Orangeville Real Estate Video Blog #14 - August 28, 2010
David waters video blogs about a new FREE service called Orangeville Daily Homes. If you'd like to search all the homes for sale in Orangeville right now, you can go to our super-secret members-only (that's you) website: http://www.SearchOrangevilleHomes.com
I do a DAILY VIDEO review of all the Orangeville homes and condos that have come on the market in the last 24 hours.
I'll send you a quick email when the next video is ready. Plus… you can also download a copy of the most recent "Guide to Orangeville House Prices"… (it's in the bottom right corner).
If you want to voice your opinion or if you don't care for David's comments please email your feedback to [email protected] and visit http://www.watersadvantage.com for all the David Waters Real Estate Video Blogs.
Orangeville Real Estate Video Blog #12 - August 26, 2010
David Waters video blogs about how in the new market, the For Sale by Owners have almost all disappeared. If want to voice your opinion or if you don't care for David's comments please email your feedback to [email protected] and visit http://www.watersadvanatage.com for all the David Waters Real Estate Video Blogs.
Orangeville Real Estate Video Blog #11 - August 25, 2010
David waters video blogs about how a listing can be sold even before it is displayed on MLS and unfortunately the people who are not working with an agent are going to miss out on these properties. If you want to voice your opinion or if you don't care for David's comments please email your feedback to [email protected] and visit http://www.watersadvantage.com for all the David Waters Real Estate Video Blogs.
Orangeville Real Estate Video Blog #10 - August 23, 2010
David Waters video blogs about a new business just opened up on the west side of Orangeville called Booster Juice and how nice it is to have some healthy choices available in the west end. If you want to voice your opinion or if you don't care for David's comments please email your feedback to [email protected] and visit www.watersadvantage.com for all the David Waters Real Estate Video Blogs.
David Waters video blogs about A and B Lenders and if you don't have the right info your deal can go south. If you want to voice your opinion or if you don't care for David's comments please email your feedback to [email protected] and visit http://www.watersadvantage.com for all the David Waters Real Estate Video Blogs.
Wells Fargo, the fourth largest bank in the U.S., made an announcement on July 30 that came to many people as a surprise: it was pulling out of mortgage lending in Canada, leaving yet another void in the non-prime mortgage space.
While similar pullouts from American-based lenders in Canada - think GE Money and Accredited Home Lenders - took place during the credit crunch last year, Wells Fargo's Canadian operation stayed in the mortgage game for several months before calling it quits.
Rick Valade, Wells Fargo Canada's president, didn't go into detail with the closing announcement, simply stating, "In response to recent analysis of our operations and the current market environment, at this time, we have made the decision to stop originating consumer real estate loan products in Canada." (The bank will, however, continue to grant personal loans and honour existing mortgages).
The latest exit of a lender serving 'B' clients (and brokers with these clients) has left only a handful of lenders in the non-prime arena in Canada - not to mention that most of these companies don't lend in all provinces.
And nonprime lenders that didn't fold during the economic downturn are also changing to a prime lending business due to the unstable securitization market (which means the unavailability of funding for high-ratio loans). Examples of switchovers include Street Capital, Home Trust (which still offers B products, but currently only in Ontario) and Xceed Mortgage Corporation, which has plans to become a Schedule One bank next year.
"To me, it was not good news to see Wells Fargo leave the market," said Xceed's president and CEO, Ivan Wahl. "A lot of people who are in a position to renew can't go to their existing lender because there is no funding available in the marketplace. It shows that there are still quite a lot of deserving people who should have mortgage renewals, but they're not going to be provided for.
Who's left?
One example of a Canadian lender still in the non-prime space is Equitable Trust, which lends in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta. Andrew Moor, the company's president and CEO, said the company is continuing to service alternative borrowers, such as new immigrants who don't have established credit, self-employed individuals (particularly those who have been in business for three years or less) and people that have bruised or damaged credit.
