Winterfest starts at 10:00 am and runs until 3:00 pm on January 28^th, 2012.

The Admission price is $10.00 per family car.

You can come out and enjoy fun activities including, skating, wagon rides, exploring trails and pathways, tobogganing, feeding farm animals and crafts for the kids (Please bring your own skates and toboggans).

WindReach Farm is located at 312 Townline Road in Ashburn.

For more information about this event please call 905-655-5827.

Every Canadian deserves a home they can call their own.  Let “Your Durham Mortgage Solutions Team” at Mortgage Intelligence help you with a low rate solution! Apply today & save!

There has never been a time when mortgage money has been cheaper. Many folks are still renting and wishing they could get in on a home purchase of their own, but they just don’t have a down payment.

No Problem!

If you have good credit and a steady job with provable income, chances are you can buy a home without a down payment.  Just one quick visit to our website or a call to our office will help you determine if you have paid your Landlord’s last mortgage payment!!

Call us today. Become a Homeowner tomorrow!

But would you still think so if you knew:

You would be restricted with a maximum 25 yr. amortization

Reduced allowable pre-payment would only be 10% not their usual 20%

Reduced allowable increase in payments would only be 10% not the usual 20%

And that the mortgage was fully closed for the 5 years of the term unless you sold you house, paid a penalty to refinance with the same lender or took an early renewal with the same lender.  They would own you for 5 years regardless of how your needs change!!

In mortgages it’s always good to be sure that you aren’t getting a bit of a break up front and then paying for it over the life of the mortgage. Banks are being super aggressive to get your business right now so make sure you are super aggressive in knowing what you are signing up for.

As Mortgage Brokers we are impartial providers of mortgage options. You get the best rate and terms for your personal financial situation and future financial goals. Get advice today so you know you can save in the future.  Contact us today.

Canadian mortgage rates are at record-low levels and there has never been a better time to put extra dents in your mortgage. The trick is to increase your regular payments by a relatively small amount to chip away at your principal over time, instead of waiting until you have saved up a chunk of money for a large extra payment (which for most of us tends to be a plan whose time never actually comes).

Most lenders will let you schedule an ongoing, automatic extra payment to be taken each time your regular mortgage payment is made, allowing you to ‘set it and forget it’. My advice is to calculate what your mortgage payment would be if your interest rate was 5%, subtract the amount you are currently paying, and use the difference as your extra payment.

Here is an example of how this technique would work if your current mortgage rate was 3.29%:

Monthly payment for a $250,000 mortgage at 5% (25 yr. am = $1,454

Monthly payment for a $250,000 mortgage at 3.29% (25 yr. am) = $1,221

Difference = $233

Now, take a look at what paying an extra $233 per month will achieve over time, and remember that this example only assumes that you make the extra payment over the first five years (after that, I assume that you revert to paying the minimum).

Over the next five years this borrower will make an extra $13,980 in payments, save an extra $1,184 in interest cost, and knock off an extra $15,165 of principal by the time her mortgage comes up for renewal. But the real bang for each extra payment buck accrues over the longer term, because over twenty-five years the total interest-cost savings in this example grows to $14,276 (even though no extra payments are made after the first five years). That’s more than $1 in interest cost saved for each $1 of extra payment made, even with rates at record-low levels.

So why 5% you ask? For starters, the average discounted five-year fixed-rate mortgage over the last ten years has been right around 5%, so when rates eventually rise from today’s ultra-low levels they will probably end up in that range. Building a 5% interest rate into your monthly expenses today will significantly reduce your risk of payment shock if rates are higher at renewal, as most experts predict they will be.

Also, 5% is high enough over today’s rates to make a difference to your bottom line while still being manageable for most budgets. (To see what your mortgage payment would be at a 5% interest rate, check my mortgage calculator.)
If you’re looking to improve your financial fitness in 2012, my advice is to turn the magic of 5% loose on your mortgage balance, and to steer clear of the gyms until early February when there are always plenty of workout machines to go around.

This is an article by David Larock independent Mortgage Planner and industry insider.

Low rates, focused experience and knowledge, plus a helping attitude is what “Your Durham Mortgage Solutions Team” is all about.  Why settle for less?  Apply now & save.

We would like our readers to post a question to our blog as a comment or to our social media such as Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter and we will answer it so all our readers can get the benefit.

We usually offer information about mortgages and finance in our posts but here’s your chance to participate by starting the dialogue.

Ask any mortgage, credit related or financial goal question and we will get you the answers you need.

