Mortgage Loan Minute 60 seconds to informed home ownership
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What happens to my rate ....?
Is Carpeting Healthy for your Family?
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  Current interest rates:

  Prime Rate ...................  2.25
  3 year fixed ..................  3.64 
  5 year fixed ..................  4.19
  7 year fixed ..................   5.15
  10 year fixed .................  5.25
  Variable rate .................  2.65
Tracy Irwin, AMP
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Thank you for your support in helping me grow my business by referral.  Many of you have participated in Tracy Irwin's Referral Rewards Program.  I'm thrilled to be able to say thank you in this way!
 
Congratulations to E Sachs, Toronto who is the winner of the April 30th draw for a $100 restaurant gift certificate.
 
To celebrate Summer and thank for you for ongoing support, on September 22nd (last official day of summer) I will be drawing for a $100 gas gift certificate.  For every referral you send, your name will be entered into the draw.
 
Good luck!
What happens to my Mortgage Rate after I get  Approved?
When you're approved for a mortgage your lender agrees to hold your interest rate for a set period of time.

Rate holds are usually either:  120-days, 90-days, 60-days, 45-days, or 30-days.

When you have a long rate hold, much can change before you close.  Odds are, rates on your closing date will be different from the rate you received when applying.

If rates go up, you're laughing because your rate hold protects you.
Rate drop
If rates drop, you'll want to make sure your broker is watching out for you and secures you the lowest rate possible.
Different lenders have different policies on rate adjustments.   Here are a few examples:

 
Rate Fixed Before Closing: Some lenders will adjust your rate lower (if applicable) at a set number of days before closing--like 5 or 7 days.  This means you have to wait until that date to make any adjustments.  If rates drop and then go back up before this date, you don't benefit from those previously lower rates.
 
Broker-Instructed Rate Locks:  Some lenders give brokers a chance to re-lock their client's rates at any time between approval and closing.  The broker usually gets one shot in this case, so timing is everything.
 
Rate "Look backs":  Hindsight is 20/20, and this is one of the few cases where you benefit financially from it.  Rate look backs are the best of all rate drop policies because they require no timing. The lender simply offers you the lowest rate they've had between your approval and closing dates.  ING and MCAP are two examples of lenders offering this policy.
 
Other things being equal, choosing a lender that offers rate look backs will save you money over the long-run, especially if you have a 90 or 120-day rate hold.

Remember as well that some lenders require broker intervention to arrange for a rate drop.  Other lenders simply drop your rate automatically at their specified rate adjustment date.  Always ask your mortgage broker how the lender you've chosen can work for you!

Article from Canadian Mortgage Trends - March 26, 2009
 
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Is Carpeting Healthy for your Family?

Phil Shames, EcoSuds Carpet & Upholstery Care
 
"A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found an association between increasing levels of indoor particulate matter pollution and the severity of asthma symptoms among children." ScienceDaily (Feb. 27, 2009).
 
You may have read one of many articles like the one above reporting how mold and dust (another term for indoor particulate matter) may be making people sick. While dirty carpeting is often cited as the source of these harmful contaminants, clean carpeting can have just the opposite effect.Eco Suds
 
Indoor air contaminants naturally settle on your floor. However, did you ever notice how quickly "dust bunnies" reappear after sweeping or vacuuming.  On a hard floor surface, dust is often disturbed and sent back up into the air, floating to a level where it is most likely to be breathed in. Carpeting, on the other hand, traps this dust and holds onto it like the air filter in your furnace.
 
Just like your furnace's air filter needs to be changed on a regular basis, your carpets need to be cleaned on a regularly to keep the air you breathe in your home healthy.
 
Here are some ways you can make sure the air your family breathes is clean and healthy: 
  • Change your furnace filter regularly. 
  • Keep humidity at 60% or lower. 
  • Vacuum with a cleaner equipped with a high filtration  filter (like HEPA). 
  • Remove mold and mildew immediately.

Have all your carpeting professionally cleaned annually (more often if you have asthma and allergy sufferers in your home).
 
Phil Shames is the Owner of Ecosuds Carpet and Upholstery Care. Ecosuds is an environmentally friendly, ultra-fast drying carpet and upholstery cleaning company. Phil can be reached at 905-667-5624 ext. 3 or at phil@ecosuds.ca . Visit Ecosuds at www.ecosuds.ca

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AMAZING BUT TRUE GOLF FACTS
 
Mike Weir posted a tie for the lowest round of golf at the U.S. Open, Bethpage State Park....a 64 (including a double bogey) on June 19, 2009.  Way to go!!
 
Tracy Irwin, AMP
Mortgage Broker
1-866-797-7616
 

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