Mother`s Day is May 10th

I LOVE YOU MOM!

Mom's smiles can brighten any moment,
Mom's hugs put joy in all our days,
Mom's love will stay with us forever
and touch our lives in precious ways...

The values you've taught,
the care you've given,
and the wonderful love you've shown,
have enriched my life
in more ways than I can count.

I Love you Mom!
Gabriela Rain

WHAT`S NEW!

I am proud to introduce a new relationship has developed over the past few months and you will now find me on the following web site, www.okanagan-home.com as well as www.yourmortgages.ca
Also new on my web site is the Weekly Rate Watcher. You may receive this email notice by signing your email up to the Weekly Rate Watcher. Very much like the Mortgage News Letter, iIt will send you the latest and current rates.

DID YOU KNOW... (4 of 5 series)

Between 1947 and 1952 , Billy and Bobby Byrne robbed over 52 banks across Ontario. However history has all but forgotten them. In fact, they may be more famous for the outrageous stunts they pulled, rather then the crimes themselves. Here is #4 of five facts about Canada`s most bizarre bank robbing Brothers: Believe it or not, in 1951 the brothers pranced into the Toronto Dominion Bank on Younge Street sporting eight foot stilts. They escaped on foot. Bill would later complain that even the height enhancement, he was still shorter then his older brother.

FIVE THINGS TO REMBER TO GETTING PRE QUALIFIED

With mortgage rates and home prices falling and inventory way up, it's a home buyer's market in Alberta and B.C. But the U.S housing crisis and the global recession has made Canadian lenders more selective about who gets mortgage financing. Remember, obtaining a mortgage is privilege, not a right. A little more preparation on your part could be the difference between approval and rejection. Here are five things you could do to help your chances of getting approved:

Because your credit rating will affect the mortgage terms and rate that the lender offers you, make at least the minimum payment by the due date on your outstanding bills. Better yet, pay your bills off in full every month and reduce the number of unnecessary credit applications. For example, credit card kiosks at the airport or malls will do credit checks on you when you apply, which can negatively affect your credit score. One of the many advantages of working with a Mortgage Broker is that I will share your credit rating with you before approaching lenders.
Know the total amount you are willing to spend on your mortgage per month. This amount should include mortgage payment, property tax payment, home insurance, utilities, and any applicable condo fees, purchase closing costs, and other associated fees.
Have proof of your employment history.
Have your personal information handy, such as social insurance (SIN) number, date of birth, contact information and three-year history of residences.
Have your basic net worth information available, including an account of any assets and liabilities.

ASK THE HOME INSPECTOR

What causes squeaky floors and are they a concern?

Squeaks are caused when things rub against each other. In homes, this is usually wood-on-wood or metal-on-wood. Two pieces of wood, such as subfloor and joists, or subfloor and hardwood flooring, can become loose and make a noise. Sometimes, the noise is caused by a loose nail or screw and wood. Reasons why wood members move varies, but include; natural shrinkage of the wood, poor humidity control, improper fastening techniques, damaged wood, poor construction practice, poor choice of fasteners, movement of the structure. How do you fix it? This varies depending where the squeak is and if it can be easily accessed. Adding additional fasteners such as screws or nails, baby powder or talc, clamps, shims and a multitude of other ideas have been tried. Are squeaks a concern? Most are not, unless the floor is visually moving.

K. R. Sutfin, OK Valley Home Inspections Ltd.
Serving the Okanagan and Nicola Valleys
(250) 317-3349 Toll Free: 1-888-575-7784

MORTGAGE PAY OUT PENALTIES

How do we calculate the penalty of a mortgage when it is reimbursed before the end of its term? Two methods are used:
1) Three months of interest
2) Rate differential

When calculating, the lender will always take the highest result of the two previously mentioned methods.

Example: For the purpose of this calculation, we will consider the following data:

Mortgage amount - $80,000
Remaining term - 2 years
Interest rate - 7.75 %

THREE MONTHS OF INTEREST

This is the simplest method. The calculation of three months of interest on the aforementioned loan would amount to $1,528.76.

RATE DIFFERENTIAL

Calculating the rate differential is more complex. To do so, we must compare the market rate at the time of reimbursement for the remaining term. If the market rate is 5.75 % for a 2-year term, the lender would suffer a 2 % loss on $80,000 for 2 years. Result: $3,200.

However, if the market rate is 8 % for a 2-year term, the lender would not suffer any loss since the loan is being reimbursed at 7.75 %, which can be adjusted at 8 %.

In the first example, the penalty would be the rate differential and, in the second example, three months of interest.

