10-Year Mortgage Below 4%

The 10-year term in Canada is pretty rare these days (less than 1% of mortgages in Canada have a term 10 years or longer), but a 10-year term below 4% is unheard-of.  Or, at least it was until last week. Gone are variable rates with “prime-0.9%” discounts (now they’re hovering right around prime which is… Continue reading 10-Year Mortgage Below 4%

The Best Mortgage Rate is Not Always the Best Option

In the mortgage world, there’s always a lot of talk about rate.  What’s the current best 5-year rate?  What’s the best rate I can get?  What’s the best rate you offer? While rate is definitely an important part of the mortgage equasion (and we discussed a while back why term is also important), sometimes the… Continue reading The Best Mortgage Rate is Not Always the Best Option

The Cost of Borrowing

With the emergence of the Internet over the past couple of decades, more and more consumers are playing an active role in “rate shopping” for their mortgage.  Unfortunately, the “best rate” doesn’t always equal the best mortgage – there’s usually a big difference between the lowest rate and the lowest total cost of borrowing.  In fact, the… Continue reading The Cost of Borrowing

Term vs. Amortization

The mortgage industry has an abundance of buzz words, phrases and acronyms that can be a common source of confusion for prospective home buyers.  Hopefully as you read through this weekly “Mortgage Monday” column, I can help put these words and phrases in terms a little easier to understand. The first couple of phrases you’ll probably hear… Continue reading Term vs. Amortization