Guest glenn2006 Posted August 21, 2002 Report Share Posted August 21, 2002 Hi there all, I'm meeting with a bank representative (BMO) in a few days regarding a LOC for med school - which, unbelievably, starts in less than two weeks. Could you guys give me some pointers / tips as to the important things to get out of the meeting? E.g. interest rates, transactions fees, etc., etc. Any advice would be appreciated; I know zilch about this stuff. Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest V Posted August 21, 2002 Report Share Posted August 21, 2002 You shouldn't get any interest rate less than prime. All major banks such as RBC, CIBC and Scotia offer about 100 grand at prime. If they don't require a co-signer, which in most cases they won't, then don't get the life insurance. The insurance means that if something happens to you and you pass away, then the bank will take care of the loan. But if you don't have a co-signer, then even if you pass away then it is the banks problem, not yours.... it is against the law for them to hold any one else responsible. You should find out when you have to pay back the principle. Most of these LOC's only require interest payments on monies used monthly, with the principle due after 1st year residency. Which bank are you going to? I went to RBC and got 100K at prime, with principle due after year 1 residency. I think Scotia has the next best deal. Hope this helps. V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gucio93 Posted August 21, 2002 Report Share Posted August 21, 2002 I would agree with the above, except for one point (and I may have misunderstood) in CIBC the repayment of the loan starts one year after residency is over (not after 1st year of residency). I'm not sure if it's different in RBC or not. Also, at CIBC you technically get 20,000/year (up to I think 120,000), but if you need more money before the year is up, you can usually negotiate to get the next 20,000 earlier. Again, I'm not sure if RBC is same or different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest glenn2006 Posted August 21, 2002 Report Share Posted August 21, 2002 Hey V, Thanks for the advice. I'm meeting with Bank of Montreal in Toronto. Oh, and in terms of the interest rate - OK, so accept nothing more than prime. Got it. But for the next four years, is the rate for my loan going to be fixed at the CURRENT prime rate (what <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> is<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> is current prime rate, BTW?), or is the rate for my loan going to be fixed <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> at PRIME<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> for the next four years - in the latter case, wouldn't the rate be variable anyways? Thanks so much for your help, guys. Much needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JSS02 Posted August 21, 2002 Report Share Posted August 21, 2002 Hey, I just contacted BMO in London today with the same question. Here was their reply: "when you make a withdrawel from the line whatever the prime is based at that day you are charged on. Should prime go up the next day that would be your interest. It is a floating rate however based on whatever prime is and does not change daily..primes last change was about 2 mos ago." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted August 21, 2002 Report Share Posted August 21, 2002 Hi glenn2006, Generally you lock your LOC in at a variable rate which is pegged to a standard rate. The standard rate used is prime. Therefore, you can negotiate to receive prime, prime plus one, etc., and your rate will vary according to the prime rate fluctuations. Therefore, if prime is currently sitting at 4.25%, and you successfully negotiate to receive prime, then your interest rate will be 4.25% until that prime rate moves up or down. When it does move, your rate will move with it accordingly. Also, when negotiating a package, once you've gotten the larger issues hammered out, i.e., the line of credit maximum loan amount and the interest rate, don't forget to negotiate for wee extras. For example, you can snag some nice VIP packages out there, a la Royal Bank's where they throw in a wallet of pretty gold credit cards (US and Cdn), transaction fee-free chequing and savings accounts, and other little bonuses. Remember, the banks want folk like you, you are a customer, and the customer is always right! Good luck, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted August 22, 2002 Report Share Posted August 22, 2002 Hey all, Unless I'm mistaken, prime is 4.75% right now- it jumped a quarter of a percentage point a few weeks back. Boourns. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ceds Posted August 22, 2002 Report Share Posted August 22, 2002 I think actually the prime rate is at 4.5% currently. I thought it was 4.75% as well but then when I checked it turns out it isn't. All the better for you guys though, that's 0.25% less than some of us had thought. By the way if anyone has any question about financing or credit don't hesitate to let me know, I'll give whatever insight I can offer. I've been working for TD Canada Trust for quite awhile now and am more than glad to answer any questions anyone has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest me maniac Posted November 4, 2002 Report Share Posted November 4, 2002 Under what circumstances would you require a co-signer? What kind of credit history do you need? I would appreciate any further info on this subject as I haven't had to deal with bank loans for a while. Thanks. Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ceds Posted November 4, 2002 Report Share Posted November 4, 2002 Whether you need a cosigner or not depends on the bank's criteria. For professional students, as long as your credit history is satisfactory most of the time you won't need one. Now what is satisfactory credit history? That's a more difficult question because it's very hard to describe. It's not as simple as good and bad. Some factors that determine whether your credit history is strong are a) how long you've had your credit products for, whether there were any late payments, c) whether anything got sent to collections, d) were there any judgements on your record (orders made by court), e) amounts owing on your credit products, f) whether or not you've been accused of fraud. As you can see there are a lot of things that come into play. What I would suggest is to go to www.equifax.ca, the credit bureau's webstie and you can request a report online. I would suggest getting the report with the "FICO" score because that's what most banks use to determine whether or not you qualify for credit. It has a cost to it though, something like $20. It breaks down your score and tells you how certain products or factors affect your credit history (and your score). Hope that helps, I know I went on and on... Cedrin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted November 4, 2002 Report Share Posted November 4, 2002 Uhh. . . this is a little embaressing to admit, but my credit rating sucks (stupid Columbia House & BMG orders when I was in High School. . . plus a few missed credit card payments.) And I didn't get asked for a cosigner. If I could get a LOC without a cosigner, then I don't think anyone else has to worry about it. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ceds Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 Columbia House really sucks you in eh? Thank the stars for MP3's.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 Floating back to the top. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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