New and revolutionary mortgage payment discoveries explain how Consumers in Canada, the United States, the UK, Australia and the Commonwealth, give away huge amounts of money, freely every week or month with each mortgage payment. In fact this is true around the world for almost all Borrowers. We pay our mortgages and loans on terms dictated by the Lender without the expertise of a new wave of professionals who specialize in turning debt and mortgage payments to the financial advantage of the Consumer.



Lenders extend their loan repayment terms over 15, 25 and 30 years for maximum profits on the loan. Consumer Mortgage Repayment Specialists could shrink those profits by thousands of dollars depending on their experience and skill at saving you excessive and unnecessary payments. With some coaching, you too could divert new dollars to pay off the home loan in record time with big savings.

You would create these savings from Mortgage over payment if you could reduce taxes, eliminate excessive interest charges and shrink other payments on the loan. Success with the new way to pay means an early end to payments for an extended number of months. These are payments that in fact, are entirely un-necessary but you think you must make because usually you follow the Lenders' Plan.

Canadians, for example, are allowed tax deductions for retirement savings, as business expenses, and as tax credits for the costs of money used for investment purposes. Unfortunately, many Consumers forgo these allowable tax deductions. These lost tax dollars could be utilized efficiently to reduce excessive mortgage interest payments.

Citizens and Residents of the United States of America too, as Borrowers, have become desensitized to this huge wastage in mortgage costs because of:

• Record low interest rates recently
• Rising house values followed by the sub-prime mortgage fiasco
• The fact that Americans can deduct interest costs on their taxes and
• Aggressive home equity loans by Banks and Mortgage Lenders so that the average North American Home has become a virtual ATM Machine loaded with instant cash available to the Home Owner to spend

As a result, Borrowers and Home Owners continue to add their hard earned dollars to huge Bank Profits, unwittingly. We lack fundamental knowledge about how best to make mortgage payments and home equity loans work in our best interests. New approaches to faster mortgage payments show results very early. Savings of $10,000.00 in one year are not uncommon. About $30,000.00 of savings after three years of payments is almost always achievable.
Any good early, mortgage re-payment program can cause the disappearance of as many as 70 to 120 months of mortgage payments you no longer must make. In order to succeed, the Borrower must follow with discipline, a skilfully designed and specific fast mortgage repayment plan that applies money concepts differently.

This is a complex field. Consumers do not know which story to believe. How do you separate the genuine Mortgage-Payment Wiz-Kid" from the fraudulent, scam Artists and Pushers of get-rich-quick schemes that never work?
The News Media generally favors an easy and sensational story like credit card interest, pay day loans, or the recent surge in foreclosures. Academics, Statisticians and Researchers are not generally practical in their approach to these problems. Professionals in the Mortgage and Loans Industry have been funded largely by the Lending Establishment.

Almost all of them, including the brightest ones work for Lenders. As a result, Consumers have been abandoned, left to the mercy of Bank Profits and Mortgage Loan Officers' fees. What compounds the problem even more is the multitude of self made "Specialists", who in fact know little about the subject. Many of those who comment on fast mortgage payment options may hardly have basic college level math. Some may not ever have had any practical experience in paying a mortgage. You are reading. So here's your mortgage how to tip.

The most important tool for use in designing a good mortgage repayment plan is an amortization schedule that lists all payments from Payment #1 to the Final Payment. To design a good plan, you must compare and contrast different repayment scenarios for that mortgage. The average Canadian mortgage contract is written so that the loan will be repaid in 300 Payments. American mortgages get repaid in 360 Monthly Payments, generally. You must know and include the impact of related financial decisions such as taxes, retirement savings and investments etc. Even additional fees and costs must be considered. Three key components of your plan make a big difference in delivering dollars into your retirement account because of your skill in devising a clever mortgage repayment strategy:

The first of these components is the frequency of compounding and the frequency of payments. For example, Canadian Lenders do not exact a fee for changing from monthly payments to a bi-weekly mortgage repayment schedule. Many American Lenders charge such a fee. In Canada therefore, it is standard knowledge that you would reduce the number of years of payment from 25 to around 22 years by simply changing to a Bi-weekly mortgage payment schedule. A good plan from the new breed of Mortgage Payment Planners would pay off that mortgage in 10 to 12 years.

The second major planning component is the application of tax rules to benefit the Borrower. Our generous Uncle Sam allows US Taxpayers to deduct the interest on the mortgage loans on their homes to a maximum loan size of one million dollars. Canadian Mortgage Payment Planners, however, must distinguish themselves by devising various schemes to make the Canadian Mortgage Interest Tax deductible. Clever yet perfectly legitimate tax planning schemes could make a difference in your mortgage costs to the tune of tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Thirdly, a clever investment program that is closely integrated with the mortgage repayment plan could free you, the Borrower from loan payments much sooner and leave an Investment Account at the end.

Consumers have been diverted successfully to focus their attention on the low interest rate game. They are also enticed with other gimmicks such as interest-only payments, 100 percent financing, cash back from the mortgage at closing. These offers sedate and distract us from the real meaningful issues such as the time it would take to repay the entire loan. How much does the mortgage really cost? Such costs must be counted in before tax dollars and in after tax dollars. What are the penalties, fees and costs for early repayment?

