Ryan Lockhart doesn’t need a get-away car or face mask to feel comfortable robbing his bank.
The Penticton man is coming up to the renewal process on his mortgage and after attending an information session held by Kelowna author Scott Peckford who wrote How to Rob Your Bank, has the tools he needs to perform the deed, legally.
“Everyone should read this book because it gives you tips on how to save money that no one has ever told you or no bank will tell you. Why wouldn’t you want to save money and not give it to the bank?” said Lockhart.
Peckford, who was in Penticton last week and returning on Tuesday for an information session, said the book is a game plan to help people turn the tables on their bank to keep more of their hard earned money. All of this without holding a Master in Economics or the negotiating skills of a used car salesman to get a great deal.
“After taxes, the largest percentage of most Canadians’ income goes into their bank’s coffers. When you add up your car loan, mortgage, insurance and credit card payments it amounts to a lot of money — your money,” he writes in his book. “But don’t despair — you have more power than you think. Remember, banks make their money from you. You have more control, and more room to negotiate than you realize, especially in today’s ultra-competitive environment.”
In How to Rob Your Bank and in the information sessions Peckford, who is the broker/owner of Mortgage Architects in Kelowna, explains how to reduce or avoid payout penalties, negotiate with your bank to save money, how to pay off a 35-year mortgage in as little as 16 years with zero risk along with other tips.
“Canadians are terrible negotiators. We are the type of people who pay whatever we are told. We are very polite and if someone says its five per cent or $500, we just pay it. There are other cultures that are a lot better at negotiating and I think Canadians as a group aren’t. Canadian banks make a lot of profits from us because we don’t know how to ask for a better deal. I educate consumers how to get the best possible deal,” said Peckford.
The author said his book is geared more for the 40-plus crowd, but he has also had a strong turnout as his information sessions from a younger demographic.
“Younger people, at least in my experience, tend to do a better job of researching things on the internet. The people that have been with their bank for 20 years make the false assumption that they have been there for 20 years and they are going to give me a deal, right? It doesn’t work that way. They will try and maximize their profit while they can and the new customer will get the deal and the existing customer pays the rest. It’s not unique to banks, big companies do this all the time,” said Peckford.
He said there are several ways people can minimize their costs by negotiating, restructuring their debt in a certain way and using every legal term within your mortgage contract.
“The banks don’t put on a course how to do this because they would lose a lot of money. In the perfect world, and it doesn’t happen right now, the bank would say here is our rates and fees here is our level of service. Do you want to do business? I think as consumers get more educated they are going to demand lenders to be straight with them,” said Peckford.
On March 22 at noon and at 7 p.m. Peckford will be at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre for a one-hour free information session. To register call 1-866-553-7526 or email sarah@crushfinancial.com. Guests that register will receive a free copy of How to Rob Your Bank.