The Bank of Canada has increased the overnight benchmark rate by one-quarter of a percentage point to 0.75%. 

 Prime rate is 2.75% . 

The effective rate for the 5 year 50/50 Wise Mortgage is 3.17%. (This is half variable, half fixed rate)… a great way to be more risk tolerant 

The effective rate for the 3 year 50/50 Wise Mortgage is 2.92%. 

We have 4 & 5 year fixed rates under 4%  !Best variable rate is 2% 

Wendy Whiting, AMP 

Email: wendy@wendywhiting.com 

2267 Christopherson Rd
Surrey, B.C. V4A 3L2
Phone: (604)629-7689Fax:  (604) 538-0314Cell: (604)644-2807www.wendywhiting.com 

This electronic mail transmission and any accompanying attachments contain confidential information intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. Any dissemination, distribution, copying or action taken in reliance on the contents of this communication by anyone other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error please immediately delete the e-mail and either notify the sender at the above e-mail address or by telephone at (604) 629-7689. 

Managing debt while rates growTerry McBride , For Canwest News Service  SASKATOON — Canadians have taken advantage of extremely low interest rates to overextend themselves. The Bank of Canada wants to try to prevent inflation by raising interest rates to slow the economy down. How will debtors manage?Inflation vs. deflationActually, debtors generally prefer inflation (when prices go up) because that can make it easier to repay a debt, which is a fixed dollar amount owing. Loan payments become more affordable when wages keep up with inflation.Debtors usually fear deflation (when prices go down) because it becomes more difficult to repay an obligation when the fixed number of dollars can buy more. Deflation is already a major concern these days in Europe where some governments are raising taxes and cutting back on spending to tackle mushrooming public debts. Businesses there may be forced to cut prices and workers’ wages to cope with the economic slowdown.Debtors fear deflation. How can they handle debt payments after their wages are cut or they lose their jobs? Serious household debt management issues arise.Mortgage termIf your mortgage is coming up for renewal, how do you choose the best mortgage term? If you have had a variable or floating rate of interest tied to the prime rate, should you take the safe route and lock in a fixed, usually considerably higher, interest rate for five years?If your mortgage payments rise, then you will have to look at various ways to manage other debts.ConsolidateOne popular debt management strategy is to combine various loans into your mortgage or a line of credit. Consolidation can eliminate high-interest credit card debt. Free up some cash flow by reducing your interest costs.Talk to a professional debt counsellor. Can you have a single monthly payment? You could continue to make the same level of payments on your consolidated loan as you did before consolidation. Aim to reduce your principal owing and cut interest costs.AmortizationKnowing how amortization works will help you to understand how to properly manage your debts. Amortization is how long you are scheduled to repay an instalment loan.If interest rates rise, consider stretching the repayment period on an instalment loan to reduce the size of your monthly payments. Making your payments smaller seems very attractive at first. However, by making payments over a longer time period you will eventually pay much more interest in the long run.Debt snowballHere is a strategy for cutting down your overall debt level:Make a list of your debts. Add up how much you pay on each loan.Pick the smallest debt to tackle first. Pay the minimum on all debts except for your target debt. Pay whatever is left on your target debt until it is paid off. Then, continue with the debt snowball strategy by choosing the next debt on the list as your target debt. Pay it off.Borrow wiselyThe next time you have to borrow, avoid buying something that drops in value. The only time you should buy something using debt is if it is something that will appreciate in value or generate additional cash flow for you.As a general rule, if you are buying something with borrowed money, make sure that what you buy lasts longer than the debt. Don’t add to your debt burden by going on a vacation financed by credit cards.Emergency fundDo you have to borrow when you have an emergency? Instead you should build an emergency fund with cash held in reserve. You could use a Tax-Free Savings Account, the cash surrender value of a whole life policy or a Canada Savings Bond payroll savings plan, for example. Having cash available to pay for an emergency will give you greater financial security than an untapped line of credit.Terry McBride is a member of Advocis (The Financial Advisors Association of Canada)
Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/personal-finance/mortgage-centre/Managing+debt+while+rates+grow/3136091/story.html#ixzz0qXodyQrw

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Party in Whistler at World Ski and Snowboard Festival

By Jack Christie

Good things may come in threes, but no one in Whistler ever foresaw anything quite like the trio of events to hit town over the past three months: back-to-back Olympic and Paralympic Games, and now the upcoming 15th World Ski and Snowboard Festival from April 16-25.

There’s one good reason the Georgia Straight has covered every spring bash since the WSSF debuted: snow culture. You either get it or you don’t. If you don’t, you’re likely dead and don’t know it. For Olympic and Paralympic resuscitation, get to Whistler, pronto. The same bonhomie that infused Vancouver streets during the two Games animates the festival. Last April, with Metric lead singer Emily Haines’s over-the-top performance framed against a diaphanous curtain through which skiers and snowboarders could be seen carving their last graceful turns of the day at the foot of Whistler Mountain, it was pure “irie time”. Breathe deeply and feel the peace that comes from being in the mountains on long, sun-drenched days.

