Have you ever been approached by someone presenting themselves as a mortgage broker? An individual offering to assist you in obtaining favorable financing for your home?
Did you ever wonder who they were how much you would need to pay for their services?
Let’s put your mind to ease.
Mortgage brokers are independent, trained professionals, licensed to provide you with the best advice for your mortgage needs. The education is offered both by the Real Estate Council of Alberta (“RECA”) which sets, regulates, and enforces standards for real estate professionals across the province, and by the Alberta Mortgage Brokers Association (“AMBA”), which assists its mortgage professionals in retaining the education, advocacy, information, and networking required in the real estate industry.
The key difference between utilizing an independent mortgage broker versus the big bank mortgage specialist is that the mortgage broker presents you and not the lender, and would not be bound to promoting the lender’s mortgage package only. Mortgage brokers try to ensure that you are provided with the best lender package to suit your specific situation, whether it’s a product coming from a Chartered Bank, Trust or Insurance Company, or Private Fund.
Also, since mortgage-based financing is the broker’s primary business, besides finding the best interest rates, they have developed expertise in what type of mortgage financing each lender prefers to pursue. This kind of knowledge not only results in the most favorable rates for each project but often whether a project is funded at all.
And not to worry about the cost! Mortgage brokers are compensated only when a deal is made, and are directly paid by the lender, not the consumer. So, feel free to speak to a mortgage broker today for as long as you like, as you just never know how they can save you money.
Steve Dimic
If you have any additional inquiries regarding any of the topics or if you have ideas for future topics, please feel free to email me at [email protected]