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With close to 20 years in the mortgage industry and a consultative touch, Nishka makes the entire process smooth and easy.
Do we renovate? Do we buy a vacation home? Do we package up our debt and add it to our mortgage? Using your home equity doesn’t have to be expensive. From re-organizing debts to parents helping their children buy homes, draw upon Nishka’s collective experience from dealing with every possible financing scenario over the past 15 years.
“Nishka has been our mortgage advisor for many years. While we have always valued her experience, excellent customer service, and advice in providing financing solutions, it wasn’t until we started our major renovation that we got to see how extensive her knowledge really is. Not only did Nishka recommend over 10 trades people to us, she also came to our home and shared some of her personal experiences, offering ideas from several of her projects on her past homes. She also drew upon the collective experiences that her clients have been through, some of which are property developers.
Working with someone who is “battle tested” has given my wife and I a huge level of comfort as we take the leap into this massive undertaking!”
– Leonard and Liana Cox – North Vancouver
As a real estate investor you want a mortgage advisor with experience. In addition to structuring mortgage financing deals for over 15 years, Nishka is also an active real estate investor herself. Having bought and sold close to 10 properties in the past 10 years, Nishka understands how real estate in the Vancouver area is an integral part of building wealth. With over 50 lenders at her disposal, Nishka can find the funds to “do the deal” and structure it in a tax efficient manner.
– Robert and Kasia
How exciting! After driving around town, visiting a million open houses over countless Saturday’s, you are ready to make an offer. Or maybe it’s just the opposite! The house that you have always found an excuse to drive by now has a For Sale sign! Suddenly the traffic on the street seems much more than usual; you know you are going to have to go into a multiple offer situation to get this one!
This is where Nishka shines! In either situation you need a mortgage advisor who can act fast to get you an approval with the right lender so you can remove that “subject to financing clause” ASAP!
“Buying a house and securing financing is a very stressful experience, however, through working with Nishka, the process was surprisingly easy. She was extremely helpful in explaining all the details to us. She has years of experience and knowledge in the industry and was creative in helping us achieve our goals. I would, without a doubt utilize her services again in the future and would recommend her to anyone looking into mortgage financing as she is one of the best at what she does!”
– John from New Westminster
– Angela
You want to explore your options. Perhaps you are tired of making appointments during “Banker’s Hours” or you would like some advice on what type of mortgage best fits with the current rate environment. With access to over 50 lenders Nishka has the ability to find the right mortgage, with the right lender that best fits your needs. Today’s mortgage financing landscape is very different than when you initially set up your mortgage. Let Nishka guide you through the new government legislation and product options.
“Nishka listened to our financial needs and knew exactly how we should proceed to achieve our lifestyle goals. Thank you Nishka – you are amazing in every way!”
– Tracy and Declan Sacre – North Vancovuer
How exciting! Buying your first home is something you will remember for a life time! Let me tell you why First Time Buyers love dealing with Nishka!
Compass™, a program available exclusively from Nishka, allows you to harness her 20 years of experience as an Accredited Mortgage Professional. First Time Buyers that have been through the Compass™ process, on average buy a home 50% sooner and at a 50% to 70% greater purchase price than those First Time Buyers that haven’t gone through the process. With Compass™ you will get the road map and the directions you need to get you moving into your very first home!
– Mike and Sherri
Nishka has been an amazing resource for our first home purchase. She was professional and thorough throughout the process and secured a great rate for us quickly and efficiently. Thanks Nishka!
– Ian and Elisabeth
“As first time home buyers, we didn’t know much about the mortgage process. Nishka made everything simple, was always there to answer questions, and catered to our personal needs in finding the right mortgage for us!”
– Jon and Cassia
“So grateful to have Nishka help us make our dream a reality!!
