6597 RUSSELL Street Niagara Falls, Ontario

Who else wants to learn how to customize their next Niagara home? 7993 PADDOCK TRAIL Drive Niagara Falls, Ontario

7777 ASCOT Circle Niagara Falls, Ontario

34 FOREST HILL Crescent Fonthill, Ontario

Teaching Your Kids About Renting

Fall is here! The kids have moved out for school. Help them learn about renting and coping with issues during their tenancy.

One property manager, who has been in the business for decades, compares landlord and tenant relationships to marriage. Initially, both parties are enthused with one another and things look rosy. As the tenancy progresses, the initial rosy viewpoint shifts to a more realistic one as issues arise. These could be minor issues, such as a tenant wanting repairs to happen more quickly, or there could be major issues, such as non-payment of rent.

The links below address practical tenancy issues:

• Emergencies and Repairs - Defines emergency repairs and explains how to respond to them.
• Regular Repairs - Looks at the proper process for getting non-critical things fixed.
• Handling Complaints - Explains how to effectively handle complaints.
• Rent Increases - Provides an overview of the process for increasing the rent.
• Lease Renewals - Provides an overview of how leases are renewed.

If you’re a tenant, landlord or property manager, Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) can offer you information on tenant and landlord rights, responsibilities and rental practices across the country: www.cmhc.ca

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Does Breaking Your Mortgage Make Sense?

With mortgage rates still hovering at historic lows, chances are you've considered breaking your current mortgage and renewing or refinancing now before rates begin to rise.

Perhaps you want to free up cash for such things as renovations, travel or putting towards your children’s education? Or maybe you want to pay down debt or pay your mortgage off faster?

If you have thought about breaking your mortgage and taking advantage of these historically low rates, feel free to give me a call or send me an email to discuss your options.

In some cases, the penalty can be quite substantial if you are not very far into your mortgage term, but we can determine if breaking your mortgage now will benefit you long term.

People often assume the penalty for breaking a mortgage amounts to three months’ interest payments so, when they crunch the numbers, it doesn't seem so bad. In most cases, however, the penalty is the greater of three months’ interest or the interest rate differential (IRD).

The IRD is the difference between the interest rate on your mortgage contract and today’s rate,which is the rate at which the lender can re-lend the money. And with rates so low these days, the IRD tends to be greater than three months’ interest. Because this is a way for banks to recuperate any losses, for some people, breaking and renegotiating at a lower rate without careful planning can mean they come out no further ahead.

Keep in mind, however, that penalties vary from lender to lender and there are different penalties for different types of mortgages. In addition, the size of your down payment and whether you opted for a “cash back” mortgage can influence penalties.

While breaking a mortgage and paying penalties based on the IRD can result in a break-even proposition in the short term, if you look at the big picture, you’ll see that the true savings are long term - as we know that rates will be higher in the years to come.

Your current goal is to secure a long-term rate commitment before it’s too late, and here lies the significant future savings.

As always, if you have questions about breaking your mortgage to secure a lower rate, or general mortgage questions, 

I’m here to help!

themortgageguyniagara.com