https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/some-canadian-banks-freeze-new-financing-for-commercial-properties-on-covid-19-concerns Some owners who are unable to sell their properties are refinancing with alternative lenders at higher rates, adding to pressure on the struggling small to medium business sector. Mortgage Outlet broker Shawn Stillman said two clients who had letters of intent signed to refinance with Bank of Montreal were told the bank was […]

  https://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/2020/03/mortgage-rates-rising/ “I think if you’re a bank, you’re scared of losses right now,” Shawn Stillman, founder of mortgageoutlet.ca, told CMT. “The banks are in this to make money, and if they don’t think that they’re going to be able to make money because all of a sudden their default rate is going to go […]

https://www.wealthprofessional.ca/news/industry-news/bank-of-canada-drops-rates-again-can-it-spark-a-housing-revival/386530 Leah Zlatkin of Mortgage Outlet is skeptical about significant market movement, highlighting that rates are still high, and many buyers may wait for further cuts. “We’ve seen a 50-basis point drop since June, but rates are still comparatively high and many potential buyers are waiting for further rate decreases to increase their buying power […]

  https://www.wealthprofessional.ca/news/industry-news/doors-open-for-stronger-reverse-mortgage-use-in-canada/324942 The costs of taking on a reverse mortgage may also be unclear to seniors. “When they think of their cash flow, they’re not going to get kicked out of their house, but in reality, it really has the ability to erode the asset of the borrower,” Shawn Stillman, a broker at Toronto-based Mortgage […]

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/don-t-pay-til-you-die-reverse-mortgages-are-booming-in-canada-1.1316615 Canada’s big five banks have so far shied away from the product. Only two lenders offer them in Canada. HomeEquity Bank, whose reverse mortgage has been on the market for 30 years, dominates the space with $3.11 billion on its books. Equitable Bank, a relatively new player, has $10.1 million. Shares in parent Equitable […]

  https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-ottawas-first-time-home-buyer-incentive-who-wins-and-who-loses/ It’s an especially good tactic for short-term homeowners to save interest and premiums, on the backs of taxpayers. “That’s gaming the system,” says mortgage broker Shawn Stillman of Toronto-based Mortgage Outlet Inc. “But that’s not what the government wants. It wants people in their houses long term because it’s losing money if they’re […]

  https://www.mortgagebrokernews.ca/news/toronto-real-estate-ripe-for-laundering-money-255966.aspx In the broker channel, Shawn Stillman, says there are more measures in place to parry suspicious activity, but, like Smith, he noted A lenders are more susceptible fraudulent activity.  “Most of our lenders don’t allow us to do mortgages through corporate entities and it has to be held in a personal name, so […]

  https://www.mortgagebrokernews.ca/news/boc-touts-longterm-mortgages-to-open-mbs-market-257119.aspx Lenders are chary about propagating the advantages of long-term mortgages because they don’t want to be exposed to the market for that long, but Sammut says that the MBS market would free capital for long-term mortgage loans, which banks would then price aggressively. But is a long-term mortgage really the best thing for […]

So you need a mortgage.  The bad news is that mortgages have become more complex than ever!  So here are our Top 10 Mortgage Mistakes made by Canadians: 10 – Believing that FIXED rates are “safer” and VARIABLE rates are “riskier”.  This is a HUGE misconception, which I explain here. : https://mortgageoutlet.ca/fixed-versus-variable-the-mortgage-question   9 – […]

  https://www.mpamag.com/ca/news/general/treb-joins-chorus-demanding-b-20-repeal/284841 “The most important thing to consider with the stress test is the intentions are pure—and that’s to protect the financial system and the housing market,” said Elan Weintraub, director of Mortgage Outlet. “The problem comes in the disjointed way in which it was executed because you have three government agencies—the Ontario government implemented […]