Caily MacGregor

NEW Client Referral Program Starting January 1st, 2025!

The primary source of my business comes from my current clients, whether they continue to use my services or refer their family, friends, and coworkers to me. As a thank you to my clients for continuing to use my services and share my name in the community I have created a new program which will include a draw for $1000 gift card from ballots collected between January 1, 2025 to November 30, 2025. The draw will take place on December 1st, just in time for the holiday season!

Details:

Draw Monday December 1, 2025

How to receive ballots to be entered into the draw;

• Current clients renewing, transferring, or refinancing their mortgage through me will receive 2 ballots
• Current clients that purchase a home and use my services for their new mortgage will receive 2 ballots
• Every referral a current client sends to me will receive 1 ballot, if that results in a closed mortgage clients will obtain additional 1 ballot for a total of 2 ballots
• Every client that provides a testimonial via email, Facebook, or google review will receive 2 ballots

Any time a ballot is entered for you I will communicate that with you via text or email. If you and your partner are indicated by the person you referred then both your names will be put on the ballot(s) for that referral. Any new clients that receive a mortgage through me in 2025 will be eligible to participate in this program.

$1000 Prize!

• Prize will be awarded in form of a gift card of the winners choice; Local Store, Local Restaurant, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Gas, Travel Voucher, Uber, Grocery, Clothing Store, Home Improvement Store, or Charity of Choice.

Thank you to my clients for your continued trust and support!

Caily MacGregor

*current clients are any clients that hold a current mortgage that I helped arrange or have renewed the mortgage I have helped arrange.

You have probably heard the words mortgage stress test in the news over the past couple of years and if you haven’t needed a new mortgage you may be wondering how this stress test may be affecting you.

First of all lets break down what the “stress test” actually is:

Contrary to popular belief the stress test isn’t really that “NEW”, as a form of it has been in place for quite some time. Previously in fall of 2016 the government came out with the stress test for all insured mortgages, meaning mortgages with less than 20% downpayment. Then in January 2018 they rolled it out to all mortgages. Previous to 2016 the lenders had their own “stress tests” as well, they just weren’t as steep as the current stress test.

Today, November 2019, the stress test is 5.19%. The current 5 year fixed rate is at 2.79%. What this means is that; if you got a mortgage today you would be paying your mortgage based on 2.79% but have to qualify for that mortgage by being able the carry that mortgage as if that rate was 5.19%. In turn this reduces your maximum borrowing power by about 20%.

If you are looking to refinance or purchase a new home you will need to qualify based on the new stress test requirements. 

At this time the stress test only applies to NEW mortgages, so if you renew your mortgage with the same lender or had your mortgage before the 2016 rule changes then the stress test is not applied.

It’s important you work with a mortgage professional that can help you understand the complicated world of mortgage financing and make sure you are reaching your financial goals. That’s where I come in! Call or email me, I’m always happy to help.

Caily MacGregor, Accredited Mortgage Professional

204-954-7693/ cailym@onelinkmortgage.com

Most first time buyers have been previously renting or living at home, so buying their first home means having to become accustomed to paying their mortgage and all of the added expenses that come with homeownership (Visit my Blog: Calling All First Time Buyers- Don’t Become House Poor).With that said, your next home isn’t really front of mind until you decide it’s time to move. So how are first time buyers preparing themselves to be able to afford their next home? I have a strategy that I have share with my clients that, when used, can really make purchasing a dream home a reality.

Here’s the strategy:

DISCLAIMER:Please keep in mind I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba where we see a steady 1-2% increase in house prices year over year, we have in my opinion, one of the most consistent, affordable, steady markets across Canada. So the numbers I am using are based on this particular market. I am using an interest rate of 3.44% as it’s just a rate I used to derive a payment and is not best rate today (April 17, 2019). By the way my next blog post will be why it’s important we need to stop talking about rate (stay turned).

The example I’m using is a $250,000purchase with 5% downpayment, mortgage payments are based on 3.44% over a 25 year amortization is$624.95 accelerated bi-weekly payments(pays off your mortgage 2 years sooner). In my experience most first time buyers are ready to move up around the 5 year markso I am using that as the timeframe.

My strategy is simple, use the lenders pre-payment privileges to create more equity and pay less in interest costs. By increasing your payment you will also limit your payment shock when moving to your next home.

Here’s the breakdown:

A lot of lenders will allow you to increase your mortgage payment up to 20% for no fee. If your mortgage payment is $624 you can add $125 to each mortgage payment, which will make your new payment $749 bi-weekly. That and extra $3000 you are paying your mortgage down per year and $15,000 over the 5 year term. Not only did you just increase the equity in your home but over a 5 year term alone you are saving $3000 in interest costs ($26,389 over the 25 year period).

*Assuming the interest rate does not change during the amortization period.

Payment schedule

Now lets take into account that Manitoba has a steady 2% increase in house prices year over year for the past few DECADESso it’s reasonable to say that your $250,000 home would be closer to $275,000 in 5 years time.

So in 5 years time you could potentially have close to $83,000 in equity for the purchase of a new house.

So lets look at a new purchase and what this could mean so we can talk about the bonus of doing this strategy- Avoiding payment shock!

Net sale proceeds   (no mortgage penalty for this example)

$83,000 Sale Proceeds *sale price of $275,000

$1,000 Legals

$12,000 Estimated real estate fees

$500 Estimated discharge fee for you current mortgage

$69,500 Net Sale proceeds

New purchase

$425,000 Purchase Price

59,000 Downpayment from sale proceeds

$10,500 Closing costs (estimated) from sale proceeds

*No cash out of pocket for the new purchase

$864 New payment (non accelerated payment/ using same interest rate)

$749 Old payment accelerated with extra payments

$114 Difference in payment bi-weekly

If you did notincrease your mortgage $125 your payments would have been $624 bi-weekly and your downpayment would have been $41,000 compared to 59,000. The difference between your old payment and your your new payments would be $289 bi-weekly THAT'S A DIFFERENCE OF $22,750 over a 5 year term!

By add $125 to your bi-weekly payment you not only got yourself into a $425,000 home in 5 years but also your lifestyle will remaining the same as your payments will be relatively close to what you were used to paying over the past 5 years. 

After reading all of this you may be questioning just how you could free up $125 bi-weekly in order to increase your mortgage payments. Not to worry, my next blog will cover this!