Many in our industry were taken by surprise by the news that CMHC was cutting back on portfolio insurance, i.e. Bulk Insurance, as well as announcements made by lenders to discontinue offering NIQ/Stated Income Programs within conventional mortgage guidelines.  The surprise created a stir and a great deal of speculations in our industry.  What does it mean?  How will we be impacted?  Are the changes going to be fair and equitable, and will all stake holders be mandated to play by the same rules?  The answer to these questions is simple, we just don’t know.  (more…)

“We, the consumer, read about these mortgage issues in the media and try to understand but the complexity of these issues leave us somewhat baffled.”

The Bank of Canada decided to leave the overnight lending rate at 1%, and we’re all but assured that rates will mill remain at current levels for the remainder of 2012.  Sure, things could change but for rates to trend upwards would mean that the BOC is no longer concerned about our fragile economy.  There was also good news – the Minister of Finance said there would be no changes to the  “mortgage rules” at this time.  With the caveat that Finance is prepared to intervene if necessary. (more…)

I challenged myself this month to be positive when writing my blog.  I must confess it took some effort to always look for the silver lining but with some creativity and effort it can be done.  We deal with the realities of the real world every day, and we all have our own black clouds to deal with.  So I decided to ignore the black clouds this month.  An attempt to suspend reality?  Yip!   But that’s what this time of year is all about, i.e. immaculate conception, Santa Clause etc.  What I also do this time of year is to reflect on the year which is quickly coming to an end.  I have to say that 2011 was a challenging year, but a lot of great things happened to good people. (more…)

Leadership can be defined in many ways.  Individuals who lead come in different shapes and sizes, and their personalities can be divergent.  Some leaders are vocal and have the appearance of strength.  Yet other leaders are more cerebral, they use intellect and instinct to lead rather than use force.  Irrespective of the personality type, they all share the same characteristic, the ability to view issues from a macro perspective.  Effective leaders have the ability to see three steps ahead, and believe with absolute conviction that  final decision is the right course of action.

I think we witnessed a demonstration in  leadership yesterday with the joint announcement from CAAMP and the MBABC. (more…)

Another CAAMP conference (Mortgage Forum 2011) has come and gone, and I’m looking forward to catching up on some sleep.  The sleep deprivation has nothing to do with indulging.  On the contrary, I was a good boy during the conference,  and even if I was tempted by all the distractions logic dictated discipline.  The meetings seemed endless during the conference, and no complaints on my part.  I signed up for the gig.  But I can take a deep breath now that the conference is over.

The Mortgage Forum 2011 was significantly different than the previous conferences.  There’s always a risk in trying something different but when you balance that against what could be, well, you have to go for it. (more…)