Manulife One (Canada)

[agatha1939]

Does anybody here have any experience with Manulife One (Canada)?
How does it exactly work?

It seems you can have everything (bills, debt, mortgage) in one account and your income is used to pay down your mortgage *every day*, so even if you need to use 100% of your income to pay your bills by the end of the month, at least the money will be used against your mortgage for some day.

It sounds very interesting but I would like to have more information. I tried to check their website this morning but it has lots of videos and I cannot access them from my company’s computer.

Thanks!

[boosami]

You're just paying off your primary mortgage with HELOC funds, and using every dollar you have after expenses to pay down the HELOC.

You can do this yourself using a traditional mortgage, HELOC, and discipline:
1) Put all your savings into your mortgage loan to pay down principle.
2) Get a maximum HELOC loan.
3) Pay off all debt with the HELOC.
4) Use all other funds in the HELOC to apply to your mortgage.
3) Put your entire paycheck into paying back the HELOC each month. Pay expenses by borrowing from the HELOC.
4) Any available funds you have left in the HELOC at the end of the month, put toward your mortgage.

Eventually, your primary mortgage will be paid off and your HELOC will be too. To do this you HAVE to spend less than you make a month, and your home equity must be enough to cover all your debts and more.

Wonder what kind of fees Manulife is charging to take control of your money for you? They are effectively forcing all your money into paying off your mortgage/HELOC.

[agatha1939]

So, is that like the Smith Manouvre?

Well, I thought it was something different, I'm not too keen in having a HELOC (although I don't even know if we have this in Canada, I never heard of... maybe a different name?).

From their website, they charge $14/month but I'm not sure if this is a flat rate or just a minimum.

Thanks.

[boosami]

Pretty much. You're just borrowing money to invest. Smith Manoeuvre focuses more on how to get tax deductions on your mortgage, but it's the same concept basically. Your primary "investment" so-to-speak with Manulife would be your home.

HELOC = Home Equity Line of Credit = A loan based off the value of your home against what you owe on it.

In Canada, it's just a re-advancable line of credit, secured by the value of your residence.