There There are ways that can make the application for your mortgage go smoothly. My job as a Mortgage Specialist is to make your mortgage application go seemlessly but I do need your help in this.

Tip number 1 is to be realistic with down payment. If you have had some credit problems in the last 2 years your chance of getting a mortgage with Zero down is not going to happen. In Canada we can still get 0 down mortgages, but your credit needs to be impecable for the last 2 years and even more. If not you will need a 5% down payment if your credit is good and this can be gifted if you haven't had a bankrupsy. If you don't qualify for a 5% down then you can get either a 10% - 15% down.

Tip number 2 is to be realistic with interet rates. As I mentioned above we still have 0 down mortgages avaliable in Canada and because these are ussually the best of the best credit they ussually qualify for the best of the best rates. 5% down will also qualify for the best of the best rates unless you have challenged credit over the last 2 years. Ussually if the lender requires the 15% down, your interest rates are higher, because of challenged credit. Interest rates are higher because they are taking a chance on you and want you to have a signicifant chunk of your money in the house. They must figure that most people won't walk away from 15% of what thier house is worth . However if you have a refinance and have 20% in equity in your home you can get the best rates.

Tip number 3 is to know it's not always all about the best rates. This is something that you need to know ahead. You also need to know how much you can comfortably afford for mortgage paments per month or bi weekly. No one wants you to settle for a higher rate than you can get. My job is to get you the best mortgage for your needs with the best rate that I can, this may not always be the best rates out there. Again being realistic about what your monthly expenses are and what you can afford for a monthly house payment. There are wonderful interest rates out there that have conditions that you may not want to be stuck with. One of the conditions that we see in some of these wonderful rate mortgages are that you cannot refinance the mortgage for 5 years (ussually the term of the mortgage) You can sell the house and get a penalty payment. Other wonderful rate mortgages have penalty payouts in the 10's of thousands of dollars. This is not what you want to find out when having to refinance at the last minute.

Tip number 4 BE PREPARED. Be prepared with all of your documents ahead of time when going out shopping for a home. If you have all documents ready and prepared for the mortgage conditions then during the time of condition of financing it will be quick and efficient to get all of the conditions lifted to purchase your home. You should do this when refinancing as well so that it can get done quickly. Most documents needed are to verify employment, so a letter from your employer and 2 pay stubs. Where the dowmpayment is coming from so 3 mos bank statements, a gift letter, RRSP statements etc. And finally it's about the property. They want to know that the property is worth what your buying it for and all of the purchase agreement information.

Tip number 5 Legal representation. Most mortgages in Canada need a real estate lawyer to finalize all of the mortgage papers and to put the new owners of the property on title with thier mortgage. The lenders may also ask you to get independant legal representation if there are issues of seperation or not putting someone's name of title. The only reason you wouldn't need legal representation for a mortgage in Canada is if you are switching your mortgage from one lender to another without changing anything other than the lender.

Tip number 6 use your own realtor when purchasing not the sellors realtor, I have talked to many realtors about this and there is a consensus that your will get your best represntation from someone you have contrated to work for you and not the sellors realtor. the sellors realtor has already signed a contract with the sellor saying that he/she will work in their best interest. If you use the same realtor you may not get the best deal you could as you are asking the sellors rep to get you a better deal. If you contract a realtor to work for you in this instance they can work in your best interest to get you the best deal.

I hope these will help you in your future endevours of purchasing or refinancing your home. This is suppose to be an exciting time when you purchase and it can be if you know what you need to do. I hope you use these tips and enjoy the process

Well I've been a busy time and wasn't blogging for a while and I must say that Idid miss it. It's nice to put your thoughts on the net and have see what other think as well so I'm back and ready to roll.

Interest rates have become super competitive and seem to be in a constant flux of change. However one of the things to look as when looking into a mortgage for your selves are not only the interest rates but penalty payouts. This has been hitting people hard who want to either switch banks to get a better rate or to refinance thier mortgage. it seems right now the big payouts are preventing people from moving thier mortgages. I really can't blame them when they are getting hit with a $20,000.00 penalty payout. But when setting up any new mortgage that would be the time to look at what would be the payout penalty. I have found the interest rates that are "on special" have the biggest payout penalties, this really is something to look into as you don't want to get stuck into a mortgage you can't get out of unless that' what you want. Always when getting a new mortgage or a refinance or renewal make sure you know what your payout penalties will be going in just in case something happens and you have to get at the equity in you home, you know what kind of a payout it would be. Most payout will change depending on the interest rates at the time, but it will give you at least a ball park.

