About

I’m in my early 30s. I love to read, travel (about 6 weeks per year), run, ski, listen to all kinds of music, and spend time with a close circle of friends.

I work full-time as a Mortgage Agent/Adviser in Toronto and I specialize in both residential and commercial mortgages (unlike 90% of the people in our business who never touch commercial or ABL deals). I’m licensed by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and also a member of the Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario (IMBA).

I’m a huge fan of digital technology and in fact my entire office is almost entirely paperless.

On the investments side, I have a self-administered portfolio consisting of mostly passive ETFs. A small percentage of my portfolio is allocated to active and “casino” trading. I’m a strong proponent of low-cost investing and I think that the Canadian regulatory system is laughable when it comes to protecting investors from fraudulent advisers.

In my spare time, I like to write about finance, economics, mortgages, banking, technology, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I fancy. I have read dozens of finance and economics books (including university texts) and hundreds of articles.

I chose the name “Mortgage Economics” because I want to raise awareness about the links between the financial markets and the mortgage market. I’m bemused when the first question that comes up is “what’s your best rate?” when people are about to borrow hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of dollars based on the theoretical value of their property. Surely you’ve got a lot more questions! After all, learning is a life long process.

Here’s a quick tip about rates: these days, getting the best rate is a non-issue with all the competition that’s taking place between bankers and brokers. Given how complicated mortgage loans have become, and considering that the dollar amount of the loan continues to increase with rising housing prices, I encourage consumers to shift gears towards education, awareness, and integrating their mortgage with long-term financial objectives as oppose to obsessing over a few basis points.