Need a Second Mortgage or Home Equity Loan or Refinance Your Home Mortgage ?
Frequently Asked Questions
Despite popular belief, and a lot of vendor marketing, the advantages in weekly vs. monthly payment frequency is slight. It is not really the frequency that makes a big difference but how much you pay. Any extra payment towards your principal dramatically improves your amortization period. Think payment amount not frequency of payment.
A mortgage for more than 75% of the property value. Whenever you need a mortgage loan that is greater than 76% to 90% of the current market appraised value of your home it is considered a high ratio or insured mortgage. If you are a first time home buyer then you can borrow up to 95% value and only need to come up with a 5 percent minimum down payment. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) insures the lender in case you default on your loan. You must pay for this insurance premium which is usually tacked on top of your loan. If the mortgage lender feels that you are still a risk for default even though you have paid more than 25% down the lender can insist that you insure the mortgage anyway. However, in this situation a mortgage consultant would probably shop this mortgage to a lender that didn’t insist on insuring. The fees for CMHC can be as high as 2.5% of the mortgage principal but is often not noticed by a borrower because of being added to your mortgage principal. Rates for a high ratio loan vary widely between lenders so it is best to use a mortgage consultant to explore the best options for you.
The purpose of a pre-approval is to confirm in writing the maximum amount of money that you can rely on for mortgage purposes. When interest rates are fluctuating, it’s an advantage to know what your borrowing limit is before you start house hunting. With a pre-approval, a lender will guarantee you for a specific mortgage amount for a period of time. If the mortgage interest rate drops before the lender advances the funds for a mortgage, you are given the lower mortgage rate. If the rates rise, you are given the rate at the time you had the mortgage pre-approved.