Great Rates, Great Advice
You'll Be Home In No Time

  • With close to 20 years in the mortgage industry and a consultative touch, Nishka makes the entire process smooth and easy.


    Contact Me

A new approach to Residential Mortgage Financing…

Nishka has the knowledge to help you through any situation, drawing from her 20 years of award winning industry experience.
Nishka and her team specialize in mortgage financing in North Vancouver, Vancouver and Squamish and over the past 20 years have funded more than 3400 mortgages in the area.
From the initial meeting all the way through to signing with the lawyer, you will have the comfort and peace of mind knowing that your financing needs have been developed to meet your specific financial situation.
Come find out why clients call Nishka their Mortgage Advisor and experience the difference of having Personalized Mortgage Solutions That Work For You.

The Top Ranked Mortgage Broker in North Vancouver based on Google Reviews

What Best Describes Your Mortgage Need?

We want to access the equity in our home

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

 

We are real estate investors

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.

 

“We used Nishka’s services on two occasions. Excellent service from start to end. She answered all our questions immediately. It was a pleasure to deal with someone so efficient and professional. She made a confusing process seem easy.”

– Robert and Kasia

 

We are selling our home and buying another one

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

“Nishka helped me realize my dream of moving into a house.  She was with me every step of my journey from condo to house and was always available to answer any questions and offer support. Thank you Nishka!”

– Angela

 

Our mortgage is coming up for maturity

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

 

We are buying our first home

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!

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

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!!!

“Nishka was instrumental in getting me into my dream home! She consulted actively with me throughout the entire process and was able to break down all of the steps so that I felt confident throughout. Nishka worked tirelessly, which ended up getting me into an even lower interest rate, and even kept me generally updated on trends and economic indicators. I wholeheartedly recommend her, especially for first-time buyers such as myself.”
– Sarah 

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

Points of Interest!

A Mortgage Finance Blog filled with insights on real estate!

Stressed About The Stress Test?

As of January 1st, 2018 the mortgage qualifying rules are about to change dramatically.

The good news is only two groups of Canadians will be impacted:

1. Those who own a home

2. Those who want to own a home

Obviously, I’m being incredibly facetious with the matter, but I’m sure you get my point – this time the government is targeting everyone.  To help you understand how you could be impacted, we’ve listed some of the questions we are fielding.

What is the Stress Test

Starting January 1st, 2018, if you are accessing the equity in your home through a refinance, wanting to transfer to another institution or if you are buying a home with a down payment of 20% or more, you will have to qualify at the GREATER of 2% above the lender negotiated rate (the contract rate) OR the 5 year posted bank rate.  Note that your mortgage payment will be based on the contract rate – so you can breathe easy – your mortgage payments aren’t about to go shooting up!

Why Now?

To explain it a very simplistic way; our economy is out of sync.   We are experiencing slow economic growth, yet housing prices continue to increase at a rapid rate.  Normally the two would be moving in the same direction at close to the same growth rate, and to slow things down the Bank of Canada would just raise the prime rate.  However, taking that approach to our current economic situation would be catastrophic. The solution? Change government policy by making it harder for people to borrow mortgage money.  And voilà the Stress Test is born.

Who will be impacted?

Since you’ll have to qualify at a rate that is 2% higher, your borrowing capacity is going to be reduced by about 20%. This will affect anyone who is purchasing a property, taking equity out of their home or has a mortgage maturing and would like to shop for a lower rate.

Here are some real-life examples we are currently working with:

  • A family wanting to take equity out of their home with a household pre-tax income of $150,000
    • Amount can borrow today: $1,050,000
    • Amount can borrow Jan 1st: $825,000
    • Difference $225,000
  • A First Time Home Buyer who has saved the 20% down payment with a pre-tax income of $100,000
    • Purchase price today: $850,000
    • Purchase price Jan 1st: $670,000
    • Difference $180,000
  • A family that is wanting to transfer their mortgage to another institution on maturity and maintain their target payoff date.
    • Current mortgage Balance: $900,000
    • Current amortization (payoff date) : 15 years
    • Family Income: $200,000
    • Can they switch their mortgage?
      • As of today: YES
      • As of Jan 1st:  NO

Who won’t be impacted?

  • Buyers with less than 20% down payment
    • They already have a more stringent stress test applied to their applications.
  • People who enter into a contract to buy a property in 2017 that completes in 2018.
    • The caveat here is that provided the bank doesn’t need to requalify the borrower if the closing date is past 120 days.
  • Pre-Sale Buyers
    • Since the rules will be based off contract date, this group will be fine.  However, the names on the contract cannot change. Buying a pre-sale contract on assignment will be subject to the new rules if done in 2018.
  • Refinances approved before January 1st, 2018
    • We are still waiting for clear communication from all the lenders, but some have communicated to us that providing the application is approved in 2017, they will allow up to 120 days from the approval date to complete the transaction.
  • Pre-approvals
    • This is a tricky one. Some banks are reading into the rules and are still deciding if they will honour pre-approvals done in 2017 that turn into live deals in 2018.  We are anticipating that all pre-approvals will have to be requalified under the new rules as of January 1st.
  • If your mortgage is maturing and you’re not making any changes
    • providing you are in good standing with your lender you are allowed to renew automatically.
  • Credit Unions 
    • Since they are regulated provincially, they aren’t subject to federal rules.
  • Non Federally Regulated Lenders
    • These are the lenders that work exclusively through the broker market.  Since they are not federally regulated, they are not obligated to follow the new rules.  It will be interesting to see what they will do.
  • Private Lenders
    • This group is also provincially regulated, so they aren’t subject to federal rules.

