Buying her first house and getting her first mortgage was an overwhelming experience for Roslyn Judd.
She had signed a deal to buy a new house, she had put down her deposit, and she was pre-approved for a mortgage. Now she had to sign a final deal with her bank to lend her hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I had never applied for a mortgage before and I found that [to be] the most intimidating part of the home-buying process, so I was procrastinating," she says...
Independent mortgage brokers seem too good to be true. They save you thousands of dollars and days of research, and they don't cost you a cent. Instead they (usually) get a commission from the lender they match you up with.
They deal with a wide range of lenders to find not just the best mortgage rate, but the best overall mortgage-- the one that fits your particular financial and family situation. In BC, all mortgage brokers must be licensed by the Registrar of Mortgage Brokers and must spend time working under a licensed mortgage broker before they can hang out their own shingle.
Canada's banks have been on a hiring spree lately, employing mortgage brokers to sell their products. Independent mortgage brokers, facing such stiff competition, have had to concentrate on adding value to their services, beyond just the variety of lenders and mortgage products they can access.
This Globe and Mail article shows how -- and why -- to find an independent mortgage broker.
