Lynn Meldrum

Rigth now is the best time to look at refinancing your home. Rates are very low right now (Best so far is 3.9% for a 2 year fixed. If your mortgae was done in the last two years your rates will have been higher than they are know. even for a straight switch it would be great because your mortgage payments would be lower than they are. If you need to consolidate some of your debt (or all of your debt) into your mortgage you may be looking at a just slightly higher payment depending on your ammortization period.

It could very exciting for those we are a little in debt but have equity in thier homes. Your mortgage payment may be higher but the credi card payments and or car payments would be gone.

Here are the rates as we have then here in Calgary AB

I was thinking about who would need my services the most in this economic time. I realized that if you worked for a company that may be laying people off and you didn't have any kind of buffer in your bank account. This would be a time of stress for you. Not only does employment insurance pay poorly, but it runs out in 9 mos.

If you are unable to secure employment by that time, you may be in a bit of a situation. What I am advising people to do is, if you are currently working but may be laid off , is look at doing a refinance on your mortgage take out some money and put it in a bank account and don't touch it until you really need it. You can get the best rates when you have a job but if you are unemployed then getting a mortgage or an equity loan out of your house will be expensive and short term. Also you can change the amortization to a longer time and with the low rates we know have your monthly payments may be just a bit bigger than you are paying now. If, however, you don't end up needing the money you can also just put the money back on the mortgage when you are in a more stable situation. I do stress that it is best to do this before your employment changes.

Just some food for thought

I realize that someone with a mortgage these days can sometimes be in a negative equity situation, however if your not you could take your payments down by hundreds if not thousands by refinancing and putting all your bills onto your mortgage. This shouldn't be a yearly occurance if you eventaully want to own your home. However when in a short term financial situation it is probably the best thing that will take down monthly payments, espicially with the lower interest rates. Below is an idea of a person who would be best to get a refinance to get all montly payment down.

After

*Rates as of March 5, 2009; **rates can change without notice

This is not the fix you want to do every year. If you can't get your debts down anyother way this is definitly an option. My biggest suggestion would be to try and live on your income and not go into debt for daily living. If you are doing this then you need to re evaluate your situation. If you think you might be in the process of changing your lifestyle for the worst and you have equity in your home, think about taking some of the equity out for a buffer and if you don't need it within a couple of years then you can put it right back on your mortgage.

If you need more information let me know.

Lynn Meldrum

Verico Canada First Mortgage

Well I thought my predictions would be better than they are. Bank of Canada went down and most lenders went down with it. As of April 1st most of the Canadian Lenders will drop their prime to 2.5% All of those people who got adjustable rate mortgages at Prime -.90% are laughing all the way to the bank to pay thier rediculously low mortgage. I didn't see this drop happening so soon and now I am baffled by what could happen in June when the next meeting occurs. This is truly a buyers market with this low interest rate, it's truly the time if you are waiting to pick up a home for a great deal and purchase it when the interest rates are great.

With this drop I am going to predict that in June that it will stay the same. But who knows. Anyone else out there got some ideas let me know.

Lynn Meldrum

Verico Canada First Mortgage

403-554-9142

I just recently did a workshop and found a lot of interest with this group of first time home buyers. They were excited and looking forward to purchasing in the next while. The Place that we did the workshop at asked if we could do this more so that if other people were interested they could also come. That's very exciting because it shows that people are understanding that the recession is a temporary situation and not a permanent one. If only the press could understand how much stress they are putting on purchasers.

I am hoping to do more workshops as this last one came with a couple of interested people, and that's all we need.

Lynn Meldrum

403-554-9142