A fast mortgage payment plan that ignores any of those three key components above is an Amateur’s Plan. Unfortunately, most mortgage pay off plans do not include such considerations. At the time of approvals and funding, Consumers become overwhelmed with the mortgage process. Even professionals, like dentists and doctors, teachers, nurses and police, even accountants and financial planners can be so intimidated with the experience that they accept the Lenders' Payment Plan without question. That payment plan usually has a built-in, profit pool to be counted in the hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the mortgage. The new breed of Mortgage Payment Specialists knows how to design a Consumer friendly, Mortgage Payment Plan that integrates tax issues, compounding frequency and investments. All three components, when skilfully integrated into a mortgage payment plan, deliver savings counted in the hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the mortgage.

Already you can see that the overwhelming majority of Borrowers do not usually create their own specific, mortgage payment plan. Those who do would not have the tools to integrate tax planning, payment and compounding frequency, in addition to investments into their plan. So you must consult an expert who has those skills. Since space does not permit, we will end here. Later on, we will explore the real benefits of a Fast Mortgage Payment Plan. In another article, we will explain the magnitude of those savings in numbers the size of which once again are too often misunderstood.

Canadian housing starts rose an unexpectedly strong 13.7 per cent in March, breaking a six-month losing streak thanks to renewed strength in Ontario and Quebec, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said Wednesday.

Ground breaking on new homes climbed to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 154,700 units from an upwardly revised 136,100 units in February, CMHC said.

Analysts had predicted 130,000 starts in March.

The Canadian dollar strengthened on the data and by 8:25 a.m. was at $1.2331 to the U.S. dollar, or 81.10 U.S. cents, compared to $1.2378, or 80.78 cents, at Tuesday's close.

Construction of urban single-family homes rose 1.3 per cent to 46,400 units last month from 45,800 in February. Construction of multiple dwellings, such as condos, jumped by 28.3 per cent to an annual rate of 81,500 units from 63,500.

"New home construction is now at a more sustainable level after having been exceptionally strong over the past seven years, exceeding 200,000 units per year," the CMHC said in a statement.

Rural starts in March were estimated at an annual rate of 26,800 units, unchanged from February.

The housing downturn in Canada has hit starts, home prices as well as sales activity. Economists describe this as part of a "correction" in the sector, which is expected to last the better part of this year before rebounding in 2010.

The average price of a Canadian home is expected to decline by 8 per cent this year before rising by about 1 per cent in 2010, says a forecast by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

"We are caught in a cycle where consumer confidence has been eroded by job losses, and consumer confidence is an essential ingredient for housing sales activity," CREA president Calvin Lindberg said in a report released yesterday.

The average Canadian home price was $303,594 at the end of 2008, but that should drop to $279,400 by the end of this year before rebounding slightly next year, according to the association that represents realtors in Canada.

Ontario should see prices fall to an average of $279,100, down from $302,354, while British Columbia will see the biggest hit to prices with a fall of 10.9 per cent, followed by Alberta at 8.9 per cent. Newfoundland is predicted to buck the trend, with prices rising by 4.8 per cent this year.

Sales activity is also forecast to fall by 16.9 per cent this year, but realtors are predicting a rebound of 9.9 per cent in 2010, marked by a second-half acceleration based on a recovering economy.

While the forecast is optimistic compared with those of some analysts – who believe the housing market may not recover for several years given the last housing downturn, which saw average prices fall for seven straight years in the Toronto area – the report is in line with other economists who predict the housing market will start to show signs of recovery next year.

"The correction in Canada's housing market continues to unfold and it appears the pace is a bit quicker than we had originally anticipated," Charmaine Buskas, senior economics strategist with TD Securities, said in a note yesterday. "In the face of continued economic weakness, housing may not see a rebound until early 2010."

Canadian housing starts fell 10.9 per cent in January to 153,500 annualized units, the fifth consecutive monthly decline, resulting in the slowest pace of residential construction activity since 2001, according to a separate report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. yesterday.

"The Canadian housing correction is in full swing, having a wide impact across the country," BMO Capital Markets economist Robert Kavcic said in a note. "With sales activity showing no signs of life, residential construction will be under pressure for most of 2009."

The Toronto Real Estate Board reported 2,670 sales in January compared with 5,075 at the same time last year, a drop of 47 per cent.

The average price was $343,632 – more than $30,000 less than the same time last year.

Meanwhile, a report by Toronto-based Altus Group reiterates fears over the burgeoning condo inventory in the Greater Toronto Area.

According to the housing research firm, 94 new projects were launched in the GTA in 2008, with 55 per cent of units remaining unsold by year's end.

Altus forecasts project cancellations will be more frequent this year as "many projects in the pre-construction stage are far from achieving a sufficient per cent of units sold to obtain financing."

The report says the situation may be less dire than during the housing bubble of the '80s because mortgage rates and investor activity were much higher then.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is a Canada Government Crown Corporation which can provide insurance coverage on your mortgage in case of default.

That is if you can no longer service your mortgage and the lender incurred a loss as a result, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will compensate the lender for the loss.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation assists potential home buyers to purchase a home with little or no down payment sooner because you do not have to save for a downpayment.

Why do I need to buy mortgage insurance!

If you are borrowing 80% or less of the value of a property, you do not need to buy Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation insurance.

If you are borrowing more than 80% (referred as High Ratio Mortgage), you must buy insurance coverage from a mortgage insurance company before any financial institution will lend you the money.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will provide insurance coverage, subject to borrowers meeting certain criteria, up to 100% of the value of a property.

