AGENT LICENSE ID
M13002126
BROKERAGE LICENSE ID
12586

Henry Tchong
Mortgage Agent
Office:
Phone:
Address:
205-590 Alden Rd., Markham, Ontario
BLOG / NEWS Updates
A 700 Credit Score Doesn’t = Good Credit
Theres more to a credit report than a score.
You can have good income and a 700credit score(which is about average) and still not qualify for a mortgage. The reason is that lenders generally look for one key factor: repayment history.
Suppose, for example, that you have a 710 credit score but only one credit account. Worse yet, that one account is a credit card that youve had for only two months. Before that, youve had either no credit or bad credit (most likely, any bad credit would be from a few years ago, given your score).
In this case, your 710 score may not get the job done.
Lenders often want to see a minimum of 1-2 years of satisfactory payment history and at least two trade lines (loans or revolving credit accounts). A trade line can consist of a major credit card with a $1,500+ limit (a rough rule of thumb), a revolving credit line, a reported lease, or an instalment loan (like a vehicle or investment loan).
So, if you have no credit and you hope to apply for a mortgage, start building credit pronto. Get a credit card (even if its secured), a small instalment loan, a Futureshop card, whatever. And dontevermake a late payment. Many lenders require squeaky clean repayment history for at least 1-2 years.
Of course, there are lots of exceptions to the aboveincluding cases where a co-signor or alternative credit can make up for traditional repayment history. (As noted in CMHCsNewcomerprogram, Alternative credit can include things like proof of satisfactory rent payments and utility payments for 12 months). Keep in mind, however, that alternative credit is an exception and not a rule.
Speak with a mortgage professional if you have questions about your own unique circumstances.
Mortgage Deferral Agreements and Their Impact
CMHCs Fall 2020 Residential Mortgage Industry Dashboard discusses mortgage deferral agreements and their impact.
At the end of the second quarter, credit unions, mortgage finance companies (MFCs) and mortgage investment entities (MIEs) have allowed mortgage deferral agreements for about 6%, 7% and 7% of their respective residential mortgage portfolios.
Chartered banks have allowed 16% of mortgages to go into deferral since the beginning of the pandemic. Of these, close to 2 out of 3 borrowers had resumed payments on their mortgages at the end of the third quarter of 2020. In the coming months, we could see higher delinquency rates if some borrowers are unable to resume their payments; these mortgages will have to be booked as arrears.
These deferral agreements have affected financial institutions cash flows, with reductions of:
4% in scheduled mortgage payments
3% in non-scheduled payments (accelerated monthly payments and lump-sum payments)
While remaining at low levels, mortgages in arrears (90 or more days delinquent) have increased slightly between the first and second quarters of 2020 from:
0.24% to 0.26%, on average, for chartered banks
0.23% to 0.25%, on average, for non-bank mortgage lenders
We also observe an increase in early-stage delinquencies (31 to 59 days and 60 to 89 days), which suggests that arrears could continue on an upward trend.
Source: CMHC
Bank of Canada will maintain current level of policy rate until inflation objective is achieved, continues its quantitative easing program
The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of percent, with the Bank Rate at percent and the deposit rate at percent. The Bank is maintaining its extraordinary forward guidance, reinforced and supplemented by its quantitative easing (QE) program, which continues at its current pace of at least $4 billion per week.
The rebound in the global and Canadian economies has unfolded largely as the Bank had anticipated in its October Monetary Policy Report (MPR). More recently, news on the development of effective vaccines is providing reassurance that the pandemic will end and more normal activities will resume, although the pace and breadth of the global rollout of vaccinations remain uncertain. Near term, new waves of infections are expected to set back recoveries in many parts of the world. Accommodative policy and financial conditions are continuing to provide support across most regions. Stronger demand is pushing up prices for most commodities, including oil. A broad-based decline in the US exchange rate has contributed to a further appreciation of the Canadian dollar.