20 Feb

14 KEY POINTS EVERY CUSTOMER SHOULD KNOW

General

Posted by: Jennifer Koop

Jennifer Koop, Mortgage Agent DLC Huntsville Getting the Banks Competing For Your Mortgage Business

1 – I shop the best rates and products from 90 different Banks, Credit Unions and Trust Companies including: TD Bank, Scotia, Tangerine, and many others.

2 – My services are free as the bank pays me a finder’s fee. The Industry is changing and banks now have to compete for business, so they value our referrals.  Keep in mind, they spend millions of dollars operating their many branches, plus internal staffing and layers of management, so they can afford to offer deep discounts for the business we bring to them.

3 – Isn’t it time the Banks compete for your mortgage business? You wouldn’t get just one opinion from one doctor if your physical condition were in question…why get just one opinion when your financial condition  is going through the most significant transaction of its life?

4 – Your bank very rarely gives you the best rates and products. Most homeowners renew their mortgage every four or five years automatically, so they rarely receive the best rates and programs.  Since Dominion Lending Centres sends lenders millions of dollars of new business each month, they always offer us the deepest discounts which I pass that on to you – whether you are purchasing, refinancing or renewing.

5 – Our application process is simple and quick. I’ll just take a little info and send it electronically to the lenders that I feel are the best fit for your situation; I should have some feedback later that day or the next!

6 – One of my best benefits is I’m available on your terms! Isn’t it frustrating when a bank takes several days to get back to you, and then you have to make your way through their endless voice mail boxes?

7 –  I take one credit bureau only and forward it to all the lenders!
Many people inadvertently disqualify themselves from getting the best rate when they are shopping for a mortgage. When multiple banks pull a credit bureau, your Beacon score drops every time, sometimes eliminating the chance for the best mortgage or a mortgage at all!

8 – There’s a mortgage product available for almost everyone now. When a person’s situation isn’t ideal, there’s usually a story about why; maybe they changed jobs, maybe they went through a divorce or another life-altering event and their credit was affected.  It is my job to tell your story to the lender that will qualify you.

9 – I appreciate your business. I sincerely appreciate your business and want to do a good job for you because I want all your family and friends business in the future!  (Has any bank employee ever told you that?)

10 – I am a certified Expert.  Most bank employees are not certified and only know about their own bank’s products and do not know and cannot advise you to go to another lender where you can get qualified. You wouldn’t go to your G.P. if you needed a specialist. Deal with a mortgage expert specializing in mortgages from all lenders.

11 – I work for you, not the banks. I don’t get paid unless I fund your  mortgage with a lender that is giving you the product you need and I have no interest in getting the lender more interest on your mortgage, as the higher the interest, the lower the amount I can qualify you for; clearly I work in your best interests, not the lender’s.

12 – Rate Protection. If the rates drop before you close you automatically get the lower rate and if rates go up you have the lower rate locked in. The last time you got pre-approved for a mortgage at a bank, did you get a commitment letter? Did they offer you a rate protection like the one I can secure for you?

13 – Commitment Letter Every-time. I provide a commitment letter every time so you can relax and be confident your mortgage financing is in place!

14 – A mortgage broker is no longer the “lender of last resort”! Actually we are becoming the first choice of the educated borrower.

For more information on how you can get the best mortgage for your specific needs, call or email:

Jennifer Koop,
Mortgage Agent
Dominion Lending Centres

Tel: 705-349-0502 | Jennifer@cottagecountrymortgage.ca | www.cottagecountrymortgage.ca

14 Feb

WHAT’S AN ACCEPTABLE DOWN PAYMENT FOR A HOUSE?

Mortgage Tips

Posted by: Jennifer Koop

WHAT’S AN ACCEPTABLE DOWN PAYMENT FOR A HOUSE?

Ask people this question and you will get a variety of answers.  Most home owners will say 10% is what you should put down. However, if you speak with your grandparents, they are likely to suggest that 20% is what you need for a down payment.

The truth is 5% is the minimum down payment that you can make on a home in Canada. If you are planning on buying a $200,000 home then you need $10,000.

It all can be explained by the creation of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing corporation (CMHC) by the Canadian government on January 1st, 1946. Before this time, you needed to have 20% down payment to purchase a home . This made home ownership difficult for many Canadians. CMHC  was created to ease home ownership. This was done by offering mortgage default insurance. Basically what CMHC does is it guarantees that you will not default on your mortgage payments. If you do, they will reimburse the lender who gave you the mortgage up to 100% of what the homeowner borrowed. In return lenders allow you to purchase a home with a smaller down payment and a lower interest rate.

CMHC charges an insurance premium for this service to cover any losses that may occur from defaulted mortgages. This program was so successful that CMHC lowered the minimum down payment to 5% in the 1980’s.

However, if you have little credit history or some late payments in the past they may ask you to provide 10% instead of the tradition 5% if they feel there is a risk that you may default at some time.

You should also be aware that the more money you put down, the lower your monthly mortgage payments will be. You also can save thousands in mortgage default insurance premiums by putting 20% down.  At this time,  home buyers who put 5% down have to pay a fee of 4% to CMHC or one of the other mortgage default insurers to obtain home financing. On a $400,000 home this is close to $16,000.

If you can provide a 10% down payment the insurance premium falls to 3.10% and if you can provide 20% it drops to zero.  While 20% can seem like an impossible amount to save, you can use a combination of savings, a gift from family and/or a portion of your RRSP savings to achieve this figure. The best recommendation that I can make is to speak with your Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional to discuss your options and where to start on your home buying adventure.

Thank you David Cooke, Dominion Lending Centres, for writing this article.