Are you looking for a mortgage?
Perhaps you’re in need of professional advice from a mortgage broker?
Whether you’re a first-time buyer or you own several properties, you’ve come to the right website.
In this piece, we will examine some expert mortgage tips provided to us by a team of highly experienced mortgage brokers.
If you’re situated in Winnipeg and require the services of a mortgage broker, then we suggest checking out: http://sandihuynen.com
Mortgage Tips & Advice from Mortgage Brokers
Don’t just focus on the rate: It can be very easy to become obsessed with the (lowest) rate when hunting for a mortgage. Doing so is entirely natural (so don’t worry if you find yourself doing this!), but it is essential to focus on other aspects of potential mortgage offers - not just what rate you’ll receive. The key piece of advice is to find the best mortgage for you, rather than having tunnel vision for the lowest rate. While the mortgage offer with the lowest rate might be your best option, there are other factors that must be considered prior to making a final decision. These include, but are not limited to penalties, prepayment and portability.
Pre-payments vary wildly: If your primary aim is to pay off your mortgage as fast as you can then you’ll probably be best off opting for a mortgage that offers rewarding and generous prepayment privileges (prepayments are additional payments you’re allowed to make in addition to your regular payments without being a charged any extra fees). What type of prepayment agreement you receive will depend entirely upon the lender, the terms they offer and your financial situation. Some lenders will allow you to pay up to 25% of your mortgage balance spread across the year, while others may only let you pay off 10% once per year. Choosing a mortgage with flexible prepayment terms is advisable if you think you’ll be paying more than your monthly payment(s).
Be aware of portability terms: If you think there’s a possibility that you may sell the property during the term of your mortgage, then you’d be wise to seek out a portable mortgage. But what does ‘portable’ mean? It simply means that you’re able to take your mortgage with you - without receiving any form of penalty - if you buy a new property.
Use a broker: While it is true that you can manage the whole mortgage process yourself, life will be much easier if you hire a mortgage broker to deal with everything for you. If you want to save yourself time and (potentially) money, then speaking to a professional mortgage broker would certainly be a worthwhile move.
Be aware of closing costs: One aspect of mortgage that we see many people forget about are the closing costs. These include, but are not limited to lawyer fees, land transfer tax, home inspections and things of that nature. Don’t make the mistake that many others have, i.e. believing that your bank or lender will cover these fees - (in the majority of cases) they won’t. Closing costs can vary depending on the value of the property and your mortgage terms, but we suggest putting aside three and a half to four percent.
If you follow these pieces of advice, then you should be in good stead to get yourself a great deal. However, there is far more to a mortgage than just the above, so we highly recommend speaking to a mortgage broker (if you’re in Winnipeg, see the link above).
Let us know what you think of the article, and please contact us if you have any questions!
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