I can’t speak highly enough to explain how much Nishka has helped us through the process of buying our first home. She not only helped us secure a great mortgage product with one of the best rates, but in my mind she also went way outside her job description to make the entire process comfortable for us by having such a wealth of knowledge in all areas of the home buying process. I walked into her office just to explore what it would take to get ourselves into a position where we could buy our own home and with an amazing suggestion on how we could invest in RRSP’s to maximize our tax refund and then utilize our first time home buyers program we actually turned just and idea into me sitting here now in our beautiful home writing about the experience all within 6 months. There were a lot of unknowns and really big sometimes scary decisions to be made along the way when buying our house and what I loved about working with Nishka is that she was always available to return my calls. When we were hunting for houses I think I had to call her 3 times in a row to ask different questions and not once did she ever make me feel as though I was being a bother and she always had a way of leaving me feel very comfortable and confident in what I was doing. Nishka went way above my expectations and I am so grateful to have met such a great person and I will definitely be continuing our journey with her when our mortgage term comes time for renewal. If anyone is considering buying a home or is looking to find a great mortgage I highly recommend you see Nishka to discuss your options she has made our dream come true and I really know she would be helpful to anyone who is going through the process.”
– Sarah & Jay
Very happy new homeowners!!!
As first time home-buyers, my husband and I were referred to Nishka to help us secure a mortgage. Nishka was incredibly patient, meeting with us in person to answer all of our questions and coach us through the process. She also made sure to keep in touch regularly throughout our experience so we were aware of where things were at and what was required of us. Even when faced with unique challenges, Nishka went above and beyond in gathering additional information and providing guidance to us on how to navigate our situation. Overall, the knowledge she shared with us and her drive to get us set up with the best mortgage possible reduced our stress and made the entire process easy and straightforward. We would recommend Nishka to other first time home-buyers in a heart beat!
-Amy and Shaun
A Mortgage Finance Blog filled with insights on real estate!
The Bank of Canada (BOC) made the preemptive/scorched earth decision to raise the prime interest rates today by 1%. Combined with the continued decrease in your RRSP / TFSA portfolios, and it would seem this summer will be remembered more as a cold dark winter.
Why would they make such a dramatic increase? Will it end? Is the housing market going to crash? Will I ever sleep again?!
These are the questions my team and I are answering daily. And to be honest, I’m a little rattled myself. So instead of my usual update, I’ll try my best to answer the above four questions, interlaced with some economic stats/observations.
Be warned this post will be longer than usual.
The quick answer is to scare the daylights out of you so you stop spending money.
The longer explanation is that inflation is a lagging indicator. As mentioned in today’s BOC press release, the decision to raise rates today was based on April’s economic report and some preliminary data from June. Compounding this lagging indicator is that it takes six months to a year before an increase in the prime rate affects the economy. This means that Governor Tiff has to anticipate where inflation is going based on old data and make a corrective decision today that won’t have an impact, if he’s lucky, until six months from now! It’s like James Bond firing a bullet in slow motion – trying to take out the tire of the bad guy’s car, who won’t be driving by until next week. Governor Tiff has seen this movie before in the 80s, and when the protagonist in that story waited too long to take “the shot” – things got ugly. There is good news; if Governor Tiff does raise too fast, he can lower them just as quickly. And because rate decreases take effect much quicker, it will be easier to fix the overshoot. For example, when rates rose to their highest in the 80s, one month later, they decreased and kept decreasing for the next four meetings.
So that leads me to explain the real tool that Governor Tiff wields, which is the power of the press release. With that he can scare you into believing that you should stop spending now because more increases are coming, and you can trust the media will run with that story, narrating all sorts of disasters on the horizon, painting a picture of doom and despair. And as we know, fear spreads much faster and can have a much quicker impact.
Yes, but…
We might see one or two more rate increases, but they will be smaller and as mentioned above, potentially followed by a rate decrease. In today’s press release, the BOC discussed how they expect inflation to slow in the coming 3rd quarter and expect the economy to grow by a mere 1.75% in 2023. That statement alone should give you hope that Tiff will ease off the breaks this year and roll back some of the rate hikes in 2023.
What does that look like for your mortgage? I would anticipate that by October, we will see fixed rates begin a gradual decrease ( some lenders are starting to offer unadvertised fixed rate specials ), and by 2023, when the costs of funds have become more predictable for the banks, we’ll see rates begin to return to normal. What is normal you ask? I would say that a 5 year fixed rate mortgage at 3.39% would be average and 2.99% would be a really good mortgage rate. As I pointed out in my last update, banks have added a 1% premium to all their fixed rates due to how quickly the cost of funds has changed. Once things calm down, the banks can remove that premium. Because of this, we continue to recommend that clients that are purchasing or refinancing choose a variable mortgage. And for those clients that are in a variable mortgage, continue to remain in a variable. And for anyone with a mortgage coming due in the next 6 months or more, to stay the course until your maturity.
