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PORT PERRY STAR BSTATR & CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING VOL.1' No.14 - FIRST CHOICE REAL ESTATE - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1989 Published weekly by the Port Perry Star TRANS-ACTION REALTY SERVICES INC. ELEGANCE IN CASTLE HARBOUR i in an area of estate homes, this brick and stone bungalow stands out. Outside and inside you sense 1 materials and finishing - beautiful imported ceramics, plush broadioom in bedrooms. The country decorating and extra touches gives this home a genuine feeling of coziness and warmth. This home can be your home. See it today with Susan Bajari, 985-4172: Tor. Line 640- 8585; Res. 985-8728. COUNTRY CLASSIC Brick bungalow on 1/ 2 acre lot, Village of Green- bank. This ideal starter home has 2 bedrooms with a loft family room. The kitchen was recently renovated. This home shows well and is a must view for the first time home buyer or someone looking for retire- ment. Call today for information, Susan Bajari, 985-4172; Tor. Line 640-8585; Res. 985- 8728. TO VIEW THESE PROPERTIES CALL ... 985-9172 he Povf Perey Shar An Award Winning Community Newspaper Serving Port Perry & Scugog Township since 1866 -a-genuine pride-of ownership. As you enter-you-notice the finest of- Owning a home is still your best ever investment Owning a home is the largest, and still, the best investment most people will ever make. Home buyers are investors, not just consumer, and shopping for mortgage money is not as simple as comparing the price of apples and oranges. As an investor, you need to know everything you can about the money you will spend and what it buys you. And no story on mortgages is complete without a close look at how flexi- ble mortgage terms can save you thousands of dollars. Just think about this. If you could reduce your interest costs by the equivalent of a 33 percent rate cut by paying off principal ahead of schedule, would you think it worthwhile to investigate? The knowledge you need to help make you a better home "in- vestor" and not just a home '""con- sumer," can be devided into two categories: "How-to"' and "How much?" "How-to" refers to the simple mechanics of finding and arrang- ing financing for your home. You go the next step up when you ask the "How Much?' questions, comparing the real costs of all your financial options. The answers you get can make a real difference in the final cost of home ownership. The most overlooked and yet most important "How Much?" questions are not complicated. In fact, the first place to look is at the cost of the good old conventional mortgage. And the key word to remember is flexibility. Homebuyers say their number one mortgage concern is the in- terest rate. Yet mortgage flex- ibility can save far more than say, a quarter percent interest rate difference ever will. What rates really affect, of course, is the number of dollars paid during the lifespan of the mortgage, and the money you pay on a regular weekly or monthly basis. Most of us tend to make our comparisons in interest rate percentages rather than total dollars. But, if rates are the beginning and end of the com- parisons, we leave ourselves open to other costs. We will assume you have seen and want a property. The time to buy seems right, but yon think it might be better to wait for in- terest rates to drop. Well, we agree with part of what you are thinking. If the home you want is available and the purchase price is right, you may want to consider some "How Much?' options. You can take a short term mor- tgage, six months or a year, then renew again_when. rates are lower. But you should not stop here in your thinking. Let's apply the principle of con- verting flexibility into an equivalent of lower interest rates by using an example. Let's look at a $100,000 mor- tgage with a 25 year amortization. At an interest rate of 12 percent, you would pay $209,400 in interest over 25 years. If you 'doubled up" just one monthly payment per year, you would pay $134,200 in in- terest over 18.9 years -- saving you $75,200. That is the same as a mortgage at 8% percent rate would save you over 25 years. As you can see, with a mor- tgage that's flexible, you can save a lot of interest costs. For exam- ple, if you think you can pay just one extra mortgage payment a year, that money can come right off the principle. You could save as much as if you were paying a ratereduced by 33; percent for 25 years. You can reduce it even more than a payment of up to 10 percent of the principal on the mortgage anriversary date. To decide how flexible a mor- tgage is all you have to do is ask * a 10 percent annual pre- payment option? * a double-up feature to double any monthly payment? * weekly and bi-weekly payment options? * an early renewal option to per- mit you to change the terms at any time? (Turn to page 6)