Four Questions We’ve Gotten in Light of the Changing Market

General Angela Calla 25 Apr

With the Bank Of Canada expecting to raise interest rates another .50% you may feel the variable-rate rollercoaster is not worth riding anymore.

Certainty is not something that can be provided in an everchanging market, however, you do have options with your mortgage if you own your home.

If you do want to lock in your variable rate mortgage, we have put together a step-by-step process depending on your unique situation.

Please note: While this guideline includes the 3 most common lenders out there, the process would be the same for whichever lender you are with.

Here are answers to the 4 most common questions in our office this week.

  1. Should I sell my house? I’m afraid I can’t afford the mortgage.

With current market supply issues, if you are comfortable in your home and it suits your lifestyle, we would recommend staying put and reviewing your finances to find a solution. Rental and purchase properties are suffering from an extreme shortage right now. Since the supply still hasn’t opened up, selling could lead to a more stressful and financially detrimental scenario, opposite of the desired result. If you are relocating, moving in with family can be considered a benefit and we recommend consulting with us to develop a financial plan to ensure you feel safe and secure.

  1. Should I refinance early?

This will depend on your current mortgage amount, rate, lender, and current qualifications, which can be determined with a mortgage review.

  1. What do I do if my mortgage is up for renewal?

Ensure you have a budget and plan in place. Let us help review your mortgage payments on the stress test (at a higher than the rate you pay) to ensure you feel secure with your options to pay off your mortgage faster and protect your equity. Selecting a different amortization to calculate your payment can help with cash flow and budgeting. It is recommended to ensure you have 6 months of emergency savings set aside so that when it’s time to prepare for your renewal, your equity can help provide security for your family in changing times.

  1. Are there any mortgage options where I don’t have to make a payment? 

A Reverse Mortgage is a tool for those over 55 years old with over 50% equity in their homes that want to flip the switch and not make payments anymore. Instead, the equity in your home makes the payments. This helps your investments last longer and gives you access to capital. These equity payments are non-taxable and increase your cash flow since you no longer are using any income/pension you receive towards a mortgage payment. This can also be used to gift money to family, pay off outside debt, or do a home renovation.


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

interest rates

Looking to Locking in Your Mortgage? Here is How to Contact Your Lender

General Angela Calla 21 Apr

In light of the recent Bank of Canada announcement, raising the interest on variable rate mortgages by 0.5%, we wanted to take the initiative prior to the next expected ones to provide the knowledge on how to find the available options of locking in your variable rate, should this be something you are considering. It’s expected at this snapshot in time that Prime will rise the next while to 3.95%, pre-pandemic levels.  No one can predict with certainty what will happen for sure. Right now, we know rates will go up, and if you want to lock into a fixed rate, it will be around 4% with your existing lender should you decide not to want to be in variable anymore.

Here is a link to our app if you want to see how those payments will look in advance.

Your lender can be reached by emailing them a request to lock-in.

If you email them to review the options, you will be provided with those options back via email and have 1-3 days to sign and send them back should you decide to lock-in.

Should you decide to continue to be in your variable, then you simply would not sign the papers.

Below is a list of lenders that we work with along with the email/phone number to contact them to begin this process:

  1. Merixcustomerservice@merixfinancial.com
  2. First Nationalcustomer@firstnational.ca
  3. Scotia Bank  – (Link to book an appointment)
  4. Toronto Dominion Bank (TD)(Link to book an appointment)
  5. Dominion Lending Centre (DLC)(Contact Page)
  6. RMGmortgagesupport@rmgmortgages.ca
  7. MCAPservice@mcap.com

Copy and paste this email to them:

Subject line: Lock in Request (Your Name)

Hello,
Kindly send me my lock-in options
If you have any questions, please contact me directly at
Your Name and Phone Number/Email address/Property Address with the Mortgage in Question

At the Angela Calla Mortgage Team, we always believe in knowing all the options available to make an informed decision. If there is anything else we can help you with your mortgage, please don’t hesitate to reach out. If you do decide to lock in, please keep us posted so we can update our records.


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

Bank of Canada

Canadian Inflation Spikes to 6.7% in March

General Angela Calla 20 Apr

Holy Smokes! Canadian Inflation Is At 6.7%

StatsCanada today reported that consumer prices rose a whopping 6.7% year-over-year in March, a full percentage point above the 5.7% reading the month before. Market-driven interest rates shot up on the news as the prospects increase for another half-point rise in the overnight rate when the Bank of Canada meets again on June 1.