Manulife Bank did a survey a while ago during an economic downturn that caught my attention. In it, 75% of respondents were confident with their financial situation; however, 90% were worried that their neighbours might be on the brink of financial trouble. It made me chuckle because it is a testament that we are all going to be okay.
Here is why housing will weather this storm. Since 2017 every Canadian purchasing or refinancing a home has had to qualify at the higher of: 1. the rate they got from the bank plus 2% OR 2. the bank stress test rate, which for the most part has been 5.25%. Coincidentally the 5.25% is virtually on par with today’s 5 year fixed. So no, people won’t be selling their homes when their mortgage matures. They may have to let go of that fancy car lease or cut back on a vacation or two, but their home is safe. Will prices soften? Absolutely, and that’s okay because it’s part of the market cycle. Given the extreme amount of transactions over the past two years, my team and I have been anticipating a slow down in the market for 2022 long before the inflation concerns were front page news. The simple reason is everyone who wanted to move has moved.
Will this turn into a 2008 Financial crisis type crash? No, for two reasons. First what caused the housing crash in 2008 in the US was people qualifying at ultra low introductory rates and then not being able to make mortgage payments when the introductory rates expired. The second reason is we have had the stress test for five years now, which I would estimate that 70% of current homeowners have had to jump over to get into their home. What about the remaining 30%? They are sitting on a mountain of home equity and a much lower mortgage balance, so they will be fine.
Are there opportunities to be had? I would expect so in the following segments:
The fixer-upper: Since the housing market will be more competitive the fixer-upper could be overlooked. We have access to lenders and programs that can finance minor renovations at the time of purchase, reducing the amount of money you’ll need to get the project done. Don’t overlook that diamond in the rough!
Condos: As affordability decreases, buyers get pushed down the housing ladder. Given that location is the mantra of real estate, purchasing a condo will be the only viable option for buyers to stay in the area they want to live in.
Rentals: Because of the current level of uncertainty, people are putting off their home-buying decision. This means the rental market will remain tight over the next few years. Because of how we can factor in the rental income into the application, qualifying to buy a rental property is actually easier than qualifying for a principal residence. We can even use the equity in your to finance the downpayment.
Accessing the equity in your home: If you retiring in the next 5 to 7 years, now is the time to set up a line of credit to access the equity while your property is at its maximum value. And because of the proposed banking rules that are coming in 2023, this will allow you to be strategically positioned to plan your income needs. It will also allow your investment portfolio to recover from the recent market downturn.
The short answer is yes. Take comfort that rates have not climbed to some astronomically high levels. Back in July 2018, the BOC raised rates to 3.70%. Yes, we are now at 4.7%, but we are also 3/4 into the fight with inflation. I feel that because the next BOC meeting is in September, this will allow time for the previous rate holds to start taking effect.
Looking back over the past 18 years, increases in the prime rate usually occur gradually over 18 months, but once rates reach their top, they often start to decrease five months later. Given the size and speed of the recent increases, it would be fair to say we have covered the equivalent of a year in the past four months. That means we should have only three or four months left at this level, and then we might see our first rate decrease in March of 2023.
Hopefully, after reading this update you are feeling more confident, and truly believe that the world is not going down in flames. Trust that we are closer to the end than the beginning, and that being in a mortgage product that positions you for the future rate decreases in 2023 is more important than trying to lock in a rate now.
Thanks for reading
Sleep tight…and don’t the bed bugs bite!
PS. If still having problems sleeping Pascoflair is an excellent herbal remedy that I use to calm down before I go to sleep. Balanced Health and Integrative Pharmacy on Lonsdale usually carry it and they provide excellent advice.
The next Bank of Canada meeting is September 7th, 2022
Did you Like this post? Then you’ll Like my Facebook Page. It’s filled with current news on what’s going on in the world of real estate.