Borrowers pay a premium ranging from 0.5% to 3.10% of the mortgage amount, depending on the loan to value ratio. The higher the ratio the higher is the premium.

There used to be a limit on the value of the property if it needs mortgage insurance. This requirement has now been eliminated and you can purchase a property of any value for mortgage insurance purposes.

Imagine what the premium will be on a $400,000.00 mortgage at maximum 3.1%. That's a cool $12,400.00. If you do not have the cash, the premium may be added to the mortgage amount and repayment spread over the amortization period chosen.

Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Company of Canada is a public company that can also provide default insurance coverage for high ratio mortgage.

For new mortgage the maximum amortization period is 25 years. Recently Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has extended the amortization period to 30 and 35 years at an additional premium of 0.25%. Genworth Financial Canada is offering a 30 year mortgage at a 0.2% premium and a 35 year mortgage at a 0.5% premium. The effect of a longer amortization period is that the monthly mortgage payment is reduced to a more affordable level for many borrowers.

Please note that you do not need to get in touch with CMHC or Genworth to apply for a mortgage insurance. Your mortgage broker or bank mortgage officer will apply on your behalf.

What is my chances of getting mortgage insurance?

If you have a good and proven track record, a good steady job, your income is sufficient to service your monthly mortgage payment and other debts, you have a good chance of getting approved.

While blue skies and picturesque lakes certainly drew people to this valley, its postcard-perfection hasn’t been enough to stave off the effects of worldwide economic trouble.

The first signs came when water-cooler talk changed from estimating real estate gains to lamenting losses in retirement plans and higher costs for just about everything.

Legitimate concerns about the state of the economy made consumers nervous and more thrifty, despite assurances of “strong economic fundamentals” from Canada’s mortgage economists and political leaders.

And then came the more literal signs. For Sale boards started to pop up in front of houses and never left.

Home owners and speculators who once bragged it only took a week or so to sell their houses or condos are now just boasting “reduced” or “new price” on their sale signs.

While economists were slow to acknowledge what most could surmise by a walk through their neighbourhoods, there are now significant rumblings of a slump in prices for houses this side of the border.

Some are going so far as to call it a housing recession, as realtors and sellers are already well into contingency plans that will allow them to ride out the storm.

Where the market is going

A report last month from Central 1 Credit Union said the province’s housing market in a recession, and it’s not expected to be a quick dip.

According to Helmut Pastrick, the bank’s chief economist, housing sales across B.C. will decline by 30 per cent this year, 17 per cent next year and five per cent the year after that. And prices will be in tow.

Prices will continue falling from their March 2008 high into next year, bringing the provincial median sales price down 13 per cent to $310,000 in 2009 and by a further five per cent in 2010—in total nearly an 18 per cent drop.

Things are supposed to look up later that year following a sales turnaround and relaxing credit conditions. “Recession in any industry—housing, auto or lumber—is a period where the industry experienced sustained declines in output and in prices, and that fits what’s happening in B.C.,” said Pastrick.

He noted that the Okanagan won’t be exempt from any downward trend.

“All regions are participating in this to largely the same degree and the trends and conditions are very similar throughout the province, which is usually the case when we have major economic event or factor coming into play.”

That major economic effect is, of course, the financial crisis in the United States, which has put a crimp on the many industries that are finding it difficult to access credit and move operations forward.

In turn, its stagnated economic growth across the U.S., and to some degree, in Canada hypotheque as well.

“As the general economy suffers and slows down, it has feedback into housing sector.”

Over at the B.C. Real Estate Board, chief economist Cameron Muir is on the same page, although his group’s fall forecast projects declines in the area of 10 per cent, as opposed to 18.

According to him, Okanagan home prices should be down to 2006 levels by the end of the year and remain flat throughout 2009.

“Throughout the province there’s quite an imbalance between supply and demand. There are more homes for sale, while home buyers have dropped off considerably from a year ago, and the combination of those two factors has put downward pressure on prices,” he said.

Muir said real estate markets most conducive to recreation and investment buyers— such as the Okanagan—will be a little bit worse off than major markets, like Victoria and Vancouver, simply because of the fact that there are fewer investment and recreation home buyers around now.

Kelowna, he said, is well diversified but part of the responsibility of the downward trend can be placed upon the same group who helped drive up prices.

Just as fast as oil money flowed into the Okanagan, it’s started to dry up in relation to the Albertan housing market flattening.

Calgary, for example, saw their housing prices start to tumble months before B.C. felt any pangs of contraction, said Muir.

Basically, that’s meant those who were leveraging gains in home equity for new home purchases are out of luck and, as a result, no longer looking to buy.

But, that’s not what Kelowna residents will have to worry about.

The real test of how this region will fare is the level to which residents are able to comfortably live and work here, Muir said.

“What we really need to look at is what are the financial conditions and the confidence of people who live work and raise their families there because they are the ones who drive positive demand,” he said.

“Unlike the U.S., the financial condition of households in this province, and in Kelowna, are on relatively strong footing.”

B.C. isn’t seeing a sharp increase in foreclosure activity, the unemployment rate is staying quite low from a historical perspective as are interest rates, Muir said.

“Without a collapse in household financial positions, homeowners are not in a position where they have to sell at any price like they are in the U.S.”

According to Muir, the biggest stumbling block is consumer confidence, which is at the lowest it’s been in 26 years.

