre-approvals that they are a guarantee of financing to purchase a house. In fact, many lenders don’t actually offer formal pre-approvals but instead a rate hold. Don’t get me wrong, rate holds in an increasing rate environment can prove to be very beneficial to the borrower. However keep in mind the limited information required in order to obtain this rate hold.
Most rate holds require basic information like a credit score, proof of income and down payment amount. The deep dive into the documents doesn’t happen until a live offer is placed on a property and we pre-underwrite the file before submitting it to the lender. The goal here is having a mortgage commitment letter issued which will outline all the outstanding documents in order to instruct the lawyers.
Please let any contacts you know who are serious about purchasing a property to ensure they do not put an offer down until they’ve been green-lit by their mortgage broker first.
Feel free to pass my number along for a chat or visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
20) January 30, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
It’s early renewal season with the banks. They’re licking their chops and sending letters out in hopes of locking you in for another 3 to 5 years with mediocre rates. Enticing you with no re-qualification and making it simple to sign on the dotted line to lock into that rate.
I encourage my clients to entertain these conversations and negotiate with their current lender but not to commit. Remember, early renewals with their existing lender locks that rate in right away. We can do a rate hold for 120 days on a live transfer to a new lender. This means our clients can watch the market for up to 4 months longer, stress-free, ride their current really low rate right to the end of their term and still get an even lower rate if they drop while on their rate hold. Some big banks even have no penalty 30 days prior to renewal date, essentially giving us 5 months to hold a rate and transfer to a new lender.
If you hear the word renewal amongst your peers, feel free to pass my number along for a chat or visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
21) February 6th, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
In mortgage-land, it feels like the calm before the storm. The spring market is right around the corner. People are getting ready to list their homes in anticipation of rising home prices and expectations of greater returns. We are witnessing our clients lose out on offers when there are multiples. Any increase in inventory would be welcomed by these buyers and with the weather the way it is, it already feels like spring is in the air so the rush has already begun. The demand is there and the preapprovals are in place, we’re just preparing for a much needed influx of fresh listings.
If anyone you know if itching to buy or upgrade their home and has been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right time, please have them reach out to begin their preapproval too. They don’t want to miss out on their opportunity to get in on the action. And they don’t want to submit an offer without being pre-approved.
Feel free to pass my number along for a chat or visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
22) February 13th, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Do you know anyone who is planning on listing their house? This is something you would naturally tell your realtor first, but it never hurts to let your mortgage broker know early as well. With inventory so low, there is a possibility that we may also be able to help bring a qualified buyer their way sooner to ensure the right activity and interest level in that property before it even hits the market.
We see so many attempted deals fall through, that depending on the type of property, it may be the perfect fit for somebody that we’ve already pre-qualified and ready to make another offer, likely even stronger than the last one they tried.
We are all in this challenging market together, therefore collaborating with more people could potentially help the client find their perfect home or investment property, that much sooner.
Again, if you hear anyone mention selling or listing, feel free to pass my number along for a chat or have them visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
23) February 20th, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
I had a client ask me yesterday, “what does getting pre-approved mean?”
Sometimes we take for granted that our clients know what they’re asking for when they are told they need a pre-approval, or that they want the lowest rates. The reality that I explained to him is that pre-approvals don’t really mean much more than holding a rate in a rising rate environment, and that the true underwriting of their file does not begin until a live offer is made on a property. It’s my job as a mortgage broker to pre-underwrite files so that we can give the right advice on how to advance their pre-approval into a mortgage commitment letter with the best lender for the job.
If you know anyone beginning their search and need to know how to obtain an actual pre-approval so they can shop for homes with confidence, have them reach out or direct them to Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
24) February 27th, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Did you know that requesting your own credit score from Equifax or TransUnion doesn’t negatively affect your score at all since it is considered a “soft hit?”
Even if you don’t intend to apply for new credit or make changes to your mortgage anytime soon, you should check out your score every 6 months just to make sure it is in-line with what you “think” it should be. I have read that nearly all Canadians will experience mistakes or fraud on their credit bureau at least once in their lifetime.