There is no sugar-coating this. Bonds were walloped as the Government of Canada’s two-year yield shot up to 2.6%, the 5-year yield rose to 2.75%, and the 10-year yield spiked above 2.825% immediately following the data release. The 5-year yield–so crucial for setting the 5-year fixed mortgage rate–has nearly quadrupled over the past year. Inflationary pressure remained widespread in March, as prices rose across all eight major components. Prices increased against the backdrop of sustained price pressure in Canadian housing markets, substantial supply constraints and geopolitical conflict, which has affected energy, commodity, and agriculture markets. Further, employment continued to strengthen in March, as the unemployment rate fell to a record low. In March, average hourly wages for employees rose 3.4% y/y, raising the risk of wage-price spiralling.

Excluding gasoline, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 5.5% year over year in March, the fastest pace since introducing the all-items excluding gasoline special aggregate in 1999, following a 4.7% gain in February.The CPI rose 1.4% in March, following a 1.0% gain in February on a monthly basis. This was the largest increase since January 1991, when the goods and services tax was introduced. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.9% in March, matching the most significant increase on record.

In March, gasoline prices rose 11.8% month over month, following a 6.9% increase in February. Global oil prices rose sharply in March because of supply uncertainty following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Higher crude oil prices pushed prices at the pump higher. Year over year, consumers paid 39.8% more for gasoline in March.

Month over month, prices for fuel oil and other fuels rose 19.9%, the second-largest increase on record after February 2000. On a year-over-year basis, prices for fuel oil and other fuels rose 61.0% in March.

Food prices continued to surge, as did the prices of durable goods such as automobiles and furniture. It cost considerably more for restaurants, hotel rooms and flights.

Goods inflation hit 9.2% in March, the highest since 1982. Services inflation rose to 4.3%, the highest since 2003.

Bottom Line

Bond markets sold off all over the world today. The yield curves flattened as shorter-term yields rose more than their longer-dated counterparts, reflective of the view that central banks will accelerate their tightening.

Today’s CPI report shows inflation pressures were more elevated than the Bank of Canada expected just last week when they hiked the policy rate by 50 basis points.

This could well mark the top of the surge in inflation, but the return to the 2% inflation target could be prolonged, particularly if inflation expectations become embedded. For this reason, Governor Macklem is likely to tighten aggressively once again on June 1, which will further dampen housing activity.

This article is accredited to the Sherry Cooper Assoc.


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

interest rates

Canadian Home Sales Begin to Slow in March

General Angela Calla 19 Apr

Canadian March Home Sales Posted Their Biggest Decline Since June

Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that rising interest rates were already dampening housing activity well before the Bank of Canada’s jumbo spike in the key policy rate in mid-April. National home sales fell back by 5.4% on a month-over-month basis in March. The decline puts activity back in line with where it had been since last fall (see chart below).

New Listings

The number of newly listed homes fell back by 5.5% on a month-over-month basis in March, following a jump in February. The monthly decline was led by Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Calgary and the GTA.

With sales and new listings falling in equal measure in March, the sales-to-new listings ratio stayed at 75.3% compared to 75.2% in February. The long-term average for the national sales-to-new listings ratio is 55.1%.

About two-thirds of local markets were seller’s markets based on the sales-to-new listings ratio is more than one standard deviation above its long-term mean in March 2022. The other third of local markets were in balanced market territory.

There were 1.8 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of March 2022 — up from a record-low of just 1.6 months in the previous three months. The long-term average for this measure is more than five months.

 

Home Prices

 

The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI was up 1% on a month-over-month basis in March 2022 – a marked slowdown from the record 3.5% increase in February.

The non-seasonally adjusted Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI was up by 27.1% on a year-over-year basis in March. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average home price was $796,000 in March 2022, up 11.2% from last year’s same month.

Bottom Line

The March housing report is ancient history, as sharp increases in market-driven interest rates have changed the fundamentals. This report also precedes the 50 basis point hike in the overnight policy rate by the Bank of Canada. Anecdotal evidence thus far in April suggests that new listings have risen, and multiple bidding has nearly disappeared.

The rise in current fixed mortgage rates means that homebuyers must qualify for uninsured mortgages at the offered mortgage rate plus 200 bps–above the 5.25% qualifying rate in place since June 2021. This, no doubt will squeeze some buyers out of higher-priced markets.

