Once they've decided on a lender and signed the papers on the mortgage for their house, most homeowners forget they even have a mortgage except to make sure that they meet their monthly payments. However, in these days of recession when money is tight, a lot of people are looking for more ways to save money and cut out unnecessary borrowing fees. You can't do that unless you know what's going on in the world of finance. Therefore it's in your best interest to keep up to date on the latest mortgage news.
How does reading the mortgage news help you save money? Well, when you sign up for a mortgage you choose the mortgage and the terms that give you the best deal you qualify for at the present time. However, the financial market is in constant flux. The best terms you qualified for when you were first looking at North York properties for sale might not be as good as the terms you can get today now that the market has changed. If you keep abreast of the fluctuations in the market you'll know when to go in and renegotiate or refinance your mortgage.
The factor you need to pay the most attention to is the interest rates. In basic terms, the amount of money you're paying the bank for the privilege of taking out a mortgage with them comes in the form of interest, which is set at a certain number of points about the prime rate (the rate that the best customers are getting). As the bank does better or worse, the prime interest rate changes and the mortgage rates change as well. You can find out what the prime interest rate is on any given day by visiting the bank's website or looking at the notice boards in front of and inside the bank.
What is the prime interest rate?
Most people can be satisfied with keeping up to date on the interest rates, but some savvier mortgage holders can actually predict whether the rates will go up or down by following the factors that affect them. By reading the business section of their local newspaper (or a national newspaper like the Globe and Mail), you can see which Canadian mortgage companies are likely to experience growth (which would allow them to lower their rates). You can read the financial news in the paper or online.
Of course, there aren't many people who are qualified enough to make guesses based on raw business news. They're lucky if they can compare prices to choose the best one. If you'd like experts to make your guesses for you, tune into a website like Canadian Mortgage Trends (www.canadianmortgagetends.ca) or the National Mortgage News if you live in the United States.
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