A few clients recently have expected their credit scores to be over 800 and when we pull the report they are in the low to mid- 600’s due to incorrectly reported debts from the past that have come back to haunt the borrower. These credit issues are often caused by co-signing for an old ex boyfriend or ex girlfriend’s shared credit.
If anyone in your social circle mentions credit issues in regards to their mortgage plans, don’t hesitate to pass my number along, we have lenders to help get them back on track quickly.
Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
25) March 5, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Pre-approvals are all the talk in sellers markets for two main reasons. Time & money.
Money seems to be the focal point for realtors since they want to know the client can afford the purchase. On the mortgage brokers end, time is often more valuable than money, and as we all know, time is money.
Knowing that the clients’ financing is solid frees up valuable time, and in multiple offer situations, reduces the amount of time needed to satisfy the finance condition date. This can be one of the most valuable tools in winning the bid.
I am simply asking each of you to pass me your referrals for anyone planning on diving into the Spring market now so that we can tackle any finance-related issues before they start shopping. Even if they make high income, believe they have perfect credit and saved up for a significant down payment, obstacles always come up and they do not want to be scrambling for more time on tight deadlines.
Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
26) March 12, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Today is brief, I’m simply teeing up my feature presentation and asking each of you to think of any senior citizens or retired friends & family in your social circle.
Maybe they are at the cross-roads of selling their home and debating moving into a retirement home, but they don’t actually want to leave their house yet.
Maybe they want to consolidate debt, do renovations or take a holiday but inflation has them strapped for cash. Maybe they want to eliminate all debt payments from their lives altogether.
I’ll dive deeper into all of these likely scenarios shortly and how a reverse mortgage may be the right solution.
Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
27) March 19, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Do you know that with enough equity in your home you don’t necessarily need a firm sale on your existing property before you close on a new purchase? We have many private lenders that can provide short-term bridge loans so your referrals don’t need to go homeless, rent or stay with friends & family at all if for any reason the closing dates on the purchase occurs before the closing date on the house they are selling.
Private lending solutions come with a cost since you are paying for convenience and the risk they take on while waiting for your home to sell on the open market, but this is one of the best ways to utilize these lenders to your advantage so you don’t miss out on the property of your dreams.
I’ll ask each of you to keep your ears open for any referrals that may be stressed about selling their home before buying a new one, this happens to be the case for many people who want to dive into the Spring market but feel that they aren’t prepared to do so yet. In some cases, the private lender is even okay if their current property hasn’t even been LISTED yet, as long as it is marketable.
Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
28) March 26, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Just a reminder to remind your referrals that having a pre-approval doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have a condition of financing on their purchase offer.
Even if there are multiple offers and the client desperately wants to win the bid, try other strategies like increasing the deposit and shortening the time needed to satisfy the finance condition, but don’t exclude it from the deal altogether.
And if you have any friends or family shopping for new spec homes or planning on building, have them not only speak to a mortgage broker first, but put them in touch with a realtor. Having them represented by a realtor could save them thousands especially if their deposit is put at risk. Some new home sales people get pretty aggressive when writing up a purchase agreement and “accidentally” leave the condition of finance out in hopes of a making quick sale.
I’m always open to discussing further because I’ve witnessed some slippery moves lately.
Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.
29) April 2, 2024
Hey everyone, Casey Struck your mortgage broker with DLC Ratefair.
Do you know anyone who is waiting for the first Bank of Canada announcement of a decrease in rates before purchasing their home? There is a lot of speculation that the first decrease may happen in June. I would bet money that there will be no change next week.
My only question for anyone sitting on the sidelines waiting for a rate reduction is, “do they intend to take a variable rate mortgage or a Home Equity Line of Credit?”
The 8 annual Bank of Canada announcements only affect the overnight rate. The overnight rate represents the benchmark for all interest rates in the country, primarily the prime rates set by the major banks.
Therefore the only rates affected by changes in Prime rate are variable rate mortgages and Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) rates.
The common borrower is still taking fixed term interest rates which are determined by fluctuations in bond yields, and these rates have been steadily dropping for months now already.
Feel free to pass my number along to your referrals for a discussion on choosing the right type of mortgage for them, or visit Struckmorgages.com – Love your budget, love your home.