FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

These days almost everything is done via the phone or on-line. It’s important to figure out why you feel the need to have your mortgage with institutions that have a street presence. We work with more than 40 lenders – all of them are solid and well known in the industry, although you may not have heard their names. Banks and credit unions tend to have branches, but the cost of operating these branches is rolled to you. We work with most of them as well as with lenders that give you full service online or by phone. Also, your mortgage is paid automatically, without needing to stand in the line for branch service.
“Skip a payment” is not included in all mortgages but can be frequently arranged when needed. It can be handy in emergencies. Just keep in mind that it’s not for free. You still have to pay the interest accrues in the meantime.
Usually, yes. But the most important thing would be to analyze your whole mortgage offer, estimate its cost and get you a much better offer. As you can see you cost is least influenced by the rate. Other key factors play a much significant role in making your mortgage unnecessarily expensive.
You have to ask yourself about your banker’s loyalty to you. You can avoid these mistakes – call me for a shopping training session.
No gifts come for free… Some lenders will charge you a higher rate when you take the “cash back” option. Most lenders will make you repay the entire amount if you choose to leave them midterm. If you choose to work with us, we can calculate how much premium you will actually pay to enjoy the cash back.
This is one of the most important features, as insurance premiums go up as you age. You are encouraged to choose insurance that’s not tied to one lender. Even when you change lenders, your original premium will be kept reflecting the mortgage amount.
With collateral charge the lender registers your mortgage for 100-125% of current property value. When your property rises in value you can borrow more without needing to refinance. However, you should be knowledgeable to the disadvantages: collateral mortgages make it more expensive to change lenders during the term (or even when term ends) and you cannot take a second mortgage. In case of missed payments the bank will have access to all your investment portfolio, both personal and business related, and will be able to take possession to repay the debt.
Your mortgage will come with numerous conditions; however, if you don’t fulfill all of the conditions by the date of subject removal, you could lose your deposit on a house. You’ll probably feel calmer and more secure when the bank calls you to tell you that you’ve been approved for a mortgage; now you have the financing you need for the house you want. After you get that approval, you’ll have to provide the bank with some documents, but everything is under control, right? Not really. Your approval is still conditional; unless every condition, no matter how tiny, is met, the bank can withdraw the offer. For example: the bank calls your employer and learns that, yes, your annual income, as you said, is $67,000. But, in talking to your employer, the bank learns 20% of your income is bonus. The bank can now withdraw the mortgage offer. We’ve unfortunately seen many clients go through this, with the bank calling them to withdraw their mortgage offers, often over small mistakes in the application, and often after the client has already made a deposit on a property. Please call us to learn what you need to demand your bank do.
With some lenders this is not an automated process. Your mortgage broker should monitor the market for you and request it.
We try to avoid securing pre-approvals as they often come with a rate premium. Also, pre-approvals usually guarantee close to nothing. We prefer securing a rate hold and have a pre-qualification process done. In our process, we make sure the underwriter who makes the decisions on your file reviews it first and gives you accurate feedback. If you received a pre-approval, check with your bank officer if your income has been checked with your employer; this will give you an insight about the validity of your pre-approval.