What should I be doing?

Take an inventory of your both your financial and life goals.

What does life look like 2 to 3 years from now? What changes do you foresee that might require a little financial wiggle room to make it happen, i.e. having a baby, changing a job, becoming self-employed, taking a sabbatical?  A little planning now can make sure all those dreams stay intact and can be accomplished without stress.

It’s a perfect time to revisit what happened in 2017 and start planning 2018 now that the year is coming to a close.   For the past three years, we have been using an incredible program called 5 Days to Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt.  It will be opening up for registration again on November 29th.  If you would like to be added to the list during its limited release period, just click here and we’ll make sure to get you in.

For our existing clients, we are recommending that if they would like to take equity out of their home or buy another property, they should talk to us now.  Even if you are maturing 6 months from now, some lenders will allow us to refinance you early without a penalty.

Bottom line, working with a mortgage broker is going to more important than ever due to this simple bit of math: Different Lenders + Different Regulations = Better Solutions.  Having access to multiple lenders will be critical to achieving your financing goals for the next 2 to 3 years.

Will Real Estate Crash?

Nobody can predict the future, but you can look at the variables that impact it, draw from your experiences and make an educated guess.   So here is why we think prices might soften, but overall the market should hold steady.

  • Supply – the number of homes available to buy
    • Regardless of the inventory levels of homes to buy, we live in a landlocked part of the province.  Overbuilding is not an issue like it is in Ontario, where the supply of land seems to be unlimited and to connect these newly built communities requires no bridges.
  • Demand – if you list it who will come?
    • There are three main sources of new buyers who are entering the Vancouver market 1. Millennials 2. Interprovincial migration 3. Foreign buyers ( ie. Tech sector employees – Thanks to President Trump ).  This doesn’t include move up buyers who have seen a significant increase in their condo.
  • Condos and Townhomes
    • This market should actually thrive under the new rules.  People need a place to live, and will rarely sacrifice location (location, location) over home size. This means people will be forced down into the townhome and condo market which will send prices up.
  • Interest rates will not significantly rise
    • Interest rates are driven by inflation, and currently inflation is forecasted to stay below the Bank of Canada’s target rate for the next 18 months.  Also, higher interest rates will lead to a stronger Loonie, which will hurt our export economy, so there is a vested “interest” to keep rates low.
  • Business spending is starting to take hold
    • Since many CEOs were shell-shocked by the liquidity crisis of 2009, a lot of business have been sitting on mountains of cash.  Now that the economy is starting to show signs of slow, but consistent growth, businesses are starting to re-invest in their employees and equipment.  This is an important piece of the puzzle that needs to fall into place because the consumer has been doing all the heavy lifting when it comes to supporting the economy over the past 5 years.  It will also lead to lower unemployment.
  • Wage Growth
    • The Canadian economy is nearing what is called “full production capacity” which means that businesses are going to have to hire more employees to keep up the level of work or spend more money on automation. When this happens it usually leads to increased wages since companies have to pay employees more to retain them, or to attract new talent.
  • This is a rule change – not an interest rate change
    • Though it will be tougher to qualify for a mortgage, the cost of borrowing is not increasing.  At the end of the day, people will still be bringing home the same level of income.  In fact, this could put more money into people’s pockets since they will not be able to stretch themselves as much financially with the new rules.  If you are looking for a job, it might be time to get a sales position at a boat or a car dealer!

All these variables add up to provide support for housing prices.  Having said that, will housing prices come down in the short term? Possibly, but this is more a of blip on the radar due to realtors pricing in the future value of a home into the current list price.  Once this future pricing has worked it’s way out of the system home values should stabilize.

Our final words of wisdom:  Your home is not a stock.  Its value should not be considered as if it could be traded on a daily basis.  Real estate is a long-term investment.  As Mark Twain said …Buy Land, They Aren’t Making Any more Of It.

Nowhere else in the world could this be truer than in Vancouver.

 

 

 

 

 

The Right Mortgage Advice

Can Make IT Happen


Our three stage process will guide you through the mortgage maze so you can Make IT Happen

Contact us to schedule an appointment:

Hidden Content

Who is Nishka

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.”

Testimonials: What Clients Say About Nishka

“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!!! 

“Nishka was instrumental in getting me into my dream home! She consulted actively with me throughout the entire process and was able to break down all of the steps so that I felt confident throughout. Nishka worked tirelessly, which ended up getting me into an even lower interest rate, and even kept me generally updated on trends and economic indicators. I wholeheartedly recommend her, especially for first-time buyers such as myself.”

– Sarah

“We used Nishka’s services on two occasions. Excellent service from start to end. She answered all our questions immediately. It was a pleasure to deal with someone so efficient and professional. She made a confusing process seem easy.”

– Robert and Kasia

“Nishka helped me realize my dream of moving into a house.  She was with me every step of my journey from condo to house and was always available to answer any questions and offer support. Thank you Nishka!”

– 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

Nishka is a member in good standing with the following professional associations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discover The Power of We!

You can be a part of the "Power of Who". If you know of a person who should be on Nishka's list please send her an email!

Best Mortgage Broker North Vancouver

Fixed Mortgages

low mortgage rates

low rates

Mortgage Broker

Mortgage Broker Near Me

Mortgage Rates

North Vancouver

North Vancouver Mortgage Broker

Variable Mortgages