BMO Introduces Teaser Rate??

Last week, an article ran in the Globe and Mail, with limited fanfare, entitled “BMO move spurs rivals to drop mortgage rates”.

Here are the first two paragraphs of the article:

A gimmick by Bank of Montreal (BMO-T58.25-0.41-0.70%) to attract new mortgage customers in a traditionally sluggish month for sales has sparked a mini price war among rival banks.

A day after BMO announced it had dropped the rate on a five-year fixed-rate mortgage to a historic low of 2.99 per cent as part of a two-week promotion, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD-T77.750.050.06%) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY-T52.09-0.68-1.29%) followed suit with limited-time-offers of their own.

The article goes on to say that this supposed promotional rate may be held over for much longer than the anticipated two week period. 

Now did anyone else notice the types of words used in just two brief paragraphs?

“Gimmick…..promotional……price war”.

So what are they saying here?  Sales are slow enough that there are now “teaser” rates targeting the marginal home buyer .  What does that spell?  Disaster for these fools who jump in head first thinking a 5 yr fixed rate of 2.99% will last forever.  Fast forward five years to renewal time.  If you are a marginal buyer at 2.99%, what does that make you at 7%?  Probably a cash-strapped, paycheck to paycheck, owner of a house worth less than it was five years ago…..Sound familiar?

I’m no economist Mr. Carney, but can someone please do something about this before it is too late?

Here We Go 2012!!!

I can’t believe where the time has gone.  It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting around in my pyjamas waiting for the world to end New Year’s Eve in 1999.  Yikes!

2011 was a great year for my professional life and personal life as well.  I started a blog, took a new position with private REIT in Guelph (awesome company!), purchased a lease-to-own investment property and got engaged!

Yes it was a whirlwind year full of change, opportunity and a ton of stress! 

What’s on the agenda for 2012?  Lately, I have been focusing on attainable goals because I’m sure you all know how it goes when you set too many or unattainable goals.   Nothing ever gets accomplished!

So for 2012 I have set two goals:  Lose 10 pounds (cliché I know, but in the last 6 months, I have been so busy with work and renovations that I have gotten away from my typical healthy routine….but I’ve actually already lost 3 of these pounds since Jan 1^st!).  My second goal is to purchase another investment property.  I’m not sure exactly what type of property, but given my recent rent-to-own deal, I think I am in the market for another!  I have had a couple of interesting of near-miss deals here so I think another one is definitely on the horizon.

So what are your goals for 2012?  If there is one thing I have learned is that keeping them high, yet realistic, will go a long way in attaining them! 

Good luck! J