Low rates, focused experience and knowledge, plus a helping attitude is what “Your Durham Mortgage Solutions Team” is all about.  Why settle for less?  Post a question today!

See the CTV news clip and Elfie’s comments today. Canadians have credit concerns.

During the evening, outgoing President Jeff Goldman welcomed Stephen Snider as the 58^th President of the association.  Marg Cox and Jennifer Hurd presented Roger MacInnis of City Homes with a Grand Prize Travel voucher donated by Metroland.

Elfie Hayes was unable to attend the event, but was honored with the President’s Star Award for outstanding achievement to the Board of Directors.

Please see the full-page article for all the details of the night!

Did you know that “Your Durham Mortgage Solutions Team” at Mortgage Intelligence is here to share their knowledge and experience when you need a low mortgage rate.  Apply today!

Neil Pasricha

Mr. Pasricha’s new book is all about the “awesome” things that we celebrate during the holiday season.

Here are a few things that you will find in the book;

“Plugging in the Christmas lights from last year and having them all work,” “When the in-laws leave”, “Successfully re-gifting a present to someone who actually wants it”, “Knowing Kwanzaa is worth more Scabble points than Hanukkah or Christmas”.

To read more on this article please visit durhamregion.com.

To learn more about Mr. Pasricha you can read his blog at www.1000awesomethings.com or follow him on Twitter at @1000Awesome.

At Mortgage Intelligence it’s always a good day. We have over 300 Mortgage solutions to offer and we’ll give you the benefit of our knowledge and the low rate you deserve. Apply today and save.

In a speech at the President’s Ball for the Durham Region Home Builders Association, by out going President of the Durham Region Home Builders Association Jeff Goldman noted:

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Tonight we are presenting our 7thAnnual President’s Star Awards. These awards are presented to members who have exceeded all expectations of their volunteer commitment to the Association.

The support and volunteer efforts of our members is the foundation of the Durham Region Home Builders’ Association. We are truly grateful for everyone’s contribution in making our Association a leader in the home building industry. This year I would like to recognize one member who is a glowing example of what this Association exemplifies.

Our President’s Star award for Outstanding Achievement goes to an individual who – and this is to coin a phrase in keeping with this evening’s theme – has truly taken the bull by the horns. Her enthusiasm in everything she does for this Association is highly contagious and she motivates our board and members through the positive energy that she emits. She has spearheaded our membership and marketing committee and has taken us to new heights with social media and improving our website to give our members more value for their membership. She is always willing to volunteer her services to this Association and contributes to the betterment of the Durham Region Home Builders’ Association. It gives me great pleasure to present this award to Elfie Hayes of Mortgage Intelligence. Unfortunately, Elfie is unable to be with us her tonight due to her husband’s health issues. But I am honored to accept this award on her behalf. Congratulations Elfie.

The award was presented to Elfie Hayes at her office on Monday morning by Donna Donaldson of the DRHBA.   “I’m honored to receive this award and will continue to contribute to one of Durham’s most prestigious Professional Associations” stated Elfie.

For example, in the past year, approximately 36% of mortgage holders (about 2.1 million out of 5.8 million mortgage holders) made voluntary extra payments towards their mortgages.

These include:

· 16% who increased their monthly payments (more than 900,000),
· 17% who made lump sum payments (almost one million),
· 5% who increased the frequency of their payments (about 325,000).

What’s more, roughly 6% of these mortgage holders made more than one of these additional efforts.

Of those who renewed their mortgage last year and got a lower rate, 24% voluntarily increased their payments to accelerate mortgage principal reduction.

Let the Durham Mortgage Solutions Team show you how you can pay off your mortgage sooner, and save on interest costs throughout the life of the loan.  Call us to learn more about how you can include supplemental payments as part of your overall mortgage strategy.

Last year Elfie was a Director and sat on the Membership and Promotion committees. She was instrumental in helping to revamp the DRHBA website to include features that benefit the members.

The New DRHBA blog was also created with her help. Now members have even more benefits when they belong to the professional group that is responsible for building the homes and communities that the residents of Durham call “Home”.

This year promises to bring new opportunities to build the association even further. In 2011 Renomark was given a higher profile within the organization and this year with the help of a separate committee Renomark should be at the forefront of all those who have made professional renovation their career.

Mortgage Intelligence one of Oshawa’s largest Mortgage Brokers will be joining Renomark to offer their new consumer loans, designed to help finance renovations along with their low rate mortgage solutions that have become the mainstay of the business.

Visit the site of the Durham Region Home Builders Association