I have the National Bank All in One on my primary residence. Quite like it. Very handy to have the LOC automatically increased as the mortgage is paid down. Only down side for me is there's no National Bank in my city. I'm able to use HSBC bank machines for day to day stuff, but the one time I had to actually get a draft from my LOC, I had to drive 2 hours to get it (was for down payment on new rental, so worth it, but still a pain).
What kind of interest rate is offered for such convenience ?
Manulife used to charge prime plus 1, i.e. 4% which is 33% more expensive money than competitive rates on LOCs or mortgages.
Thus, consider if the price differential is worth the added convenience !
Quite a few other posts here on this topic: http://myreinspace.com/search/searchresults.aspx?q=manulife
Manulife used to charge prime plus 1, i.e. 4% which is 33% more expensive money than competitive rates on LOCs or mortgages.
Thus, consider if the price differential is worth the added convenience !
Quite a few other posts here on this topic: http://myreinspace.com/search/searchresults.aspx?q=manulife
Some "regular" banks are now offering similar products. The features will vary from bank to bank. For instance, Scotia has a STEP mortgage that includes an automatically increasing LOC but it cannot include a chequing account, so you lose the benefit of having your chequing account balance offset your mortgage, thus requiring a bit more money shuffling.
National Banks product is the most versatile, in my opinion. If you have large LOC, you can split up to various accounts, and this allows you to split up personal and business for tax purposes. Depends which broker you work with, but you can still get a competitive rate on the LOC.
National Bank does have one of the most strictest ways they qualify clients for their 'all in one' (tight debt ratios), but if you can get your maximum, I recommend going for it, before the government makes more rules about HELOCs!
National Bank does have one of the most strictest ways they qualify clients for their 'all in one' (tight debt ratios), but if you can get your maximum, I recommend going for it, before the government makes more rules about HELOCs!
My own experience with rates isn't too bad. I got seperate rates on the mortgage vs. LOC portions (not unusual). My mortgage is P-0.4, while the LOC is P+0.6. Seen better, seen worse. I do agree with the comment on the Manulife One product. Not sure if it's still P+1, but it was when I was looking at it, which is a bit pricey.