One Size Does Not Fit All, When It Comes To Your Mortgage
Imagine, if you will, that while making your next car purchase you walked on the car lot and find only two cars to pick from.
Or better yet when you did an online search only one website was available and again two cars would be up for sale.
With today’s modern technology at your fingertips via a smartphone, tablet or desktop, such a thought would never be deemed acceptable. Canadians would be rioting the streets or taking the story to their local news station.
Yet when a homeowner is in the market for a mortgage, a vast number are trusting the few options their particular bank is offering.
If your financial situation doesn’t suit or fit option A or option B, what is the consumer to do? How about if what your bank is offering is not the best option, what are you to do?
Making the right choice
You can type “mortgages” in your online search engine and be overwhelmed by the endless search page results of mortgage providers. Among the listings, some are boasting low-interest rates or cash back type incentives to lure you in and get you to hover your mouse over their website hyperlink and press click!
Quite frankly, both scenarios are about as scary or intimidating as a stranger dressed in a clown costume knocking on your door.
And if taking mortgage night classes at the local college for the next year, followed up by refresher courses when you’ve completed those courses because of the ever-changing mortgage rules and guidelines is not in your near future; then the next easiest and logical solution would be to hire the services of a licensed mortgage agent.
Access to dozens mortgage lenders and options
When you turn to an accredited mortgage professional they have access to dozens of mortgage lenders and can pair you up with the best lenders to suit your particular financial situation.
Of course, like any financial endeavor, the better your credit the more options that will be open to you but regardless of credit score, there are a number of situations that can affect your decision as well. Maybe you plan to upgrade your home in a few years, or maybe you want to pay off the mortgage quicker and without penalty.
Again sitting at the desk of a mortgage agent is like visiting up to 40 lenders in one visit.
You have many options
So, why are so many people still entrusting their bank to be their one and only option when shopping for a mortgage?
Perhaps they look at the bold stone and glass facades of their bank branch and take a certain trust in the investment that is instilled to their subconscious. Maybe it’s the hundreds of millions of dollars spent to sell their brands. Or maybe, it’s just consumers believing in the motto that investing in one institution for all their financial needs…saving accounts, investments, mortgage and even insurance to their portfolio menu.
We are not living in an era that your parents or grandparents grew up in where the only options they had were within minutes up the street. The question that has to be asked, can one institution have the expertise and discipline to be proficient in all facets at once? The analogy of too many pots on the stove comes to mind. Is it in their best interest to compete for your business and risk losing their profit margins?
Making lenders work to earn your business
When you use the services of an accredited mortgage professional, you make lenders work to earn your business. When mortgage lenders and banks are forced to step up their game, the individual consumer stands to save thousands on their next mortgage. The status quo of the bank was something acceptable in the seventies and eighties, but in this modern era, the consumer has the option to be in the driver’s seat and take control of the wheel.
It is a little-known fact that some mortgage agents not only offer the packages offered by mortgage only lenders but also the packages offered by those same banks. They can sometimes offer better interest rates and terms that are not advertised or offered at their branches or online because of the agent’s volume lending.
When it comes to securing your hard earned money, banks and credit unions are always your best option for keeping your investment safe, secured and insured. It beats storing cash under your mattress or in the freezer.
A personalized and tailored solution
An accredited mortgage agent can tailor the mortgage to suit your financial needs and it is of great value to research this option on your next mortgage whether you are a first time home buyer or just refinancing and/or renewing.
In the end, looking for your best mortgage package can not only ease your monthly budget but eventually afford you future financial freedoms and flexibility.
In future articles, we will discuss the benefits and disadvantages of specific mortgage options. In the meantime, if you have a mortgage or home financing question, contact us, we are happy to see how we can help.