The federal budget introduced some initiatives to help first-time homebuyers and encourage housing construction–but these measures are hitting roadblocks. Labour shortages are plaguing the construction industry, and the feds do not control zoning and planning restrictions but at the local government level. The ban on foreign resident purchases will likely have only a small impact, so the fundamental issue of a housing shortage remains the biggest impediment to more affordable housing in Canada.

This article is accredited to the Sherry Cooper Assoc.


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

CREA

Bank of Canada Announcement – April 2022

General Angela Calla 13 Apr

The Bank of Canada will be raising interest rates on variable-rate mortgages by 0.5%. What this means is that your monthly payments will increase by $26 per $100,000 on your mortgage if you are on a variable rate mortgage. Here is the Bank of Canada statement.

This comes as no surprise as Canadian inflation has been at historic highs as of late. Fixed rates have been rising more rapidly than prime rates over the past few weeks, meaning that qualifying rates have increased, as well as reduced the overall access to mortgage funds as rates return to pre-pandemic levels.

The very best planning advice we can give you is to make your mortgage payment today as if it were a fixed rate, this will avoid potential future payment shock and help you pay your mortgage off faster.

To see some examples that may help you decide the right balance of payment for your budget download our app HERE.

To gain a little more perspective on the fixed vs variable here is a Global News segment we did last month and a blog post in anticipation of today.

Regardless of whether you are fixed or variable, this is the time to pay close attention to your mortgage plan as we continue to venture into unknown waters. Our team is here to answer any questions you may have regarding your mortgage, whether it be a renewal, consolidating debt, or considerations for an upcoming purchase!

The Angela Calla Mortgage Team


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

mortgage

2022 Federal Budget Summary

General Angela Calla 12 Apr

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Honourable Chrystia Freeland tabled the Government’s Budget on April 7, 2022. Highlights of the 2022 Budget include:

  • Initiatives to support housing affordability
  • Tax incentives to support small businesses
  • Measures to address tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning
  • Various international and cross-border tax measures
  • Additional tax on financial institutions

Join MNP’s Senior Vice President, Tax Services Am Lidder as she provides highlights from the Government’s 2022 Federal Budget Summary, and then read the detailed summary in the link below.

You can read the full report at MNP


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

mortgage

2022 Federal Budget and Real Estate Mortgage and Grant Update

General Angela Calla 11 Apr

The federal budget promises $10 billion to make housing more affordable. Measures include tax credits for a variety of items, but the big ones, at least to me are:

  1. A two-year ban on foreign buyers
  2. Sales taxes on assignment sales
  3. No principal residence exemption for properties bought and sold within 12 months
  4. Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit

This is a refundable tax credit for Canadians who are taking home building into their own hands. Families who are constructing a secondary suite for a senior or adult with a disability would be able to claim 15 percent of up to $50,000 in eligible renovation and building costs, resulting in up to $7,500 worth of savings.

  1. Tax-Free First Home Savings Account

Starting in 2023, first-time homebuyers would be able to save up to $40,000 in a new account. As with a registered retirement savings plan, contributions – in this case, up to a maximum of $8,000 a year – would be tax-deductible. And, as with a tax-free savings account, withdrawals would be tax-free. Investment growth inside the account would also be tax-free.

  1. Doubling the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit: First-time buyers who’ve purchased a property on or after Jan. 1 would be able to claim $10,000 – up from the current $5,000 – which would double the maximum non-refundable tax rebate from $750 to $1,500.
  2. Doubling the home accessibility tax credit: Seniors would be able to claim a maximum of $20,000 worth of expenses for upgrades such as walk-in bathtubs and wheelchair ramps that make their homes more accessible. The new ceiling would be double the current cap on eligible expenses and would result in a maximum tax credit of $3,000.

I should stress these are not effective yet, simply announced. No doubt this will result in a few changes in the real estate market, with more to come over the next few weeks. Expect to hear more on, the cooling-off period and increases for both variable, fixed, and qualifying interest rates.

Details of the budget are available online, but I found this article from the Globe and Mail to provide a good summary – Here’s how the 2022 federal budget affects home buyers and consumers – The Globe and Mail

If you or a loved one have a mortgage up for renewal, debt outside your mortgage to consolidate, a home renovation project or an upcoming home purchase coming up, please email callateam@countoncalla.ca to get started on reviewing your options.

Angela Calla


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

budget

Housing a Major Theme Today’s Federal Budget

General Angela Calla 8 Apr

Affordable Housing Is A Key Theme In Federal Budget 2022

Today’s budget announced a $10 billion package of proposals intended to reduce the cost of housing in Canada (see box below). The fundamental problem is insufficient supply to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population base. Thanks to the federal government’s policy to rapidly increase immigration since 2015, new household formation has risen far faster than housing completions, both for rent and purchase. This excess demand has markedly pushed home prices to levels beyond average-income Canadians’ means.