Realtors

A lack of consumer confidence is something local realtors are far too familiar with.

Ian Share, of the Century 21 office in Glenmore, has seen a sharp decline in sales, although he said he remains busy. The problem, as he sees it, is that sellers are having a hard time adjusting to the market. A house that may have flown off the market a year ago for a cool $500,000 isn’t going to have the same appeal today as buyers have far more to choose from and are taking their time.

While his focus is on North Glenmore, Lake Country and Phoenix, Arizona, he says only the latter market is seeing eager buyers.

Share tapped into the Phoenix market successfully to pursue an opportunity he saw resulting from the U.S. financial crisis.

“The conclusion you can start to draw is that the real estate market is adjusting and correcting massively and that the buyers that are willing to step up to the plate are few and far between,” he said.

“Generally they consist of investors picking up rental properties and other clients who are relocating here for work.”

Drawing upon some of his office stats, Share also pointed to a much sharper decline than the 10 or 20 per cent the economists are forecasting—and it’s happening now.

Share was the listing agent on one of only two homes that sold in Lake Country (excluding Carrs Landing) last month—118 were listed.

While the lack of sales may be disturbing, Share pointed out it’s actually the pricetag changes that are the most dramatic, citing the two Lake Country listing sales examples.

“One was originally listed for $549,000 and sold for $400,00—that’s a difference of $149,000,” he said.

“The other was originally listed for $449,000 and sold for $351,500—that’s a difference of $97,500.”

In the months leading to the dry spell, Share added only nine single family homes sold and the average price difference from the original list price to the sold price was $37,966, whereas this last month the average price difference was $123,250.

“Even though we’re been reassured that our banking system is solid and that our economy is ticking along nicely…in my opinion we’re crazy to think that Canada is impervious to some sort of significant adjustment in our economy and in the real estate market,” he said.

That said, this is the time for buyers to gather their resources and plunge into the market and time for sellers to start listening to their agents, Share believes.

“Sellers that are in this current market generally dump realtors if they haven’t sold their homes during the listing period, and they probably most likely figure they’ll just get someone else that will get the job done,” he said.

“The majority of time it may not be the fault of the realtor if he or she priced it correctly and aggressively to start with…If it isn’t priced right in this market then both the realtor and the seller get frustrated as they’re simply just spinning their wheels.”

Over at Coldwell Banker, Horizon Realty, Paul Pofpnikoff is also feeling the pinch.

Like Share, he’s finding a way to leverage the conditions of the current market so they work to his benefit and opened a sideline project.

Focusing on developers who have a property they need to market, he’s created a website—www.propertyexchangekelowna.com—that lures potential buyers from markets as far flung as Europe.

He has to go there “to create opportunities” because he admits things have dried up locally.

“I know realtors have to have this rosy picture, but currently there aren’t many buyers and I am finding many people that could are resorting to renting their place rather than selling it,” he said.

“I have had vendors calling about listing, and quickly changing their mind, saying, ‘The price we’d be getting wouldn’t be good enough—we’ll rent for a year or two until the market gets better.’”

It’s something “everyone” is seeing and he too blames it on the problems in the U.S., the “troubling effect it’s had on the psychology of the buyer.”

Reduce the price, or rent?

For contractor Robert Tissington, building, buying and selling homes has been a way of life for as long as he can remember.

It’s what his dad and grandfather did, and he followed their lead into the local market a few years ago.

His first house—among several properties he owns and can’t currently sell—was purchased in Kelowna’s North End a few years ago for about $200,000.

He added a carriage house to it for about $130,000 and got ready to move into another place.

When he listed his property with a real estate agent, he was told to list somewhere in the area of $700,000, which he thought to be quite high, but competitive. It didn’t move. His price dropped by nearly 10 per cent and it still didn’t move.

With that, he decided to take it off the market.

“A year ago I thought selling it for about $550,000 would have been brilliant, but it’s the type of property you hang onto,” he said.

His property is a good rental—a market that’s not shrinking—and will continue to earn as the real estate market fluctuates.

In the meantime, he didn’t see the point of putting his life on hold waiting for the property to sell.

“The amount of tire kickers you have to go through—the people who want to see all the houses, but aren’t prepared to buy, even if they think they are—just aren’t worth it.”

He’s comfortable with the idea of riding out the changes in the meantime, and as a contractor thinks he sees a lot of opportunity in the current market—if not to sell, to buy.

“You just sort of acquiesce, give it a reasonable chance, and go off in another direction,” he said.

“Now I feel great about the decision, but you have to be moving forward or backward.”

Tissington said that the current market should have been expected, as Kelowna functions on a six-year cycle.

“Prices peak and everybody lists when they sense it’s the end of cycle and then there’s a glut of houses on the market,” he said. “The last one was in 2001, and before that in 1993-94.”

When he bought his house for $212,000, that seemed like an incredible amount of money for an old house, but he pointed out it was worth the investment.

“This whole economic situation is running alongside what may have been a natural price adjustment anyway,” he said.

The good news

Property owners may be in a pinch, but this region has suffered the pains of rising costs for years.

Reports earlier in the year boasted that young buyers were still entering the housing market with “reduced expectations,” while many complained prices became too restrictive for many to enter the market at all.

Now prices are becoming more competitive. Developers trying to unload units are offering bonuses, rent to own incentives and coming out with a product that’s more attainable.

