e50 - What DOES a Mortgage Broker do??

[00:00:16] You've landed on the Mortgage Life Podcast, where we strive to bring you mortgage-related

[00:00:22] info that's easy to understand.

[00:00:25] We have conversations with market experts to bring you timely updates.

[00:00:30] Because there's one certainty in this industry, things change.

[00:00:35] I'm Mindy Bodewin.

[00:00:37] And I'm Pete Solomosy. Welcome to the Mortgage Life Podcast.

[00:00:49] Yeah, your audio sounds really good. Probably some of the best that I've heard.

[00:00:54] Got it.

[00:00:56] Actually, I listened to our last podcast, the one that we recorded in person side by side.

[00:01:00] And I don't know if it was because I was turning my head, but I just I kept going

[00:01:04] like that. And I'm like, ah, I made a mistake.

[00:01:09] It's interesting because that was our first time recording in person in quite some time

[00:01:14] or side by side because we used to do a cross.

[00:01:18] Yes.

[00:01:18] So that's the thing is you're talking and then you want to turn your head. But

[00:01:24] it's so true because you're like in a conversation, you're, you know,

[00:01:28] I know I was like, where do I look? Can you hear me?

[00:01:32] I didn't know where to look. And I was doing a lot of ums and ahs.

[00:01:36] I felt like I was like some sort of radio broadcaster or I don't know,

[00:01:41] but I noticed it and I'm like no more ums and ahs.

[00:01:44] No more ums and ahs.

[00:01:45] So what does a mortgage broker do, Pete?

[00:01:50] Mortgage brokers? Well, this is a really good question and a very timely question because

[00:01:56] we have a lot of people that are now starting to get back in the market.

[00:02:01] What the heck do we do? Well, in short, we are a place, I guess we're people, but we're an area

[00:02:10] where we put together lenders and mortgage borrowers and we access a ton of different lenders

[00:02:18] and we essentially use our skills to figure out what is the right fit.

[00:02:23] We help people with purchases, they're buying a property.

[00:02:26] We help people with redoing existing mortgages, that's a refinance.

[00:02:31] We can do switches or title transfers, anything to do with mortgages, we help with that.

[00:02:37] And of course the lines of credit, the secured line of credit,

[00:02:39] just want to pop that in there.

[00:02:40] It's good to say that we do all sorts of things.

[00:02:43] Mortgages encompass not only fixed rate mortgages but we also do variable rate

[00:02:47] or adjustable rate mortgages and those home equity lines of credit.

[00:02:51] We even do reverse mortgages for the right client.

[00:02:55] Yeah, and so people sometimes when I'm interviewing a client, they'll say,

[00:03:00] oh, I was chatting with a mortgage broker that worked at X bank.

[00:03:04] And I'm like, okay. So there's a difference, right?

[00:03:07] So there's a difference between an independent mortgage broker

[00:03:10] and somebody that is a bank employee, right?

[00:03:13] So first of all, just quickly as Canadian mortgage brokers,

[00:03:17] we are very heavily regulated, licensed, continuing education, all provincially.

[00:03:23] This is ongoing every two years.

[00:03:26] Now it seems like every few months, every time there's some sort of a shift or a change,

[00:03:30] we are educated, we are tested.

[00:03:33] We are legit.

[00:03:35] This is a legit professional enterprise that we're running here.

[00:03:39] And of course things are always changing so we have to keep learning.

[00:03:42] But if you look at the difference between like that,

[00:03:45] that sort of level of broad education in the whole marketplace versus say like a bank employee.

[00:03:53] So like a bank, whether a credit union or just a regular bank,

[00:03:57] their staff is basically trained in that bank's policies and procedures.

[00:04:02] And yeah, they're going to have a general understanding

[00:04:04] of a mortgage and the different rates that they offer.

[00:04:07] But they're not typically going to have that sort of broad spectrum on

[00:04:10] and how to assess a client's true needs or what would be a best fit for them.

[00:04:14] Because maybe that bank's product wouldn't be the best fit.

[00:04:18] But a bank's not going to tell you that, right?

[00:04:21] Well, absolutely.

[00:04:23] And having personally come from the banking side,

[00:04:26] I know what the mortgage courses look like on their side.

[00:04:30] And I can say without a shadow of a doubt,

[00:04:33] the mortgage courses that bank employees take are very basic.

[00:04:37] The mortgage course that we have to take,

[00:04:39] I would liken it to a university level course because it is,

[00:04:42] it's I mean, even if you just look at the book,

[00:04:44] it's about two inches thick.

