Axis Mortgage Inc.

01/10/2020

Oh boy, this was expensive.

An Ontario Court of Appeal delivered an expensive lesson to a GTA homebuyer who made an unconditional offer that was later retracted. Back in 2017, Shahla Sheikhtavi had made an unconditional offer on an East Gwillimbury, Ontario, home for $1,871,000. Following the introduction of the province’s 1...

10/12/2019

http://www.cpac.ca/en/programs/vote-2019-special/episodes/66087070/?fbclid=IwAR2nrmeKahkZmtL_NgsK6ue7sTwP0PT9K819zqPg3SjUc5yJMbHvt6UOlZQ

Representatives from the major political parties gather in Ottawa for a debate on housing related issues. Adam Vaughan (Liberal candidate), Pierre Poilievre (Conservative candidate), Geneviève Nadeau (Bloc Québécois candidate), Angella MacEwen (NDP candidate), and Angela Keller-Herzog (Green Part...

09/30/2019

Yes, we too are closed Monday Sept 30th. Too much snow!

04/17/2019

“The sharp erosion of affordability caused by the B-20 stress test is now creating pent-up demand, as many would-be homebuyers are forced to wait on the sidelines.” - BCREA Chief Economist Cameron Muir http://ow.ly/pze150qD9Uy

02/09/2019

02/08/2019

Why do we stay with them? Complacency is a big reason. A lack of knowledge is another.

01/21/2019

A neat post about the history of our building, now home to Axis Mortgage Inc. We've owned it since 2007.

501 7 Street South
Hunt Building/G. Laurie Building

This building on the SW corner of 5 Avenue and 7 Street South was constructed in 1947.

“Handsome New City Block

Lethbridge firm of medical practitioners, Drs. Hunt, Dimock and Hunt, on the first of March moved into their newly completed Lethbridge Medical Building on the corner of 5th Avenue and 7th Street South. Construction was recently completed by Oland Construction Co. and the new structure is a distinct asset to the city’s business district.

Outside of the new two-storey building is of attractive brick and glass brick construction. Inside Mahogany and oak have been liberally used to create a most impressive effect.

Main floor of the Lethbridge Medical Building is occupied by Dr. H.B. Hunt, Dr. H.C. Dimock and Dr. J.W. Hunt. A large waiting lobby has been attractively furnished in leather. Ceilings are of acoustic tile and all rooms are brightly illuminated with fluorescent lighting. The modern automatic steam heating plant is augmented by a complete air exhaust system.

Three Medical Offices

There are three individual office suites consisting of a consulting room and an examination room. X-ray equipment is located in another room and there are two treatment rooms and a laboratory.

A full concrete basement has been constructed under the entire building.

Second storey provides very attractive offices suites. One large office is being occupied by Industrial Acceptance Corp., presently located in the Oliver Block. The office is one of the city’s finest. There are two other office suites, one of which is already occupied by Dr. A.R. S. Gray, dentist.” (3 March 1947 Lethbridge Herald)

The building was renamed the G. Laurie Building in 2005, after Gord Laurie. The building underwent renovations that year.

Some organizations which have been in the building over the past 70+ years include:

General Motors Acceptance Corporation of Canada
Dr. A.G. Ainscough, Physician and Surgeon
Hunt, Hunt & Wright (physicians and surgeons)
Dr. A.R.S. Gray, dentist
Niagara Finance Co Ltd.
Industrial Acceptance Corpn Ltd
Kresge S S Co Ltd (Construction Department)
Sanford Agency
Excelsior Life Insurance Co.

The photograph shows the Hunt Building in 1980, from the Lethbridge Landmark Collection.

01/31/2017

With stable transaction activity and high cap rates, the city's real estate market is stronger than that of most areas in the province

01/10/2017

Watching rate sheets used to provide a good starting point. While rate is typically not the most important part of your mortgage it is what most look for first. With the most recent series of mortgage rule changes rate sheets have become extremely complicated as the cost of borrowing/cost of balance sheet lending has risen. It means that the exact same client, with excellent credit could receive five year fixed rate money at anywhere between 2.49-2.99%. That is a huge spread and can not possibly be detailed on a rate sheet or rate section of a website. If you are shopping for a mortgage or are thinking of doing so in the next few months please give our office a call to get the correct information. Trusting what you see on-line could be costly.

01/04/2017

We'd like to apologize if you have missed us the past couple of days. We had a problem with a stretched coax cable on the roof of our building... it was under 2 feet of snow and was difficult to find. As a result we had no internet service for a couple days. We are now back up and running.

10/27/2016

We really like to support the Realtors that support our business, and we do that with our Bundled Service Program where we refer qualified, ready to purchase clients. Realtors get a set of home guidelines the client is interested in, and has assurance they are not just tire kickers. The latest BSP referral went something like this: a couple facebook messages back and forth with the Realtor, a signed referral from the client, a list of requirements to the Realtor (took a few minutes of their time). The Realtor showed 7 homes on day 1 and a few more on day 2. Clients made an offer on one home that was not accepted by the seller. Clients made an offer on a different home, which was quickly accepted. Today it took 1 hour to get the financing approval in place. We are happy to work efficiently for our referral partners and our clients. If you are home shopping we'd love to do the same for you. It is so easy to make this a smoother process, give us a call. 403.381.3790.

10/04/2016

Significant changes announced yesterday by the Federal Government; what does it mean for you?

Effective October 17th on all mortgages with less than 20% downpayment/equity all 5 year mortgages will now be qualified on the Bank of Canada Qualification Rate (4.64% currently) and not on the actual rate of the mortgage. This rule has been in effect on 4 year (or shorter) mortgages along with all variable rate mortgages for some time now. It meant that in some cases people were forced to take a 5 year fixed rate mortgage. With all 5 year fixed rate mortgages now following the same rules it will change the mortgage landscape as these same people may no longer qualify. Here are some possible impacts:

1) Clients will qualify for 20-30% less value depending on their other debts/payments. Will this drive prices down?
2) First-time buyers may be forced to wait longer before entering ownership.
3) Rental property owners will see more demand, this could equate to more expensive rent.
4) Clients may have fewer options at renewal time. If they can no longer qualify for their current mortgage they will be forced into renewal with their current lender where qualification is not treated the same. Will Banks charge higher renewal rates? That remains to be seen, but it is very likely.

Effective November 1st all portfolio insured mortgages will follow the same rules regardless of down payment amount. This means that even with 20% or greater down payment your maximum amortization may be capped at 25 years, and the higher qualification rate will be used. This all will be determined by the process the lender uses. If they portfolio insure the mortgage (many of them do this, without cost to you) then you will be required to follow these rules. This could create an imbalance between balance sheet lenders vs non-balance sheet lending.

And....no longer will rental properties be allowed to be portfolio insured. This will undoubtedly lead to some lenders revamping or departing the rental property market altogether, equating to less choice and possibly higher cost of borrowing for clients.

When asked when the best time to buy is, the correct answer is often: "now". Today that is likely more true than ever.

403.381.3790