Home n Work Mortgages partners with Smart Equity software

| Wednesday, 3 June 2009

A new mortgage software program called Smart Equity has been launched exclusively in Canada with the broker firm Home n Work Mortgages.

The program is described by Home n Work president Greg Stanley as a "GPS system" for finances. It prompts clients to pay down their mortgages faster with a "reverse interest cancellation" strategy that involves borrowing money from a HELOC to make monthly payments and reduce the principle.

"In this economy, the best advice to give to clients is to pay down debt faster," said Stanley, who is also a certified financial planner, adding the software is only suitable for those with good credit and who spend less than they make each month. He also noted the software could be used with a Smith Manoeuvre-type strategy.

Smart Equity requires a financial professional to set up clients with a line of credit and the software, which sells for just under $1,000. Stanley said his company is open to working with other mortgage brokers who want to use the program and is also exploring co-branding opportunities.

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Smart Equity Software	Arnold Molder \| 05/06/2009

How can I get in touch with Greg Stanley. Please provide me with his contact info.
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Greg Stanley	Matthew Hines \| 06/06/2009

Arnold, Contact me at matthewhines@homenwork.com and I will get you in touch with Greg.
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Greg Stanley	Matthew Hines \| 06/06/2009

Arnold, Contact me at matthewhines@homenwork.com and I will get you in touch with Greg.
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How to Reach Greg Stanley	greg stanley CFP AMP \| 22/06/2009

You can reach me at www.gregstanley.ca or via email gregstanley@homenwork.com. Please note a correction that Smart Equity costs less than $2000. $1195 plus GST for software and a max mortgage broker fee of $800 (or less). The true cost is less than 2 cents for every $1 of interest cost saved! There is a LIVE online Web seminar on Thursday June 25th that discusses the program fully. Please write to obtain 'invite'.
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Money Merge name change??	Watson \| 26/08/2009

Is this just the MMA software rebranded? Is this U1st Financial?
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Prepayment is saving you more money	Dmitri Ivanov \| 28/08/2009

The direct mortgage prepayment saves clients more money over the term of the mortgage.
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direct repayment doesn't come close to smart equity	greg \| 01/09/2009

direct repayment requires 'more' money to be make a repayment. So your monthly payments must increase! Smart equity works with your current budget and pays down principle only (not pre-paid interest like a direct repayment).
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Smart Equity is not U First Financial	greg \| 01/09/2009

U First has no mortgage licensed professionals giving advice on each U First placement. Smart Equity is only placed by licensed Canadian mortgage professionals. The cost by using Home n Work Mortgages vs U First is less than 50% the cost of U First. Further, each client gets a details anaylsis (mortgage tune up)free of charge which uses the best mortgage products possible in Canada.
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From FAQ on Webpage.	Skeptical \| 14/09/2009

Q: Can I do this Program without the software? A: Yes you can, but without a roadmap you can end up anywhere. Imagine two people in a foreign country where they don’t speak English and they need to get to a certain part of the Country. One person doesn’t have a road map, the other person has a GPS guiding them every step of the way. One person may never reach their destination while the other will not only reach their destination but will do it in record time. Think about all the people that end up refinancing their home every 5-8 years and still never pay off their home. Using our system, they pay down their mortgage faster without changing their spending habits. It is all about using a focused approach with supervision! The mortgage consultant will set you up, and even work with your financial advisor, to ensure that you are successful.
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Smart Equity works for people who can free up extra money anyways.	Dmitri Ivanov \| 19/10/2009

You will need to repay HELOC payments and that will require extra funds. I have an award in mortgage and financial mathematics and I have done an analysis of this program. Client was saving more by making direct pre-payments. Also throw in a price of this system. This program is good for discipline, that’s about all. This program started in Australia. visit: www.home-mortgage-advice.com
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Is this a good system to sell to my clients	Patrica Butchart \| 04/11/2009

Hi Dmitri Just looking around at ways to help my clients and have been told that I can sell this system to clients to help them pay off their mortgages and debt - is this good or can they pay it without buying the system. Why not just do a home owner's line of credit and dump everything into and pay everything out of it. They talk about a road map - what are your comments. Thanks Pat Realy want to be helping my clients not having them upset because they could have done it without paying for the software e-mail patcandoit@yahoo.com
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Did I get it right? over $2000 for some software???	Sergey \| 07/11/2009

Someone want's to get rich quick. That's how it sounds. Want to pay it faster, do this: increase your monthly payments to the limit, pay at the year end if you have money instead of wasting them on RRSP (that fund has beed spent by government on Afgan invasion already so baby boomers will be short paid) and stop your stupid shopping habits. Yes, that includes your plans to buy an over $2000 financial planning software.
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SmartEquity sounds like someone wants to get rich quick	A Smart Equity Coach \| 18/11/2009