[00:04:46] It has a lot of stuff in it.

[00:04:47] You have to attain a fairly high level to pass this course.

[00:04:52] And there, I think the exam was a three hour exam.

[00:04:54] So to me, it was very much like a university course.

[00:04:58] And for me, it was a university.

[00:05:01] I have a four year university degree that I took

[00:05:04] and was able to become a mortgage broker with that.

[00:05:07] So it's very in-depth, broad.

[00:05:11] I mean, there's legal components and yeah.

[00:05:13] And I think this is the part that I like,

[00:05:16] the part that makes me feel comfortable in my role

[00:05:18] is that I can confidently assure people that we've got this.

[00:05:23] We've got the education component.

[00:05:25] Well, absolutely.

[00:05:26] And I think even just as an addition to that,

[00:05:29] we do get a lot of questions from clients

[00:05:32] about things that pertain to the mortgage side,

[00:05:36] but maybe aren't necessarily related to a rate or a payment.

[00:05:39] Sometimes people ask questions about title.

[00:05:41] Sometimes people ask questions about how property transfer works.

[00:05:48] And there's a lot of these various bits and pieces.

[00:05:51] Oh, another one would be like a statement of adjustments

[00:05:53] that a lawyer might do when you're closing a property.

[00:05:56] So those are a lot of the things that we have to go through

[00:05:59] during our training to figure out how to deal with yourselves as clients

[00:06:04] and how to properly navigate that whole process

[00:06:07] so we can make it easy for you.

[00:06:09] Yeah, exactly.

[00:06:10] So just outside of banks and credit unions,

[00:06:14] there's another recent new thing that's happening in the marketplace

[00:06:19] is an online aspect.

[00:06:22] So there's various online areas where you could just go in, sign up,

[00:06:26] make an account, apply for a mortgage.

[00:06:29] Who is that? Where is that going?

[00:06:31] Is that a person? Is it a company?

[00:06:36] To me, it's a bit scary actually.

[00:06:39] It's like this kind of this void.

[00:06:41] I'm not certain at this point.

[00:06:43] Maybe you know, Pete, is there a licensed mortgage broker

[00:06:46] behind there somewhere or?

[00:06:49] That's a good question.

[00:06:50] A lot of times it really depends on where you're going.

[00:06:54] There are some online resources that are backed by mortgage brokers.

[00:06:59] And depending on where the company is located,

[00:07:02] they may be licensed in that jurisdiction or all across Canada.

[00:07:06] But they also might have employees working for them

[00:07:10] that are essentially just there to kind of move the process through

[00:07:15] to almost act as an intermediary between the broker and the client.

[00:07:19] So it really depends.

[00:07:20] And I think this comes to the bigger question, which is

[00:07:25] how complex is the financing market these days?

[00:07:29] And my answer would be it's ridiculously complex.

[00:07:33] Just as an example, we were talking,

[00:07:35] I was talking to some clients yesterday about being a first time home buyer.

[00:07:40] And there was just a recent change this year that affected

[00:07:43] the exemption for first time home buyers for the property transfer tax.

[00:07:49] That's a rule that's specific to BC.

[00:07:51] It changed.

[00:07:52] It's a really convoluted rule because now part of the property transfer tax applies above 500,000.

[00:08:00] So you really have to know the legislation and the laws really well.

[00:08:05] But again, that just gives you an example of how complex

[00:08:09] the various bits and pieces of this market are today.

[00:08:12] And you really need to know very well what's happening in your jurisdiction

[00:08:17] so that you can properly get through the process.

[00:08:21] Yeah.

[00:08:21] So let's look at the process a little bit, right?

[00:08:24] Let's kind of pull apart the veil and take a peek into exactly

[00:08:28] what does a mortgage broker do?

[00:08:31] Like, what is the process that we go through?

[00:08:33] And first of all, I just want to say that not every conversation,

[00:08:37] not every meeting, not every mortgage we start actually works.

[00:08:41] It turns into a funded mortgage a lot,

[00:08:45] especially in the past couple of years with sort of the dramatic increase in home

[00:08:49] prices and interest rates and affordability issues.

[00:08:53] A lot of it is just conversations and planning and building and credit counseling.

[00:09:00] So this is all part of our umbrella,

[00:09:04] basically just working towards meeting their sort of financial goals through

[00:09:08] home ownership or refinance.

[00:09:11] So yeah, basically to start when we're looking at chatting with somebody,

[00:09:16] the first step would be a bit of a financial analysis,

[00:09:20] just kind of evaluating the client's financial health.

[00:09:23] And I know these are big words, but that's definitely part of what we do.