Naturally, there are different methods to address a penalty: transfer your mortgage on a new purchase or have the mortgage assumed by your buyer or opt for a blended rate.

Other Penalty Calculations

Methods of calculating penalties are as varied as the lenders' imaginations! The following outline describes some penalties charged by lenders.

Some examples:

Greater of three months interest penalty OR the interest rate differential.
CMHC mortgages registered prior to July 1999 - during the first three years, the penalty is the greater of 3 months interest OR interest rate differential. After three years of payments made on a 4 or 5 year term (or longer) the penalty is three months interest.
CMHC mortgages registered after July 1999 - CMHC mortgages will now have the same penalty clause as the institution lending you the mortgage funds.
Two months penalty interest (based on the floating rate in effect at the time of payout) calculated on the outstanding balance during the first three years of the term and no penalty charged at all for the remaining years of the term.
The mortgage can not be paid out unless there is an arm's length sale - then the penalty is 3% of the outstanding mortgage balance.
The mortgage can not be paid out unless there is an arm's length sale - then the penalty is the greater of three months interest OR 3% of the outstanding balance.
Same as above, but not more than three months interest in years 4 and 5 of a five year term.
For non-arm's length sales - it is the greater of three months interest OR interest rate differential to the bond rate for the remaining term.
For arm's length sales - it is the greater of three months interest OR interest rate differential to the current posted mortgage rate for remaining term.

Here's More Confusion

Do not assume the same lender charges penalties the same way for each type of mortgage. Examples 1, 4 & 5 above are all charged by the same lender on different products.

Do not assume the penalty charges you agreed to with the original mortgage document are the same when you renew with the same lender. Their policies concerning penalty charges may change.

Do not assume the same wording means the same calculation with different lenders. For example the term 'interest rate differential' means very different penalty policies with different lenders. The terminology is not used consistently.

PRIME RATE FALLS AGAIN!

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada has taken its influential target interest rate to the lowest practical level in an effort to combat what it says is deeper and more widespread global recession.

The central bank sliced the overnight rate in half to 0.25 per cent - the lowest it says is practical - and signalled strongly it will have to keep it there until at least mid-2010.

In addition, the bank has extended the term of its purchase and resale agreements it uses to inject liquidity into money markets from one-and-three months to six-and-12 months, while setting minimum and maximum bids that correspond to the historically low target rate.

The bank said it will target a daily level of settlement balance in the financial system at $3 billion; a move it says will help drive the overnight rate to the bottom of the trading band.

The Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) was the first of Canada's major banks to announce that it would lower its own prime rate in step with the central bank, dropping the benchmark around which it calculates variable mortgages and other loans to 2.25 per cent.

Shortly after, Royal Bank (TSX:RY) said it too would lower its prime rate to 2.25 per cent, signalling that the other chartered banks would likely follow suit.

The dramatic actions - and more are expected Thursday when bank governor Mark Carney unveils options for increasing the money supply - signal a new and darker view of the global and domestic recession than the Bank of Canada has previously admitted to.

"In an environment of continued high uncertainty, the global recession has intensified and become more synchronous since (January)," Carney wrote in an unusually lengthy note accompanying the interest rate decision.

"Deteriorating credit conditions have spread quickly through trade, financial and confidence channels. While more aggressive monetary and fiscal policy actions are underway across the G20 (countries), measures to stabilize the global financial system have taken longer than expected to enact."

As a result, Carney has basically thrown out the playbook for the Canadian economy that he outlined in January.

Then, the recession was supposed to be over by the summer and accompanying growth was too built in the third quarter on the way to a robust recovery in 2010, with output growth of 3.8 per cent. Total economy shrinkage this year would be limited to 1.2 per cent.

Now Carney says the economy won't stop falling until at least the fourth quarter and in total will contract three per cent this year. That is in line with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development projection and that of a growing number of private sector economists.

Carney remains a relative optimist on how strong the rebound will be, however, predicting a bounce-back of 2.5 per cent next year and 4.7 per cent in 2011. While lower than his previous prediction of 3.8 per cent growth in 2010, it is still far ahead of the OECD's 0.3 per cent flatline forecast for next year.

"Given significant restructuring in a number of sectors, potential growth has been revised down," he says.

"The recovery will be importantly supported by the bank's accommodative monetary stance."

The new pessimism, or realism as some economists would call it, has increased the odds that Carney will do more than outline options for so-called quantitative easing later this week - a technical way of saying printing more money to get credit markets functioning better - but that he will soon move into the uncharted territory.

The central bank sees no immediate danger of inflation for all the stimulus it is injecting into the dormant economy.

In fact, Carney said he expects inflation to be minus 0.8 per cent in the third quarter and not to return to the central bank's desired two-per-cent target until the third quarter of 2011.

