Selling your current home and moving into a new one can be stressful enough, let alone worrying about your current mortgage and whether you’re able to carry it over to your new home.

Porting enables you to move to another property without having to lose your existing interest rate, mortgage balance and term. And, better yet, the ability to port also saves you money by avoiding early discharge penalties.

It’s important to note, however, that not all mortgages are portable. When it comes to fixed-rate mortgage products, you usually have a portability option. Lenders often use a “blended” system where your current mortgage rate stays the same on the mortgage amount ported over to the new property and the new balance is calculated using the current interest rate.

With variable-rate mortgages, on the other hand, porting is usually not available. As such, upon breaking your existing mortgage, a three-month interest penalty will be charged. This charge may or may not be reimbursed with your new mortgage.

Porting conditions
While porting typically ensures no penalty will be charged when you sell your existing property and buy a new one, some conditions that may apply include:

• Some lenders allow you to port your mortgage, but your sale and purchase have to happen on the same day. Other lenders offer a week to do this, some a month, and others up to three months.
• Some lenders don’t allow a changed term or force you into a longer term as part of agreeing to port your mortgage.
• Some lenders will, in fact, reimburse your entire penalty whether you’re a fixed or variable borrower if you simply get a new mortgage with the same lender – replacing the one being discharged. Additionally, some lenders will even allow you to move into a brand new term of your choice and start fresh.
• There are instances where it’s better to pay a penalty at the time of selling and get into a new term at a brand new rate that could save back your penalty over the course of the new term.

Courtesy of :Starr L. Webb AMP
Franchise Owner / Mortgage Expert

Phone: 250-574-0115

A Vancouver owner who wishes to remain nameless has taken up the challenge of renovating a heritage castle in Moncton, N.B., that went on the market earlier this year for less than an East Vancouver bungalow.

Jay Tse is a Moncton-based, semi-retired contractor with family ties in Vancouver. Much of his family is involved with real estate and construction.

“That’s what we talk about — construction and how much real estate is in Vancouver and in Moncton — and the topic of the castle came up because at that time, it was for sale,” said Tse, noting media reports about the peculiar property had caught the eye of a Vancouver relative.

In January, The Province wrote a story comparing the price of East Van bungalows to the 107-year-old Castle Manor in Moncton, N.B.

While many B.C. bungalows were priced north of $700,000, the Moncton castle — with 54 rooms and 12-foot ceilings spread over 19,000 square feet — came in at under $700,000.

“By Vancouver standards, it was very economical and that’s how we all started,” Tse said.

A Vancouver relative then became interested in buying the castle and asked Tse to look into the property on their behalf, and to consider taking on the renovations.

“I think they found it very interesting because of the history and the tradition of the castle in Moncton, and they asked me to think seriously about it,” Tse told The Province.

“I discouraged them because it’s not an easy project, as you know. It’s a heritage building and there were a lot of issues associated with a project this size and the extent of renovations.”

Following the sale, Tse said it took a few months to clear up legal paperwork and secure the right permits for the renovations.

The local community has also grown attached to the castle, which Tse said has challenged him to find the right balance between honouring the history of the castle, while also moving forward with renovations that will “make it last at least another 100 years.”

“That was the first huge stumbling block, but after that, it’s just a beautiful old building that needs a lot of tender loving care,” Tse said, adding the municipality has also been very supportive of the project and has offered extensive help.

For the Vancouver owner, who has asked to remain anonymous, Tse said the castle represented more of a challenge than an investment property.

“If they wanted to make money, there were other things they could do that are much easier,” Tse said, noting the new owner was adamant about buying the castle.

Still, the new owner has no plans to live in Castle Manor.

“I doubt they will move to Moncton — they love Vancouver too much,” Tse said.

Instead, the castle — which used to be a care home but has sat empty for several years — will be converted into a planned 14 high-end market condo units. Tse said the finished product could be ideal for mature professionals at a nearby hospital, professors and mature students at the local university, or retirees in the surrounding area who are looking to downsize but wish to remain in the neighbourhood.

There are no plans to change the stone facade of the castle, other than possibly adding a few windows, and the rest of the designs are still subject to the heritage board’s approval.

Tse and his crew — many of whom have worked with him for 25 years — begin their work on Tuesday, by conducting support-beam and sound- proofing tests. A completion date of Oct. 1, 2015 has been set.

“It’s a challenging but interesting project,” Tse said.

sip@theprovince.com

Kamloops’ downtown is home to many great watering holes. With some new tasty additions over the season, we thought we’d take you on our new Brew Tour! ‪#‎ExploreKamloops‬ http://bit.ly/brewtour2

October 2014

Kamloops and District
Median Residential Price:
(includes all areas, not just Kamloops, does not include
condominiums or mobiles)
$346,000

Kamloops only
Median Residential Price:
(does not include condominiums or mobiles)
$360,000

Most Residential Sales By Price Category

$280,000 -$319,999    27 sales

$320,000 -$359,999    26 sales

$360,000 – $399,999   21 sales

$400,000 – $439,999   20 sales

$240,000 – $279,999  16 sales

With a total of 214 residential sales in October, up from 183 residential sales in September

September 2014

Kamloops Residential Sales by Sub-Area – Monthly – September 2014

1. Sahali                           21
2. Brocklehurst               20
3. South Kamloops         19
4. Aberdeen                     19
5. Westsyde                     16
6. North Kamloops         11
7. Sun Rivers                     6
8. Juniper Heights            5
9. Batchelor Heights        3

SOURCE: Kamloops and District Real Estate Association

Kamloops drivers who travel the Red Bridge are going to have to make alternate arrangements for the next month.

The bridge will be closed to all vehicle traffic starting Monday September 15 while the Ministry of Transportation conducts repairs.

The bridge will remain open to pedestrians and bicycles, but there will be some intermittent delays.

Drivers will still be able to get over the South Thompson River by re-directing to the Overlander Bridge or Highway 5.

The Ministry estimates the closure will last until the middle of October.

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Attention all sky-watchers, the last supermoon of 2014 will cruise across the night sky on Sunday.

The moon will be 358,398 kilometers from earth making it about 15 per cent brighter and roughly 7 per cent larger, according to National Geographic. Since the distance to earth is 50,000 kilometres closer than other full moons, it’s get the supermoon monicker.

A supermoon happens during the monthly full moon or perigee when it’s egg shaped orbit takes the moon to its closest point to the earth.

“While this is nothing special from a science perspective, it is no doubt very poetical and very romantic,” Adler Planetarium astronomer Geza Gyuk tells National Geographic.

Getting a good view of the supermoon depends on the weather where you are Sunday night since the orb will be visible all night. The Environment Canada forecast for the Thompson and Okanagan regions is calling for partly cloudy skies Sunday evening so weather shouldn’t be an issue.

For the best photos and viewing, it’s recommended you get outside just after sunset when the sky is getting dark. Apparently that’s when the super moon will be at it’s most dramatic.

There were two other supermoons this summer, with the one on Aug. 10 being the brightest and the closest.