@esenve 8 052396

rigage brokers injay

RECENTLY I heard
some good things
about mortgage bro-
kers so I thought I'd
bring myself up-to-date
on the subject.

Eamust adenic that my own
thoughts about this pro
sion were coloured by the
fact that the first mortgage
broker [ dealt with more than
20 years ago got inte some
Gnancial difficulties and w:
forced to relocate to a medi-
um-security correctional facil-
ity.

However things have
changed dramatically from
those wild and woolly carly
days of mortgage ¢ brokering.
The industry is now provin-

cially regulated and is guided
by the Canadian Institate of
Mortgage Brokers and
Lenders.

Furthermore, according to
Ashley Morgan-Dann and
John Ribalkin, two North
Shore-based mortgage bro-
kers who I talked to, their
industry is handling a larger
and larger portion of the
mortgage business every year.

So what exactly do mort-
gage brokers do? Well
according to Morgan-Dann,
basically they shop around tor
_ you. You give che mortgage
broker the necessary informa-
tion, including your lending
requirements and your earn-
ing capacity, and she can
access dozens of lenders to
geet the best interest rate and
type of mortgage for you.

Bur why use a mortgage
broker when most people can
get a mortgage directiy from
a bank? Well one reason is to
save time and trouble.
Usually one meeting, or even
just a call to a Mortgage bro-
ker, is all that is needed.
Once the broker has the per-
tinent information, he will
search around to find the
best mortgage deal and then
put you in touch with the
iender. On the other hand, if

i economics

you are arranging your own
financing, you may have to
get involved in a time con-
suming process of negotiating
with several lenders in order
to get the hest rate and

terms,

A second reason to use a
mortgage broker is to take
advantage of the contacts and
expertise they offer in order
co get the best mortgage
deal. True, many of you cai
do your own negotiating
with the lenders and you may
be able to get the best possi-
ble deal. However some of us
aren’t particularly good at the
negotiating game or simply
don’t like doing it.
Furthermore, mortgage bro-
kers have access to certain
lenders that the general pub-
lic does not and these lenders
often have unique products
and/or lower rates that may
benefit you. So it’s quite like-
ly chac you can get a better
mortgage deal by going
through a good broker.

There are also a couple of
other advantages to using a
mortgage broker.

One is that you know the
mortgage broker is working
for you, whereas when you
are dealing with a bank or
trust company the situation is
not so clear — the people
that serve you there are
employed by the lender. It is
the opinion of David Walsoff,
a local Jawyer who does a lor
of real estate work on the
North Shore, that a borrower
will usually get more objec-
tive, complete advice frora a
mortgage broker than from a
bank.

NEWS photos Brad Ledwidge

B
emaeeoecouoe

A second advant

using a miartgage bral
revolves around the w
it ratings are handled.
According to Rebafkin and
Morgan- Dann, each of our
credit ratings is based ona
statistic known as a Beacon

ore that is calculated and

pe by the Credit: Burcau of

Acouver. Apparently, your
Beacon Score goes down
each time a credit check is

sample if
ed to four different
a mortgage, your
Beacon Score would be
downgraded four times.
Hoy er ifa mortgage bro-
applying to a number
of lenders on your behalf, he
only does one credit check
and therefore your Beacon
Score is only impacted once.

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Friday, September 3, 1999 -- North Shore News — 43

eoeevnetacees

@aceaneovereseaee

save time ant Inoney

This may not be a significant
tor for those with strony
credit ravings bur for others it

could be.

A related point is that you
generally have more confi-
dentiality when dealing
through a mortgage broker.
‘The reason for is that

ne with access to the

it checking system can
find out who has done a
credit check on you. So for
example if you applied to a
bank, a credit union and a
trust company and they all
ran credit checks on you,
cach of those lenders could
find out that you had applied
to the other two. However, if
you went through a mort-
gage broker and she applied
to the same three lenders on
your behalf, c Idn’t

know that. In eather we
the mortgage broke
the one cre:

So how much extra is it
going to cost you to go toa
mortgage broker? Most likely
it isn’t going to cost 4
thing because in most case:
the broker is compensated by
the lender that he lines you
up with. If your loan is par-
ticularly difficult to arrange
or if it is a second mortgage,
then the broker will probably
be charging you a fee, but
you can ask him about this
up tront.

In discussing all these
advantages of using a mort-
gage broker. a word of cau-
tion is in order. Whether you

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‘ what. this

house sprin

are ticaling with lawyers,
home inspectors, contractors
and yes, event realtors, there
are a small minority who are
incompetent and/or unethi-
cal, Mortgage brokers are no
exception. So if you are
going to use a mortgage bro-
ker, try and find one who is
recommended to you or who
has been around a fong time
and who seems to be some-
one that you can trust

are careful and use

common sense you shouldn't
have a problem.

— Trent Appelbe is an ccon-
omist and a real estate agent
with Re/Max Crest Realty, He
can be reached at 988-4797 or
by e-mail via bis Web site at
< www homes-vancauver.com>.

; its :
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