This article was Provided by Rachelle Gregory of Merix Financial

Weekly Market Commentary

String of upbeat quarterly results extends global equity rally

North American equity markets advanced for the sixth consecutive week as solid quarterly earnings from a trio of U.S. banking giants heightened optimism the global financial sector has stabilized.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, the sixth-largest bank in the United States, this week posted first-quarter profit of US$1.8 billion, or $3.39 a share, easily outdistancing analysts’ estimates of US$1.64 a share. JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., this week posted earnings of US$2.1 billion, or 40 cents a share, in the first three months of the year while Citigroup snapped a string of five consecutive quarterly losses, posting a first-quarter profit of US$1.6 billion.

The news drove a gauge of Canada’s lenders, insurers and financial services providers 7.9 per cent higher over the week ended April 17, 2009. The nation’s broader benchmark, the S&P/TSX composite index, climbed 2.7 per cent. Six of the benchmark’s ten sectors advanced better than 2 per cent on the week. The nation’s materials producers were the sole group to retreat... Learn More

This article of intrest was presented By Jocko Toic at the Investors Group. If you would like more one on one information, please feel free to contact him at:

Jocko Toic - Consultant
Investors Group Financial Services
3500 Carrington Road, Suite 102, Westbank BC, V4T 3C1
Ph. (250) 707-3265 Cell (250) 869-9636
Fax (250) 768-4563 Toll Free (866) 768-4546
Email jocko.toic@investorsgroup.com
Success starts with a Sound Plan

Steve's Rates

YourMortgages.ca Premium Rates
Mortgage Term	Our Rates	Standard Rates
Variable Rate	3.25%	4.00%
6 Month Closed	4.90%	6.85%
1 Year Closed	2.99%	4.20%
2 Year Closed	3.34%	4.35%
3 Year Closed	3.89%	4.45%
4 Year Closed	3.90%	4.35%
5 Year Closed	3.69%	4.65%
7 Year Closed	4.95%	7.00%
10 Year Closed	5.45%	7.05%
15 Year Closed	9.05%	0.00%
18 Year Closed	9.05%	0.00%
25 Year Closed	9.15%	0.00%

Rates are subject to change with very little notice and certain conditions may apply to individual mortgage applications, QAC, E&OE

For the best rates call 1-866-993-8787.

Resources

Business Supporting Business — Thank You:

Okanagan Home
www.okanagan-home.com

Investments
www.thenewwestside.ca

John Ferrier Head Teaching Professional
CPGA Class A
#320 - 1405 Stevens Road, Kelowna, BC.
Tel: 250-769-0339
Email: kelowna@urbanlinks.net

Twice the Fun Games - Al Samson
1783 Ross Road on the Westside
Tel: (250) 769-4346
Fax: (250) 769-4347
www.TwiceTheFunGames.com

Rockworld - Natural and Manufactured Stone , Fireplaces & Stoves, Sales & Installations
Brent Copeland
PH: 250-769-7250

Private Home Sellers
www.privatehomesellers.ca

ROOMS BY ROSELYN
Painting and Design
Roselyn Anderson
PH: 250-469-0899
EMAIL: rosely_anderson@hotmail.com

BENSON SALLOUM WATTS
For residential legal call
Shaun Langin
PH: 250-861-5678
Email: slangin@BensonSalloumWatts.com

Leslie Marton, C-I-R REALTY
Calgary PH:403477-6996
EMAIL: lmarton@cirrealty.ca

Mikala James / Real Estate Agent for Calgary and Area
Sutton Group
Email: mikalaj@sutton.com or visit at www.mikalajames.com
Direct Line: 403-889-7020

Kieth R. Sutfin
OK Valley Home Inspections Ltd.
www.okvalleyinspector.ca
www.snowbirdsecurity.ca
Res/Office: (250) 769-2132 Cell: (250) 317-3349
Toll Free: 1-888-575-7784

Friends Supporting Friends — Thank You:

Krystal Beisick
www.krystalbeisick.com

For Investments check out — www.renascencedevelopments.com
Ask for Lisa Thomas lisa@renascencedevelopments.com

A Quote to Note:

Focus on your potential instead of your limitations.
- Alan Loy McGinnis

Also a member of the Okanagan Mortgage Lenders Association

Contact

At Prolink Mortgage Inc., I have over 30 lending financial mortgage institutions in Canada with Steve Faux sourcing the best rates and the best products to suit your needs!

Direct Line — 250.768.0535

Direct Fax — 250.768.0510

Email — steve@yourmortgages.ca

www.yourmortgages.ca

Refer a Friend

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