Here are some tips to create a captivating kitchen:

You can cut down on visual clutter by removing items you normally store on the counter.  This will help your kitchen look more spacious.

Your eat-in kitchen should have a table and chairs in it.  Buyers like to see an eat-in kitchen, but often don’t have the vision to see it as such without the furniture.

Remove window screens in the kitchen.  Screens take away from allowing natural light inside.  Plus, no one will notice they are missing.

It’s a good idea to keep some toll-house cookie dough on hand, and bake up a few cookies just before a showing…but don’t overdo it.

Keep the exotic spices and fish to a minimum when cooking the night before a showing.  Work towards achieving a “clean” smell.

Thoroughly clean all your appliances and cupboards, including the inside of your oven and microwave.

Set the dinner table with your best china to stimulate your buyers’ imagination of the dinner parties they’ll host.

Many buyers will look inside your cabinets, so make sure the inside is organized and clean.  Also store non-essential items elsewhere to make the cabinets look more spacious.

Clean as much as possible off the countertops.  Items such as the coffeemaker, toasters, can openers, salt and pepper shakers, recipe boxes, and dish draining rack can be put away.

Make sure that your counter is spotless and shiny.

If you keep fruit or flowers on your counter, be sure they are always fresh.

If your cabinets show wear and tear, you might want to paint them.  A simple trick to update the look of your cabinet doors is to replace your current knobs with new ones.  It’s much cheaper than getting a new kitchen, and it sure can make a difference.

Shine your faucets and knobs and use spot remover to prevent water spots.

Remove notes, pictures, and coupons from the refrigerator door.

Empty your trash cans.  Garbage and recycling bins must be out of sight.

You may want to make your home more attractive by having us approve a rate hold on the home you’re selling.

That way if rates rise, your buyer gets a lower rate!

Mark Fidgett
Vancouver Mortgage Broker
Owner www.NotaPennyDown.com
604-273-2002

If it’s your FIRST principle residence and you’re buying for $425,000 or LESS, you can claim an exemption from paying the Property Transfer Tax. That’s a pretty significant savings when you consider property transfer taxes are calcualated as follows:

1% of the first $200,000 = $2,000

2% of the balance $225,000 ($425,000-$200,000) = $4,500

$2,000 + $4,500 = $6,500 saved as a First Time buyer

What’s the difference between Property Transfer Tax and property tax and what is the Home Owner Grant?

Property Transfer Tax is a provincial tax that comes about upon transfer of property whereas property taxes are paid annually (usually in the middle of the calendar for which they apply) to the taxation authority responsible for the area in which the property is located. Most property taxes are billed by and paid to the appropriate “City Hall”. The Home Owner Grant or HOG) is available, subject to eligibility, to those who own the property in which they live and is claimed at the time of payment.

As mentioned previously in my BLOG here, you may withdraw up to $25,000 each from your RRSP account.

As you can see, there’s much more to mortgages than JUST rates.

Make sure you get The Right Advice at The Right Time

Mark Fidgett
604-273-2002
Vancouver Mortgage Broker
Owner www.NotaPennyDown.com

Borrowing Guidelines for Insured Stated Income Programs in Canada are about to change

The borrowing guidelines for insured Stated Income Programs are about to undergo some major changes and these changes will be implemented effective April 9, 2010.

The changes are being announced by CMHC (also known as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation). CMHC’s changes, as well as those announced by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty effective on April 19, 2010 are all attempts to help cool off the heated housing market which is now being driven by record-low interest rates. More importantly, these new measures are required to protect borrowers from taking on more debt than they can afford especially as interest rate hikes are imminent. While Canada still allows Stated Income programs here, they are becoming very rare in the U.S. The massive number of defaults and foreclosures reported by the U.S. after the 2008 credit crisis were attributed mostly to Stated Income programs that were used to place under-qualified borrowers into mortgage loans that they could not afford.

While Canadian lenders continue to use the Stated Income programs here, customized for commissioned and self-employed borrowers, CMHC will now be scrutinizing those same applications using tighter underwriting criteria making the CMHC Self-Employed mortgage insurance program a little harder to access.

What exactly does Stated Income mean?

Stated Income means exactly that. When a mortgage application is created, for a self-employed or commissioned applicant, and the entire income amount is not verifiable in traditional documents, for example a Notice of Assessment, the applicant may apply under the Stated Income program to allow an income adjustment to help qualify them for a home purchase or re-finance.

Most important change is Tenure: those who have been working in the same business for greater than three years, would not be eligible for the Stated Income program and therefore those in this category would have to provide proof of their income, for example, a Notice of Assessment.

I welcome your comments below : )

Mark Fidgett | 604-273-2002

“Your Personal Mortgage Consultant….For Life!”

PS – Please Don’t Keep Me a Secret
A REFERRAL is when you INTRODUCE someone you care about to someone you TRUST!

T 604.273.2002 | F 604.522.2072
W http://www.notapennydown.com

An independent Mortgage Specialist associated with the Verico Mortgage Network.

Don’t wait, call today and allow me to enhance your net worth “For Free”

Why wouldn’t you?

I welcome your comments below : )

Mark Fidgett | 604-273-2002

“Your Personal Mortgage Consultant….For Life!”

PS – Please Don’t Keep Me a Secret
A REFERRAL is when you INTRODUCE someone you care about to someone you TRUST!

T 604.273.2002 | F 604.522.2072
W http://www.notapennydown.com

An independent Mortgage Specialist associated with the Verico Mortgage Network.

Vancouver Mortgage Broker Mark Fidgett explains High Ratio Mortgages

Banks and financial institutions are not allowed to lend against real estate mortgages unless the down payment is at least 20% of the value of the property.  In order to achieve a higher level of financing, lenders need to obtain mortgage default insurance from one of three institutions in Canada – the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC),  Genworth Financial (formerly GE Mortgage) and AIG United Guaranty.   In the event the borrower is unable to pay the mortgage, the lender will be paid by these institutions.

AIG is not widely used due to the financial difficulties experienced by their parent company in the US.

It is the lender’s choice as to which mortgage insurance company to use.   Many lenders have a preference as to which mortgage insurance company to use.

There may be cases where one mortgage insurance company is more suited to the transaction.  For example, Genworth has a more flexible policies for rental suites. Genworth will accept non-conforming basement suites while CMHC will not.

The insurance premiums is computed based on the level of financing, as shown below

Note: premiums are for fixed rate or capped variable single advance mortgages.  Please contact www.notapennydown.com for other types of mortgages..

The cost of mortgage default insurance is paid by the borrower and can be added on to the mortgage amount.    Note that with high-ratio mortgages, CMHC,  Genworth or AIG will do the appraisal so there is no appraisal fees in a high-ratio transaction.

Mark Fidgett | 604-273-2002

“Your Personal Mortgage Consultant….For Life!”

PS – Please Don’t Keep Me a Secret
A REFERRAL is when you INTRODUCE someone you care about to someone you TRUST!

T 604.273.2002 | F 604.522.2072
W http://www.notapennydown.com

An independent Mortgage Specialist associated with the Verico Mortgage Network.