Jennifer Woodley, Mortgage Broker

If you've been hearing the media frenzy about mortgage rates rising - don't panic and remain calm! Yes, fixed rates are increasing slightly, but variable rates remain low, low, low. In fact, a couple of lenders actually dropped their variable rates this week. The Bank of Canada has stated numerous times that they do not foresee raising their key interest rate until at least 2023, as our economy continues its road to recovery. This indicates that variable rates will likely rem...ain low for the next few years. It's still an amazing time to take advantage of the historically low mortgage interest rates! Using this period of ultra-low interest rates to pay down your mortgage balance, by utilizing your mortgage prepayment options, is the best strategy to ensuring that you will be in a great position if rates do rise in the future. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, or if you would like me to do a review of your current mortgage situation. https://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com//latest-in-mortgag/

Happy Year of the OX! May you be blessed with good health, wealth, luck, and happiness! Gung Hei Fatt Choi! Sun Lin Fye Lok! Sun Tai King Hong!

In its first rate announcement of 2021, the Bank of Canada held its key interest rate steady today. What does this mean to you? It's still great news for those of you with variable rate mortgages or balances on your lines of credit! Prime Rate should remain the same, and so should your current LOW rates!

Interesting times...

Is 2021 going to be the year that you take the leap to homeownership? Wondering how much you can qualify for? Download my free mortgage app! It includes everything you need to estimate your homeownership costs. You can calculate mortgage scenarios, get pre-qualified, browse thousands of rates, stress test, land transfer taxes, closing costs and so much more. ... Questions? I’m happy to help! You can reach me by private messaging me, by phone at 604-626-3278, or by email at [email protected]. I look forward to helping you achieve dreams!!

What a year!! 2020...the year where life as we knew it changed in the blink of an eye, where the real estate market was surprisingly red hot, and where mortgage rates dropped to record lows. It’s been a year that we soon will not forget...and many will not miss. Goodbye, 2020! Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year and all the best for a better, brighter 2021!!

Wishing all of you a very Happy Holidays - from my family, to yours.

As expected, the Bank of Canada announced this morning that it would maintain its key interest rate. Still good news for all of you with variable rate mortgages and lines of credit! Prime rate should remain the same.

Do you have a mortgage with First National Financial LP? If so, you can enter today for your chance to win a mortgage prepayment of $20,000! The contest runs from October 1 December 15, 2020. Each First National mortgage is eligible for one entry. All you have to do is log on to your My Mortgage account and enter. Full details, here: https://www.firstnational.ca/re/2020-silver-linings-contest

I hope you all had a very Happy Canada Day in our Great Nation!! Just a friendly reminder that property taxes are due in many municipalities today! However, many municipalities have also extended the payment deadline due to the pandemic. It’s best to check with your specific municipal office/website for details. Also, if you live in your home, don’t forget to apply for your Home Owner Grant! If you qualify, you could save $570 or more.... Have a great day, everyone!!

Wishing a very Happy Father’s Day to all you Super Dads out there!!! You are appreciated more than you’ll ever know!

Good Morning! Some great Monday morning news! Remember last week when CMHC said that they were tighening up the guidelines by decreasing the allowable debt-servicing for people buying with less than 20% down, increasing the minimum credit score, and doing away with non-traditional down payment? Well, Genworth, one of the other insurers in Canada, has announced that they do NOT plan on following suit. This seems like great news! However, we will have to see if the LENDERS implement tighter guidelines over the next few weeks, in response to the CMHC change...the word through the grapevine is that some have already begun to scale back and become more conservative.

Breaking News: CMHC has just announced that they will be reducing the allowable debt-servicing ratios and increasing the required credit score for insured mortgages, beginning July 1st. The new guidelines: - Limiting the Gross/Total Debt Servicing (GDS/TDS) ratios to our standard requirements of 35/42; - Establish minimum credit score of 680 for at least one borrower; and... - Non-traditional sources of down payment that increase indebtedness will no longer be treated as equity for insurance purposes. What does this mean to you? If you are a buyer who is looking to purchase a home with less than 20% down, your overall qualification amount will be slightly lower than in the past. You will also have to have great credit and a sufficient down payment of at least 5% to get approved. Questions on how these changes will impact you? Please feel free to reach out to me to discuss!

