Mortgage brokers help their clients find the best mortgage for them. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all product, since factors like not having pre-payment penalties, low up-front costs or and others could matter more than the official interest rate. What many don’t realize is that mortgage brokers aren’t all cut from the same mold, either. Here are a few tips on what to look for in a Grande Prairie mortgage broker.  

Loan Products for Your Particular Situation  

Mortgage brokers receive a fee for finding you a loan. They truly earn their fee when they either help you secure a loan when you otherwise couldn’t get one or save you money over the long term. The classic case is finding someone with bad credit a mortgage with a lender who offers a standard interest rate due to manual underwriting. Another case would be the mortgage broker who can find a lender willing to loan money for unconventional mortgages. Many mortgage lenders want a property that is easily sold if they have to foreclose. This means that they lend money for the cookie-cutter suburban house or condo, but they may not loan money for a cabin in the woods, the building with a business on the first floor, or the uber-eco-friendly home that relatively few would buy if it came up for sale.  

Sometimes the loan terms themselves cause people to have trouble finding a loan. If you want a loan that won’t penalize your for aggressively paying it down or cash out for repairing a property when you don’t have much equity, you may have to work with a mortgage broker to find the right mortgage for you.  

Discuss your long term financial goals with the mortgage broker so that they can recommend a loan that fits with your life. For example, if you value financial security, you may want a mortgage paid off before you retire. If you want to be able to prepay the loan, your broker should recommend a loan that doesn’t have prepayment penalties.  

The Specialist  

A mortgage broker who works for a bank isn’t a real mortgage broker – they’re a sales person for the bank’s loan department. In this regard, you want to work with mortgage broker who works with a variety of lenders. However, you should only work with mortgage brokers who are only mortgage brokers. Don’t work with a mortgage broker who doubles as a property inspector, real estate agent, home renovations, debt consolidation expert or some other role. These extra roles likely introduce conflicts of interest.  

Reputation  

Check out the reputation of the Grande Prairie mortgage broker. Are there legal actions against them? Do they have a positive record with the Better Business Bureau? Are they being referred to you by someone other than your real estate agent or the family member of someone who works there?  

Learn about how well they communicated with customers, the types of deals they helped people secure, their rates and terms compared to the general market, and their general level of customer service. Avoid anyone with a reputation for pressuring you to sign something you haven’t read or only give people one option.  

Contact Josh Tagg today to receive expert mortgage advice you can trust.