CURRENT MORTGAGE RATES Last updated:  Jan 18, 2012 Term Bank Rate Our Rate 6 month 4.55% 4.55% 1 year 4.30% 2.75% 2 years 3.89% 2.99% 3 years 3.99% 3.19% 4 years QC 4.79% 2.89% 5 years 5.29% 3.29% 7 years 6.29% 3.99% 10 years 6.69% 3.89% 1 year open 6.30% 6.30% Prime: 3.0% * rates subject to change without notice    .

There will be some costs that you may need to consider when you are purchasing, refinancing or building.  Canquest would like you understand all of the additional costs in your mortgage financing.

Lawyer/Notary Fees: Every mortgage that is registered on the title of the property requires a lawyer or Notary (BC).  The lawyer will review the Offer to Purchase, search the title, draw up mortgage documents, register the mortgage with land titles and tend to any other closing cost details.  Layers fees for mortgages range widely and will depend on the complexity of the deal.  Canquest would suggest you contact a lawyer and get a quote as to how much it would cost for the amount of mortgage you will be registering on title.  When you use the lawyer for both the purchase and the sale of your properties you may be able to get a discounted rate. 

Realtor Fees:  A realtor has the ability to search thousands of potential listings and save you time and money.  They can help find the right properties for you to consider.  Real estate fees are standardized and all fess are paid by the seller of a property. You should expect to pay 7% of the first $100,000 and the 3 ½% of the remaining balance of a sold property.

Broker Fees: Canquest Mortgage is a free service and does not charge any fees to our clients for arranging mortgages.  The lender who approves your mortgage and you have agreed to their terms and conditions will be paying the broker for the mortgage.
There are some situations where a broker fee will be charge for a mortgage due to the private financing they may have to request from private lenders.  The other type of mortgage is on a 2nd mortgages, visa and on commercial mortgages.

Appraisal Cost:  If your mortgage was not CMHC/GE/AIg insured, the lenders will require an appraisal of your property.  This will determine the value of the property you are purchasing or refinancing to take the equity out of the property.  The appraisal will charge up front any where from $250 + for an appraisal which is the cost of the borrower.  Some lenders have a list of appraisers that they will only accept.  So it is better to get your approval and all your conditions met before you request an appraisal. The broker will handle the ordering of the appraisal in most cases.  Some lenders have their own appraiser go out a do the appraisal and the brokers can’t get a copy of the report.

Home Inspection Cost: A home inspection is a great report to have before you make that final commitment to purchase the home. Inspection are usually done on older homes and on homes that are not well maintained.  A home inspection will tell you about the structural integrity of a home.  If you have a foundation, electrical, heating, plumbing, roofing, rotting problems etc would be better to find this out before you sign off on the offer to purchase. The inspection report can cost anywhere from $250 to $500 depending on the size of the home.  The inspection should be down by an engineer or qualified person of the company.  The realtor’s are the ones who will refer you to an inspector from a reliable company.

CMHC /GE Captial/Aig Insurance:  When you are putting less than 20% down on a mortgage purchase or are refinancing higher than a 80% of your existing equity the lender will require mortgage insurance through either CMHC or GE Capital or AIG Insurance.

This insurance is a requirement set out by the Government of Canada to insure the lender in case of default of payment and foreclosure. 

The insurance premiums are outlined in the chart below as Standard Premium depending on the type of mortgage it can vary.

	Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation
	Genworth Financial
	AIG United Guaranty

Property Taxes: When you are purchasing a property you must use the property taxes in the debt servicing of your mortgage.  If your mortgage is a high ratio mortgage (81% -100%) the taxes are collected by the lender and put in a separate account and they will pay your taxes on June 30 of each year.  When you are purchasing your property they take the month you purchase your new home and collect the taxes up from if they fall after the June 30 deadline.

Example:  Your possession date is September 15 and your taxes are $1800/year.  Assuming the seller has paid the taxes current on June 30 for the full year you would have to pay the taxes from September 15 to December 31.  The seller pays for Jan 1 to Sept 14 which is 259 days of the 365 days per year. The purchaser would be responsible for taxes from Sept 15 to Dec 31 which is 106 days.

The per diem rate is $4.93 (1800 divided by 365) 106 X 4.93 = $522.58 would be your portion that you would have to pay the lawyer from the time you took possession until the end of the year.  They would then pay the seller back for the amount of the taxes that the owner paid on June 30, 2007.

Some lenders will ask for a 6 month be put in the tax account and then they will collect $150/month and on June 30 they will pay your taxes.  This will vary with lenders.  If you get paid bi weekly or weekly some lenders will take them out on the same frequency you have your mortgage payments.

Condo Fees: Condo fees are charges to the owner of the condominium.  The condominium charge is a monthly fee for the maintenance such as snow removal, grounds keeping etc.  They usually have a surplus fund that will cover the bigger ticket items such as roof repairs or replacement. Any repairs to the outside are covered by the condo fee as well as any area that is common to all the condominium owners. The condo fees should be disclosed to you at the time you are making the purchase of the condo.  They are also used in your total debt servicing to qualify for the mortgage.

Estoppels Certificates: An estoppels certificate is a document that outlines a condominium corporation’s financial statements and legal state. You should also have the condo documents reviewed by someone who analysis the accounting and structure of the condo association.  The cost can vary once again but your realtor should refer you to someone they use and can rely on for professional advise. The certificate and supporting documents will cost you up to $50 +.  Your lawyer will usually handle the acquisition of these documents. (Does not apply in Quebec)

Survey or Real property Report: Your lender will require an up to date survey.  When you are purchasing a home ask for a copy of the survey certificate as a condition to your offer to purchase.  Otherwise you can be paying for a new survey up to $500 +.  The other option is to go with Title insurance who will provide insurance that the structure on the property conforms and is not encroaching on your neighbors property. This cost is a lot less depends where you live but around $150+.