If you have kids, you must watch this! Below is the link for the full recording of today's Level Up session with Dominion Lending Centres' CEO, Gary Mauris, and Enriched Academy's Kevin Cochran. It's NEVER too early to start investing! Kevin Cochran has given countless kids a head start in life by teaching them the basics of financial literacy. A concept as simple as COMPOUND INTEREST is so important to understand to build wealth at an early age. There is a 17 year old in Kev...in's enRICHed Academy from London, Ontario, who just bought his SIXTH investment property!! I can't understate this. Watch this with your kids! If you're a parent, watch this to learn how to set up a Custodial Account so that your children can start investing today. If your children are under 18 without their own living expenses, this is the optimal time to start! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and learn valuable skills that can start you on your path to wealth TODAY! See more

Some good news: there will be slightly less stress for mortgages next week! The qualification rate for the mortgage stress test will be dropping to 4.94% on Monday, down from the current rate of 5.04%. What does that mean to you? Borrowers will be able to qualify for ever-so-slightly more than before. Hey, we’ll take it! Questions? Please feel free to message me! If you’re curious about how much you can qualify for, or if you just want to play around with numbers/your budget, I invite you to download my free phone app: https://dlcapp.ca/app/jennifer-woodley

Could the minimum down payment in Canada soon be increased to 10%? It's possible. In his address to the House of Commons Standing Committee yesterday, the head of CMHC, Evan Siddall, stated: "Unless we act, a first time homebuyer purchasing a $300,000 home with a 5 per cent down payment stands to lose over $45,000 on their $15,000 investment if prices fall by 10 per cent... In comparison, a 10 per cent down payment offers more of a cushion against possible losses." Other key ...highlights from Siddall's address: - CMHC is now forecasting a decline in average house prices of 9-18% in the coming 12 months - CMHC estimates estimates that 12% of mortgage holders have elected to defer payments so far, and that figure could reach nearly 20 per cent by September. - Canada’s household debt-to-GDP ratio will increase to more than 115 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, and reach 130 per cent by September, due to increased borrowing and GDP declines. Pre-crisis debt-to-GDP was 99 per cent - Looking at debt multiples of disposable income, CMHC estimates this measure will climb from 176 per cent in late 2019 to well over 200 per cent through 2021 Dire predictions, indeed. The future remains to be seen. No matter what, I will continue to keep you all updated as we move along! Keep your chins up, everyone. <3 We will make it through this.

Thank you, Nurses, for all that you do - every day! You are truly appreciated. #nationalnursesweek

Wishing a very Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, who work tirelessly and give their all, every. single. day. Thank you for everything that you do...you are doing a great job!! #mommingainteasy

Hello everyone, I hope you are all keeping well. I know these past few weeks/months have been really hard for everyone, especially on our mental well-being. If you are struggling with your mental health, please know that help is available. Health Canada is offering FREE confidential counselling, tools and resources to help Canadians cope with the psychological strain. "Wellness Together Canada" offers the following *at no cost* to Canadians:... - Wellness self-assessment and tracking. - Self guided courses, apps, and other resources. - Group coaching and peer support. - Counselling by text or phone. You can visit this website to get started: https://ca.portal.gs/ Thank you to Joy Sereda Clinical Counselling for sharing this important information with us. Please head over to her page for more tips and information on coping with Covid-19 fear, stress, and anxiety. Be kind, and stay safe.

Do you have a mortgage renewal coming up soon? Many people do! With the busy mortgage renewal season upon us, here are the steps I recommend that you take: 1) Contact your current lender to ask for their renewal offer. If you can't get in touch with them, check your online banking portal. Many lenders post their renewal letters online (in the same section as your mortgage information), and offers can be found when you log in. 2) Contact a Mortgage Broker to get a second opini...on on the offer! Sometimes a lender will come to the table with a fantastic offer. A Mortgage Broker will be able to tell you whether it is in your best interest to stay with your current lender, or whether they feel it would be worth it to move to another lender who may be able to offer you a better rate or mortgage product for your needs. In the past few weeks, I have been seeing some amazing renewal offers from some lenders and, in these cases, I have been recommending that clients stay where they are! In other cases, some renewal offers have been so high that I have been savings clients thousands of dollars by moving to a lender who is offering a lower interest rate and a more flexible mortgage! If you have any questions, or would like a free second opinion on your renewal, please contact me today! You can message me on Facebook, call me at 604-626-3278, or email me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Colour Me Calm Contest!! I received dozens of amazing entries from people and families of all ages! The winning entries are below. Congratulations to the winners: The Ansley Family (Tim Ansley, Brenda Ansley, and their two children all submitted their own incredible entries!), Ashley Davis, and Karen Lennerton!! Karen has graciously and generously asked for her winnings to be donated to those in need, so $50 has been donated to ...the Greater Vancouver Food Bank in her honour. Thank you! To all of you who entered, I thank you so much for your participation! I hope you enjoyed some time to colour and decompress, which I think we all need during this uncertain time. I hope to hold more contests like this in the future!! Please check back. Have a great evening!! Jen Woodley

