Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 17 | Page 10

10
The Notary
Corner
By Editha Corrales Nelson
Immigration Consultant, Notary
Public, Mediation / Arbitrator
One
important
back-to-
school item that most post-secondary
students may not be aware of is
a Power of Attorney for parents,
particularly when adult children are
studying away from home.
Out-of-town university or
college students may still need
help with day-to-day items such as
banking, paying bills, or even making
arrangements for rentals in their name.
According to the Society of Notaries
Public of BC, the only way parents
can do those things for adult children
is if they have Power of Attorney.
There are many situations
where Power of Attorney is needed for
a young adult more often than one
might think.
Powers of Attorney require
the signature of both parties and
can be put in place efficiently and
professionally by your local Notary.
To find a Notary near you, visit www.
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY September 1 - 15, 2018
Back-to-School Advice: Create a Power of Attorney
for Parents of Post-Secondary Students
notaries.bc.c.
The Society of Notaries
Public of BC represents more
than 320 highly trained Notary
professionals. Most have locally
owned and operated offices and
all provide personal assistance
to clients around the province.
Individuals, families, and businesses
seek the services of BC Notaries for
a wide range of non-contentious
legal matters, including residential
and commercial real estate
transfers, mortgage refinancing,
wills and advanced healthcare
planning, powers of attorney, and
other important documents.
Notaries’ Tradition of Trust
spans 2000 years. Notaries first came
to British Columbia over 100 years
ago. They continue to serve their
valued clients and their communities
across the province.

A Canadian Certified
Immigration Consultant, Certified
Senior Advisor and a Notary Public in
the City of Burnaby, Editha Corrales
Nelson’s preferred areas of practice are
Powers of Attorney, Wills Preparation,
International
Legal
Documents,
Name Changes, Affidavits, Letters
of Invitation, Statutory Declarations,
Drafting of Business Contracts
and other notarial services. For an
appointment, please call: 604-777-
2757.
The following should not be
construed as providing legal advice
and information in this column is
intended only as a general guide
and should not be applied to specific
circumstances
without
further
consultation. For more information
on the subject, contact Editha Corrales
Nelson at 604-777-2757.
Most Asked Mortgage Questions Answered (part 2)
When
considering
Licensed Mortgage Specialist
buying your
first home, or
refinancing to buy your dream home,
there are many questions you may
have and the whole process might
seem foreign to you, even if you have
done it before. I get a lot of questions
from my clients and have summarized
the most common ones to give you
some insight to what the lenders are
looking for when qualifying you for a
mortgage. For first timers this is a good
overview and for those refinancing a
refresher.
On my last article, I discussed
the first five questions and I will now
tackle the remaining five:
6.
Should I go with a
fixed or variable rate? This ultimately
depends on your risk tolerance. If
you’re a first time home buyer you
may feel secure going for fixed rate as
you would know what you’re expected
to pay for the term of the mortgage.
Variable rate, however, can save you
a lot of money. This is of course, on
the premise that interest rate doesn’t
go up and beyond the fixed rate at the
time you applied for the mortgage. If
you want to go variable I say it’s best
to qualify you a bit lower than your
maximum amount so that this way
you have room and can afford the
payments if the prime rate moves
up. There are also lenders who offer
mortgage products where you can go
half fixed and half variable, so you can
enjoy some savings but still feel a bit
more secure.
7.
What credit score do
I need to qualify? Generally speaking
mortgage applications wherein the
MYLENE LIM
credit scores of
applicants are 680
or higher will mean
that almost all
lenders will entertain
the
application,
subject of course to
other criteria such
as income and
property. There are
lenders that lend on
lower credit scores
but you may not
be able to get the
best product or the
lowest rate offered.
8.
What
happens if my credit
score isn’t great? If
your credit isn’t the
greatest, there are
ways to increase
your score. Most
credit
reporting
companies report every month. So
theoretically, you can change your
score within a month’s time if you
take active steps to improve your
record. The most important thing
is to pay down your credit cards to
below 70% of your credit limit. Pay
off your credit card balance in full if
possible so you don’t carry a revolving
balance. Don’t close those credit
cards that you’ve had for a long period
of time as scores are also determined
partly by the length of credit history
established, older is better here. Make
sure to constantly review your credit
statements. There may be an interest
charge or a late charge post that
didn’t reflect on time. An unpaid bill,
whether it is for $10 or $1,000 would
have the same effect on your record
as not having paid a bill that is due.
This would also be applicable to your
cell phone bills which some of us may
think doesn’t have any impact if we
are late in payment every so often.
9.
How much are closing
costs? Closing cost is on average 1.5%
of the total purchase price. Closing
costs will cover expenses like lawyer
fees, property transfer tax, appraisals,
title registration and insurance,
buyer’s portion of the annual property
tax, buyer’s portion of the strata fee
(if applicable), etc. Even for first time
homebuyers who are exempt from
property transfer tax payment, most
lenders would still like to see that
buyers have made provisions for this
cost. This is just a guideline to go by
which the lender will generally want to
confirm you have the means to pay
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
this.
10.
How much will my
mortgage payments be? This is going
to depend on a few factors - the size
of your down payment, interest rate,
purchase price, amortization, whether
or not you’re paying mortgage
insurance and also the frequency