With 7/10 Canadians owning a home and 30% of renters hoping to purchase in the next two years, we thought we would break down the following scenarios.

Maybe you wish to buy a home, or you own a home and are interested in refinancing your mortgage. Let’s first talk about purchasing a home.

When Can You Buy A Home After A Consumer Proposal?

First things first: pay off your consumer proposal completely before you take on any new mortgage debt.

If you have at least a 20% down payment, you may even be able to buy as soon as you complete your consumer proposal! As in, immediately.

The lenders that will lend to someone after a proposal offer rates presently around the Bank of Canada’s posted rates and add a lender fee. Most importantly, other than just a matter of having finished your consumer proposal, make sure you have been rebuilding your personal credit history—with new credit facilities and by cleaning up reporting errors. (More often than not there are reporting errors after you file a consumer proposal)

If you have less than 20% down payment, you will be looking for a high-ratio mortgage, which has default insurance, from one of CMHC, Genworth or Canada Guaranty.

In that case, you will need at least two years of clean, new credit since you completed your consumer proposal. But it’s best if you have at least two tradelines (credit card, loan, line of credit, etc.) with limits greater than $2,000.

The worst case scenario, three years after you completed your proposal, or six years after you filed your proposal (whichever comes first) it will fall off your credit report and whether or not you qualify for a mortgage to purchase a home will depend on the usual mortgage qualification criteria we all face.

When Can You Refinance Your Home After A Consumer Proposal?

We have helped numerous homeowners refinance their homes so they could complete their consumer proposal early. In some cases, it was as soon as the terms of their proposal were ratified in court.

This is what we call a lump-sum consumer proposal, and it can be a very attractive way to settle your debts if you are a homeowner.

Should You Pay Off Your Consumer Proposal When You Refinance?

Actually, there are a few private lenders who will allow you to leave your proposal unpaid while you extract equity from your home. But unless there are specific, logical reasons to doing this, it’s not something I recommend.

I prefer refinancing to completely pay off the remaining balance owing on the consumer proposal. There may also be other things you need money for at the same time—like a home improvement project or a child’s higher education, or other family debts. CRA debts crops up quite a lot too, particularly for those who are self-employed. You can take care of all these at the same time, provided you pay off the consumer proposal.

Why Would You Pay off Your Consumer Proposal Early?

1) Fear of the mortgage renewal. This concern is very real if your mortgage lender had a credit card or loan product included in your consumer proposal. They might have no interest in offering you a renewal when your current mortgage matures. So, you need to get in front of this issue as soon as you can, if your situation allows for it.

2) A strong desire to rebuild your personal credit history. Once you file your CP, your credit score is going to take a major beating. All debts included in the proposal will be reporting as R7s on your personal credit report.

Worse than that, some of them will be erroneously reporting as R9s—written off completely.

And some credit cards may say they were included in a bankruptcy, even though that is not true.

A few credit cards even report ongoing late payments after the proposal was filed. And sometimes even after the proposal is completed!

If you want to fix the damage to your personal credit report resulting from your consumer proposal, you are going to have to wait until it is paid in full and you have a completion certificate from your trustee.

3) Wish to be normal. When you have bad credit, everything in life seems tougher and more expensive. Even if you wish to rent a home, not buy one, the landlord will usually ask for a copy of your credit report.

And if you want a new smartphone, or lease or finance a new car, bad credit will make all this that much harder.

If you allow your consumer proposal to run the full five years, that means it could be in your credit history six years altogether. It falls off three years after you complete, so keep that in mind. You can significantly shorten the waiting time by paying the consumer proposal off early.

4) Improve cash flow. In nearly all cases when we refinance a home where the owner is paying off a consumer proposal, they see an improvement in their monthly cash outflows. In a society where half of us are living paycheque to paycheque, this is attractive.

How Do You Refinance To Pay Off A Consumer Proposal?

