Statistics Canada announced this morning that the country lost 1,800 jobs in October following two months of blockbuster employment gains. October marks the first month of job losses since July, but as the chart below shows, the employment data are notoriously volatile. The Canadian dollar sold off on the news of the small job loss. Even with the slight drop in October, job gains so far this year are the strongest in 17 years. The country has added 391,00 jobs in the first ten months of this year.

The labour market remains a bright spot for the Canadian economy, and income growth has boosted consumer spending and housing this year. The unemployment rate remained at a mere 5.5% in October–just one tick above a 45-year low–and best of all, wage gains for permanent employees surged 4.4% year-over-year, the best reading in ages. Accelerating wage growth is a sign that the tight labour market is boosting pay. With overall inflation at only 2% or less, real family purchasing power is rising. As well, hours worked advanced 1.3% from a year earlier, matching September’s pace.

There is nothing in this report that changes the Bank of Canada’s likely actions. I believe the Bank will remain on the sidelines when it meets again in December, but could well take an “insurance” rate cut early next year. Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, one of the few central bankers to resist the global push for lower interest rates, acknowledged he’s begun to consider the merits of joining other countries in lowering borrowing costs. Currently, Canada has the highest overnight interest rate among the majors, as the US once again cut rates late last month. Poloz said that the Bank of Canada “is mindful that the resilience of Canada’s economy will be increasingly tested as trade conflicts and uncertainty persist.” The Bank of Canada remains bullish on consumption and housing — which are being fueled by a robust labour market.

In October, employment increased in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador and was little changed in the other provinces. Employment declined in manufacturing and construction. At the same time, net new jobs were up in public administration and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing. The number of self-employed workers decreased, while the number of employees in the public sector increased for the second consecutive month.

Refinancing a Home is one of those things where people understand what it is but have trouble explaining how it works. To put it simply, refinancing your home allows you to access the equity you have built up, by changing the mortgage amount.

Let’s say you bought a $300,000 condo and you paid 20% ($60,000) as your down payment and had a mortgage of $240,000. Over the next 4 years, you continue making payments to pay down the $240,000 you owed and now that amount is only $230,000. Your mortgage is up for renewal in one year however, you want to do some renovations and you need to access the equity in your home—this is where a refinance could come into play.

What this means is you will get an appraisal, or in simpler terms an evaluation, of your current home and submit that information to a lender. Let’s say your $300,000 condo is now worth $350,000 and you owe $230,000. You have built up an additional $60,000 in equity ($350,000 – $230,000 owing – $60,000 initial down payment= $60,000). You have a mortgage of $230,000 on a Home worth $350,000, therefore your equity in the Home is $120,000.

To access that $120,000, you can refinance your mortgage. So let’s say you want to go back and take $50,000 from the $120,000 you have built up. Your new mortgage would go from $230,000 to $280,000, and that $50,000 will be transferred from the lender to you. You are essentially borrowing money from the lender while also adding money back on top of your mortgage.

This is why people will refinance their home to make larger purchases. The bank will lend you the money now and get it back in the future, plus interest, because it is being added to the mortgage.

This is just one way people are able to use their home to access cash. Other ways people can do this, especially if they are looking to complete renovations, is through home equity, lines of credit, collateral charges and purchase plus mortgages.

Knowing this information before you buy can be extremely beneficial. That is why it is important to work with a qualified mortgage specialist. Contact me today for more questions about refinancing! www.YourPlan.ca or email me at info@yourplan.ca

#refinance #yourplan #mortgageadvice #renovations

There are several different ways a borrower can qualify for a mortgage when it comes to their income. One of the most common ways is known as income qualified. All of the following methods of employment income are under the income qualified umbrella:

1) Annual salary income employees
2) Full time employees working guaranteed weekly hours
3) Part time employees working guaranteed weekly hours
4) Auxiliary/On-call employees with 2-yr history at same employer
5) Commission Sales who have 2-yr history in same job/industry
6) Employees earning gratuities who have claimed over 2-yr history
7) Contract employees with 2-yr history at job/industry

There are a couple more types of employment that may fall into this category, but for the most part, these are the types of borrowers whose mortgage application is going to be done using income qualifying.

When it comes to the first 3, a borrower’s income is paid by a business in which they generally do not have any interest/ownership in. This means, an human resources representative or a supervisor can write a letter of employment stating the weekly guaranteed hours, the guaranteed hourly pay rate, the start date, and the employee’s position. The lender will then use this letter, a most recent pay stub, as well as verbally confirm the letter with the employer to verify a borrower’s income. This is how a borrower who works guaranteed hours or salary has their income verified and qualified on a mortgage application.

For numbers 4 to 7, lenders and mortgage brokers will verify and qualify a borrowers income a little differently. Because an employer does not guarantee hours or income, we need to see that there has been at least a 2-year history making the same amount. This 2-year history will usually need to be with the same employer and will need to be documented on your personal income tax returns to the Canadian Revenue Agency. The income amount on your line 150 of your T1 General Tax Returns for the past 2 years are added together and then divided by 2. The amount you get is the income you are allowed to use on your mortgage application and this is then verified by a letter of employment stating you have in fact been an employee there for more than 2 years, your are currently working there, your position, as well as a pay stub showing year-to-date income that is comparable to your 2-year average given the month you are in.
The same process would be used for those who earn over time or bonuses, claim tips, or work part time with two jobs.

If you have any questions just give me a call.

We have seen a return of the buyers’ market and many people are asking, how long will this last? While some renters without a down payment might be asking, how can o put a plan in place to own?

