Managing DRIPs and SPPs, Value Village High-Pricing, Free Chequing Account Comparison, and More!

1. 1. Big Cajun Man

   Thanks for the inclusion!

   November 15th, 2012 at 10:55 am

2. 2. SST

   Re: Mortgage Free at 34 — The real key? Buy your house in one of the lowest priced RE markets in Canada – Saskatchewan.

   Would love to hear from from someone in the Vancouver area (Clare?) to see how close they are to being mortgage-free after 6 years.

   November 15th, 2012 at 11:10 am

3. 3. Echo

   Thanks for the mention, FT!

   November 15th, 2012 at 12:30 pm

4. 4. Michael James

   Thanks for the mention. I felt pretty good about viewing fixed-rate mortgages as insurance being useful.

   November 15th, 2012 at 3:00 pm

5. 5. Emilio

   @ Michael James,

   Since your robo-screener would not let me post in your blog, I have some feedback for “fixed-term” mortages.

   1) Why do you always hear the banks pressure-push for “fixed-term” mortages, all while predicting sky-high interest rates in the near future? They never try to direct the customer towards the variable interest rate. This alone, would tell anyone with two bits of brain, that the variable rate is clearly the better choice.

   2) Where do you get a 10 year fixed rate in Canada? “Fixed rate” mortgages exist only in the US, where you can guarantee a rate for the duration of the loan, up to 20-25 years. I would be willing to pay extra for that sort of deal.

   3) In Canada, with our fantastically conservative banking system, a fixed-term mortgage of 3-5 years, is merely an illusion. The banks take none of risk, while increasing their rip-off by an easy 2-3%, again by using scare tactics. Pure-profit for the bank.

   4) I like your style though. I am sure you don’t believe a word of what you are writiing for yourself. Insurance on top of insurance, on top of insurance. I bet you advise people to wear suspenders with a belt as well. Our irresponsible federal governments of the developed world are insurance enough for anybody who can think for themselves. Interest rates will continue to be low, and varible rate will save people a ton of money in the next 20 years….

   November 19th, 2012 at 11:44 am

6. 6. Michael James

   @Emilio: Your comment made it to my blog. Google’s CAPTCHAs are getting tough to get through.

   You seem to be under the impression that I think people should get fixed-term mortgages. In general, I don’t. I’m no fan of many types of insurance. When I say that you should think of a fixed-term mortgage as insurance, I’m suggesting that you evaluate it like you would evaluate other types of insurance. My hope is that when poeple view it in this way, they will either go variable or decide to buy a less expensive home so that they are more comfortable going variable. I agree with you that 3-5 year fixed mortgages offer little protection. I said this in my post. If you really need the protection of a fixed rate, you likely need a longer lock-in period than 5 years.

   According to ratesupermarket.ca, there are 16 lenders who offer 10-year fixed mortgages (and RBC offers an expensive 25-year fixed mortgage). However, I’m not necessarily suggesting that anyone should choose this option. You should look at how much higher the payment would be and decide whether it is worth it to you to pay this much extra money as protection against rising rates. For me, the answer would be no because I would never buy a home so expensive that I couldn’t afford rising rates.

   Before accusing me of lying and misleading people, perhaps you should read what I write more carefully.

   November 19th, 2012 at 12:06 pm

7. 7. Big Cajun Man

   Thanks for the inclusion with this prestigious group

   December 2nd, 2012 at 3:49 pm

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