First, your mortgage broker will do a thorough assessment of whether or not this is even doable. This will consist of an assessment of the marketability of your property, the amount of untapped equity, the reasons behind you filing your consumer proposal, as well as all the normal stuff lenders look at when reviewing a mortgage application.

An important consideration is your current first mortgage. Was it just renewed, or is it nearing maturity? Which lender is it with, and what might the prepayment penalty be if you were to break it and refinance to a new first mortgage with another lender?

Another consideration is whether or not your first mortgage is registered as a collateral charge, and if so, to what amount is it registered— it can make things difficult.

If refinancing the current mortgage makes sense, your broker will present your application and a presentation to lenders to assist. Once you choose to proceed after reviewing the commitment from the lender, most of the time the entire process can be wrapped up in four to six weeks.

We actually see that happen less often than the other approach, which is to first apply for a private second mortgage.

In this scenario, the first mortgage is left intact and a new lender is found who will lend enough money to cover the proposal balance, any other debts and needs, and all the expenses associated with the mortgage.

During the term of the second mortgage (usually one year), we take the opportunity to cleanse all the reporting errors from the credit report, and also to strengthen the borrower’s credit profile with new healthy credit.

After a year, (longer if that makes sense) we then refinance the two mortgages into a single first mortgage.

It would be normal to expect the lender and Bank of Canada posted rates and lender fee in this circumstance.

In Summary

Ultimately, the goal is to take the homeowners back to the world of A-lenders. That is usually possible after three years, but we have seen instances where it happened much sooner.

This happens when the clients first make the decision to pay off the consumer proposal ahead of schedule.

Angela Calla is a 15 year award-winning woman of influence mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on The Mortgage Show on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from a sales will help build a new emergency room at Eagle Ridge Hospital. Angela can be reached at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

Angela Calla on Global Morning News Today!!

I was invited to Global Morning News today to talk about the Top Myths from Homebuyers.

My hope is that this interview provides clarity on how homeownership is still attainable and empowers our youth with the knowledge on what is needed to be saved to own a home and really understand what is applicable to them, right from the source.

Lets make the conversation about “how” can I get in the market instead of “real estate is too expensive” as we sit around our classrooms, family tables, and office lunchrooms.

Please share this with someone you feel could benefit from this message.  If we can help you or someone you care about, please reach out to us directly at callateam@dominionlending.ca

Here is the link to the 5 minute interview:

https://globalnews.ca/video/6229046/top-myths-from-millennial-buyers

Angela Calla is a 15 year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on “The Mortgage Show” on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code” available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from her book sales are donated to local charities helping families in the tri-city community.  For media interviews, speaking inquiries or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

Top 5 Myths from Millennial Buyers

1. I need to save a 20% down payment for a house. – No you don’t! You can buy for your first time or your third time with a 5% down payment (pending purchase price, of course). There are even government matching programs, gifts you can get or deposits you can partially borrow. Don’t get discouraged. Learn how you can work with your rent payment and see what that equates to in qualification. It all starts with a plan.
2. I need to be employed for 2 years or work a regular 9-5 job to qualify to buy a home. No, you can be on the job as little as past your probationary period or be newly self-employed. It’s only one of the components in being approved for a mortgage. Your industry, education, credit and net worth all play a role in the qualification equation, and self-employed people have way better options than paying themselves a huge amount that drains there business. Look at what applies  to you.
3. I have to live in the same property for 30 years to make it worth it to buy a home. No Way. Consider this: With renting, 100% of your payment goes to the landlord. When you make that same payment in the mortgage- you are investing in YOURSELF especially with rates as low as they are today. That benefit alone coupled with the lenders that are available with low exit fees, the tax free equity you are building and the potential of eventual home value appreciation are a HUGE wealth-building tool.
4. I have loans that prevent me from qualifying. All loans outside a mortgage have an impact, each lender looks and uses different payments for each. Perhaps proceeds you were going to use for the down payment are better allocated, or after you own for a few years you can roll that payment in to improve your cash flow.
5. How do I trust I’m getting the right information to buy a home? This is so important. As an unbiased mortgage professional, we will guide you through everything and show you exactly what relates to you and put you on a path for success. The most important advice is to make sure you get information directly from the source, as mortgages and policies are changing rapidly.

