DLC BlueTree Mortgages West -Vancouver Island

04/13/2022

"Bank of Canada hikes rate by biggest amount in 20 years in push to tame red hot inflation".

The Bank of Canada hiked its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to one per cent on Wednesday, a sign the bank is making good on its pledge to battle runaway inflation.

12/09/2020

BOC holding steady as expected!

The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent, with the Bank Rate at ½ percent and the deposit rate at ¼ percent.

06/22/2020

First Formal Remarks By Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada Governor

https://mailchi.mp/dominionlending/sherry-cooper-governor-macklem-affirms-no-negative-interest-rates?e=5e4343e29f

06/08/2020

Great news today - we have an Mortgage default insurer who will remain status quo in underwriting guidelines. Whew! Home buyers rejoice!

** Important Genworth Update **

Genworth MI Canada Inc. Confirms that It Does Not Plan to Change Its Underwriting Policy

Toronto, ON (June 8, 2020) – Genworth MI Canada Inc. (the “Company”) (TSX: MIC) confirms that it has no plans to change its underwriting policy related to debt service ratio limits, minimum credit score and down
payment requirements. One of the Company’s competitors announced changes to their internal underwriting guidelines with respect to the aforementioned underwriting criteria on June 4, 2020.

“Genworth Canada believes that its risk management framework, its dynamic underwriting policies and processes and its ongoing monitoring of conditions and market developments allow it to prudently adjudicate
and manage its mortgage insurance exposure, including its exposure to this segment of borrowers with lower credit scores or higher debt service ratios,” said Stuart Levings, President and CEO.

06/04/2020

Sorry to report we have very disappointing news from CMHC today. Effective July 1 they will be:

--Reducing the shelter ratio we use from 39% to 35%
--Reducing the Liabilities ratio we use from 44% to 42%
--Disallowing borrowed / non-traditional down payments
--Increasing Credit Score requirement from 600 to 680

Attn all Home Buyers! Even if you have 20% down, this could affect your existing pre approval - please contact your Broker or Lender to re-run your numbers. Firm Approvals in place prior to July 1 will not be affected. More to follow as we all learn the impact of these new guidelines.

Meanwhile, in the wise words of the economist Sherry Cooper:

"Suffice it to say that this batters buyer and seller confidence and, all other things equal, has a net negative impact on the near-term housing outlook. Most importantly, in my view, these changes are unnecessary to protect the prudence of Canada's home lending practices. Mortgage delinquency rates are meager, and even the Bank of Canada's forecast is for delinquencies to remain less than 1% of all outstanding mortgages. Moreover, home buyers with jobs who meet former qualifications would undoubtedly have a longer than two-year time horizon when buying their first homes. They were already qualifying at the posted rate that is more than 250 basis points above the contract rate. If anything, the pandemic recession assures that interest rates will remain very low over the next two years."

https://mailchi.mp/57d7fc52ffd3/cmhc-makes-it-harder-to-qualify-for-an-insured-mortgage?e=f091e3193e

05/26/2020

04/05/2020

Interest Rates are plunging ...so why aren't mortgage rates?

Central banks around the world have slashed their benchmark interest rates to pretty much zero in an attempt to stimulate the economy by making it as easy as possible to borrow, spend and invest. But a curious thing is happening in Canada's mortgage market: rates aren't going down by as much as they...

03/18/2020

Please find below a list of Bank / Lender phone numbers in case you need them! Don't hesitate to reach out to us at 25088818811 if we can be of any assistance or answer any questions you may have. Stay safe everyone.

09/04/2019

Important information for First Time Home Buyers:

Effective September 2, 2019, the Government of Canada introduced the First Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI) to help qualified First Time Home Buyers (FTHB) purchase a home, making home ownership more affordable by reducing their monthly mortgage payment without increasing their down payment.

The FTHBI is considered a Shared Equity Mortgage (SEM) where the Government of Canada has a shared interest in the borrower's property value. This program is available through the default insurers; Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC), Genworth and Canada Guaranty. Borrowers will receive an incentive in the form of an interest-free loan towards their down payment:

• 5% for the purchase of a resale property OR
• 5% or 10% for the purchase of a new construction home

Program Eligibility

• The borrower must be a Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident or Non-Permanent Resident who is legally authorized to work in Canada.
• At least one borrower must be considered a FTHB based on the qualifying criteria.
• Property must be owner occupied and located in Canada.
• Borrowers must contribute the minimum required down payment from traditional sources.
• Default insurance premiums will be calculated based on the purchase price less the borrower's own down payment and the FTHBI amounts.
• The loan has no monthly payment. Repayment amount will be based on fair market value to be determined at the time of repayment.
o Repayment will be required when the property is sold or at the end of the 25-year term, whichever happens earlier.
o Voluntary repayment of the full incentive can be made without any prepayment penalties.

Application Process Requirements

• Application must be submitted on or after September 2, 2019, and the closing date must be on or after November 1, 2019.

o Only High Ratio mortgages (greater than 80% Loan-to-Value) are eligible and the borrower's annual qualifying household income does not exceed $120,000.

o The combined mortgage loan amount and incentive cannot exceed four times the total annual qualifying income. To verify this, colleagues can use the Government of Canada's online calculator tool.

If additional details of the program are required, you can call the Government of Canada at 1-877-884-2642 or visit the website at

Canada’s National Housing Strategy is a 10-year, $40-billion plan to strengthen communities and cut chronic homelessness in half. The ambitious strategy will remove 530,000 families from core housing need and completely change the face of housing in Canada.