Why Shopping For A Mortgage Product On Your Own Is A Bad Idea
With an abundance of mortgage-related information on the internet, it’s easy to believe that hiring a mortgage broker is unnecessary. After all, you can effortlessly look up the terms you don’t understand and research the best ways to shop for a mortgage online.
Unfortunately, successful mortgage shopping requires more than a list of lenders and a fixed set of questions to ask them. At the same time, as a first-time borrower, it may take you a great deal of time to review different lenders and their products before you can find the right one. Also, if you aren’t careful during your DIY mortgage shopping, you could wind up in an irreversible fix and suddenly become house poor!
To help you understand precisely where you could go wrong during DIY mortgage shopping, Karen Pacheco at Mortgage Architects has listed three reasons why shopping for a mortgage product on your own is a bad idea. Keep reading to learn all about them.
1. Locking in the wrong rate or product.
When choosing a mortgage, you need to consider your current financial situation and short or long term goals. Then you need to check different mortgages that meet your requirements efficiently. If you solely focus on interest rates, you could easily get placed into the wrong mortgage product. For instance, if you are planning to move within a short term, then a fixed product may not be right for you. While a fixed-term product may have a more desirable rate, it will also come with a larger penalty if you were to break the term at any time.
2. Encouraging multiple credit checks.
When shopping for a mortgage on your own, this could cause several applications to compare terms and see which lender can offer the highest loan amount and the best interest rate. What you may not realize is that by doing this, multiple inquiries are made regarding your credit. This can harm your credit score and force lenders to provide you unsatisfactory mortgage rates and terms. Having a broker do the shopping for you means one application and only one credit check.
3. Not asking the right questions.
You do not need a license to find a mortgage. You can meet lenders directly as a consumer and ask them questions and get quoted rates. The problem in doing this is that you might not know what questions to ask about each product or the “fine print” associated with each mortgage solution, which can be problematic.
Do things right - Hire a professional
To efficiently shop for a mortgage product by yourself, you’ll need to learn the basics of mortgages and research the different lenders in the industry. Unfortunately, many people struggle to make time for this vital step and ultimately settle for an unsuitable mortgage program. This is where I step in.
As your mortgage broker, I look at your short and long term goals then carry out the mortgage research for you. My access to multiple mortgage lenders enables me to go through different mortgage products and rates and find the most fitting one for your situation. Moreover, through my experience, I know what questions to ask lenders, and I go beyond banks and “A lenders” to get you the best mortgage options.
Through my brokerage, I have access to over fifty different lending institutions, and I need only one application from you. That means only one credit check against your name. Besides all these benefits, my services are free of cost!
As a professional mortgage broker in the Edmonton area, Karen Pacheco at Mortgage Architects brings you services unlike any other. I guide you throughout your mortgage journey, ensuring you have the advice you need when you need it. Through my years in sales, I have developed various strategies to tackle client problems and efficiently communicate with them. My experience in mortgages has enabled me to explore both traditional and innovative mortgage options. So, whether you need a mortgage for a trade-up home, a first-time home, an investment property, a vacation property, or debt consolidation, I am confident that I will find you the perfect solution!
To learn more about my mortgage services, please click here, or get in touch with me by clicking here.