CMLS | Canada's Mortgage Company
The Advisor
Dan Putnan

Dan’s
Monthly Update

CMLS keeps going from strength to strength, and we owe a large part of that to our mortgage broker community and their resolute support. To give you just a small example, as of end July, our volumes across all divisions are up over 40% year over year; and when it comes to AVEO Near Prime, we saw an overwhelming 192% year over year increase in volume. We want to extend our sincerest gratitude to our mortgage brokers, who have gone above and beyond not just in servicing their customers but enabling us to grow at such a remarkable pace. And, as ever, we have taken measures to show just how much we appreciate them.

The first of which is the new policies, standards and services introduced by the recent change in leadership. Moving forward, our mortgage brokers are going to experience an entirely new CMLS, including a host of new opportunities brought on by the ongoing focus on product development, as well as improvements in service levels, efficiency and compensations. Because such a large part of how CMLS measures its success is placed on the relationships we have established with our brokers, we devote time, people and resources in ensuring those relationships are valued and strengthened on a daily basis.

Nowhere is this better seen than in the launch of AMI 2.0—fitted with the latest in technological advancements. While we continue to leverage AMI as a platform, a virtual assistant in the form of an online tool, we keep building on and enhancing it so that our brokers receive a seamless, streamlined mortgage experience. With AMI 2.0, brokers no longer have to go to ASK AMI to receive updates on deals or applications; AMI 2.0 pushes milestone updates to them, and provides a survey once a deal has been approved asking them to tell us of their experience on that particular loan. This is our way of incorporating feedback, constantly upgrade service levels, constantly transforming the process with adjustments based on what they would like to see, and how far they would like to go.

All in all, July has been a month to remember. And I can say that our mortgage broker community should stay tuned for exciting developments coming in the next 90 days that will be of great interest to them, because it will, once again, further their experience, which is, ultimately, what we at CMLS value most.

Dan Putnam AMP

Senior Vice President, Business Development, Residential

Broker Resource Centre


As a CMLS registered broker, this resource centre is designed for you to use as a quick reference tool to gain a better understanding of our products, policies and servicing. This resource centre will be updated regularly as changes occur to our lending guidelines and services..read more


Become a CMLS Partner Today

Regional Manager Feature

Jim Fitzgerald

Regional Manager, Oakville, Mississauga, and Northwest Ontario

Question:
Who is someone you consider a hero?
Jim:
Terry Fox: incredible discipline, great Canadian!
Question:
Where was your best vacation memory from and why?
Jim:
Florida with my family. We were all together, having fun in sunny Florida, lots of love and great memories that last a lifetime.
Question:
What really makes you angry?
Jim:
Slow drivers in the passing lane on the highway. Drives me nuts!
Question:
What motivates you to work hard?
Jim:
Seeing positive trends as a result of my direct influence, and accolades from my clients.
Question:
What is the favorite thing about your career at CMLS?
Jim:
I’m only one week in, however, my teammates are very supportive and genuine in assisting with my success, and I’ve been left very impressed.
Question:
What is your proudest accomplishment business or personal?
Jim:
What can I say, my children. Two beautiful teenage daughters.
Question:
What is a favourite book/movie you have read or watched recently?
Jim:
Willful Blindness by Sam Cooper.
Question:
If you could choose to do anything to try for one day, what would it be?
Jim:
Sky dive (in the wind tunnel, not from a plane…).
Question:
What would you sing at Karaoke night?
Jim:
Black, Pearl Jam.
Question:
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Jim:
Spaghetti and meatballs.

Josh Wharin

Residential Mortgage Underwriter

Question:
Who is someone you consider a hero?
Josh:
My parents. I consider my parents my heroes; their tireless work gave me every opportunity to success and helped me get to where I am today.
Question:
Where was your best vacation memory from and why?
Josh:
Post university, I backpacked through Europe (Scotland, Netherlands, France and Germany). I chose to go on my own, jumping hostel to hostel, meeting people along the way. Although I was hesitant at first, this turned out to be a great experience—something I won’t forget—and one I would recommend if anyone had the opportunity.
Question:
What motivates you to work hard?
Josh:
Feeling a sense of pride or purpose that what I do in a day has been done to the best of my ability. Each day we can only do the best we can do, it’s important to me that I feel I gave my version of 100% each day.
Question:
What is the favorite thing about your career at CMLS?
Josh:
The people. I joined CMLS late 2019 and the prime residential team is an amazing one. I’ve built some great relationships since, and some that I’m sure will last a lifetime.
Question:
What is your proudest accomplishment business or personal?
Josh:
Becoming a homeowner! After working tirelessly for the last several years, I purchased my first home in Burlington late last year.
Question:
What is a favourite book/movie you have read or watched recently?
Josh:
To be honest, I’m not a bookworm.
Question:
If you could choose to do anything to try for one day, what would it be?
Josh:
Travel to Scotland and play a round or two of golf at St. Andrews.
Question:
What would you sing at Karaoke night?
Josh:
Mr. Brightside – The Killers.
Question:
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Josh:
A good pizza.
Tips for Submitting a Deal and a Case Study