When reached at her office, festival communications director Lisa Richardson had some words of advice for those inspired by the feats of athleticism displayed during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. “The highest form of excellence has been on display here for the past two months. People who have been watching and are inspired to join in will find some form of entry. There’s room to be completely free in how to express yourself.” Asked to define snow culture, Richardson said that the festival incubates creativity. “Snow culture is a celebration of taking away the rules, painting outside the lines. The Olympics and Paralympics define excellence. Our festival shows winter sports can be playful, too. The athletes have had their competitive season. April is a time of convergence. There’s a different energy. It’s not about pushing your career to a higher level. Instead, it’s a spring blowout where the vibe is just to throw down with your friends because we’re lucky to be doing this in the first place.”

As much as the WSSF is a celebration of snow-sliding sports, it’s equally about music and culture, whether you’re hitting a dance floor or slipping into a seat at the pro-photographer or filmmaker showdowns. Organizers have put up more than $100,000 in direct funding to athletes and artists. “As members of the community of mountain-sports lovers, we are constantly stimulated by what the artists, photographers, filmmakers, designers, and athletes are doing,” said festival director Sue Eckersley, “so we’re reciprocating by sending some serious stimulus back their way.” That translates as major coin up for grabs, including $85,000 spread among the best skiers and snowboarders. Another $40,000 goes to an array of artists, potentially including two local action-sports photographers, Jeremy Koreski and Mason Mashon, who were selected to compete in the Pro Photographer Showdown. In the spirit of the festival’s roots, several top prizes of $1,000 will be awarded by votes from spectators. Peer play rules the day, both on the slopes at the Orage Masters and the Grenade Games and in the resort’s convention centre at nightly multimedia screenings.

Over the past 15 years, the festival has grown from a celebration of technical skiing to one of the biggest winter sports events in North America. When asked to compare the WSSF to the Winter X Games, Whistler-based freestyle skier Sarah Burke told the Georgia Straight that it would be hard to replicate the X Games “in any shape or form, but the amount of stoke and energy level at the festival’s World Ski Invitational is comparable”. Certainly, support for the three-time X Games winner runs deep among festival organizers. One of the star attractions imported to showcase the half-pipe talents of Burke and her big-air-seeking friends is the newly invented Global Pipe Cutter from New Zealand, whose paddle arms reputedly better maintain the sides of seven-metre walls of snow, create fewer holes, and provide a smoother ride up the pipe. On arrival, pipe-carving maestro Steve Petrie, who built the impressive Olympic superpipe on Cypress Provincial Park’s Black Mountain, will begin shaping yet another on Blackcomb Mountain’s slopes. “Because the pipe skiers missed a chance to show their stuff at the Olympics, they’ll be going huge in the superpipe,” Richardson predicted.

Is it true that skiing leads to harder crimes, like snowboarding? Sarah Burke remembered when “new school” skiers weren’t allowed in the half-pipe. “We’d wait until dark for a run and risk losing our passes.” She took part in her first pipe contest at the WSSF a decade ago. “I couldn’t handle one of the old eight-foot pipes today. You have to know how to ride transitions. A half-pipe run is all about linking five to seven hits, building speed as you go. You can measure a good half-pipe by someone who drops in at the top with no speed and finishes their run with a rush.”

A day spent in the spring sunshine puts paid to any notion that the problem with winter sports is that they take place in winter. Most ski resorts across North America called it quits once the Easter Bunny left town. Head for Whistler, where he will be hopping in his ski boots to the unbelievably talented kids in Vancouver’s We Are the City. No one but no one wants this party to end.

ACCESS: A complete schedule of events and performers is posted at www.wssf.com.

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Enjoy!

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/02/vancouver_2010_part_1_of_2.html
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/03/vancouver_2010_part_2_of_2.html

Mortgage News

EFFECTIVE APRIL 19TH, 2010, the qualifying interest rate used toassess borrower eligibility will change for loans with a loan to value ratiogreater than 80% as follows:

FIXED & VARIABLE RATE MORTGAGES:For loans with a fixed rate term of LESS than 5 years, and for ALL variable rate mortgages, the qualifying interest rate is the greater of the Benchmark Rate and the Contract Interest Rate

For loans with a fixed term of 5 years OR MORE, the qualifying interest rate is the Contract Interest Rate.The benchmark rate can be found at the Bank of Canada link: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/interest-look.html. This rate is set every Wednesday, and is item V121764. This rate is currently 5.39%.

CHANGES TO THE CMHC SELF EMPLOYED PROGRAMEFFECTIVE APRIL 9TH, 2010

Annie de la ChevrotiereMortgage Broker/Ownerthe Mortgage Centre, Garibaldi Mortgage Inc.#213-4368 Main Street, Whistler, BC V0N 1B4 Canada/US Toll Free Tel: 1-877-932-2688 ext 10Canada/US Toll Free Fax: 1-877-932-2690Video/Skype: annie.de.la.chevrotiereWeb Site: www.garibaldimortgage.com 

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