OT: COVID-19- March 17 2020 - No politics! Read post #1

[TheShape]

If one doesn’t pay into mortgage insurance (CMHC) do they qualify for mortgage deferral?

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

If one doesn’t pay into mortgage insurance (CMHC) do they qualify for mortgage deferral?

Yes, I'm pretty sure. The banks themselves are offering up to 6 months of deferral for all mortgages. That alone should tell people how scary the economic impact is of what's happening. I have a friend who invests in real estate and he contacted the bank 2 days ago to talk about deferring some payments on a commercial loan (much tighter rules than residential) for 60 days and they literally said "Let's make it 90 days to be sure." Banks are freaked out as much as us right now.

 

[TheShape]

Yes, I'm pretty sure. The banks themselves are offering up to 6 months of deferral for all mortgages. That alone should tell people how scary the economic impact is of what's happening. I have a friend who invests in real estate and he contacted the bank 2 days ago to talk about deferring some payments on a commercial loan (much tighter rules than residential) for 60 days and they literally said "Let's make it 90 days to be sure." Banks are freaked out as much as us right now.

Thanks, the wording here lead me to believe only homeowners insured through CMHC qualified for deferral:

The Government, through CMHC, is providing increased flexibility for homeowners facing financial difficulties to defer mortgage payments on homeowner CMHC-insured mortgage loans. CMHC will permit lenders to allow payment deferral beginning immediately.

 

[FraumBallard]

I manage a bank branch for one of the biggest banks in Canada. We are being mandated by our employers as an essential service and that we must come into the Branch daily.

I am in a very busy branch, seeing over 3000 clients on a weekly basis. I am disappointed at the callous disregard for our employee's well-being that we are being shown by our clients. We have had clients lie to our staff about not having travelled recently without self-isolation, and the majority of the banking being done now I would consider non-essential.

While many people like coming to the CA's (tellers) so that they "can keep their job" (I've managed Branches for 15 years and not one of my staff have been downsized despite launching significant digital platforms in that time), almost 90% of personal banking can be done via online, at the bank machine or on mobile apps. There is no need for anyone to come to deposit their cheque, take out $100, or pay their bills in person. Withdrawals from TFSA's and investments, for the most part, can be done on-line or through telephone banking.

It is just mind-boggling to me how poor judgement is being shown, starting with our most vulnerable seniors, coming in and putting everyone's health at risk because they want to pay their bills in person, and refusing to be shown how to do it at the ATM. These are not normal times and while I understand that banking is essential, not everything needs to be done now or in person.

My staff have families and young children, with several of them being single parents, all of which are put at risk by some pretty thoughtless and trivial visits. One of my Financial Advisors had her client lie to her, that she hadn't travelled, and then said she travelled but has been back for a month, and then admitted when we showed her account activity that she was in Hong Kong on Sunday and that she hasn't self-quarantined. There are no words for this kind of behaviour, but they start with callous, selfish, and almost criminal. This is what we are facing and it is unnecessary.

Folks please, if you have older parents, help them to do their banking on-line. My 83-year-old mom is now an expert, and she receives everything (CPP, OAS) direct deposit, and has her bills set up to come from her account. They are our most vulnerable people and while I encourage my mom to get out and stay active now is not the time for them to be coming into the Branch and standing in line to pay their VISA bill which isn't due until next month.

Stay safe everyone, and hoping for the best for your families.

People are free to go to the bank.
That's why they're currently open.
Relax.
I was at a bank yesterday.
The guy I saw coughed twice.
Into his hand once.
Into the air once.
Nice example set by the bank.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Thanks, the wording here lead me to believe only homeowners insured through CMHC qualified for deferral:

The Government, through CMHC, is providing increased flexibility for homeowners facing financial difficulties to defer mortgage payments on homeowner CMHC-insured mortgage loans. CMHC will permit lenders to allow payment deferral beginning immediately.

