Wow Vernon Clement Jones from MortgageBrokerNews, just wrote an article about North East Mortgages and Terry Kilakos (Founder and President).
"Try not to snicker, but one brokerage has found a way to piggyback off of RBC’s success, relocating to a storefront the bank only recently vacated after 30 years.
“I don’t think they knew it was being leased to me,” said Terry Kilakos, a chartered Mortgage Broker and owner of VERICO North East Mortgages in Montreal. “All’s fair in love and war, though, and this location is not only great because it`s a corner lot on a high-traffic area, but it’s been identified as a bank for decades in the minds of consumers, which should help grow our walk-in traffic.”
That’s usually why banks vacating old branch locations avoid selling to other financial services players.
In fact, they frequently rely on sales agreements holding the buyer to a moratorium on that kind of business for as long as five years. Kilakos is leasing from the new owner of the stone-clad building and hasn't entered into any agreement with the bank.
He moves into the leased 3,000 sq.-ft. spot at the heart of Montreal`s Saint-Laurent borough on April 1."
To read more check out the rest of the article...
I am Montreal-based Mortgage Broker. I love my job and often write about mortgages, debt, and real estate but also about community matters. I like to share ideas and write about what matters to me in Quebec.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
How can I buy after bankruptcy?
A huge part of being a mortgage broker is being an advisor and mortgage
educator to my clients. This is especially true with first time home buyers. Buying your first home is an important decision
and some careful planning should go into it. After all it may take a couple
years to save up for the down payment or stabilize one’s career.
For example, I met with a couple last week whose goal was to buy in the
Chateauguay area in the next 3-5 years. Both are hard working salaried people.
The catch was that one had a bankruptcy and the other had a collection. First we
had to tackle the bankruptcy, meaning the client was discharged from bankruptcy
but had no new credit history. I advised that a secured credit card be opened
to start building credit history. As mentioned in previous blogs, the goal here
would be to establish two major trade lines, with limits of $1200 each and two
years of positive history with no late payments. In terms of my other client
with the collection, we had to ensure that the collection was paid off ASAP and
that she continues to pay the rest of her cards on time. It would not take long
for her credit score to bounce back. Ideally, once the collection is paid off
the banks like to see stable and no lates for a good 1-2 years as well.
This is a good example of mortgage planning and something that I will
monitor with these clients over the next several months. We need to ensure that
the secured credit card is reporting properly on the credit report. It will
take the clients’ at least two years to rebuild credit but fortunately they are
not in a rush as they also need to save up their down payment.
I welcome any mortgage questions or comments. Have a great week
everyone.
Monday, March 19, 2012
What’s my buying capacity? Maximum versus reasonable
Probably the number one question I get asked as a mortgage broker is “Hey
Mark, what’s my buying capacity?” As a first time buyer or even a repeat buyer
your buying capacity is mission critical. With my weekly column in the Hudson Gazette and my blog montrealmortgageblogger.com, I’ve
received quite a few calls from home owners that are over their heads with
mortgage and debt payments. It’s always good for the ego to see our maximum
buying capacity, but does it make sense to stretch it that high? I will tell
you from several horror stories that I’ve seen the past three weeks, clearer it’s
not worth it.
Your buying capacity is based on a couple mortgage calculations, one in
particular referred at TDS or Total Debt
Service ratio. Typically all Canadian banks use this calculation. This
calculation takes a look at your annual expenses namely school and municipal taxes,
home heating, and your personal debt load and is divided by your gross income
(combined if you are a couple and a portion of your rental income, if any) multiplied
by one hundred. On an insured purchase meaning your putting less than 20% down
payment, your TDS can go up to 44%. Depending on the lender a refinance the TDS
can range from 40-44% whether you are refinancing conventionally (up to 80% of
market value of your home) or insured (85% of market value).
First and foremost if you are buying or refinancing mortgage planning is
invaluable. You will not always get that detailed service at the branch-level at a bank. That statement is not intended knock the banks but one
needs to be careful and budget conscious. A good mortgage broker can help you
establish a plan and keep you on budget. What I mean by that is take a much
closer look at that TDS calculation. TDS is a crude ratio and does not take
into account a lot of your other annual expenses such as insurance, school
tuition for the kids, food, gas, etc. With that in mind you can create a reasonable
buying capacity. Lastly, when taking your income into account typically I look
solely at base incomes and if appropriate exclude or take an average of your over time, bonuses and
commission. I treat those as sugar because they can all disappear or fluctuate
tremendously in this economy.
If you have any questions or would like to share a mortgage experience,
I’d love to hear from you. Have a great week.
Friday, March 2, 2012
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