All in all, it’s something Brenda Moshansky, a director with the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board, believes will create some opportunities for first-time home buyers looking to get into the market.

“Properties that are marketed competitively will continue to sell, and with the interest rates where they are, it’s a wonderful time for buyers to get into the market,” she said, adding realtors are working a lot harder to draw interest in their listings.

Moshansky said that the Okanagan and its natural allure will ensure that the prices don’t dip too drastically.

“One thing that’s very unique about this region is that it’s a little bit immune to some of the problems because it’s a destination market,” she said.

“Ski hills are expanding, popular resorts as well as accommodations are coming here and we accommodate a lot of recreational consumers for second homes as well as being a retirement market.”

Although Moshansky knows the economic predictions for the next year, she believes that the market is already correcting itself as fewer listings are starting to come out. “Real estate is traditionally very cyclical,” she said.

“Some people say it’s a six year cycle, others say it’s seven…it will turn around. Real estate is not as volatile as the money market.”

When it will end?

Housing is a high reach industry. Realtors, retailers, builders and architects are just a few who will feel the pinch if the bottom falls out of the market.

Construction has become a major economic driver of this region, and job growth has been substantial, with some estimates being in the area of 94 per cent.

“Usually there is a time delay to response in new construction and housing market conditions after sales decline,” said economist Helmut Pastrick, adding that housing starts are likely to drop off by 30 to 40 per cent next year.

But, things will get better.

“It’s not a downward endless spiral,” said Pastrick.

“There will be forces at play to reverse the downturn and some of them are already beginning to materialize.”

It’s still early in the decline of sales and prices, but by 2009, and 2010, things will get better.

“Lower interest rates, lower mortgage rates and lower prices can stimulate demand so that will set the stage for some improvement in housing sales,” he said.

“It’s open to debate how strong that recovery will be—at this time it doesn’t look that strong, but as long as the decline ends…that’s positive.”

Get the necessary cash to transform your home into a cozy, elegant movie residence. Let your imagination grow wild, sit down with your wife and start designing the new aspect of your old home. Nobody will recognize it… and all thanks to a simple home improvement loan, that will be just what you need to make a new start when life was beginning to get boring.

Living A Comfortable Life At Last

Getting up early when you wanted to go on sleeping, taking the kids to school, going off to work, paying the bills, taking out the trash and Goodness knows what trouble you find during the day, deserve a prize. At the end of the day, you are welcomed by your dream house, soft music, the kids playing in their own room and your sweetie cooking something with a marvelous aroma.

Hey, It Is Not All Dreaming, Eh?

Nope, it is not ONLY about dreaming. Want to make it real? All you need is to take the decision to get it done. Well, start finding out about home improvement loans. There is one just right for you. When something has a determined name, it means that it is a specific product for a specific use. That is what makes it ideal for the purpose.

Is There More Than One Option?

Certainly. Depending on the amount needed for the improvement you want to make, you can take a home improvement loan or a mortgage loan. The mortgage Montreal loan will be great, because the amounts considered are greater, and will give you more than enough to get the job done.

The Downside Of The Mortgage Loan

That is the point… more than enough may be a little too much and what is more, the financing period, too long. Therefore, reducing the stakes a bit, we have a home improvement loan. You are not buying a new one, just improving your old one. Besides, what could be lighter on the family, than staying in the same neighborhood, with the same friends and knowing every single corner?

And Now, It Is The Lender’s Turn

Sift through the options on the Internet, and surely you will make a good deal. The thing here is to get an even better deal out of the lender you have chosen. Build up a folder with graphics in full detail. For this, you can get an architect, or do it yourself with a CAD program.

Next, make a list of the work that will be done, the materials you need and the final sum. Again, a reliable architect will be useful, but there are also little computer programs that do the numbers for you, if you are not willing to pay the fees. Then go to the lender and give them the impression of an organized guy, someone who gets what he wants.

A Good Deal Is More Than Just Being Able To Repay

You can also get insurance for your home, something that many people overlook. So there you have another negotiating factor. The broker you have chosen will surely be able to get you a favorable insurance policy, for your benefit and theirs. (They always have a share of whatever business they participate in)

Getting Started

Yes, you have to get started, put some action into all the thinking and dreaming and preparation. You have already done something by reading this article. Now it is time to start moving the pieces on the board. The best moment is now. You will be surprised with what you will get.

A mortgage is really like a specialized kind of loan that gets issued to individuals that qualify to purchase themselves a home. There are so many different mortgages available for one to choose from at the moment, that is has become very important that you check and compare mortgages before you just choose one.

There might be other ways in which you can borrow money for the finances of purchasing a house but a mortgage is definitely the easiest and most efficient way to finance a new home. You should have a look at a few different mortgages before making a final decision. At the moment because of the uncertainty in the market comparing fixed rate mortgage is certainly an option.

When you are looking at purchasing a house, you will have to look at different mortgages. It can also be rather confusing when you have to determine all the diverse kinds of mortgages and then decide which is best for you; because of this it is important that you compare them carefully.

It is not impossible to obtain a 100% mortgage, this means that you will get the loan for which you applied the full amount of and you will not have to give a deposit for it. This may seem fine at first, but you might be charged for the service by the lender. This amount is not always a very small one either. So in the end, it may not be as good as it seems and this is where you determine what will be best for you. It is so important when comparing mortgages to read the small print.

