July 2010 - SuperBrokers

Making Pre-Payments Before you Discharge your Mortgage

Though rules vary from lender to lender, making a hefty pre-payment towards your mortgage before you discharge can yield positive effects.

Making a hefty pre-payment toward your mortgage before you pay it off early is a good idea. You may be able to lessen the pre-payment penalty you will be charged when you discharge, or pay-out the mortgage prior to its maturity date. However, lenders’ rules vary and you will have to investigate them in advance of planning your break strategy.

Some lenders will specify that pre-payments cannot be made within 30 days of the discharge date. Inquire with your lender to see how close to the discharge point you can make this payment, and then make it as early as possible. Ensure that this pre-payment goes through and that your balance has been adjusted before your payout statement is requested. You want to be sure that the balance on which your penalties will be calculated has your pre-payment deducted from it.

Does Low Rate Mean Low Quality?

Some mortgage brokers believe that professionals offering the lowest mortgage rates are sacrificing the value of professional guidance for rock bottom Canadian mortgage rates.

While some mortgage specialists feel that in questing to attain the lowest interest rate on your mortgage you will sacrifice the value of professional guidance, other brokers feel the opposite is true.

In today’s Internet-savvy consumer market, home purchasers are able to peruse and compare a gamut of rates and products online in a much shorter time frame than they would if they had to individually call each firm. They are often shopping purely for rate, not for advice. For that, they can look to a host of web-available informational tools, such as an online mortgage library, mortgage glossary, mortgage calculator or mortgage-focused blogs.

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Private Mortgage Insurers Re-Surface in Canada

In recovery from the mid-2007 crisis faced by mortgage default insurance companies, private mortgage insurance has become popular once again.

Private Mortgage Insurers Canada

By mid-2007, mortgage default insurers had faced two turbulent years. They had watched their market shares plummet by a whopping 50 per cent and, in turn, the media coined them “unsustainable”. In the last year, however, these private mortgage insurers have seemingly regained their momentum. Genworth Canada has recently reported a 71 per cent increase in new insurance written, so far this year, and $85-million in profit.

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