Professional Mortgage Broker
Basement suites, or secondary suites, are a great way to help manage the costs associated with home ownership. They can also help you qualify for your mortgage. There are some key points that should be noted if you are looking at homes with basement suites. From a lending perspective, in order for a bank to … Read more…
Co-signer or Guarantor? What is the difference? How can they help? Here is our FAQ on the subject. So, you would like to purchase a home, but you find yourself in a situation where you don’t quite qualify on your own. Perhaps you are: self-employed; or in a new line of work; or a new … Read more…
What is a monoline lender? A monoline lender is a lender that sources funds for mortgage financing from a range of different investors. These investors can sometimes be, but are not limited to: banks, credit unions, pension funds, insurance companies, large corporations, and investment firms. When you obtain a mortgage, the lender is providing money … Read more…
The Collateral Charge is something that you may see in your mortgage approval that gives you an option to register your mortgage at the Land Title Office for more than what is being funded as your current mortgage amount. Most of the larger banks now offer this service under different names, for example: Scotiabank refers … Read more…
The news of Canada and the US striking a NAFTA deal caused the Government of Canada 5 Year Benchmark Bond Yield to jump 9 basis points from 2.33 on September 28th to 2.42 on October 1st. With the Bank of Canada expected to raise the prime rate on October 24th, the current interest rate environment … Read more…
In our previous blog post on the Mortgage Approval Process, we touched on the Compliance part of the approval. Downpayment verification, in particular, can be the most cumbersome part of Compliance fulfillment. Before we go into detail about the document requirements, here is a little explanation as to why this process has evolved to where … Read more…
The mortgage approval process has 5 fundamental stages: the collection of information, submission to the lender, appraisal, document review, and file complete. Each stage forms a critical part of the process and can have an impact on whether or not your financing is approved. The Collection of Information During this stage, you have filled out … Read more…
Perhaps you have been referred to a mortgage broker by your realtor, or you are thinking of using a broker for the first time for a pre-approval, purchase, or refinance…this is what you need to know to understand how it works. Mortgage brokers have access to a variety of lenders in the broker channel. There … Read more…
With the many mortgage rule changes implemented over the last few years, financing has evolved resulting in lenders underwriting owner occupied and rental properties differently. The reason boils down to risk assessment. Lenders take the view that properties that are declared to be primary residence or second home, carry the least amount of risk in … Read more…
Should I go with a fixed rate or variable rate mortgage? This is a question you may be asking yourself if you are considering a purchase, a refinance, or if your existing mortgage is up for renewal. Everyone is different in terms of risk tolerance, assets and income. What is right for one person, may … Read more…