Mortgage for Change Blog

"Lack of awareness is major obstacle for the mortgage broker channel." This is how the last CAAMP homeowner survey results begin. (Consumer and Industry Perceptions).

Of 2,000 responses, just 5% of Canadians said they have a good understanding of what a mortgage broker does!

To nail this point home, I recently read a finance article published in a Toronto newspaper. The author wrote an entire article about the importance of going the trials and tribulations of personally shopping the banks for a good mortgage. She believes her time was best served and she got the best mortgage by personally visiting BANKS for rates. It seems she didn’t even consider speaking with a mortgage broker.

My take away? It seems that mortgage brokers need to take more responsibility for sharing what we do.

Just yesterday, I attended a professional development session hosted by FICOM. We were told that currently in Canada approximately 33% of first time buyers are using a Mortgage Broker to arrange their financing. Hmm... seems the younger crowd perhaps are more mortgage savvy than their parents?

So, if you are in the know, please tell a friend;

• Working with an Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP) saves you time, hassle and usually lots of money.
• A broker shops the banks and lenders to find the best mortgage for you. Banks and lenders offer us their 'best rates' because - if they don't - their competitors will get all the broker mortgage business. (And that's a lot of business!)
• For a person with an average credit rating, it costs nothing to use a mortgage broker. Banks and lenders pay a fee to brokers for bringing them new clients.