Learning about Mortgage Brokers

Karen Canning, AMP - Abbotsford BC
Mortgage Broker, Regional Manager

What is a Mortgage Broker?

Mortgage Brokers are independent, trained professionals licensed to represent and provide you with the best advice for your mortgage needs.

Mortgage Brokers primary expertise is locating funding for mortgage financing. They know where the best rates can be found. What's more, they have the knowledge required to present a proposal for financing to lenders in the best way possible to successfully obtain mortgage financing.

Why deal with a Mortgage Broker?

Mortgage Brokers represent you, the customer, not the lender. Because they are not employees of a lending institution, Brokers are not limited in the product they can offer you. Brokers seek out the best lender package to suit your specific situation, whether it's with a Chartered Bank, Trust or Insurance Company, or Private Funds.

There is a wide assortment of options and features available to homebuyers today. Shopping around takes a lot of time and effort. The mortgage process within today's very competitive marketplace intimidates many Canadian homebuyers. It pays to work with a mortgage professional who will represent you and ensure the mortgage you get is the one best suited to your needs.

Choosing the wrong mortgage can cost you thousands of extra dollars. Mortgage Brokers are trained professionals who can help you save on your mortgage dollar.

Other than rates, why should I use a Mortgage Broker?

In addition to rates, because mortgage-based financing is the broker's primary business, he or she has developed expertise in what type of mortgage financing each lender prefers to pursue. This kind of knowledge not only results in the most favourable rates for each project, but often whether a project is funded at all.

How do Mortgage Brokers Find Superior Rates?

Interest rates are a concern to borrowers. Because of their daily contact with lenders, brokers know which project or home attracts a favorable interest rate from one institution, but a higher rate at another. Some institutions, in fact, will only accept mortgage submissions from mortgage brokers.

These rates, and preferences for types of mortgages, can change daily, depending on economic circumstances or based on the size of an institution's portfolio in a particular type of mortgage. Your Mortgage Broker keeps current and knows which lender to approach first. As a result, mortgage rates obtained by Brokers are among the best available at the time of placement.

Why should I go to a Mortgage Broker first?

A professional presentation to a lender on the first application will get the best response and save you valuable time and money. Secondary applications with previous credit bureau inquiries may be more costly.

Often the success of obtaining mortgage approval depends on the way a proposal is presented and to whom it is sent. Your Mortgage Broker is trained to present your mortgage proposal where and how it will get the most immediate, positive result.

You don't call an insurance company for insurance - you use an insurance broker, because of their expertise, product knowledge and rates. So remember, call your mortgage broker first!

Do Brokers only do Residential Mortgage?

Brokers can place all types of loans provided they are backed by mortgage collateral. All sizes of loans, from small loans backed by a residential property to commercial properties in the millions of dollars, are readily available. Mortgage-backed loans in the millions are not uncommon with private pension funds and private lenders.

In addition to handling straight mortgages, mortgage brokers are often called on to assemble financing ( based on mortgage collateral) for businesses. Mortgage brokers excel in this type of financing package because of their expertise in looking at loans from a mortgaging perspective, as well as their knowledge of financial institutions' interests and desires for a particular product at specific times.

How do Brokers get better deals than many Banks?

The lenders who work with mortgage brokers include traditional sources, such as chartered banks, trust companies, as well as corporate and private pension funds.

In addition to these sources, brokers often develop professional relationships with private sources of funds, termed private lenders. These lenders can provide many various mortgage products not available at conventional sources.

For best results call your Broker first.

Can I still go through my bank with my Broker?

Yes, letting a Mortgage Broker represent you to your own financial institution can often result in a better rate than you could get on your own.