Friday, October 28, 2011

Multi Part Mortgages

One of the things I see is people with a mortgage at a bank and it sits in multiple pieces, different amounts at different rates, maturing over the next 1 - 5 years.  In a recent case I think they had 5 or 6 components.  There was the ever present Line of Credit (LOC) and then a variable and 4 fixed rates.  Sort of cool in the sense that it diversifies your debts over time and you are not subject to renegotiating it all at the same time when rates are high.  Conversely, you are not able to renegotiate when rates are at record lows.
This client was definitely in need of an overhaul and there was tons of room for savings even with the penalty factored in.  Without doing the work it is hard to know if making the change is a good choice or not.  I would never advocate change that is not beneficial, but I am a big advocate for checking out your options.
If you are not into absorbing any sort of penalty regardless of the savings, then at least make an effort to renew each segment so that it next come due at about the same time as other segments and eventually the goal would be to have them all on the same schedule.
This helps in 2 way
  1. You are renewing at shorter terms which are often cheaper and if you maintain the same payment level you are paying the debt down faster
  2. Eventually everything comes due at the same time and you can now stand on a stronger footing with your bank when negotiating rates, because the penalties are no longer holding you back from leaving and getting a better deal elsewhere.
If you could save $20,000 dollars over the next 5 years would it be worth sitting down for an evening and doing the math?  Or call me and see if I can help you find options that suit you better.

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