Envision, Valley First merge to form third largest B.C. credit union
The newly merged organization will be known as First West Credit Union. The proposed merger required a two-thirds vote in its favour in all voting class shares. Some 90.3 per cent of Envision Class A shareholders and 84.9 per cent of Class B shareholders voted in favour of the merger and among Valley First Class A, B, and C shareholders, the vote in favour was 88.4, 88.6, and 80.1 per cent, respectively. The merger will take effect January 1, 2010.
"We are pleased that our membership recognized the positive benefits this merger holds for both Envision and Valley First," Ken Voth, vice-chairman of the Envision board, said in a release. "Over a year ago we set out to create a unique financial institution for Western Canada that would provide greater economies of scale and help us compete more effectively in the marketplace —First West stands to achieve all of this and more." First West will have 37 branches and 29 insurance offices in the Lower Mainland and the B.C. Interior.
The newly merged credit union will have approximately $5.6 billion in assets with 1,250 employees, and 167,000 members. Envision Financial and Valley First will operate as divisions of First West. "We're delighted that the possibilities of this merger are finally becoming a reality," Colleen Lister, chair of the Valley First board, said in a release. "Not only will the size of the branch network more than double, but merging ensures our long-term ability to better serve the financial needs of our members through enhanced product and service offerings."
Evision's president and CEO Gord Huston will be First West's CEO in the transition while Harley Biddlecomb, president and CEO of Valley First has been appointed special adviser.
Vancity ranks as the largest credit union in British Columbia and in Canada. In B.C. it is followed by Canada and B.C.'s second largest Coast Capital Savings.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun-Sept 24, 2009
Real estate poised for rebound
Despite economic gloom circling the planet, there are some real positives in the real estate market.
“It’s hard for the buying public to wade through that — the economic downturn,” said Roger Love, managing broker with Royal LePage Locations West Realty in Penticton, Okanagan Falls and Keremeos, “but for every door, there’s a window.”
Love has been a realtor since 1972, so he’s familiar with the ups and downs of the industry over 37 years.
“If an individual is buying now, it’s a grand time,” he said. “There’s an all-time (high) level of listings so the choices are huge and unprecedented. Interest rates are at an almost all-time low. We’ve got first mortgages in that 4.5 and five per cent range.” Over the course of his career, he’s seen mortgages costing more than 20 per cent during a downturn.
Read entire story here
Mortgage rates chopped by 2 Canadian banks
Two Canadian banks did their bit to unclog the country's constricted housing market Wednesday by cutting mortgage rates.
The Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal both chopped borrowing costs for people seeking to buy a home.
RBC cut its mortgage rates by one-quarter of a percentage point for most of its loans with terms ranging from six months to 25 years.
The exceptions were the one-year closed and four-year closed mortgages. Both of those products saw their rates slashed by three-quarters of a percentage point. The one-year vehicle now costs 5.60 per cent while the four-year mortgage rate is 6.29 per cent.
BMO marched down a similar path but at a different pace.
A three-year variable-rate mortgage from the chartered bank now has an interest rate 50 basis points lower at 5.0 per cent.
In its biggest move, BMO knocked the rate on its one-year fixed closed mortgage by 1.05 per cent to 5.60 per cent. The only three-year mortgage making the RBC list was closed, with an interest rate of 6.45 per cent.
Third of Canadians expect home prices to fall
More than twice as many Canadians as last year say they expect home prices across the country to fall, according to a new survey by a national mortgage industry association.
The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) says that 35 per cent of Canadians now believe that home prices will drop, up from 17 per cent last fall.
Jim Murphy, the president and CEO of CAAMP, told CTV.ca he believes the survey results suggest recent news coverage of the economic crisis may be having an impact on attitudes about the housing sector.
"I think (the numbers are) reflective of the attitudes about the economy overall -- and the media reports that are out there and the statistics that are provided," he said from Toronto.
Here is what the CAAMP survey found:
- Twice as many people as last fall, or 35 per cent, now believe home prices will drop.
- The number of people who thought prices would go up fell from 40 per cent to 20 per cent.
- Residents in the West are most negative. In B.C., 48 per cent said they expect prices to fall.