With the cost of living so high, and student debts coming out of school, many consumers question how they’re going to come up with a down payment for a home.

Here are some ways you can get it done.

Decide how much you can save and pick a plan that works for you:

a) A 36-month plan saving $700/month will get you $25,200 (you will need about $2,000 for closing costs if you qualify as a first-time homebuyer) b) A 24-month plan savings $600/month for $14,400
b) Get a gift from a family member
c) Borrow the down payment, or a portion (which may also help with credit building)
d) A combination of all of the above

For those of you that want to partner with government for down payment and profit of home ownership, a new government program can be a helpful tool provided it stays past the October election. https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/nhs/shared-equity-mortgage-provider-fund

You might me reading this and thinking, ‘yeah right, that is not reality.’ Or for some people, you know it might just be exactly what will help them move forward.

Perhaps you have graduated from school and your parents don’t charge you rent. Imagine if you could put one of your paycheques every month aside and try living within those means and budgeting accordingly.

Or say you have a partner and one of you just started work in a specific trade and the other’s paycheque went towards the “home purchase plan.”

Also, if you are within the qualifications to buy, you will be earning a combined household income of $125,000-plus per year, so taking those funds right from your paycheque into your RRSP will have additional tax benefits too where you can use the refund for closing costs or amp up your down payment.

Here’s an example of how this worked for a lab technician and chef with a two-year old daughter.

They did a combination plan as they moved up to Canada from the U.S. two years ago, both got stable jobs and had no outside debt. They were paying $1700 a month rent. They used a $10,000 line of credit they took to put into investment to help establish Canadian credit. After getting the line of credit and placing it into a safe investment, they:

a) Set up an RRSP and placed $600 a month on the loan and $700 a month into their RRSP.

b) Now this family is used to having a cash outlay of $3,000 per month which will be the actual expectation they have for when they buy a home.

c) With this plan, they take a mortgage for a test drive, save money on taxes, establish a great credit score and worked away toward their goal.

Are there holes in the plan? Yes, home prices may go up, there was interest on the loan they paid and they may have to adjust or modify their plan. Their employment can change, however, this practice will only benefit them no matter what life brings their way and there is a sense of empowerment when you have a plan and can see how you can get there.

Do you or someone you care about want to know how they can be set up with a multifaceted plan to help them move forward with a goal of owning a home?

Give me a call
Cory Kline
705-794-1283
info@YourPlan.ca

If your family is stressing over debt please give me a call, I would love to help you with your options.

If you are a Canadian living in debt, you are not alone.

According to Statistics Canada, household debt grew faster than income last year, with Canadians owing $1.79 for every dollar of household disposable income to debt.
Canadian households use almost 15% of income for debt re-payment.
• 7.3% of this re-payment goes towards interest charges
• Interest charges are at their highest level in 9 years
• The cost of living is projected to increase in 2020

So how can one ever get out of debt? Debt consolidation.

What is debt consolidation?
Debt consolidation means paying off smaller loans with a larger loan at a lower interest rate. For example, a credit card bill debt with interest of 19.99% can be paid off by a 5-year Mortgage with an interest in the 3-4.00%* range. (*OAC, rates subject to change w/o notice). Many people are just making the minimum payment on high interest credit cards, which could take 30 years or more to pay off!

A lot of confusion surrounds debt consolidation; many of us just don’t know enough about it. Consider the two sides:

The pros
• The lower the interest rate, the sooner you get out of debt. A lower monthly interest allows you to pay more towards your actual loan, getting you debt-free faster.
• You only have to make one monthly debt payment. This is more manageable than keeping track of multiple debt payments with different interest rates.
• Your credit score remains untarnished because your higher interest loans, such as a credit card, are paid off.

The cons
• Consolidating your debt doesn’t give you the green light to continue spending.
Consolidating helps you get out of debt; continuing to spend as you did before puts you even further into debt.

Give me a call
~ Cory 705-794-1283
(Thank you Andrea Twizell for the statistics in this blog)
#DebtFree #LetsTalkMortgages #YourPlan #Advice #SavingYouMoney

Renovating? Consider adding the cost of the renovations to your mortgage.

Let’s take a closer look at how a Refinance Plus Improvements mortgage can get you the extra cash you need to get your renovations completed.
The Standard Refinance
An everyday refinance allows the home owner to access up to 80% of the fair market value of the home. The value is typically determined by a Market Appraisal on the home. Here is how it would look:
• Current Appraised Value of the home: $250,000.00
• Max New Mortgage Amount: $200,000.00 ß 80% of present value
• Your current Mortgage Balance: $190,000
• Equity Available to you for the renovations: $10,000.00

CLICK TO READ MORE

#DreamHome #Mortgages #YourPlan #Renovations #RefinancePlusImprovments #SavingYouMoney #LowRates #Goals

A new survey has emerged showing that out of 1,901 owners and would be homeowners, 43% (more than two out of five) Canadians are not confident in their knowledge of the mortgage stress tests—despite them being in place for more than a year now.

We wanted to give you a brief set of notes regarding the guidelines. This is something you can use and reference whether you are a first-time home buyer or looking to refinance underneath these new guidelines. It gives a clear picture of what/how you are impacted as a buyer or someone who is looking to refinance.

Click to Read More

Wondering how much you can afford? Get Pre-Qualified in under 60 seconds!!

Download My Mortgage App  to get quick answers!!

Contact me to start planning today!!

705-794-1283 or info@YourPlan.ca
-Cory

Download My Mortgage Toolbox and get access to all premium tools to help plan your mortgage.
#YourPlan #Mortgages #FirstTimeHomeBuyer2019

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