Sometimes you can even get your mortgage loan at 120% or even higher, this gives you the chance to use money for addition things once you have purchased the house. Like for example if you want to put money away for future references, you may do so. But remember that your houses value will in fact not be as much as the value of your mortgage will.

This is not always much of a solid basis when it comes to borrowing because the only thing you have to fall back on is your home and if something goes wrong, where is that additional 20% going to come from?

Just a few of the different mortgage types that can be considered are self certification, discount, fixed rate, first time buyer, buy to let, capped and there are many more. Most of these are rather easy to understand, but some might be very confusing to some people, especially if they are not very familiar with mortgages and their specifications. One thing for sure mortgage comparisons can save you plenty of your hard earn cash in the long term

If you are purchasing a home for the first time, you would go for the first time buyer's mortgage. This is an easy mortgage and that's why it is directed at first time buyers as it caters for problems that first time buyers might be faced with.

For example, these people are most likely young; therefore they might not have a major history of work behind their names. They also may not have a lot of money saved; this is why the first time buyer's mortgage is great, as it caters for people that aren't really sure of what must be done.

One thing for sure mortgage comparisons can save you plenty of your hard earn cash in the long term, my advice at the moment is to compare the current mortgage rate and then get the best fixed rate mortgage possible.

Nearly one-quarter of Canadians do not agree with the federal government's mortgage lending crackdown, a proportion that rises to nearly a third among non-homeowners, survey results done for a mortgage lending firm suggest.

And only 45 per cent agree with the tighter mortgage lending rules and that the federal government needs to protect Canadian homeowners, a level of support for the changes that falls even further to just one-quarter among non-homeowners, according to the online survey conducted by pollster Angus Reid for ResMor Trust Co.

In an effort to avoid a U.S.-style housing market meltdown, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty last month tightened up the rules governing mortgage lending practices in Canada, including limiting the amortization period for government insured mortgages to 35 years from 40 years, requiring a minimum down payment of five per cent for such mortgages, virtually eliminating zero-down mortgages, and requiring that anybody with an insured mortgage have a minimum credit score.

Those who disagree with the measures said they reduce options for people wanting to buy a home.

However, the results also indicate that 17 per cent do not understand the changes, including 25 per cent of non-homeowners.

Further, the findings suggest that the higher the level of understanding, the lower the level of opposition to the new rules.

"I was surprised that 23 per cent do not agree with the measures," Darren Thompson, vice-president of lending for ResMor Trust, said in an interview.

"This survey clearly demonstrates a need for industry professionals to educate Canadians about the new measures, specifically those entering the market for the first time," he said, adding that's something that the federally licensed trust company is doing.

"The measures are not seriously impacting the ability of consumers to get a mortgage," he said, citing as an example an industry finding that more than half of those who took out 40-year mortgages would have qualified for a 25-year mortgage. "It was just enabling them to get a lower monthly payment but at a much greater interest cost."

Thompson also disagreed with critics of the measures who have warned that the tighter rules will put an added chill on an already cooling housing market.

"There's still lots of financing out there," he said, adding that the measures protect the Canadian taxpayer from having to foot a large bailout if the market goes south as it has in the U.S.

The survey, meanwhile, also revealed a regional divide in the level of support for the tighter rules and the level of understanding of the rules.

Agreement with the new rules in the heated housing markets of the Western provinces and in Ontario is significantly higher than in the Eastern provinces and Quebec, the report said, noting support for the crackdown was 64 per cent in British Columbia, 56 per cent in Alberta, 47 per cent in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, 46 per cent in Ontario, but only 35 per cent in the Atlantic provinces and 34 per cent in Quebec.

The proportion indicating a lack of understanding of the new rules was highest in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, at 23 per cent in both markets, and lowest in British Columbia at only seven per cent, followed by 13 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 18 per cent in Alberta, and 16 per cent in Ontario.

The online survey of at least 1,000 adults conducted last month following the release of the new rules is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points 19 times out 20.

Too many housing starts means crunch 'may come soon,'Lost amid concern over United States government agencies moving in to support mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae plus IndyMac Bankcorp, was a warning that Canada could soon face its own mortgage crisis.

Peter Hall, vice-president and chief economist with Export Development Canada, said in a report that in addition to U.S. housing woes, housing starts were down 56 per cent year-over-year during May in the United Kingdom, 18 per cent during the first quarter of the year in Spain and 17 per cent year-over-year in May in France.

Hall noted that housing starts in Canada are "soaring on the strength of the domestic economy and a huge dollop of very well-timed fiscal stimulus," and that a continuing excess of housing starts over requirements means "Canada's turn may come soon" for a housing crisis.

The report came in the wake of the Canadian government's attempt to avoid a housing crisis by no longer insuring mortgages with more than 35-year amortization periods and less than five-per-cent down payments as of Oct. 15.

Homebuyers with less than a 20-per-cent down payment are required to have their mortgage insured through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation -- a Crown corporation -- or a handful of private firms that have entered the mortgage-insurance market.

In 2006, the government extended the maximum amortization period from 25 to 40 years, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest costs. Last year, 37 per cent of mortgages taken out were for longer than 25 years.

Soon after the Canadian changes were announced, the United States Federal Reserve Board tightened up its mortgage-lending policies. As of Oct. 1, the Fed will require lenders to verify a borrower's income in determining repayment ability, to take a lender's ability to repay a loan from income into consideration, to establish escrow accounts for property taxes and homeowners insurance in certain cases, and basically to advertise rates and payments with clear notice if a rate isn't fixed.