Absolutely! The 'someone' that is guaranteed to get rich quick(er) through eliminating debt is the client. And the financial advisor who recommends this system to their clients enjoy spin offs too. Take a financial planner for example: The system prompts client to not only retain at least the current amount he sets aside for investing, but to also increase that amount by the equivalent of the mortgage/debt payments that now become unnecessary on average 10-15 years sooner. A win/win for both the advisor and client. The mortgage consultant relies on client referrals to review/place their friends mortgages (and SmartEquity) - versus renewals [which dwindle as a direct result of SmartEquity].And yes lastly, after marketing, software development, and operating costs, there is a profit that generates a reasonable ROI for the software developer. List price is $1,595. Includes software, initial consultation with a mortgage agent to assess existing mortgage and debt situation,customer care assisting in set up of client on system, and easy access to customer support as needed. If you want to learn more about how SmartEquity can help make you and/or your clients rich quicker please contact me at www.buildequitytoday.com
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Extra payment vs. Smart Equity	Mark \| 20/11/2009

I see some of the comments have a very simplistic and don’t reflect reality. For example I see a comment that say’s you will need to repay HELOC payments and that will require extra funds and clients was saving more by making direct pre-payments. That sounds good in theory just like if you want to lose weight stop eating. It sounds good but it’s not practical and that’s why no one does it. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand that extra payments will shorten the length of your mortgage. We are dealing with human nature here and based on a survey conducted on thousands of mortgage holders where they were asked a number of questions for example: 1. How many people know that by making extra payments to your mortgage you can pay it off faster? Everyone could answer yes to the question. 2. How many people after receiving their income and paying all their bills use the money left over to apply to the principal of their mortgage? The answer to this question was less than one tenth of one percent. In other words much less than 1 out of 100 people do this. It’s easy to say but no one does it so it's a misleading statement. Smart Equity allows you to get results without have to change your current spending habit and directly use your discretionary income to apply to your mortgage. If we had two people trying to pay off their mortgage in the fastest time possible one trying it on their own and the other one using the Smart Equity system the one using the system would always outperform the one trying it on their own. The one using the system would be able to see the immediate affective of their financial decisions. It’s like two boats trying to cross an ocean, one has a GPS and the other is trying to do it on their own. There would be no competition. The one using the system would be able to outperform the other person by at least 10 times the cost of the program on average. The system pays for itself without the headache of trying to do it on your own and add to this the professional advice you would receive from Financial Advisers, Mortgage Professionals and Smart Equity Specialist. There's a lot more value to this program than just the software itself not to mention the ongoing upgrades at no additional cost.
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Still Skeptical's comment	Still Skeptical \| 25/11/2009

Mark, My assumption is that you are a mortgage broker. Could you not provide your clients with a spreadsheet that would do pretty much the same thing as part of your service? It comes down to discipline, some people have it and some don"t. $2K for some software will not give people anymore discipline than a well done spreadsheet. Just my 2 cents, not 2 hundred thousand cents.
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To Still Skeptical	Mark \| 25/11/2009

Hello Still Skeptical, You have a legitimate concern but the problem with giving people a spreadsheet is it’s not dynamic enough and easy enough for the average person to use and frankly to get a spreadsheet to perform in the same way as the software you would be paying more money than the software. I’m talking from experience seeing the actual results of people that had very little control of the finances that started using the program and turn things around. The ability to see the immediate effects of making a financial decision is not only very powerful but also educational. This kind of instant feedback actually starts to change people’s habits. The ability to project where you’ll be in 7 years to 10 years and a system that takes less than 5 minutes a month to track your progress will certainly work better than just hoping and praying. I've talk to people that started out with a 25 year mortgage over 35 years ago and they knew how to use a spreadsheet.They also understood the concept of making extra principal payments. What's wrong with that picture? If they had an opportunity to save well over 300,000.00 in interest payments and it cost them $1595,00 to do so wouldn't it of been worth it? You keep saying the software is $2,000.00 it’s 1595.00 at full retail. If you talk to the right person directly and save them in marketing cost you would probably pay even less. Just my 1 hundred thousand cents. LOL
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Still Skeptical's comment	Still Skeptical \| 26/11/2009

Hi Mark, I have to counter that there would be about the same learning curve for the software as there would be with a spreadsheet. "The ability to see the immediate effects of making a financial decision is not only very powerful but also educational." I agree 100% with this! The Canadian Mortgage Calculator at www.vertex42.com will give you instant feedback for any extra payments you make. Using this calculator (free) and making mortgage prepayments of difference between the monthly income and expenses (exactly what SmartEquity is doine) gives people the exact same results, to the penny. Did the people who make the video use this calcualtor? :) That is the education portion of things. I use the amount of $2000 because it was quoted earlier. Not to mention the $75 per year annual fee. Using the free calculator you will come out over $2200 ahead of the Smart Equity Software. I will not argue that the software does educate people and keep them on track, but the same could be done with the free spreadsheet and an hour of your time. We are going to be left with an agree to disagree conclusion to our discussion. Although I believe that this product is over priced for what is accomplishes I will concede that with the added advice of a mortgage professional and half the price it is a much better option than the UFirst product.
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Does this software work ??	Mr.Hmmm.... \| 05/12/2009