[00:09:26] And we look at your credit score.

[00:09:30] We look at your income.

[00:09:32] Is it consistent?

[00:09:33] Is it not?

[00:09:34] Are you self-employed?

[00:09:35] Are you not?

[00:09:36] Your debts?

[00:09:38] Is it credit cards?

[00:09:39] Do you have lots of personal loans?

[00:09:42] What's the level of debt that you have compared to your income?

[00:09:46] Yeah.

[00:09:46] Just kind of build this huge package as we're working through our conversation to see

[00:09:51] what sort of products would be best, whether you're purchasing, refinancing, switching

[00:09:57] for your specific situation.

[00:10:00] Well, exactly.

[00:10:01] And I like to call that the information gathering process,

[00:10:06] like really getting to know and understand exactly what our clients are doing.

[00:10:12] So part of that, and I think this is a good segue into like a little bit

[00:10:15] of a deeper dive, is a lot of times we will ask those questions,

[00:10:20] but we'll also gather supporting documents so that we know exactly what's going on.

[00:10:26] And that to me is how we level up as mortgage brokers.

[00:10:30] We're going to take that extra step to ensure that we know exactly what's going on

[00:10:34] so that when we do something like a pre-approval,

[00:10:37] something like a purchase agreement or submitting a mortgage for an actual approval,

[00:10:42] we know for sure that this is what the lender will accept.

[00:10:47] And so that deep dive is really important for us because it ensures your success.

[00:10:53] Yeah, you have to be precise with the information at the beginning.

[00:10:56] I mean, you know the old adage garbage in garbage out, right?

[00:10:59] So the more precise, accurate, complete picture we have,

[00:11:04] the more precise and accurate the end goal achievement will be, right?

[00:11:08] It will match your needs.

[00:11:10] Exactly.

[00:11:11] And so then we're as an intermediary, right?

[00:11:14] So we're working with the client and we're sort of also working with banks

[00:11:19] and other lenders, monoligns, credit unions, listening, chatting.

[00:11:24] And then in our minds, we're thinking about different mortgages,

[00:11:27] different companies.

[00:11:27] So we're also comparing mortgage products.

[00:11:31] So again, sort of back to working with one person who's just from one facility,

[00:11:37] one bank, we have access to a wide variety of lenders.

[00:11:43] You name it, there's going to be a lender that will have some sort of a policy

[00:11:49] for that particular product.

[00:11:51] And part of that is comparing rates, terms, conditions,

[00:11:56] alternative lenders, fee.

[00:11:57] Like it just goes on, right?

[00:11:59] I mean, gosh, think of all the mortgage products at this speed.

[00:12:03] It's crazy.

[00:12:04] And that's exactly what I wanted to add into that is that we deal with

[00:12:09] everything from the very straightforward A lending.

[00:12:13] So that would be a traditional good credit score,

[00:12:17] verifiable income purchase kind of file to one where it's difficult.

[00:12:23] It might have unverifiable income or poor credit or a very strange property,

[00:12:29] a unique property.

[00:12:30] And those, we might have to go to something like a private lender.

[00:12:32] And so knowing the various bits and pieces and the whole range of lending solutions

[00:12:37] that might be available, we can provide you with all these different options.

[00:12:42] And that at least gives you room to figure out how you want to proceed.

[00:12:46] And that's really our goal is to give you some options.

[00:12:49] Exactly.

[00:12:50] So then that's the other aspect is the market components, right?

[00:12:53] So there's always that conversation.

[00:12:55] Are you a fixed person or are you a variable person?

[00:12:58] Are you interested in a mortgage or are you just in a HULOC?

[00:13:00] So that's the other layer as part of this sort of figuring out what works best for the client,

[00:13:06] providing the expert advice.

[00:13:08] You know, it doesn't affect us if you choose fixed or variable,

[00:13:12] but it is important that we understand the difference

[00:13:15] and the ramifications of those different aspects.

[00:13:19] Right.

[00:13:19] One of the questions that I always like to ask when it comes to fixed or variable,

[00:13:23] just so that you guys as the listeners kind of understand,

[00:13:26] the question isn't necessarily, do you want to fix your variable?

[00:13:30] It's really for us, it's about what is it that helps you sleep at night?

[00:13:35] What gives you the peace of mind to be able to get through your mortgage term?

[00:13:40] Because for some people, if you've got a variable rate mortgage

[00:13:44] and you're constantly worried about the rate going up or down

[00:13:48] and your payment being affected, then that's not a very workable solution.

