Q&A
Isaac Zisckind
Mortgage law and the pandemic
Lawyer, senior partner DIAMOND & DIAMOND LAWYERS
Years in the industry 14 Fast fact A basketball enthusiast, Zisckind is an avid Toronto Raptors fan
How did COVID-19 impact your firm on the mortgage side?
Tell us about the seminars you host for mortgage brokers.
When COVID first started, there was a big stall in transaction volume. There was a pause in terms of activity in general because we couldn’t do in-person signings, especially with a lot of banks and lenders alike requiring wet signatures. Once the laws changed, allowing for e-signatures and Zoom messaging and other videoconferencing capabilities, it really affected the mortgage industry – not just from an efficiency standpoint, but also accessibility. When the use of new technology was approved, we were able to use our technological capabilities to help people who had no ability to travel or were just not able to have in-person meetings due to COVID restrictions.
We’ve done lectures on things that mortgage brokers should watch out for when they’re speaking to clients. When you talk about big amounts of money, there’s always the risk of people trying to take advantage, so we do lectures about some red flags. I also do a lot of seminars from the litigation side for mortgage brokers on how to protect themselves for the future – things brokers can do so that if they end up in a situation where someone is complaining about them, the broker has a checklist of things that were said and communications that were made so nobody can second-guess what their motives were.
What’s your most common type of case concerning mortgages?
Technology has really driven this market in the last year and a half, and it’s going to force the legal industry as a whole to either adapt or die. Those who can adapt to technology are going to thrive. There’s going to be more consolidation as it becomes easier and more efficient to do transactions. I also think that mortgage laws in general are going to be looked at more frequently in terms of regulation because of the amount of transactions going up – that usually catches the eye of regulators. I think there are more regulations coming down the road in terms of administering mortgages, especially on the broker side.
Most commonly, if we’re talking about mortgages, it would be residential and commercial refinances, more so on the residential side than commercial. A lot of people are taking advantage of lower rates, even lower private rates. With COVID as it is, I think people who are not getting the same income as before are using their equity in their home to pull out some cash and make sure that they’re caught up with bills and debts – especially when house prices have been soaring.
Alberta finance minister urges changes to B-20
Alberta finance minister Travis Toews continues to beseech the federal government to adjust its mortgage stress test, describing the B-20 guidelines as an “unnecessary barrier” to homeownership in the province. Toews has long argued that while the stress test might be beneficial in large markets, Alberta is being adversely affected because its prices have remained steady. Responding to a CBC question about Toews’ comments, the federal government said it is continuing “to closely monitor the health and stability of the housing market.”
BC police nab real estate scammer
What’s in store for mortgage law after the pandemic ends?
Police in Oak Bay, a suburb of Victoria, BC, have uncovered a scam in which a property was listed for sale and shown to prospective buyers without the consent of the legal owner. The fraudster communicated with real estate agents in the name of the real property owner without providing proof of identification, requesting by email that the house be listed for sale after a valuation was completed. The fraud was reported to police after a neighbour noticed a for-sale sign outside the property and contacted the real owner.
A tenth of Canadians willing to lie about income
Almost one out of every 10 Canadians (9%) thinks it’s acceptable to inflate their income on a mortgage application, according to a recent Equifax survey. The figure was even higher among millennials – 16% said they don’t see a problem with misrepresenting their income when applying for a mortgage. Fourteen per cent of millennials, meanwhile, revealed they had lied on a credit application. The Equifax survey also found that 11% of respondents believe mortgage fraud is a victimless crime.
www.mortgagebrokernews.ca
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