The government is helping too but the banks themselves are stepping up:

Canadian banks move to help customers, allow deferral of mortgage payments

Keep in mind they win in the end over this if it works. They avoid mass defaults and loan deferral just means more interest for them in the long run. We can take that as a good sign I guess. If they thought the economy wasn't going to recover, they would probably take a harder stance.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Yes, I'm pretty sure. The banks themselves are offering up to 6 months of deferral for all mortgages. That alone should tell people how scary the economic impact is of what's happening. I have a friend who invests in real estate and he contacted the bank 2 days ago to talk about deferring some payments on a commercial loan (much tighter rules than residential) for 60 days and they literally said "Let's make it 90 days to be sure." Banks are freaked out as much as us right now.

Thanks, the wording here lead me to believe only homeowners insured through CMHC qualified for deferral:

The Government, through CMHC, is providing increased flexibility for homeowners facing financial difficulties to defer mortgage payments on homeowner CMHC-insured mortgage loans. CMHC will permit lenders to allow payment deferral beginning immediately.

The government is helping too but the banks themselves are stepping up:

Canadian banks move to help customers, allow deferral of mortgage payments

Keep in mind they win in the end over this if it works. They avoid mass defaults and loan deferral just means more interest for them in the long run. We can take that as a good sign I guess. If they thought the economy wasn't going to recover, they would probably take a harder stance.

All this talk about the government helping and banks stepping up is sweet. What about people who haven't been able to purchase a place to live and are renting month to month? Nice kick in the bag for those people that they're being completely ignored. Isn't the measure of a society supposed to be how it takes care of those that are most vulnerable?

Here's how Toronto renters feel about the new mortgage deferrals in Canada

 

[thewave]

Whatever the Government fails to do, we as Canadians should be using our common sense and show the world how we can come together to solve the problem of a little nasty virus. Go over the top in protecting yourself and those around you. If you feel the GOV should be doing more, tell your local MP. We have the power here to steer this ship and lets set the goal of getting back to our normal as soon as possible. I've seen rumors in other countries of wrist bands and markings/checkpoints for travel but I don't think we need to go to extremes, we're not a backwards people and have always been sensible as a whole.

We got this. Let's aim for a normal enjoyable summer. Be happy.

 

[Jojalu]

Whatever the Government fails to do, we as Canadians should be using our common sense and show the world how we can come together to solve the problem of a little nasty virus. Go over the top in protecting yourself and those around you. If you feel the GOV should be doing more, tell your local MP. We have the power here to steer this ship and lets set the goal of getting back to our normal as soon as possible. I've seen rumors in other countries of wrist bands and markings/checkpoints for travel but I don't think we need to go to extremes, we're not a backwards people and have always been sensible as a whole.

We got this. Let's aim for a normal enjoyable summer. Be happy.

The wristbands are extreme but they are only being used in China to ensure travellers returning home stay in isolation for 14 days.

As for the rest of your post. Here Here

 

[Recipe Unlimited]

Can this virus please go away so I can start playing hockey again

Thank you​

 

[Moonman]

I'm not sure how this is going to play out but I'm not optimistic.

 

[Ratboy]

Flu vaccines are created by identifying "candidate" virus strains that they expect to be the dominant ones over the course of the "flu season"... where we are in closer contact.

They then process the vaccine based on the strain their models predict will be the most popular.

There are over 130 different strains of influenza. We do not vaccinate against all of them every year.

And sometimes they miss... as they did this year:

Flu Vaccine Selections Suggest This Year’s Shot May Be Off the Mark

and

This year's flu shot will likely be ineffective in the US, UK and Canada, expert warns | Daily Mail Online

"This year's flu vaccine may not be effective, a top expert warns.

Dr Danuta Skowronski, an influenza expert from the University of British Columbia told Stat News that the this year's flu shot for the Northern Hemisphere - including the US, UK and Canada - is likely to be a 'mismatch.'

