Metro Vancouver Archives - Dominion Macklem Mortgages

Bill Macklem Speaks at the 19th Annual GVHBA First Time Home Buyer Seminar

At the 19th annual First Time Home Buyer Seminar presented by the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association this month, Bill Macklem of Dominion Macklem Mortgages had the opportunity to speak in front of an audience at the Bell Performing Arts Centre in Surrey, British Columbia. Dominion Macklem Mortgages participated in this year’s event as an…

Is There Always A Penalty When One Mortgage Is Switched From One Lender To Another?

That’s one of those things that we definitely don’t like – payout penalties from banks. What happens is that when you crash or break a contract, the bank sees that as a way to capture the money that you were going to pay for the remaining of that term anyway. It’s as if you had…

Are Mortgage Brokers Available Outside Of Regular Banking Hours?

Bill: Most brokers are available pretty much 24/7. I meet my clients either at my business office, or if they’re tired, then I’ll drive down to their office. Sometimes they have young children, or they have a sickness in the family, or there might be more than one couple involved; maybe mom or dad or…

What Is A Cash Back Mortgage And How Does It Work?

That’s really a great question. Of course we’re not giving you money if you do mortgages, but what happens is there is a program with the banks that allow people to do what is called 100% financing. There have been some more rules since March 2011 and some banks are no longer offering this process,…

How Does a Mortgage Broker Get Paid?

BILL: That’s a really great question, and I’m glad you asked the old guy because I remember back in the day when we first started as mortgage brokers in the 80’s that the banks started realizing in the late 80’s and early 90’s that if they could utilize the mortgage broker industry to supply them…

What Does The Term "Smith Maneuver" Mean?

That is a great question. The Smith Maneuver was invented by a gentleman named Fraser Smith, from Victoria, who set the program up back in the 80’s down on Granville. He is a financial strategist and he realized that people who were making more money than common folks, were taking advantage of the fact that…

Can I Qualify For a Mortgage if I'm Unable to Confirm My Income?

Bank lending requires income verification to actually qualify for a mortgage. So when they qualify for a mortgage, we’re talking like 90% to 95% financing, so that’s 5% or 10% down. The larger the down payment, the wider range of lenders they can use, so they can get someone else to approve the mortgage and…

Can I Get Pre-Approved Before Finding a Home to Purchase?

You can always get pre-approved; as a matter of fact, it’s important to get pre-approved. I’ll give you some ideas why it’s so important to get pre-approved. You need to know the price range you’re in. A client could be out shopping, looking around, been on the web, driving around to all the open houses,…

Why Do I Need An Appraisal When Applying For A Mortgage?

You probably want to know that you don’t need an appraisal if you put less than 20% down because the mortgage is insured by CMC. That mortgage is insured so you don’t need to do that. They do what they call an electronic appraisal. In the old days it used to cost you, but now…