MY TORONTO

Two commonly known ways to lower your mortgage payments are to make a larger down payment especially if it eliminates private mortgage insurance and improve your credit score before applying for a mortgage. Another way to lower your payment would be to buy down the interest rate for the life of the mortgage with discount points.   A discount point is one percent of the mortgage borrowed.   Lenders collect this fee up-front to increase the yield on the note in exchange for a lower interest rate. A permanent buy down on a fixed-rate mortgage is available to borrowers who are willing to pay discount points at the time of closing. Let's look at two options on a $315,000 mortgage for 30 years at 4% interest with no points compared to a 3.75% interest rate with one-point.   The principal and interest payment on the 4% loan would be $1,503.86 compared to $1,458.81 on the 3.75% loan.   The $45.04 savings is available because the buyer is willing to pay $3,150 in poin...

We have all heard this expression that implies that had a person known earlier in life what they know now, they would have done things differently.   The subject possibilities are endless    While no one has a crystal ball to see into the future, it may be possible to learn from people who have experienced similar situations. In the late sixties, mortgage rates hit 8.5% but before the decade had finished, the rates had come down to 7% where they stayed for some time.   Homeowners who purchased at the higher rate, could buy a larger, more expensive home for the same payment if they could get out from under the obligation of their existing mortgage. FHA and VA mortgages, up until the late 80's, could be assumed by anyone, regardless of credit worthiness.   Since these homes were purchased one or two years earlier, the sellers didn't really have much equity in them, and many homeowners were willing to "give" them to investors so they could qualify on a new, low...

The concern about inflation is the sustained upward movement in the overall price of goods and services while the purchasing value of money decreases.   Tangible assets like your home consistently become more valuable over time.   In inflationary periods, your home is a good investment and a hedge against inflation. Money in the bank loses purchasing power due to inflation and the interest you may be earning is almost always less than inflation. Home prices are going up but so is rent.   With mortgage rates near historic lows, the interest is, generally, less than the appreciation the property is enjoying.   Combine this with the leverage that occurs using borrowed funds to control an asset and your equity is most likely, growing at a faster rate than inflation. A 90% mortgage at 3.5% for 30-years on a $400,000 home that appreciates at 4% a year will have an estimated equity of $220,000 in seven years due to appreciation and amortization.   That is a 27.5%...

Annual percentage rate is a calculation to accurately reflect the cost of the mortgage considering the note rate of interest, financing fees and charges based on the term of the mortgage. Annual percentage rate, APR, calculates the interest rate and loan fees over the life of the loan expressed as a rate.   A mortgage has a quoted interest rate plus a specified number of points which may be paid at closing or rolled into the loan, in some instances. For example, a $400,000 loan amount at 2.98% interest for 30-years with 0.7 points would have an annual percentage rate of 3.0349%.   While the mortgage rate is quoted at 2.98%, the borrower must additionally pay 0.7 points or slightly less than one percent of the amount borrowed as a fee to the lender in consideration of making the loan. This increases the yield to the lender on what they are earning by making this loan and is expressed as the annual percentage rate for the benefit of the buyer. Since the lender is require...

There is more to selling a home than you might think.  Superficially, a person might think that it will sell itself currently because, nationally, homes for sale receive 3.6 offers and they sell within 18 days.  Any business student can probably list the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion.  It may appear that there isn't much to selling a home: put a price on it; photograph it; put a sign in the yard; and, put it in MLS but, on closer scrutiny, there is a lot more that the best agents provide. Long before the home goes on the market, the agent will create a detailed value and pricing study based on similar homes in size, price, proximity, and condition.  An overpriced home will sit on the market longer than it should.  The longer it stays on the market, buyers, as well as other agents, begin to wonder if there is something wrong with it. The agent will develop a staging and declutter plan to make the house show at its best because...

 SHAWN   " Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one. "   - Brad Paisley   Shawn Venasse Sales Representative Sotheby's International Realty Canada 1867 Yonge Street, Suite 100, Toronto ON M4S 1Y5 c 647.250.9937 | t 416.960.9995 | f 416.960.3222 svenasse@sothebysrealty.ca sothebysrealty.ca ...

Soft inquiries, sometimes known as a soft credit check or a soft credit pull, do not impact your credit scores because they are not attached to a specific application for credit.   They can occur when a credit card issuer or mortgage lender checks a person's credit for preapproval purposes. Examples of soft inquiries are when you check your own credit or one of your current creditors checks your credit.   If you are concerned about the negative impact on your score, specify to the lender that you want a "soft pull" to see if you qualify for preapproval. Soft inquiries may appear on your credit report but should not adversely affect your credit score. Consumers are entitled to one free copy from each major credit bureau, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, once every twelve months available at AnnualCreditReport.com .   Hard inquiries occur when a borrower makes a new application for credit.   These will impact your credit score and will remain on your credit re...

  SHAWN   Wishing you and your family a safe and happy holidays.     Shawn Venasse Sales Representative Sotheby's International Realty Canada 1867 Yonge Street, Suite 100, Toronto ON M4S 1Y5 c 647.250.9937 | t 416.960.99...

When the situation arises that you have a lump sum of cash to pay down your existing mortgage,  there may be different options available.   Pre-paying principal on a fixed-rate mortgage shortens the term of the mortgage but the payment stays the same. Conversely, recasting a mortgage with a lump-sum principal payment lowers the principal and interest payment but leaves the term intact with the same payoff date. The interest rate on the mortgage will stay the same regardless.   Prepaying principal can be done at any time but may not be applied until the next payment date.   Recasting cannot be done within the first 90-days of a mortgage. Pre-paying principal is like driving faster on a trip to a specific destination to get you there sooner.   Recasting/Re-amortization gets you to the destination at the same estimated time of arrival but using less fuel. Most loans allow you to pre-pay principal, but recasting is not allowed on FHA, VA, and GNMA. ...