Broker resources! Over the past three years, the Strategic Lending Group has developed an arsenal of spreadsheets, checklists, videos, live presentations and other supportive tools to arm our network of mortgage brokers with everything they need for their insured multi family transactions.

As always, the ideal starting point is to reach out to Brian (East) or Steve (West) to how and where to begin. They will first set you up with a 30 minute presentation on everything you will need to know about CMHC multi family financing. From target properties, to the benefits, to underwriting procedure and debt serving calculations, they will cover everything.

After that call you will be given your own debt servicing spreadsheet along with all of the supporting documentation you’ll need to estimate the maximum loan-to-value for your borrowers purchase.

Finally, you’ll be provided with a checklist outlining the documents you’ll need to collect for a successful submission to CMHC.

We have the expertise and the resources—all you have to do is call and we’ll set you up.

Brian Ingram
Vice President, Ontario and Eastern Canada
905.875.6370
833.888.2657
brian.ingram@cmls.ca

Steve Ennis
Assistant Vice President, Western Canada
604.787.4885
833.276.2657
steve.ennis@cmls.ca

Ajay Singh
Assistant Vice President, Manitoba,
Strategic Lending Group, Residential Mortgages
204.988.0900
204.995.3344
ajay.singh@cmls.ca

CASE STUDY.

Bob has been a broker in Edmonton for over 30 years, but was unfamiliar with CMHC’s program for insured multi family financing. So, Bob did what all good brokers do, he educated himself! Bob checked our Steve’s arsenal of informative videos, visited the cmls.ca/brokers portal for the CMHC checklist of documents required, had Steve send him his handy-dandy debt servicing spreadsheet, and got to work!

Within 24 hours, Bob had completed the underwriting on the file exactly the way CMHC needs to see the deal. Most of the work had already been done for us, so we issued the letter of interest, collected the remaining docs and had it submitted to CMHC in record time.

There is a huge opportunity for mortgage brokers to specialize in the $500,000 - $3,000,000 space. If you’re interested in carving out your niche in this space, connect with Steve or Brian and they’ll make you an expert in no time.

What's New.

SVG

The Band New Simplified BFS Self Declared Income Letter.

We now have a new, one page Business for Self income letter for all our Business bank statement deals! The document is available in a fillable pdf. format using just the most current years’ income. Please click on the attachment below to download, and if you have any questions, reach out to your AVEO regional manager.

Download .

Current Rates.

Purchase/
Refinance
Beacon
680+
Beacon
640-679
Beacon
600-639
Fee Comp
(BPS)
Rate Hold
Purchase
Rate Hold
Refinance
1 year 2.74% 3.19% 3.39% 1% 50* 120 days 90 days
2 year 2.79% 3.29% 3.49% 1% 60* 120 days 90 days
3 year 2.99% 3.39% 3.59% 1% 60* 120 days 90 days
SLG

Since the last edition of “The Advisor” newsletter, CMHC has released the 2021 Benchmark Operating Expenses for multi family dwellings. If you haven’t sat through one of Brian or Steve’s presentations, this might be confusing for you, but when calculating the debt serviceability of an apartment building CMHC releases specific dollar amounts or percentages to use for 4 expenses: repairs and maintenance, salaries, management, and miscellaneous costs.

If you’re working on your own deals, reach out to Brian, Steve or Ajay and they’ll forward you the PDF document containing the Benchmark Operating Expenses for your region.

Brian Ingram

Brian Ingram

Vice President, Ontario and Eastern Canada

905.875.6370 brian.ingram@cmls.ca

Steve Ennis

Assistant Vice President, Western Canada

604.787.4885 steve.ennis@cmls.ca

Ajay Singh

Assistant Vice President,
Manitoba
Strategic Lending Group

204.988.0900 204.995.3344