Don't forget to enter to win! Contest ends tomorrow at midnight! "Colour Me Calm" Contest (for all ages)! Enter to win 1 of 3 $50 PC Gift Cards!... To enter the contest: "Like" the page Jennifer Woodley, Mortgage Broker" on Facebook. Download the colouring page, print out the page, and colour it in, however you like! Email your entry to [email protected] with the subject line: Colour Me Calm Contest. Be sure to include your first name, last name, and phone number. Entries can be a scanned copy or a clear photo. The contest is open to all residents of Canada, of any age! Contest closes at midnight on April 19th, 2020. To download a colouring page, accept the Rules and Regulations, and find more details on how to enter, visit: https://www.jenwoodley.com/colourmecalm.html The entries so far have been amazing, and I am so glad to hear that you've all been having fun colouring with your families!!

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada announced that it is maintaining its overnight interest rate of 0.25%. A lot of people have been asking me what that means for them. It's important for borrowers to understand that the Bank of Canada's overnight rate is NOT the same as a mortgage rate. Mortgage rates are not 0.25% (although, that sure would be nice!). Changes to the Bank of Canada interest rate DO have an economic impact, but there are also many other factors that can affect ...mortgage rates. Variable Rate Mortgages (VRMs) are the key type of mortgages that are affected when the Bank of Canada changes its overnight rate. VRMs are often priced at "Prime Rate, minus ___%". Prime Rates are set by the banks themselves, and when the Bank of Canada increases or decreases their overnight rate, Prime Rates often follow (but not always). Prime Rate is currently at 2.45% with most lenders. With the decrease of Prime Rate over the past few weeks, we have started to see that many banks are no longer offering variable rate discounts of "Prime Rate, minus __%". Instead, we are starting to see "Prime Rate, PLUS __%". However, those Variable Rate Holders who were lucky enough to secure deep variable rate discounts in the past, such as "Prime Rate, minus 1.0%" are now paying as little as 1.45%. Fixed Rate Mortgages are less influenced by the Bank of Canada's overnight interest rate. These types of mortgages are usually more closely tied to the bond market. If bond yields decrease, then fixed rate mortgages typically decrease as well. However, in the past few weeks, we have seen fixed rates rise for other reasons, such as liquidity and a more expensive cost of funds for the bank. I hope that helped! Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. I am always happy to assist!

Wishing all of you a very Safe and Happy Easter!

Contest Alert : "Colour Me Calm" Contest (for all ages)! Enter to win 1 of 3 $50 PC Gift Cards! I know people are stressed, struggling, and a little stir-crazy right now. I'm giving away some grocery gift cards to try to help. Download the page, grab some pencil crayons , a glass of wine/coffee/whatever makes you happy , and get colouring!!... To enter the contest: "Like" the page Jennifer Woodley, Mortgage Broker" on Facebook. Download the colouring page, print out the page, and colour it in, however you like! Email your entry to [email protected] with the subject line: Colour Me Calm Contest. Be sure to include your first name, last name, and phone number. Entries can be a scanned copy or a clear photo. The contest is open to all residents of Canada, of any age! Contest closes at midnight on April 19th, 2020. To download a colouring page, accept the Rules and Regulations, and find more details on how to enter, visit: https://www.jenwoodley.com/colourmecalm.html I can't wait to see your creativity!

Contest Alert : "Colour Me Calm" - Adult Colouring Contest! Wow!! The first few entries for the Colour Me Calm Contest have been amazing!! I am LOVING the entries that I have received...there is some wonderful talent out there!! All the entrants have commented on how relaxing it was to set aside the troubles of the world and just focus on the moment. I'm so glad to hear it - that was the whole goal in starting this contest!... Don't forget...the contest is open until April 19th, 2020. Print one of these pages out and get colouring, today! You could win one of three $50 gift cards! To enter the contest: "Like" the page Jennifer Woodley, Mortgage Broker" on Facebook. Download the colouring page, print out the page, and colour it in, however you like! Email your entry to [email protected] with the subject line: Colour Me Calm Contest. Be sure to include your first name, last name, and phone number. Entries can be a scanned copy or a clear photo. The contest is open to all residents of Canada, of any age! Contest closes at midnight on April 19th, 2020. To download a colouring page, accept the Rules and Regulations, and find more details on how to enter, visit: www.jenwoodley.com/colourmecalm.html I can't wait to see your entry!!

Wondering why Bank of Canada interest rates are decreasing but mortgage interest rates are increasing? Here's a pretty good article to explain why.

For any of you who are applying for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), please take note that the payments are taxable, but taxes will not be deducted at source. It would be a good idea to put aside a portion of your benefit payments for tax time next year, if you are able to.

Have a happy and safe Sunday, everyone!