One reason why U.S. lenders were willing to give mortgages to people with an unproven ability to make payments was that the lenders were able to package the loans with others and sell them to other institutions. Had the lenders been forced to hold the debt themselves, which is somewhat the case in Canada, lending would have been less reckless.

Rather than abating, the U.S. housing problem grows worse by the day, with foreclosures expected to flood the market with homes for sale early in 2009.

Things have deteriorated so badly in the U.S. that the Treasury Department will extend credit if needed to prop up Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, two government-sponsored enterprises that hold nearly half of all American mortgages.

The GSEs each include a debt component and an equity component, with the latter falling in value as investors sold off shares due to concern over rising mortgage defaults.

Famed U.S. commodities investor Jim Rogers called the Treasury plan an "unmitigated disaster." Mortgage lenders are "basically insolvent," and taxpayers will be left footing the bill, according to Rogers.

At the same time, U.S. government agencies stepped in to take over IndyMac Bankcorp, after helping to bail out Bear Stearns. That leaves about 90 financial institutions -- out of about 7,500 -- set to go under.

Meanwhile, portfolio manager Adrian Mastracci of Vancouver-based CKM Wealth Management offers sound tips for homebuyers:

- Consider a condominium or townhouse as a starter home.

Remember that in addition to the purchase price of a home, you may have legal and realtor costs, expenses for moving, renovations, furniture, repairs, maintenance, property taxes, insurance and utilities.

- Save 20 per cent for a down payment to reduce extra fees, consider taking money from your registered retirement savings plan through the Home Buyers Plan, and forego making non-registered investments because you would need an 8.9-per-cent return to do better than paying down a 5.75-per-cent mortgage if you're in the 35-per-cent tax bracket.

The strong housing market of the last few years has now cooled down as supply and demand have come more into balance, but prices will still rise this year, though not by double digit figures of the past, says CEO Phil Soper of Royal LePage Real Estate Services.

Through the rest of this year and into next, he said, Royal LePage's second-quarter statistics released Thursday suggest that average prices will creep up by about 3.5 per cent.

"When you're looking at the real estate market, it's important to look at not just house price changes, but also the changes in activity levels," he said.

"There are significantly fewer homes trading hands now than there have been in the boom years of this decade," he said. "It's a moderate market."

Royal LePage's report followed one from the Canadian Real Estate Association on Tuesday indicating that average house prices in June fell 0.4 per cent compared with a year ago for the first time since early 1999.

CREA's figures suggested that house prices were "basically flat" in June, said Soper, adding they were somewhat skewed by the fact that the association was unable to include Montreal in their results due to a reporting foul up.

He estimated Montreal is about 10 per cent of the country.

"If you look at our numbers, Montreal had a price increase year-to-date in the four per cent range," Soper said.

While prices are forecast to move higher, the country's largest real estate company predicts the number of transactions this year will fall by 11.5 per cent to 461,000 units.

Along with an easing of pent-up demand, it also attributed the slowdown to jitters among prospective buyers because of economic uncertainty following layoffs in the manufacturing and forestry sectors due to the subprime mortgage fiasco in the United States and worldwide credit crunch.

Avery Shenfeld, senior economist at CIBC World Markets, said earlier this week that there has been a noticeable softening of the housing market over the past few months.

"Some of that is coming in cities where prices had gone through the roof in the previous one or two years," he said.

In the second quarter, the average price of detached bungalows rose by 5.6 per cent from a year earlier to $351,587. Two-storey properties increased 5.2 per cent to $418,943.

"After several years characterized by a persistent shortage of listings, home buyers have felt the pressure of bidding wars and take-it-or-leave-it counter offers ease during 2008," Soper said.

"Home sellers have had to come to grips with the longer time it is taking to sell properties, but can take comfort in a market that continues to support reasonable price increases."

The survey of 17 cities across the country found lower prices in two major markets - Edmonton and Calgary.

In Edmonton, the average price for a bungalow dropped 14.5 per cent while an average Calgary two-storey dropped six per cent.

The greatest price increase was in Regina, which has seen home values surge as higher commodity prices have driven the regional economy.

In Regina, all types of housing saw higher prices, even though inventory of homes increased five-fold, the survey said.

Across the country, said Soper, some regions are slightly oversupplied right now with houses, in particular Calgary and Edmonton. Meanwhile, supply shortages are still being reported in Regina, Saskatoon, St. John's and Winnipeg.

For most of Canada, however, the number of people looking for homes is approximately equal to the number of homes available for sale.

"The housing market is a cyclical one," said Soper. "We've gone through an extended period of excess demand which has caused prices to rise at an unusually high rate."

"What we're seeing at the end of the cycle is that there are fewer numbers of new buyers in the market because they've got their homes."

TD Canada Trust (TSX:TD) changed its mortgage offerings Wednesday to bring its lending rules in line with regulatory changes set to take affect in October.

The bank said effectively immediately the maximum amortization period for new mortgages will be 35 years and will require a five per cent down payment.

TD said it will continue to process those mortgages with a longer amortization period or a lower down payment that have already been approved.

TD joins Bank of Montreal in changing its lending rules ahead of the Oct. 15 change in regulations

Ottawa moved to tighten the rules for government-guaranteed mortgages this week in a bid to prevent a meltdown like the one in the U.S. subprime mortgage market.

