“Always the Right Time to Buy!” – Cheap Rope For Vancouver RE Buyers

As a mortgage agent, Lorina Serafico, a home-financing adviser with Scotiabank, often gets asked when is a good time to buy a home.
“If a household has the income, down payment, and the credit score to qualify for a mortgage, it is always the right time,” she said.
According to Serafico everyone needs a home, whether owned or rented.
“I consider mortgage payments as a forced savings plan,” Serafico said. “A $500,000 property you bought today will be worth $873,000 in 10 years. That’s an average of 7.45 percent annual increase, beating a medium-risk investment portfolio.” …
With more than a decade as a mortgage agent, Serafico has served numerous customers, and a number of them have started meeting with her again.
They’re usually owners of townhouses and condos, and now they’re thinking of upgrading to single-family homes.
“They like what is happening in the market. There’s more inventory; prices have stabilized; and interest rates are good,” Serafico told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.
On March 27 this year, the Bank of Canada slashed its key interest rate—which determines bank lending rates—to its lowest level of 0.25 percent.
– excerpt from ‘Mortgage holders can seize on opportunities to upgrade’, Carlito Pablo, Georgia Straight Vancouver’s News & Entertainment Weekly, 17 June 2020

“It’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future.” – attributed to Yogi Berra.
One would think that people, especially finance professionals, had learned not to say things like “…it will be worth…”, “…7.45%…”, and “…always…”.
– vreaa

Mortgage Squeeze Anecdotes – “Two days ago my mortgage holder called and told me that, after 22 years, they would not renew my mortgage.”

“Two days ago, my mortgage holder (a Credit Union, no less) called and told me that after 22 years, I was no longer an “A-list” borrower, and they would not renew my mortgage. I have no credit cards, never late with a payment, never late with utilities, taxes, etc., etc., BUT, because of the ‘new’ mtg. rules, they could not renew my mtg. because two years ago (as a result of a series of family crises), I took a small 2nd mtg. (ridiculous rates, but I’ve met EVERY payment, etc. – the credit union wouldn’t ‘help’). My total debt is only the two mtgs. against the property and, together, they are less than 1/2 of my equity (compared to the assessed value).
My son (who is on disability) lives with me and takes care of me (as I do him), and we share our expenses with our two limited incomes. I’ll be 73 in a couple of weeks, am not well, have been isolated at “home” since the beginning of March. None of that ‘counts’.
Nor does it ‘count’ that for over 50 years, I’ve been involved in environmental and social justice issues, worked pretty much full time my whole life (never collected EI, even!), contributed to my community (have received awards), raised a family, supported many others in crisis.
In a month, I, and my son, could be homeless. I don’t even have the strength to champion my own personal needs.
To those of us that are experiencing the REALITY of the NOW – those living in corrupt care homes, or homeless, or helplessly addicted, or victims of genocide or poverty, or racism, what it’s “called” is moot.
— from commenter ‘dda’ 30 May 2020, under the article, ‘Normal Is The Problem’, by Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee, 30 May 2020

Also see:
A Confluence of Whammies: A Single Realtor (& Airbnb-host) with a dependent child, an elderly dependent parent, two lost tenants, and dwindling business is forced to sell their house (presumably at a loss) and take a $30,000 mortgage penalty.
TD Bank charges $30,000 mortgage penalty to woman forced to sell home due to pandemic – 1 Jun 2020, CBC News.

Your banker may seem like a friendly guy, but the banks will always look after themselves – first and last. – ed.