The next thing to look seriously at are pre payment priveledges. Thi could take down your ammortization of your home quickly as most the of extra payments are going directly to principle and not interest. you can add more money to the monthly or bi weekly accelerated payments up to 25% depending on the lender. Then you can do lump sum payments of up to 25% (again depending on lender) of the original mortgage amount per year. This is not always something that you think about but it is good to know. What if you won a substanial amount of money and wanted to put it towards the mortgage? You could end up paying a penalty fee to do this if your mortgage isn't set up for this. This may never happen but if it did then you would be able to without penalty.

Here are the latest Interest Rates

Lynn Meldrum , Mortgage Professional

Verico Canada First Mortgage

Phone 1-403-554-9142

Fax 1-866-53-4235

Email lynn@canadafirstmortgage.com

Term	Our Discounted	Posted Bank Rate
Adjustable	Prime plus 0.60%	Prime Plus 1%
1 Year	2.90%	5.50%
2 Years	3.05%	5.75%
3 Years	3.15%	5.75%
4 Years	3.79%	5.69%
5 Years	3.59%	5.79%
7 Years	5.15%	7.00%
10 Years	5.25%	7.35%
	rates as of May 5, 2009
	Rates can change w/o notice

Well spring is here, I think. Interest rates have reached a almost all time low and there are still houses and condos being purchased. However right now the refinance and renewal mortgages are something to really look into. At this point if you had your mortgage either renewed or refinanced or got an mortgage in the last 3 years you are paying more per month for your mortgage than you would if you renewed your mortgage right now and got these wonderful mortgage rates.

Since not everybody has a money tree we need to look at how we can continue to live right now and still have the things we need during this time. I see that as refinance or renewal so your monthly expenditures aren't more than you monthly income. The Canadian Government is trying to help it's citizens by keeping Prime Rate Low thus forcing interest rates down. This seems to be working as Canada has a good ecomony even with all the instability around the world.

The one Mortgage I will not touch is the Adjustable Rate or Variable Rate. If you got your mortgage before This year, 2009, you probably have a rate of Prime Minus 0.5% or lower. Anyone with this rate should sit tight with it. It is the best rate right now.

Don't take chances with your homes right now. It's best to get debts you have under control and have lower payments. This way getting through this time will be a breeze once you get all you ducks in a row. Those ducks should include lowering Mortgage Payments and credit card payments.

Now is the time to be responsible with our debts including our mortgages. To get a better rate and a lower payment you would be moving in the right direction during this time. Contact me for further information

Lynn Meldrum, Mortgage Specialist

Verico Canada First Mortgage

Phone 403-554-9142

Fax 1-866-536-4235

lynn@canadafirstmortgage.com

Well I just blooged the other day about it going down another quarter of a point and here it is. For all of you folks with adjustable rate mortgages, congradulations your mortgage payment goes down again.

The Lenders are putting this into practice as we speak, so the next little while we shall see what will happen next. The latest rates are as follows

Lynn Meldrum , Mortgage Professional

Verico Canada First Mortgage

Phone 1-403-554-9142

Fax 1-866-53-4235

Email lynn@canadafirstmortgage.com

Term	Our Discounted	Posted Bank Rate
Adjustable	Prime plus 0.75%	Prime Plus 1%
1 Year	2.99%	5.50%
2 Years	3.59%	5.75%
3 Years	3.59%	5.75%
4 Years	3.79%	5.69%
5 Years	3.69%	5.79%
7 Years	5.15%	7.00%
10 Years	5.25%	7.35%
	rates as of April 22, 2009
	Rates can change w/o notice

Well interest rates are still going down not dure how low they will go but they have slowed down just a bit here they are as of Thursday April 9, 2009

Check out the great interest rates. If you have any questions feel free to call me at

403-554-9142.