Need a Source? - Make smarter decisions this mortgage season

TORONTO, March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - With consumer debt levels at an all time high, buying a home in today's market can be even more overwhelming as hard working Canadians balance having a life and affording the home they want. As the spring housing market heats up, Canadians are wondering if now is the time to buy, renovate or stay put. Many find themselves confused and overwhelmed about their options.

Nicole Wells, Head of Retail Lending at ING DIRECT, is available to comment on what Canadians should be considering when it comes to taking on more debt; including:

• Potential property value drops and the impact on homeowners
• When it's a good time to borrow, how much should people borrow and what options are relevant
• The importance of balancing long term goals with affordability
• What Canadians need to know about getting a mortgage and how consumers can make it easier for themselves

ING DIRECT will be hosting a Twitter chat about mortgages on Wednesday, March 27^th from 12 - 1PM EST. Follow the conversation with @SuperStarSaver by using the hashtag #OrangeChat.

A recent ING DIRECT survey* revealed:

• Negotiating for a rate (59%), deciding on the right term and payment schedule (55%) and getting customer service help from the lender (35%) are among the most stressful aspects of obtaining a mortgage.
• Simplified language in mortgage contracts (41%) and the ability to obtain a mortgage from the comfort of their homes (16%) would make the process of obtaining a mortgage easier.
• 30% of Canadians would apply extra lump sum payments to their mortgage to pay it off faster, while 18% would increase or top up regular mortgage payments. Only 4% of Canadians say they would break their mortgage to get a new/better rate, in order to pay it off faster.**

About ING DIRECT

ING Bank of Canada, operating under the trade name of ING DIRECT, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Scotiabank.  ING DIRECT is Canada's leading direct bank with over 1.8 million Clients and close to $40 billion in total assets. ING DIRECT is a bright way forward in everyday banking for Canadians, offering value added, simple products such as high interest savings accounts, including TFSAs, GICs and RSPs with no fees or service charges, low rates on mortgages and a no-fee, daily chequing account that actually pays interest. Low cost, index based mutual funds are sold through ING DIRECT Funds Limited. ING DIRECT has been operating in Canada since 1997, and has paid more than $5 billion in interest to Clients. ING DIRECT is open for banking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at ingdirect.ca, on mobile devices at m.ingdirect.ca or by calling 1-800 ING DIRECT (1-800-464-3473).

ING Bank of Canada and its subsidiaries have been acquired by The Bank of Nova Scotia and are no longer affiliated with ING Groep N.V. The trademarks ING, ING DIRECT, ING Lion, the ING Lion logo and any derivation, variation, translation or adaptation thereof are trademarks of ING Groep N.V. and are used under license.

*On February 27, 2013, an online survey was conducted among a sample of 1,519 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panel members. The margin of error — which measures sampling variability — is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The sample was balanced by age, gender and region according to the most recent census data. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

**The ING International Survey on Housing was conducted in September 2012 and includes over 18,000 respondents from 18 countries (Poland, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Austria, Romania, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Turkey, Australia, Canada, China, India and Thailand). The survey, which polled 1000 Canadians, was commissioned by ING Group and researched by TNS NIPO.

SOURCE ING DIRECT