Angela Calla is a 15 year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on “The Mortgage Show” on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code” available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from her book sales are donated to local charities helping families in the tri-city community.  For media interviews, speaking inquiries or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

Angela Calla Accepts 2 nominations for Business Leader of the Year for 2019 and Community Spirit Award at the Tri-Cities Business Excellence Awards.  The luncheon was hosted by the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce at the Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club.

Angela Calla is a 15 year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on “The Mortgage Show” on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code” available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from her book sales are donated to local charities helping families in the tri-city community.  For media interviews, speaking inquiries or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

This is not your parent’s mortgage!!  We have been well trained by our parents who have been strongly influenced by the banks to want to quickly pay off our mortgages.  Back then, the price of homes was substantially lower and the interest rates were astronomically higher.  Our environment has changed.  We now have these big mortgages with incredibly low-interest rates that we should be taking advantage of.  The equity grows and you get the tax benefits of homeownership.  Due to the cost of everything including homeownership rising, 6/10 Canadians are living paycheck to paycheck due to debt. We are struggling with debt and the banks are profiting from the incredibly high-interest rates incurred by credit cards and other loan providers.

Debt Consolidation will free up your monthly cash flow to in turn re-invest in yourself and your financial goals

If you have a home and have acquired the equity in your home, why not take advantage of the lowest interest rate available. Most of us are afraid to consolidate our debt with our mortgage. Our main focus is to pay off our mortgage as quickly as possible…before retirement preferably, please and thank you.

Think about this, how are you possibly going to pay off all that debt without an inheritance, winning the lottery or a crazy large bonus at work. If your debt is growing, be proactive.  Refinancing with the lowest available interest rate including any penalties or costs will give you the chance to start over. And increase your cash flow that can no go towards the principal in your home rather than paying the high interest on your debt.

Saving our clients money and the freedom of not living paycheck to paycheck

Through debt consolidation, we have saved our clients anywhere from $500 to $5,000 per month that they were using to pay off their debts.  That equals anywhere from $6,000 to $60,000 a year.   It’s empowering to be able to build a savings nest or buy an investment property or invest in RRSP’s and RESPs.  All the things our clients wanted to do but were unable to do because they were focused on paying off debt.  This increase in liquid cash can make the difference between spending the next 10 years paying off debt or spending the next 10 years building up your financial portfolio and your savings account and growing your wealth.

I still want to pay my mortgage off faster!!!

This is even more possible after debt consolidation. This increased cash flow can be put back into your mortgage as well as be used to build up savings.  Traditional Bank mortgage terms and conditions lock you into an inflexible mortgage that takes away your control to pay off your mortgage quicker and adjust to life’s challenges. In some cases, you are given one day, on your anniversary date to pay an additional amount.   Mortgage Brokers have access to Lenders, not available to the public, to help you achieve your mortgage goals faster and without bias using competitive mortgage rates, flexible payment structures and low exit fees to work to your advantage with every life stage.

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. 

With all the news we have seen on the election, I thought I would sum it up from a mortgage industry perspective.

What the liberal win means for your mortgage:

1. We will see the continuation of the First Time Home Buyers’ Incentive. Check out the link for more information here:  https://www.placetocallhome.ca/fthbi/first-time-homebuyer-incentive
2. Property Transfer Tax modifications were on the platform, so we will await the date that change is applicable
3. Consumers will still be able to withdraw up to $35,000 from their RRSP’s as part of the government’s Home Buyers’ plan. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/federal-government-budgets/budget-2019-investing-middle-class/home-buyers-plan.html
4. Bank of Canada Rates may not decrease as expected this year – unless there is a significant sudden downturn in the market – based on the snapshot of recent activity,  that doesn’t appear as likely. It certainly makes it easier for the lenders not to pass the decrease down the line to the consumer.
5. We will likely see a national housing tax implemented in addition to the provincial ones already in place.

