Читать книгу Complete Home Buyer's Guide For Canada - Geraldine Santiago - Страница 30

Shopping in several places for the best mortgage loan can be a waste of time. A good place to start when buying a home is to consult a mortgage broker, who can shop a variety of institutions on your behalf. Mortgage brokers are independent and not affiliated with any specific lending institutions. Their role is to find a lender with the terms and rates that will best suit you.

Sometimes a mortgage broker will charge you a fee for its services. This charge is more likely if you have a poor credit history and will probably be a small percentage of the value of the mortgage, for example, 1 percent to 2 percent. But in most instances, the broker’s fees are paid for by the lender.

Mortgage brokers can guarantee an interest rate for a client during the time you are shopping for a home. This guarantee protects you if interest rates rise because as they rise, the amount of mortgage financing a borrower qualifies for declines. This reduction may either cause you to lose your dream home or result in a larger down payment being required from you. The length of time a mortgage broker will guarantee an interest rate varies from lender to lender. Usually the period is from 60 to 120 days.

A mortgage broker can pre-qualify clients by completing a mortgage application and gathering the necessary documentation. A mortgage pre-approval is issued once the lender has reviewed and verified the financial information you have submitted on your mortgage application. The lender assesses your income, expenses, and credit history, and it verifies the down payment amount. From that information, it is able to determine the amount for which you would qualify. The benefit of having a pre-approval is that you can shop confidently for a home in your price range and avoid last-minute complications or problems.

When buying property, it is in your best interest to know about all of the financing options available to you. A mortgage specialist’s focus is on the lending options available, but the decision is yours. Mortgage specialists work with Canada’s leading financial institutions, and it is usually the lender who pays the fees, not the client. But always check first.

Lenders have varying loan policies within their institution, and they offer a myriad of products in addition to mortgages. A mortgage specialist’s sole focus, however, is on getting your loan approved, and it will therefore find the financial program that best suits your individual needs.

After seeing a mortgage specialist or banker, you should be able to determine what kind of home you can afford. This will allow the realtor to know which homes you will be pre-qualified for. Most often, realtors will ask to see a letter of commitment from the bank.