Flu shots have to be newly developed ahead of each season based on scientists' predictions of which strains will be most active in the coming months.

Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) choose the strains for the Northern Hemisphere's shot in February, and chose those for the Southern Hemisphere last week."
​

It's safe to say there is no immunity to influenza given the vast number of strains. We couldn't live long enough to experience all of them.

There is a bit of immunity which is why the flu doesn't hit as hard as the Coronavirus does. There was mention that there might be two strains of coronavirus going around but who knows at this point.

Crazy days.

 

[Ratboy]

Whatever the Government fails to do, we as Canadians should be using our common sense and show the world how we can come together to solve the problem of a little nasty virus. Go over the top in protecting yourself and those around you. If you feel the GOV should be doing more, tell your local MP. We have the power here to steer this ship and lets set the goal of getting back to our normal as soon as possible. I've seen rumors in other countries of wrist bands and markings/checkpoints for travel but I don't think we need to go to extremes, we're not a backwards people and have always been sensible as a whole.

We got this. Let's aim for a normal enjoyable summer. Be happy.

I think the government is doing a decent job so far. Then again I'm comparing it to the US where shit is hitting the fan.

I've got a bad feeling about this.

 

[horner]

Was watching CNN Cuomo primetime
His guest was
Doctor Amy Compton - Phillips
Incredibly smart women she treated the first covid-19 case in the states.
They are making there own mask
They are going to show people how to make them
They are putting out a 100 million mask challenge
They are having a fund raiser
Providence.org
They are just setting up the website

Mark Cuban and some other professional basketball players care going to set up and pay for nurses to have free daycare.

A couple left a $9400.00 CHQ for 5 restaurant employees to split up.

People are doing some great stuff

 

[pepperMonkey]

- On a personal note, I've lost 20% of my savings so far which is way better than market but it's stretching my tolerance limits. I could still bail from the markets tomorrow and retire comfortably and it's stretching every fibre of my being to not do exactly what I'm not supposed to do yet it would take away 99% of my angst.

Just sharing.

Umm...if you can retire comfortably after bailing...and the angst over what to do is causing that much angst...then why don't you bail? You can always reinvest after the market stabilizes no? If you have that much saved up in investments, it would mean a bit of peace of mind that you wouldn't get devastated if the market crashes more even if you miss out on some upswing once the dust settles.
Personally, I don't think we are anywhere near the bottom yet and it's going to continue to plummet far down. The economy was so ridiculously inflated that it was just waiting for some event to implode it even before Covid-19 showed up. Even after the market recovers after the pandemic, the underlining economy is in need of a good cleanse so I can see it continue to dive bomb hard. Personally I would either rebalance your portfolio or bail and wait till the storm passes. Then again, I'm a nobody, certainly not a finance/economy guy so taking my advice is like taking the advice from a stranger on the street corner beside the beer store
Personally, I thought the market would crash soon and realized I knew absolutely nothing about the market so I bailed in late 2018 (yeah, totally missed the 2019 upswing) so I can give myself some time to figure out this investing thing....and I'm still learning, though I'm glad I'm not in the market right now as I was in aggressive mutual funds.

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Hey, obviously, I'm not a Leafs fan, but we're in this together, and your team has posted something classy, which the Canucks haven't done:

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

Hey, obviously, I'm not a Leafs fan, but we're in this together, and your team has posted something classy, which the Canucks haven't done:

Don't know any first responders or the like, but damn I love seeing that maple leaf crossed with the clover.

Love the St Pats thing, love the Leafs....

Would love to have a St Pats jersey. Nice little thing for them to do IMO.

 

[tokyoite]

An unidentified Sens player is NHL's first to test positive for coronavirus.

 

[Bluelines]

You can recover to the point of beating off the infection for an acute period of time but that doesn't necessarily translate into immunity that lasts beyond a few days. They haven't been able to study that over the long term.

And even then, there will be many strains of this.