For items 1, 2 & 5, here is a link https://globalnews.ca/news/5893892/trudeau-liberals-first-time-homebuyers-program-expansion-campaign-promise/

It doesn’t appear we will see any of the changes to the stress test or amortization hoped for by many.

Stay tuned for more updates and what the Bank of Canada decides to do Oct. 30 and Dec. 4.

While the constant in our market will always be change, we are here at the frontlines to help you navigate the market to your advantage and save you money. Please reach out to us with any mortgage questions on how we can help you or those you care most about.

Angela Calla is a 15 year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on “The Mortgage Show” on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code” available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from her book sales are donated to local charities helping families in the tri-city community.  Angela can be reached at  callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

6 Questions you need to ask yourself before taking the leap.

Angela Calla is a 15 year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on “The Mortgage Show” on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code” available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from her book sales are donated to local charities helping families in the tri-city community.  Angela can be reached at   callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

Tri-Cities business awards nominees named Nine nominated for business leader and nine for young professional Staff writer / Tri-City News

Nine nominations for business leader of the year and nine for young professional of the year are up for the 2019 Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards.

Individuals nominated for business leader are Angela Calla (The Angela Calla Team), Anita Wilson (Coast Therapy), Chris Chong (Butter Studios), Fatma Taha (Big Hearts Homecare), Fred Soofi (Pasta Polo), Gabriel Wong (Westcoast SCI), Kirsten Wilson (Jack Cewe Construction), Mark Friebe (Giggle Dam Dinner Theatre), and Mike Falco (Rocco’s Deli).

The young professional of the year nominees are Adina Diaconu (Westpro Physiotherapy), Cassie Curtis (Cakes n Sweets), Jamie Banfield (Jamie Banfield Design), Jessica Morrison (Squish Juicery), Josh Redpath (Redpath Relocations), Kelso Kennedy (RedStamp Agency), Srdjana Kasic (Longevity Graphics), Taryn Barker (The Little Butcher), and Yasaman Madanikia( Expressions Counselling).

There are 11 nominees for business of the year with 30 employees or more, seven for those with 11 to 30 employees, and 27 for businesses employee one to 10 people. There are 12 nominations for the not-for-profit organization of the year and 16 for the community spirit award.

-newsroom@tricitynews.com-

Angela Calla is a 15 year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on “The Mortgage Show” on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code” available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from her book sales are donated to local charities helping families in the tri-city community.  Angela can be reached at  callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983

Angela Calla Contributes to the NEW Book
Dynamic Women® Success Secrets to Empower & Inspire!

Angela Calla, as an accomplished businesswoman, has teamed up with Diane Rolston (Coach, Speaker and CEO of Dynamic Women®) and several other Top Thought Leaders, Experts and a select group of leading entrepreneurs and professionals as a Contributor to the new book, Dynamic Women® Success Secrets! She was selected because of her commitment to serving others and willingness to share her secrets for living a successful life.

DYNAMIC WOMEN® SUCCESS SECRETS IS SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE IN NOVEMBER 2019.

This NEW “Game-Changing Book” REVEALS how you can use simple tips to increase your success, boost your motivation, and feel empowered to achieve your goals.

​With 52 inspiring stories and real-life examples you’ll have weekly tips to achieve a variety of goals, the real SECRETS behind successful results AND messages to empower your week and to set a positive mood for your day!

