MORTGAGE MATTERS

While most Canadians spend a lot of time, and expend a lot of effort, in shopping for an initial mortgage, the same is generally not the case when looking at mortgage term renewals. Omitting proper consideration at the time of renewal costs Canadians thousands of extra dollars every year. Homeowners should never accept the first rate offer from their existing lender. Without any negotiation, simply signing up for the market rate on a renewal is unnecessarily costing the homeowner a lot of money on their mortgage. Speak to your mortgage professional or lender prior to signing your next renewal form.

Borrowers are coping with their debts better than expected in the wake of the recession, 2009 third-quarter results from Canada’s major banks suggest.
There are signs that the number of consumers struggling with payments is stabilizing, and businesses are increasingly able to pay off their loans. For Canada’s banks, this suggests the total toll the economic downturn inflicts will not be nearly as bad as suspected when the slump first hit.

The first wave of the crisis, caused by a sudden lack of liquidity, did less damage to Canadian banks than it did to their global competitors, many of whom were crippled by writedowns and toxic exposure in their capital markets businesses.
It now appears the second wave, caused by the recession, will have less of an impact on Canadian banks’ bread-and-butter lending businesses than it is having on many institutions, especially in the US. Many bankers now predict the amount of soured loans will peak by April 2010, the halfway point of the current fiscal year.