Starting Oct. 15, the Finance Department said it will no longer guarantee 40-year mortgages and will require a minimum down payment of five per cent of the value of a home.

Government-backed insurance is currently available on mortgages where the loan-to-value ratio is up to 100 per cent - in other words the buyer has borrowed all the money to buy a home and then gets insurance coverage on the whole amount.

With so much interest rate uncertainty in the market borrowers are facing a dilemma as to whether they should fix their home loan interest rate or not by applying for a fixed rate mortgage. A Montreal fixed rate mortgage will provide absolute security against interest rate rises ensuring that monthly repayments remain constant regardless of what the money market is doing.

The interest rate, and therefore the interest payments, on the fixed rate product will remain stable for the fixed rate period. This period is predetermined and is usually set between one and five years, although it can be for longer.

Fixing home loan repayments can help considerably with household budgeting which is why this type of product is popular with low income earners and first-time-buyers. Montreal Mortgage payments usually account for about a third of a household’s disposable income so it is important to ensure that rising interest rates do not make the home loan unaffordable. Locking in the interest rate at an acceptable level can reduce this risk considerably.

Borrowers should be aware, however, that fixed interest rates are usually higher than variable rates offered on the same products. Additionally, as a general rule, the longer the fixed rate period is, the higher the interest rate will be. This is because lenders must provide themselves with a profit margin on the money they lend. If they are expecting interest rates to increase in the future, their costs will increase and their profit margin will decrease.

Lenders therefore need to build in a larger profit margin for this type of home loan product when compared to variable rate products. Mortgage products that have a variable interest rate should provide a profit to the lender for the entire term of the loan. Borrowers should therefore keep in mind that they might pay over the odds for a fixed rate home loan however the reduction in risk should make up for this.

Another factor that borrowers should consider before applying for a home loan product of this kind is early repayment charges and arrangement fees. Although a fixed rate mortgage can save money over the long term if interest rates rise, borrowers should take into account any fees that may be payable on an existing home loan if it is redeemed and switched to a new product.

Additionally, fixed rate products may attract an arrangement fee. The cost of the arrangement fee should also be taken into account when calculating whether this type of home loan product is worth applying for. Also, home loan products typically come with early repayment charges during the fixed rate period. This means that if the borrower wishes to redeem the loan or remortgage to another product they will have to pay a fee to the lender. Early repayment charges can be as high as five percent of the balance of the loan.

If you are unsure on whether you should apply for a fixed rate home loan, contact a qualified independent financial advisor for expert advice. An independent advisor will be able to assess you borrowing needs and suggest the most appropriate mortgage products for you to consider for your home.

The cost of borrowing for a home is going up and, in some cases, by quite a bit.

Several of Canada's biggest banks are raising most of their mortgages, effective Friday, while hikes of up to 85 basis points have already kicked in.

TD Canada Trust (TSX: TD) hiked its residential mortgage rates today by up to 85 basis points, effective today, while Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) is hiking its residential mortgage rates by up to 85 basis points for some terms on Friday.

Not all Montreal mortgage rates at all banks are rising by such a jump, but virtually all of them – including Royal Bank (TSX: RY), National Bank (TSX: NA) and CIBC (TSX: CM) – are pushing through increases of at least 25 basis points to their posted rates.

That will add to homeowners' interest payments, with short-term mortgages becoming especially pricey.

For instance, a one-year open mortgage at Royal will rise by 50 basis points to 8.8 per cent, a one-year open at TD rises by 80 basis points to 9.1 per cent and CIBC's one-year open mortgage will cost 9.24 per cent.

In contrast, rates for five-year closed mortgages – the most popular in Canada because of the certainty it provides, especially to first-time buyers – is much lower. CIBC's posted rate for five-year Montreal mortgages was the lowest among the majors, at 6.95 per cent.

The commercial banks' moves follow the Bank of Canada's surprising decision Tuesday to leave its benchmark overnight rate unchanged at three per cent, rather than lowering it by a quarter-point as most bank economists had expected.

The central bank's overnight rate influences the commercial banks' cost of raising short-term funds, which are then used by them in their lending businesses. Longer-term funds tend to be affected more directly by the bond market than by the central bank.

Earlier in the year, central banks were worried about slowing economic growth, but in recent weeks the focus has shifted to inflation, suggested Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter.

"We have seen some very extreme moves in market interest rates in recent days and recent weeks. Basically the bond market is swinging wildly between a possible U.S. recession and global inflation," Porter said.

Central banks around the world have faced the prospect this week of oil prices hitting sustained record highs.

On Tuesday, the Bank of Canada defied expectations by putting a stop to the downward trend of its key interest rate, while saying that inflation is becoming a threat to the economy.

"The expectation is that rather than (mortgage) rates staying where they are right now or going down, the consensus is rates are going to be back up," said Warren Jestin, chief economist at Scotiabank.

"In our view, we're probably going to see in the next couple of months more concern about inflation, more of a back-up in interest rates, although by the end of the year they're going to come back down again."

In general, bank rates tend to stay relatively in swing with each other, but the sudden change in the outlook for interest rates may have thrown some of the banks for a loop.

But Jestin suggests that eventually the Canadian banks will fall in-line with each other on their mortgage rates.

"The sea change in the market has been so sudden that you may well find that the adjustment in mortgage rates occurs over a period of a few days or perhaps a few weeks," he said.