For more information about the upcoming release and to attend the book launch parties in both Ontario and British Columbia visit www.dianerolston.com/success

 About Angela Calla:

Angela, as a licensed mortgage broker with Dominion Lending Centres and industry award winner, has been ranked nationally as one of the most influential women in the mortgage industry.  As a result, Angela Calla has made a name for herself as an expert media guest for television, radio and print including hosting “The Mortgage Show”   in Vancouver on CKNW AM980 – now in it’s 11^th season where she continues to educate, elevate and empower the public with knowledge about acquiring a mortgage and navigating the market. More recently, Angela became a best-selling author with her book “The Mortgage Code” which has helped bring clarity to Canadians seeking a mortgage. She is also a proud mother of 2 young children and a generous contributor to many local charities. She is a passionate, caring and generous women who has achieved success through caring about her clients and her community.

 About Diane Rolston and Dynamic Women®:

Diane Rolston is called THE Expert on Being Dynamic and living a Dynamic Life. After leading hundreds of events and programs in her two businesses, speaking on international stages, being a published author while raising two young children, Diane Rolston knows all about work/life balance and getting things done! As an Award-Winning Coach and the CEO and founder of Dynamic Women®, a global community of women, her purpose is to unlock the greatness in others. Diane works with professionals and small business owners all over the world to provide clarity, confidence and action through coaching. www.dianerolston.com.  Dynamic Women® is an international community of success-oriented women. Our members get access to success coaching, additional online educational activities, and the invaluable networking connections they need to reach their personal or professional goals.

Learn more about Dynamic Women® at www.dynamicwomenclub.com

 To contact Angela Calla today for media interviews, speaking inquiries or personal mortgage assistance, please call Gordana at 604-939-8777 ext 367 or email: callacom@dominionlending.ca or visit us at  www.angelacalla.ca

Angela Calla is a 15 year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on “The Mortgage Show” on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code” available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from her book sales are donated to local charities helping families in the tri-city community.  Angela can be reached at   callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

If you’re credit challenged but want to get into the housing market, it can be a tough road to hoe. But improving your credit to a point where a lender will give you chance, is very doable.

First, I won’t bore you with the detailed minutia of credit scores. Basically, what you need to know is a score above 680 puts you in a good position to get financing, while below will make it tough and improvement is needed.

Your credit score tells lenders some basic stuff about your credit: How long you’ve had credit, your ability to pay back that credit and how much you owe. And so your credit score is affected by how much debt you’re carrying in regards to limit, how many cards or tradelines you have and your history of repayment.

If you’re a young person and new to the world of credit, consider the 2-2-2 rule to help build up your credit. Lenders want to see two forms of revolving credit, like credit cards, with limits no less than $2,000 and a clean history of payment for two years. It’s also good to note, a great credit score will also include keeping a balance on all those cards at any given time below 30 per cent of the limit.

To ensure your score stays in playoff form, make sure to pay off any collections, like parking tickets, and correct any old or incorrect reporting on your  credit score by contacting Equifax to have it removed. Some people also forget their credit cards have an annual fee and fail to pay them off too.

This cannot be stressed enough, if you want to keep or attain a good credit score, you have to pay your credit cards or tradelines on time regardless of whether you owe $1 or $1 million.

There is a tendency when things get really bad to consider declaring bankruptcy or a consumer proposal. A consumer proposal is a formal, legally binding process to pay creditors a percentage of what is owed to them.

You really want to avoid these two options. Instead, there are companies out there that will perform the same function and negotiate your debts, but it won’t impact your credit or carry the stigma of bankruptcy or a consumer proposal.

Lastly, if you already own a home and have some equity, but you’re still drowning in credit debt, consider refinancing your mortgage. Sure, you might not get the great rate you have now or you might get dinged for breaking your mortgage early, but using the equity in your home to get rid of high interest credit payments could keep more money in your pocket at the end of the day.

Angela Calla is a 15 year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on “The Mortgage Show” on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code” available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from her book sales are donated to local charities helping families in the tri-city community.  Angela can be reached at   callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.