- What is a Mortgage Broker?
- What are the costs in obtaining a Mortgage?
- Why is getting Pre-Approved for a Mortgage so important?
- What is the difference between an insured and uninsured mortgage?
A mortgage broker is a licensed professional that will work with multiple lenders to find you a mortgage to suit your needs. They are not employed by any one lending institute which means they are working for you, not the branch.
They have access to numerous lenders and mortgage products. When you choose an Indi Mortgage broker you will have the power of our negotiating power behind you which means the best rates and terms will be made available to you. There is usually no fee to work with a mortgage broker (if you qualify under standard lending guidelines). We are paid by way of a commission paid by the lender. Should a fee be required this is disclosed and documented upfront.
Some of the costs associated with obtaining a mortgage are legal fees, appraisal, home inspection, and utility hook-ups. Contact us to discuss your personalized mortgage plan.
Getting a mortgage pre-approval is important for many reasons:
It’s important to know what purchase price you qualify for before you go shopping for a home. Allowing you to stay within both your budget and the amount of loan you will get approved for.
A pre-approval will provide you with the opportunity to review what you can comfortably afford; taking into account not only your mortgage payments, but the other costs of owning a home such as property taxes and utility bills. If you have not owned a home before, these amounts may be a bit surprising.
Your mortgage broker will help you take a look at the entire picture. Online calculators are great, and crunching the numbers on your own is a good start. Using an Indi Mortgage Broker will ensure you will qualify for a mortgage based on the lender’s criteria. If there are issues, it is better to discover them at the pre-approval stage so that you and your mortgage broker can work together on fixing those issues prior to your search for a home. If you are not able to qualify for a mortgage at this time, we can assist you in taking the steps necessary to qualify for a mortgage in the future.
Your mortgage is insured when you have less than 20% to put as a downpayment on your purchase. By law, lending institutions cannot lend more than 80% of the value of the home unless it is insured by CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation), Canada Guaranty or Genworth.
These insurers protect the lender against the default of a mortgage. The insurance is put in place, a premium is charged and this amount is added to your mortgage. A non-insured mortgage is when you have 20% or more to put as a downpayment. In most cases, there is no insurance premium charged. Occasionally, the lender may still need to have the mortgage insured through CMHC, Canada Guaranty or Genworth depending on the location of the property or type of property being purchased.