I take pride in providing useful information that you will find helpful when making decisions regarding your mortgage. My monthly newsletter covers different topics each month to help increase your knowledge of the mortgage industry and recent industry happenings. Please take a moment to review the monthly newsletter and click on the links on the left hand side for more news and resources. Feel free to pass this newsletter along to any friends and family members who might find it useful and contact me with any questions you may have.
Thank You,
Rajeev Talwar
Spotlight
Mortgages Are Still Available, Despite the Credit Crunch
The recent months have been marked with great chaos and disruption as the financial crisis took its toll on the mortgage, investment and lending markets. Our nation, as well as the rest of the world, has feared for a total collapse until the financial problems were one-by-one resolved and the gravity of its effects countered. Presently, despite the fact that a credit crunch still exists, current homeowners and prospective home buyers still have much to look forward to.
Government Bailout and Interest Rate Cuts
Credit may be tight, but it is not frozen! Thanks to the government's recent bailout, individuals throughout the nation are still able to find conforming and insured mortgages. With the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the government's help, 400,000 families have been able to keep their homes by refinancing their mortgages with HUD's affordable mortgage insurance program.
Contact Rajeev Talwar today at 905-460-0954 to make sure your current loan is well within your financial means or to see if you may qualify for a mortgage loan modification.
Borrower Qualifications
All loan programs require that the borrower meet several income, employment and credit guidelines. Though these loan restrictions have gotten tighter, Rajeev Talwar has the latest interest rates and mortgage application guidelines at hand so that you can be sure you do not stretch your financial limits.
With the exception of Jumbo loans, there is almost no difference in the availability of money this year compared to last year. Before applying for a loan, be sure to discuss your program options and application qualifications with Rajeev Talwar.
In a sign that the global credit crisis is seeping across Canada's borders, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney warned yesterday that the country "has been importantly affected by global events" and hinted that another interest rate cut may be in the offing.
But as we all know that Canada is weathering the storm better than most major economies.
But around the world, some economists and policy makers are now anxiously considering another worrisome prospect: A deflationary spiral that could make recovery even more difficult.
Those concerns were heightened yesterday by a report that showed U.S. consumer prices plummeted by 1 per cent in October (month-over-month), the biggest one-month decline since record-keeping started.
The drop was driven by a precipitous fall in oil prices, which have lost more than 60 per cent of their value since peaking in mid-July. But core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, also fell by 0.1 per cent last month, showing broader price declines.
But, for consumers, the prospect of deflation – an ongoing fall in the general level of prices – might seem appealing.
Under normal circumstances, lower prices are "supposed to signal to people (that) now might be a good time to buy, and that brings about an adjustment. "It encourages people to spend, and that helps sales for those companies."
But a period of deflation carries the risk of "a deflation mentality, where people, if they can, postpone purchases because they expect that prices will further fall.
And, such a spiral is "very hard to break.
"Deflation is probably the worst case for the financial sector because it is very difficult to overcome. Therefore, all central banks are going to do everything to avoid it.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's October meeting, released yesterday, show that officials slashed economic growth forecasts for 2009, and some believed more interest rate cuts might become necessary.
Its next scheduled interest-rate setting meeting is Dec. 16.
Job Cuts:
Canadian banks are poised to follow in the footsteps of their American peers by announcing more job cuts when they report "bleak" fourth-quarter results starting next week, some analysts predict.
Layoffs remain a possibility in the new year if conditions worsen.
"But I think our banks, perhaps, are a little more sensitive and I don't think they'll do it before Christmas.
As they are predicting that Canada will loose another 100,000 jobs to this recession in the coming few months.
If you feel that this scenario is affecting you or will affect you in the near future, pick up the phone and call us, and you will be happy you did it.
