Top Five Things to Look for When Hiring a Mortgage Broker
Mortgage brokers are independently trained professionals licensed to represent and provide you with the best advice for all your mortgage needs. A mortgage broker’s primary expertise is locating funding for mortgage financing. They know where the best rates can be found, and have the knowledge required to present a proposal for financing to lenders in the best way possible to successfully obtain mortgage financing.
You need their services to understand how much debt you can manage, and to explore both traditional and innovative mortgage options. With access to multiple mortgage lenders, a mortgage broker will help you find the best rates and best products to help you buy your dream home. Whether you're a first-time buyer, refinancing, looking for a new home, or concerned about your credit, a mortgage professional can help you find the right product for your needs.
To help you select the right broker, here is a list of the top five things to look for when hiring a mortgage professional.
1. Recommendations
Often prospective home buyers turn to their banks for their mortgage needs. However, an experienced mortgage broker can be the difference between a good mortgage deal and a great mortgage deal that can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. Get recommendations from others. Start your search for a mortgage broker by getting recommendations from friends, real estate agents, colleagues, and other homeowners. Not all recommendations may be the right “fit” for you. However, it is always a good starting point if you don't know where to start.
2. Knowledge
Knowledge and a clear understanding of the continuous changing mortgage rules is a must for any agent. A successful broker works hard to create a niche while functioning in a highly competitive environment. One way to do that is by staying current with constantly changing rules and guidelines. This aspect is especially true in today’s times with the recent government changes, highlighting an even greater need for mortgage professionals. A sign of a good broker is the number of options they give you. Look for brokers who ask you a lot of questions. Finding a broker who asks questions about your financial history and goals is imperative as brokers will be carrying out business between you and your lender. The more a broker knows about you and the current financing environment, the more appropriate rates and service they can provide.
3. Trustworthy
Look for a broker you can trust! Mortgage brokers are your access point to your lender, so be sure the broker you choose is one that you can trust to provide you with service and support throughout the entire process. This broker that helps you with your current situation will also be around to help you in the future so you want to choose someone that will be in it for you for the long haul.
4. Proactive to get a pre-approval
It is important to find a broker who helps with a pre-approval if you want to ensure that you are shopping in the right price range when you go and shop for a home. This guarantees that there will not be any issues with the application once a contract to purchase is signed. Many lenders and some brokers will not go through the proper pre-approval process. So how does the application process work for a pre-approval? To properly generate a pre-approval the broker must have all the information in front of them. To do a pre-approval without pulling your credit bureau report or without seeing an employment letter with paystub is not in your best interest. There are many rules that go along with income verification. Therefore, brokers need to ensure that the income updated on paper includes overtime, commissions and also other information like being with the same employer for over two years to use the overtime or bonuses/commission. With the credit bureau, they need to ensure that they are using all of the liabilities as they report on the bureau, therefore, no-one can properly provide a pre-approval without doing this. Without the current documents being collected upfront, there is a risk of a surprise once an offer is made on a home. Hence a pre-approval is a must!
5. Far-sighted
Even if you are just beginning to think about buying or refinancing a home; hiring a far-sighted broker who looks out for your future goals is always beneficial. They help you learn how you can set yourself up for success when the time comes. If you are looking for someone to help you with credit repair, a mortgage broker is for sure the right choice! You want someone who is going to not only deal with you for a purchase but also someone who is there to offer advice and a plan of action. You might not be their active client “right now” but you can look for someone who has your future in mind. A qualified broker who give you some steps to work on to build up your credit score or provide advice on how to deal with past delinquencies. Their apt guidance will help you understand your credit report, improve your credit score, choose the right loan, and ensure that you have enough money left over for other life goals.
If you are looking for a mortgage broker who has the above qualities, offers competitive rates, great service, strong support from start to finish as well as provides mortgage solutions across St Albert, Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Fort Saskatchewan, Morinville and the surrounding areas, get in touch with Karen Pacheco at Mortgage Architects.
Whether it is a trade up home, first time purchasing, real estate investing, vacation property or debt consolidation, we can help our clients with their financial goals. To learn more about the services I provide, please click here, or contact me by clicking here.