Think of the common Cold, which is a strain of the Coronavirus. There are over 200 different strains that will cause your "Cold."

Ever had one?

Ever had two?

Ever get them every year?

This will become something we have to live with. Ideally, they will be able to pick the right strain to vaccinate against every year. Ideally, anti-viral medications can be developed to treat people.

Typically once you get a cold, you will never get that strain again, the cold you get every year is not the same genetic make up, its a different one.

You should have the antibodies once your body fights it off, which is why they say people with compromised immune systems are more prone to catching this virus.

With all that said there was a report of one woman in Morocco (i think) that contracted the Covid-19 virus twice.

 

[Bluelines]

Last night on CBC news, one of the scientist in Ontario that isolated the Covid-19 virus said they are going to begin drug testing next week at his lab.

 

[Bluelines]

A friend of mine lives in a small community on the ocean, he claims no one in his family has ever had the flu and rarely they get a cold and he claims its the salt air from the ocean that is the reason. So if you want an anecdotal way not to catch Covid-19 move the coast?

 

[Pookie]

Typically once you get a cold, you will never get that strain again, the cold you get every year is not the same genetic make up, its a different one.

You should have the antibodies once your body fights it off, which is why they say people with compromised immune systems are more prone to catching this virus.

With all that said there was a report of one woman in Morocco (i think) that contracted the Covid-19 virus twice.

I think we are relaying the same info.

My point was that a vaccine against the cold is not that effective as there are many, many strains. Many of us catch Colds frequently.

Given that this will mutate, a vaccine to solve all the problems or even the concept of “herd immunity” ... need to be taken with caution.

Certainly a vaccine is better than no vaccine.

Antiviral treatments also deserve funding and focus.

 

[Pookie]

A friend of mine lives in a small community on the ocean, he claims no one in his family has ever had the flu and rarely they get a cold and he claims its the salt air from the ocean that is the reason. So if you want an anecdotal way not to catch Covid-19 move the coast?

Climate change will move it for us.

Geez. I’m starting out on a negative bender today.

I’m going to go make an egg sandwich.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Umm...if you can retire comfortably after bailing...and the angst over what to do is causing that much angst...then why don't you bail? You can always reinvest after the market stabilizes no? If you have that much saved up in investments, it would mean a bit of peace of mind that you wouldn't get devastated if the market crashes more even if you miss out on some upswing once the dust settles.
Personally, I don't think we are anywhere near the bottom yet and it's going to continue to plummet far down. The economy was so ridiculously inflated that it was just waiting for some event to implode it even before Covid-19 showed up. Even after the market recovers after the pandemic, the underlining economy is in need of a good cleanse so I can see it continue to dive bomb hard. Personally I would either rebalance your portfolio or bail and wait till the storm passes. Then again, I'm a nobody, certainly not a finance/economy guy so taking my advice is like taking the advice from a stranger on the street corner beside the beer store
Personally, I thought the market would crash soon and realized I knew absolutely nothing about the market so I bailed in late 2018 (yeah, totally missed the 2019 upswing) so I can give myself some time to figure out this investing thing....and I'm still learning, though I'm glad I'm not in the market right now as I was in aggressive mutual funds.

Because then I'd have angst that I was an idiot a bailed when I should have followed the advice of every financial expert.

 

[4thline]

- Things seem to be a lot more real today. Getting virus policy emails from all clients and other consultants. I'm in the construction business and building departments are shutting down everywhere.

This will be an interesting one. With both the Feds and provincial government heavily inferring that they want to keep construction (among other, less exposed sectors) moving I wonder if they'll quietly tell municipal governments that building deps are essential services.

 

[ULF_55]

Because then I'd have angst that I was an idiot a bailed when I should have followed the advice of every financial expert.

Yeah, at my age LOL like getting to the top of the rollercoaster track and seeing you're heading down ...

COVID-19: How it has affected the markets and your investment?