Mortgage Tips

Well, the pop and sizzle of New Year’s Eve is a distant memory and by now many well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions have probably fallen by the wayside.

It’s probably clear by now that you’re not going to reduce your weight by 50%, change your personality or qualify for the Olympics. So let’s focus on a serious resolution for 2004. This year, vow to make your mortgage your top financial tool.

Your mortgage can be a goldmine of savings… or the pot of gold you’re looking for to tackle the renovation or landscaping project you’ve been dreaming of. It’s a powerful financial tool make it work for you. Begin by dusting off your mortgage – wherever you are in your mortgage term – and calling a mortgage broker for an expert and independent analysis. The mortgage brokerage industry is becoming a powerful new influence
in the Canadian financial scene. In the U.S., professional brokers arrange the vast majority of mortgages. Here in Canada, more than 26% of all mortgages last year came across a mortgage broker’s desk. While a good investment advisor can earn you thousands of dollars, a good mortgage broker can save you thousands – by finding the best possible combination of mortgage features and rates to suit your situation.

With mortgage in hand, talk about your financial goals: whether you’re looking for a way to reduce monthly payments, save on your mortgage interest
over the long-term, pay down the mortgage sooner, or finance a special project or vacation, for example.

Thousands of Canadians have been taking a second look at their fixed-rate mortgages in the last few months. We don’t have an economic crystal ball, but it seems clear that – with mortgage rates lower than they were in our parents’ generation – the odds of an upward trend in mortgages are pretty good. That means that right now you have a historic opportunity
to get that mortgage working for you. Even if your mortgage is not up for renewal anytime soon, it’s still worth a review to see if you can renegotiate for a better rate. Don’t assume that you’re stuck with a fixed rate mortgage which is several points higher than today’s rock-bottom rates.
A mortgage broker can access rates from a wide variety of lending institutions and provide a professional analysis of your options. A drop of a few points can save you thousands of dollars over the life of your
mortgage.

End of the mortgage in sight? Lucky you. Either take a watch-and-wait approach or consider a “blend and extend” now – to combine your old rate and current rates to help you take advantage of the current rate opportunity.

The current low rates are a boon to spenders as well as savers. Thinking about that home renovation or landscaping project this year? Ask a broker about using a mortgage to finance the project. Mortgage rates are
typically far lower than other types of loans or lines of credit, so you can put your equity to work at rates that you couldn’t have dreamed of ten years ago. There has never been a better time for homeowners to borrow
against their homes.

Whether your goal this year is to save… or to save while you spend… make your mortgage work for you. That’s a resolution that’s easy to achieve!

For more information contact Laurie Baird
Consultant, Mortgage Intelligence Inc.
Phone (250) 862-1802 Fax (250) 712-0209

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.