"Our credit criteria has, in fact, expanded since last September - we have an 85 per cent loan-to-value product that we didn't have last year," Moor said. He did add, however, that there was a short period of pulling back. "We did tighten our criteria in the late fall and spring because we were concerned about where the real estate market was going. But now that it appears the worst of the recession is behind us, we're essentially back to where we were on lending this time last year.
Moor added that Wells Fargo's July 30 announcement didn't come as a big surprise to him, pointing out it was the last American company to leave the mortgage lending space in Canada - in other words, the back end of a longer-term trend that was just as much about being an American subsidiary as being a non-prime lender.
I think it shows that the domestic institutions that continue to be here really understand the Canadian market and we're comfortable about building our business in this kind of environment," he said.
The more tenuous credit environment that resulted from the downturn didn't stop VFC Home, a subsidiary of TD Canada Trust, from launching earlier this year. The alternative lender - which currently serves Ontario, B.C. and Atlantic Canada - can provide mortgages to clients who fall outside of bank or insurer guidelines to a maximum LTV of 90 per cent.
Brokers love the fact that we're not beacon score driven and we're more based on reading into the clients' credit, their personal situation and what may have happened to the beacon score not being where it should be as far as the insurers are concerned," said Anne-Albani-Dolson, national sales director of mortgages at VFC Home, which gets mortgage originations solely through the broker channel.
Albani-Dolson added that since insurer's guidelines have tightened in the past few months, VFC Home has seen a shift in the types of clients coming to them since these guidelines have excluded some that normally would have been insured.
Risks and challenges
Because lenders who serve alt-A clients are at a higher risk of defaults than their prime counterparts, they must go through different processes to approve loan applications. Albani- Dolson explained that clients go through a "robust" evaluation at VFC Home that looks at their overall credit profile and the marketability of the property being mortgaged.
Applications do take longer to process simply because we're not using little ticks that say beacon is this, job is this - we look more in-depth and we ask for clarity a lot of times from the broker on different instances so we can make the right decision," she says.
For example, alternative lenders will want to know the reasons why someone's credit is damaged or non-existent. Wahl pointed out that a beacon score doesn't give credit for the quality of a person's income, for example, and said a low score is often mitigated by doing an in-depth analysis of a person's credit worthiness.
The appraisal is also a key step in the alt-A lending process because there is a focus on lending toward a property in a marketable area with potential for growth.
We're very concerned about the quality of real estate as an alt-A lender, so appraisals are done more thoroughly than you'd expect with a typical prime lender because one of the ways we mitigate risk of lending to someone without the lengthy track record of credit is making sure that we're lending against good real estate," said Moor. "That's a key tool in our toolbox.
Of course, higher interest rates are another risk mitigation tool of alt-A lenders, which means brokers have to tell these types of clients to expect different interest rates than they see at the larger financial institutions. Albani-Dolson said the question of rate is occasionally a challenge with brokers who don't feel comfortable selling a mortgage to a client at a higher rate, even if it's a small increase.
While it appears the worst of the economic crisis has passed, there are still questions on whether the real estate market has fully stabilized, and job loss remains a key issue for lenders. But companies like Equitable Trust (which posted a 15.5 per cent net income increase in the second quarter of 2009) and VFC Home appear confident in the business they're doing.
I don't see [lending to alt-A clients] expanding dramatically from here - I think it will stay where it is which, quite frankly, is pretty good," said Moor. "I think in Canada we've been pretty stable all the way through [the credit crunch] and I think that's going to continue. People like myself and my competitors still have concerns about where the real estate market is going, so I don't really see that we'd be relaxing credit criteria at this point. But I don't see it tightening from here, either.
David Waters video blogs about how people overprice their home, thinking that people will pay an extra $30,000 or $60,000 above the market value for the house, when the reality is all it will do is piss everyone off and no sale will happen. If you want to voice your opinion or if you don’t care for Dave’s comments please email your feedback [email protected] and visit http://www.watersadvantage.com for videos and more.
I operate my business much differently than most real estate salespeople, who see their customers as a one-time transactional value only. They make no long-term commitment to their customer's well-being. They are after the quick sale, then on to the next...