The measures announced in today’s budget to increase housing construction, though welcome, are underwhelming. The Feds can control the construction of lower-cost housing through CMHC. Still, most home building is under the auspices of the municipal governments, where the red tape, zoning restrictions and delays abound. The federal government increased funds to help local governments address these issues, but NIMBY thinking still prevents increased housing density in many neighbourhoods.

The headline policy announcement for a two-year ban on foreign residential property purchases may sound reasonable. Still, according to Phil Soper, chief executive of Royal LePage, “It will have a negligible impact on home prices. We know from the pandemic period, when home prices escalated with virtually no foreign money, that our problem is made-in-Canada.”

According to the Financial Post, Soper added that measures like the tax-free savings account for young Canadians would be encouraged to help them achieve their dreams of homeownership in a typical real estate market. However, in a low-supply environment with pandemic-fuelled price gains, these measures would only add more demand without addressing the supply issue. Only a few first-time buyers would be able to take advantage of it.

The Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights that would end blind bidding and assures the right to a home inspection and transparent historical sales prices on title searches is also long overdue.

The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive has been extended to March 2025. This program has been a bust. Buyers do not want to share the equity in their homes with CMHC. The Feds are taking another kick at the can, “exploring options to make the program more flexible and responsive to the needs of first-time homebuyers, including single-led households.” To date, the limits on the program have made them useless in high-priced markets such as the GTA and the GVA.

Budget 2022 Measures To Improve Housing Affordability
Tax-Free Home Savings Account
  • Introduce the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account that would give prospective first-time home buyers the ability to save up to $40,000. Like an RRSP, contributions would be tax-deductible, and withdrawals to purchase a first home—including investment income—would be non-taxable, like a TFSA.
New Housing Accelerator Fund
  • With the target of creating 100,000 net new housing units over five years, proposes to provide $4 billion over five years, starting in 2022-23, to launch a new Housing Accelerator Fund that is flexible to the needs and realities of cities and communities, while providing them support such as an annual per-door incentive or up-front funding for investments in municipal housing planning and delivery processes that will speed up housing development.
 New Affordable Housing
  • To ensure that more affordable housing can be built quickly, Budget 2022 proposes to provide $1.5 billion over two years, starting in 2022-23, to extend the Rapid Housing Initiative. This new funding is expected to create at least 6,000 new affordable housing units, with at least 25% of funding going towards women-focused housing projects.
An Extended and More Flexible First-Time Home Buyer Incentive
  •  Extension of the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive–which allows eligible first-time homebuyers to lower their borrowing costs by sharing the cost of buying a home with the government–to March 31, 2025. Explore options to make the program more flexible and responsive to the needs of first-time homebuyers, including single-led households.
A Ban on Foreign Investment in Canadian Housing
  •  Proposes restrictions that would prohibit foreign commercial enterprises and people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents from acquiring non-recreational, residential property in Canada for a two-year period.
 Property Flippers Pay Their Fair Share
  • Introduce new rules so that any person who sells a property they have held for less than 12 months would be subject to full taxation on their profits as business income, applying to residential properties sold on or after January 1, 2023. Exemptions would apply to Canadians who sell their home due to certain life circumstances, such as a death, disability, the birth of a child, a new job, or a divorce.
Rent-to-Own Projects
  • Provide $200 million in dedicated support under the existing Affordable Housing Innovation Fund. This will include $100 million to support non-profits, co-ops, developers, and rent-to-own companies building new rent-to-own units.
Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights
  • Bring forward a national plan to end blind bidding. Among other things, the Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights could also include ensuring a legal right to a home inspection and ensuring transparency on the history of sales prices on title searches.
Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit
  • Provide up to $7,500 in support for constructing a secondary suite for a senior or an adult with a disability, starting in 2023.
Doubling the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit 
  • Double the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit amount to $10,000, providing up to $1,500 in direct support to home buyers, applying to homes purchased on or after January 1, 2022.
Co-Operative Housing Development
  • Reallocate funding of $500 million to a new Co-Operative Housing Development Program to expand co-op housing in Canada. Provide an additional $1 billion in loans to be reallocated from the Rental Construction Financing Initiative to support co-op housing projects.