- Thirty-eight per cent of Canadians believe now is a good time to purchase a house and 32 per cent say it's a bad time. These figures are similar to last year's results.
Canadian mortgage lenders in 'good shape'
Stronger loan underwriting practices help avoid defaults experienced in U.S.
Andrew A. Duffy, Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, November 20, 2008
The only way this province and the country will face a U.S.-style housing crisis is if the employment situation takes a drastic turn for the worse, the head of the Mortgage Brokers Association of B.C. said yesterday.
Brian Peterson said Canada's stronger loan underwriting practices didn't leave Canadian lenders as exposed as their U.S. counterparts, who have watched hundreds of thousands of people default on their mortgages in the last year and a half.
"If we are going to see some problems going ahead they will likely be recessionary, related due to the decline in the overall economy rather than problems in the financial system," he said, noting Canadian lenders have a very strong track record when it comes to mortgages in arrears.
Don’t pay for renovations, let them pay for themselves.
Improvements to kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor living space offer the highest return on investment. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
In general, the more recent the improvement, the higher the return on investment.
The most appealing kitchens have an open plan with island, and an efficient triangle between the refrigerator, stove and sink.
Adding a deck increases the apparent floor space of your home. Make outdoor and indoor space blend seamlessly by using French doors and indoor-style light fixtures and furnishings.
By renovating strategically, your improvements can pay for themselves, plus create a healthy profit! For a detailed FREE report on “9 Secrets to Make Your Home Reno Pay For Itself – Even If You Have Less Than Perfect Credit” call us today at:
1-800-676-5908 extension 18.
How to make your mortgage tax deductible and increase your net worth.
Even though Americans have had tax deductible mortgages for years, Canadians still don’t enjoy that privilege. However, there is a way for you to deduct your mortgage interest while increasing your wealth. Known as the “Smith Manoeuvre”, this strategy involves continuously withdrawing equity from your home and investing it. Of course, when you borrow money for an investment, the interest is tax deductible. So if you borrow money from your home equity to make investments, your mortgage interest becomes tax
Buying A Home After Bankruptcy - Get A Mortgage Loan After Bankruptcy
If you have a recent bankruptcy on your credit and are looking to get financing for a home, there is hope. Buying a home with bad credit will just put more emphasis on the other two factors needed to get a mortgage loan, which are; income verification and a down payment.
After bankruptcy most lenders want you to wait at least 2 years from the time of the bankruptcy discharge before they will consider you for a mortgage loan. After the two year waiting period is over, you should be able to get financing easily. You should also be able to get 100% financing as well. You can usually achieve this as long as at least most of your payments have been reported to the credit bureau as having been paid on time since the discharge of your bankruptcy.
If you are looking to get a mortgage loan after bankruptcy sooner than the 2 years from the time of discharge, you will need to have almost flawless payment history since your bankruptcy discharge. Also, you may need to have a down payment. If you have even 3-5% to use as a down payment, that may be enough to help you get approved.
There are ways to get a down payment for your mortgage besides having the money saved in the bank. Here are some ideas of ways to do that:
1. Borrow or ask for a gift from relatives. After you have financed the house, you can usually go and take out a 2nd or 3rd mortgage up to the full value of your house, and then you could repay the relatives. Keep in mind that if you intend the money to be as a loan only from the relatives, you would need to disclose that to the lender before you close. Lenders usually have regulations about where the down payment is coming from and if you are not honest, it could be considered defrauding a lender.
2. There are down payment assistance programs like Neighborhood Gold or the Nehemiah program. These programs basically aid the seller in helping you with a down payment. Receiving a down payment from the seller of the property is illegal, but through these programs, it is legal. There are also other down payment assistance programs which are grants and do not need to be repaid or paid for by anyone. To find out about these, do a search on “down payment assistance” with your favorite search engine.
3. You could cash out a 401K or another investment and like in the first example, repay yourself with a 2nd or 3rd mortgage after the loan has closed.
Mortgage loans after bankruptcy are getting to be much easier to obtain these days. If you would like to see a list of our preferred bad credit mortgage lenders, visit this page: After Bankruptcy Mortgage Lenders.
Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan Guide. ABC Loan Guide is an informational loan website with informative articles and helpful lists of recommended lenders for bad credit mortgage loans.