On the other hand, by choosing to run my business almost entirely BY REFERRAL, I understand how very special you are to me. I prefer to spend 100% of my time and energy listening carefully to your goals, explaining your options and giving you first-class treatment all the way. You will be treated like a friend, with dignity and respect.
My vision is to provide so much value that you will feel proud to be part of my “Client Family”, and that you will trust me with the people you care about. Your delight with the entire experience, and your referrals, are the key to the future of my business.
You need not be referred, but will be treated so well that you will want to refer others. I want to be your “Real Estate Consultant For Life”.
A special report has just been released which shows you step by step what you need to do to get ready to sell your house for top dollar quickly.
To get a free copy of the guide for smart home sellers called "How to Sell Your House for Top Dollar Fast!" just on the image above.
David...Elsewhere
Helping People On The Move
Cindy and David
Thank you so much for helping us to find our perfect house. We very much enjoyed working with you because you made the "daunting" house-search process painless! You were always available to answer our questions and help educate us on the ins and outs of the process. You showed us a range of homes including ones we didn't like to let us see contrast to the ones you knew we'd like. You understood us. We both recall sitting with you at Tim's and talking about Orangeville, no hard sell, just objective conversation. We couldn't have asked for better Realtor. Over & over, friends of ours said things like, "Our real estate agent didn't do that for us." We've come to realize that you are in a class all of your own, and we recognize the high standards you operate within. We are so lucky to have met you for our first foray into the housing market. It seemed so simple with you by our sides... thank you again!
Sue and Paul
“David provided excellent advice and made the sale of our home more than a sales transaction.
“He handled everything with care and professionalism - everything with our experience was top notch. From dealings with other agents, the experience was truly unique. David sets a high standard for the rest of the real estate community.
“We gave out business cards to all our neighbours!”
Sandy and Thomas
“To David– you provided us with undivided attention, and being new to the area, you gave us valuable directions which we use everyday. Your limousine service was stellar!
“Everything was excellent, David followed up on everything and made sure we were informed about the whole process. Also when we were procrastinating you made sure we understood the importance of dealing with things ASAP! You are organized, thorough, friendly, knowledgeable and you listen and deliver!
“Thank you for your time and patience! We love the home and will continue to tell our friends about your commitment, professionalism and your wonderful style.”
The Oliver Family
“Before I had decided to sell, I requested some information on the market in my area. I was very impressed with the detail of the information I was provided. From that point on, David was at the top of my Realtor list. David always had a very calm and soothing outlook on the process. He kept me relaxed and confident about my decisions. You are a hard working, down to earth couple who takes great pride in establishing personal connections with your clients.”
Mike and Anne
“Mike and I want to thank you so much for helping us find our perfect dream home and also for selling ours at record price – above asking! We are both thrilled! You exceeded our expectations with your personal service and attention – thank you again!”
Anne and Jim
“Your guide booklet helped us right until the closing day. All my questions were answered before I had to ask. I felt very comfortable with everything - keep up the great teamwork and positive attitude!
“You have a lot of knowledge about real estate and you know exactly what to do. You made everything EASY as PIE! And a very exciting and enjoyable process!”
Jeremy
“Initially going through the whole process slowly step-by-step was very helpful. It was very educational and made us feel more comfortable. David was great, very kind and friendly and gave us some very good tips. He was very informative and available upon request. He worked late hours with us throughout the process to get things done.
“Your next client should know that you are great for first-time home buyers -- very patient and knowledgeable. Thank you very much for your time and efforts!”
Katie and Dan
"I did research on the websites of various agents - yours spoke to me the most. I scheduled a time to meet with David and I knew that it was a great match as soon as he handed me the binder. I always felt like I was the only client (even though I knew I wasn't).
"What I remember most was when I was at the point where I was deciding whether to put in an offer on a house... I told David I was "pretty sure", and he said, "We only do 100% sure." I thought this was a remarkable statement, truly caring about my decision and not just trying to push me into something.
"You always exceeded my expectations with all of the personal attention, lots of contact & genuine interest to help me find a great home. I smile every time I receive mail from you, wondering what else you could possibly do for me. You are incredible agents and incredible people!"
