Hello everyone, it’s Aleem Peermohamed from the Mortgage Centre.
I’ve received several comments to my various email and blog posts. Thank you very much for your feedback and support. I am glad to hear of the value you guys are getting from these posts.
One recent email that I received was from a gentleman who was very blunt…which for those of you who have spent some time with me know I appreciate. He posed the very simple question “why would I use your services? What makes you different than my bank rep?”
I thought this would be a fabulous topic to discuss, why you should use a mortgage broker?
Well first and foremost, as an independent mortgage professional, I am available seven days a week. I’ve even made myself available late night, or in the wee hours in the morning when a client has required it.
Most offers are written in the evening between the hours of 6pm and 11pm, since most people are at work during the day. Your bank is only open during the day, and sometimes even closed on Saturday. It’s so much more convenient to call someone like myself when you’re in the middle of writing your offer, or have just completed writing it to get clarification on whether or not we can use the rental suite income in the basement, or find out the payment will be if the purchase price is 20,000 more than originally anticipated.
Your bank is not available, but we are.
In addition to the added convenience, because of the relationships that we have cultivated with the several lenders with whom we have relationships with, we are able to provide you with competitive rates. In fact, as licensed and regulated by the government, we are bound to a fiduciary duty to protect you, our client’s best interests. So regardless of how much money you’ve got, or how much money you earn, you are going to get the lowest rate that we can possibly get for you, there is no haggling to bring more business over or to open a credit card etc.
So far we’ve learned that by using an independent broker you get a greater level of service, competitive rates (with no haggling), what else do you ask?
Well, there’s a huge difference between an independent broker and the representative from TD or say RBC bank. They are not mortgage brokers. They are individuals that work for their respective organization, whether it be TD, RBC, Scotia, BMO etc, and they “sell” the products of their own institutions first. They are hired by the bank to push their products on you. They are not in a position, like we are, to provide you with that unbiased advice.
As brokers, we get paid virtually the same from every institution, so it really does not make much difference to us where we place your mortgage, from a financial perspective anyways. We will provide you with that unbiased advice, with your best interest in mind.
Just last month, I spoke with a TD client who went into his local branch to get a pre-approval for a purchase. It had been four days and he still had not heard back from her. Thankfully, his friend is an existing client of mine, and when they started talking about his frustrations, my phone rang. If you’re in that situation, you owe it to yourself to give me a call.
From the Mortgage Centre, I’m Aleem Peermohamed
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