Anyone out there who is using this software to pay down their mortgage plz. let us know your result ? Effective or waste of money on the software ??
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Result?	Still Skeptical \| 10/12/2009

You are paying for something that you can do yourself without the software. Just make mortgage prepayments and save yourself the $1,500 - $2,000. The software encourages discipline that is it.
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Result?	Still Skeptiacal \| 10/12/2009

It is the same as going to the gym by yourself or hiring a personal trainer to motivate you. There is some benefit, but not worth the cost.
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Can't Spell Skeptical :)'s comment	Can't Spell Skeptical :) \| 18/12/2009

Enough said! http://www.consumeraction.org.au/downloads/DL59.pdf
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Ability to get Smart Equity below retail	Gregory B Stanley \| 07/02/2010

Just to let you know that 'Home n Work' mortgage agents (yes! I'm biased!), across Canada, discount the cost of Smart Equity when mortgage financing is done at the same time. It can be placed for just under $1000 when that occurs. Smart Equity, is a very comprehensive web based program, takes only 5 minutes a month to monitor, and actually 'tells you' when to pay down your mortgage from your line of credit. Idiot proof system - which is what you'd want to be truly successful! In the CMP magazine, November 2009 edition, I was quoted as saying that Smart Equity will revolutionize the way mortgage brokers give advice. I now see, insurance brokers, financial advisors and now accountants all wanting it for their own clients. If they think its right then everyone should at least 'take a look at it' and see for themselves. News is coming where there is also a national insurance company, whose VP, is also a CGA, received his own copy and tried to 'blow it up' unsuccessfully. After testing, he now wants it be offered - nationwide - EVERYTIME mortgage insurance is placed by his company. Why? Because it is good for the consumer and it is good for their industry. People paying off debts faster - without changing their current budget = better economy. Having thousands of households being focused on being "debt free' years before retirement is really exciting stuff! I can't tell you how many people I meet who are still paying mortgage payments in their 70's and 80's! With Smart Equity you will be debt free well before retirement. Average file saves 16 years of payments.
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Mortgage rate vs. HELOC rate	Mr.Hmmmmmmm \| 08/02/2010

I don't think your software would work for a client whose HELOC rate (i.e 3.25 percent) is greater than their mortgage rate ( i.e 3.00 percent on 5 yr. fixed) ?? Greg, plz. advise if this is correct . How much less (percentage wise) should a client's HELOC rate be from their mortgage rate in order for this software to effective ?? Also, these days growing families don't have alot of discretionary income left over each month after paying bills and daycare etc. How much discretionary income should a family have each month in order for this software to be effective ??
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HELOC vs. Mortgage Rate	Gregory B Stanley \| 09/02/2010

Keep in mind that the 'line of credit' size is a second mortgage. A regular 1st mortgage is used; variable or fixed. The line of credit is only approx $10,000 (ten thousand) in size. The HELOC rate could be current or 3X and higher for the current rate and work effectively. And a household only needs $100 per month as a minimum positive cashflow for the Smart Equity program to work. Smart Equity is NOT getting people to swap their current/proposed mortgage rate for a 'HELOC'. Only uses a LOC to manage funds/transfers; like a holding account. View tutorial (paste entire link below) http://smartequitysales.com/cgi-bin/d.cgi/smartequity/ret_land_03.html
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Smart Equity	Ms. \| 20/02/2010

The way I see it is that it works similar to the Manulife One product without having to change your mortgage. The LOC is used as a flow thru account. Your income goes into your LOC and pays it down each month. You use your LOC and Visa for your monthly expenses. The LOC pays the Visa. Whatever is left at the end of the month goes to a lumpsum on the mortgage. Then the whole process begins again. You don't need the software but it can help the average person stay on track. There are similar systems out there such as United First, Anagram, Speed Equity.
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Smart Equity	Ms. \| 20/02/2010

....if you don't want to spend the $1500 on the system you could break your current mortgage and get set up with the Manulife One mortgage. It is like a great big bank account/LOC secured by your house. Your money goes in the bank and pays down the mortgage. During the month you use your money and the balance goes up. As long as you spend less than you make, you'll pay the mortgage down a lot quicker and save $thousands. The trick is to know what you spend and don't overspend.
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Come on people... think!	jackie \| 09/03/2010

Read this and it will explain why the system is faulty http://www.consumeraction.org.au/downloads/DL59.pdf This goes against the lasw of economics : "you can't get something for nothing"
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