Since 1995 Nishka has been providing financing solutions for North Vancouver, Vancouver and the Tri-City areas. In that time she has come to understand one simple thing; owning real estate is a key ingredient to creating wealth. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet and interview some very successful people. The common thread between them was that they all actively used real estate to build their net worth.” With this in mind, Nishka is an active advocate in helping clients on their journey in either starting or building on their real estate portfolio. It’s not all about building wealth though. ” Living in Vancouver is a lifestyle choice. We choose a community that we feel our family will be able to connect with. Having lived in North Vancouver for close to 20 years; I am able to provide insight into the various communities and their idiosyncrasies.” When we asked Nishka what does she love about her role as a Mortgage Advisor: ” Helping people. It’s as simple as that. When I meet people they are often at the cross roads of some pretty big decisions. Providing insight from my collective experience and guiding them through the process to the solution is challenging and also exciting.”
“My wife and I were facing the exciting, but also somewhat horrifying task of purchasing our first apartment. As first time buyers, we really didn’t know a whole lot of the ins and outs of a home purchase and about all the different types of mortgages and lenders. Nishka made this whole process easy and as stress free as it could possibly have been. We were referred to her by a coworker and from day one she was absolutely wonderful. She is calm, patient, informative, extremely professional, and very easy to get ahold of if you have questions or concerns. We would highly recommend Nishka to anyone looking for a mortgage.”
– Mike and Sherri
“As first time home-buyers, my husband and I were referred to Nishka to help us secure a mortgage. Nishka was incredibly patient, meeting with us in person to answer all of our questions and coach us through the process. She also made sure to keep in touch regularly throughout our experience so we were aware of where things were at and what was required of us. Even when faced with unique challenges, Nishka went above and beyond in gathering additional information and providing guidance to us on how to navigate our situation. Overall, the knowledge she shared with us and her drive to get us set up with the best mortgage possible reduced our stress and made the entire process easy and straightforward. We would recommend Nishka to other first time home-buyers in a heart beat!”
– Amy and Shaun
“So grateful to have Nishka help us make our dream a reality!!
I can’t speak highly enough to explain how much Nishka has helped us through the process of buying our first home. She not only helped us secure a great mortgage product with one of the best rates, but in my mind she also went way outside her job description to make the entire process comfortable for us by having such a wealth of knowledge in all areas of the home buying process. I walked into her office just to explore what it would take to get ourselves into a position where we could buy our own home and with an amazing suggestion on how we could invest in RRSP’s to maximize our tax refund and then utilize our first time home buyers program we actually turned just and idea into me sitting here now in our beautiful home writing about the experience all within 6 months. There were a lot of unknowns and really big sometimes scary decisions to be made along the way when buying our house and what I loved about working with Nishka is that she was always available to return my calls. When we were hunting for houses I think I had to call her 3 times in a row to ask different questions and not once did she ever make me feel as though I was being a bother and she always had a way of leaving me feel very comfortable and confident in what I was doing. Nishka went way above my expectations and I am so grateful to have met such a great person and I will definitely be continuing our journey with her when our mortgage term comes time for renewal. If anyone is considering buying a home or is looking to find a great mortgage I highly recommend you see Nishka to discuss your options she has made our dream come true and I really know she would be helpful to anyone who is going through the process.”
– Sarah & Jay
Very happy new homeowners!!!
– Sarah
– Robert and Kasia
– Angela
“My family and I HIGHLY recommend Nishka Riley. We’ve used her expertise more then once. She, every single time, succeeded where others repeatedly kept failing. She is a Life Saver and Happiness Maker… Thank you Nishka for who you are and for helping others be where they want to be.”
– Kamal Derkaoui csc
Nishka has been an amazing resource for our first home purchase. She was professional and thorough throughout the process and secured a great rate for us quickly and efficiently. Thanks Nishka!
– Ian and Elisabeth
“Nishka has been a pleasure to work with. She is a warm and sincere person and also has great vision and knowledge.”
– Juliette Schmerler
“I’ve known Nishka for several years and have found her to consistently be a knowledgeable expert in the field of mortgage financing. I would highly recommend her services to anyone requiring mortgage advice or insight related to financing a real estate transaction, either for personal use or investment purposes.”
– Gord Trembath
The service that Nishka provided was exceptional. Not only did she find me a great mortgage but also gave me some common sense solutions for future investments. I would highly recommend Nishka to my friends and family, and look forward to working with her in the future.
– Mark Walker
Quoted in:
December 2011 Issue October 2011 Issue
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