There is also a laundry list of other programs to create additional affordable housing for Indigenous Peoples, Northern Communities, and vulnerable Canadians. Enhanced tax credits for renovations to allow seniors or disabled family members to move in; and for seniors to improve accessibility in their homes. As well, money is provided for long-term efforts to end homelessness.

To combat money laundering, the government said it would extend anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing requirements to all mortgage-lending businesses within the next year.

For greener housing initiatives, the government is planning to provide $150 million over five years starting this year to drive building code reform to focus on building low-carbon construction projects and $200 million over the same timeline for building retrofits large development projects.

Bottom Line

Nothing the federal government has done in today’s budget will make much of a difference in the housing market. What does make a difference is the spike in interest rates that is already in train. Fixed mortgage rates are up to around 4%, and variable mortgage rates have begun their ascent. There is still a record gap between the two, but the Bank of Canada will likely hike the policy rate by 50 bps next week. The Bank will probably hike interest rates at every meeting for the remainder of the year and continue into the first half of next year.

It is also noteworthy what Budget 2022 did not do. It did not address REITs or investment activity by domestic non-flipping purchasers. Some were expecting a rise in minimum downpayment on investor purchases or restrictions on using HELOCs for their funding.

Budget 2022 did not raise the cap of $1 million on insurable mortgages. It did not reinstate 30-year amortization, a favourite of the NDP. And, it did not follow the BC provincial government in allowing a “cooling-off” period after a bid has been accepted, technically giving would-be buyers more time to secure financing.

This article is from the Sherry Cooper Assoc.


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

mortgage

Purchase Plus Home Improvements?

General Angela Calla 7 Apr

When it comes to shopping for your perfect home, it can be hard to find the exact one ready to go! In fact, most homes come with flaws of a sort whether it is old paint or flooring, outdated fixtures or perhaps more extensive repairs are needed. While some buyers have no issues dealing with these deficiencies in a home or perhaps do not consider them dealbreakers, other house hunters might.

If you are looking into a home that requires improvements, there is a mortgage product known as Purchase Plus Improvements (PPI). This type of mortgage is available to assist buyers with making simple upgrades, not conduct a major renovation where structural modifications are made. Simple renovations include paint, flooring, windows, hot-water tank, new furnace, kitchen updates, bathroom updates, new roof, basement finishing, and more.

Depending on whether you have a conventional or high-ratio mortgage, if it is insured or uninsurable, and which insurer you use, the Purchase Plus Improvements (PPI) product can allow you to borrow between 10% and 20% of the initial property value for renovations.

The main difference between a regular mortgage and a purchase plus home improvements program is the need for quotes. As part of the verification process, your mortgage professional and the lender will need to see a quote for the work that is planned for the improvements. The quotes will provide us with the cost and plan details required to secure the final approval.

The lender will release the full funds directly to the lawyer with instructions to hold onto the portion for improvement costs until the renovations are completed. You would need to pay the contractor and then, once the renovations are complete, and the lender has approved and waived the holdback, the lender will allow the lawyer to release the additional funds.

To get started with this type of mortgage program, the first step is reaching out to myself to understand how this mortgage product would apply to your application and specific situation, as based on your existing mortgage. Understanding what you qualify for and the types of improvements that can be included in the financing will help you better understand which potential houses might work great for you and how much financial room you have for improvements.

(This article is courtesy of the April 2022 DLC Newsletter)


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

home

Have You Had Your Mortgage Check-Up?

General Angela Calla 6 Apr

Spring is a great time to consider doing an annual mortgage check-in!

Organizing a quick mortgage review each year can help provide peace of mind and ensure you’re on-track your future goals while still ensuring you’re able to manage the monthly payments

With interest rates on the rise, a mortgage check-up is a great opportunity to review your current situation and potential options, including taking a look at your current mortgage rates and terms. For instance, perhaps now is a good time to consider locking in your variable rate mortgage to a fixed term?

This is also a great time to look at your payment frequency for potential savings, such as moving to an accelerated bi-weekly plan versus monthly (or vice versa if you are finding it difficult to meet your current payments). On the other hand, if you have extra savings you want to put on your mortgage, this is a good time to review your pre-payment privileges to do an annual lump-sum payment of 15-20%, or increase your monthly payment amount to get your mortgage paid off more quickly!

Overall, your annual mortgage check-up is a great opportunity to touch base and discuss any life changes, your current situation and future goals to ensure that your mortgage continues to work for you and you have peace of mind all year long. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me any time to book your check-up!

(This article is courtesy of the April 2022 DLC Newsletter)


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

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