[00:13:52] So we're actually going a little bit deeper than just do you want this or that?

[00:13:56] It's a question about lifestyle.

[00:13:59] It's a question about peace of mind, about stress and anxiety.

[00:14:03] And also timelines.

[00:14:05] And timelines, absolutely.

[00:14:07] Yeah, because with variable rate mortgages,

[00:14:09] there's different rules for penalties than there are for fixed rate mortgages.

[00:14:13] So sometimes, yeah, if somebody is thinking,

[00:14:16] well, you know, I'll probably only own this place for a couple years

[00:14:18] and maybe upgrade, then that's when that conversation becomes really important

[00:14:22] Start diving into the numbers a little bit to see what would be the more

[00:14:27] economical way forward, but a big part of the conversation,

[00:14:31] especially over the past couple of years.

[00:14:35] This is when I wish there was such thing as a crystal ball.

[00:14:39] It has been very challenging lately.

[00:14:41] And that's definitely where these conversations come about.

[00:14:44] But it's also where us as brokers, again, for Mindy and I,

[00:14:48] what we do is we are very diligent with record keeping.

[00:14:52] And for us, we can go back and we can say,

[00:14:54] hey, we have clients that took this kind of mortgage two years ago.

[00:14:59] Is there an advantage in today's market to look at that mortgage?

[00:15:04] Maybe there's some way of saving the client money,

[00:15:06] providing a little bit more flexibility.

[00:15:08] The market changes all the time.

[00:15:10] And that's where that expert advice comes from.

[00:15:13] We will keep in touch.

[00:15:15] And there's nothing better from our perspective than just being able to show you

[00:15:19] the value of in keeping touch and essentially showing you what may be possible.

[00:15:25] Yeah, there has been big shifts, right?

[00:15:28] And you don't really know.

[00:15:29] You're just kind of going along making your payments.

[00:15:31] But there's quite often shifts that happen in the marketplace

[00:15:35] where we can change something to help with the payment

[00:15:40] or shorten the amortization or something.

[00:15:43] It's interesting.

[00:15:46] I feel like a lot of people sort of have this feeling

[00:15:48] that when you sign up for a mortgage, that's it.

[00:15:50] You're done.

[00:15:51] It's your mortgage.

[00:15:52] It's done.

[00:15:52] But that's actually not the case.

[00:15:54] There's a lot of little ways of kind of working through these things.

[00:15:58] So that brings us to the next step of kind of facilitating the process.

[00:16:05] So as mortgage brokers, we're there to help you through the process.

[00:16:09] We operate a lot through either in-person meetings

[00:16:13] or during COVID we got really good at this, is doing virtual meetings.

[00:16:18] So finding us by phone, by Zoom, by email.

[00:16:23] What else do we do to facilitate the process, Mindy?

[00:16:26] Documents, paperwork.

[00:16:28] It's handling the paperwork, building your application,

[00:16:31] submitting your application, sometimes to multiple lenders

[00:16:35] if we're not happy with what we're getting in the beginning.

[00:16:37] Basically, streamlining the process as much as we can for our clients,

[00:16:42] trying to make it as less stressful as possible, less cumbersome.

[00:16:47] But also with the understanding that we do need the documents.

[00:16:51] The documents are critical for the accuracy of the information

[00:16:55] in order to get you the proper product that you need.

[00:16:58] So we are going to get more into the document part

[00:17:01] in a subsequent episode.

[00:17:03] We're going to actually do a whole episode on the documentation

[00:17:06] because it's that important.

[00:17:08] Stay tuned for that.

[00:17:09] Yeah.

[00:17:10] But definitely the technology bit has really helped us

[00:17:13] in the last little bit to make sure,

[00:17:16] I guess to ensure that clients have a very seamless process.

[00:17:19] So if you've got a cell phone with a camera, it is just that easy.

[00:17:23] It's easy as taking the photographs.

[00:17:26] They can be uploaded right through our secure portal.

[00:17:30] It's basically as easy as a few clicks.

[00:17:32] And that's the beauty of being able to do stuff with technology today.

[00:17:37] Most people are very good with it.

[00:17:38] I still have the occasional client that wants to come in.

[00:17:41] And I am happy to meet with people in person.

[00:17:43] I'm happy to take documents.

[00:17:45] But Mindy, when you were talking about the olden days,

[00:17:48] all I could think about was the olden T1 general tax returns

[00:17:53] that had like the massive staple in them

[00:17:55] because some people have really big tax returns.

[00:17:59] And thinking number one, is my staple remover

[00:18:02] going to actually get through all these pages?

[00:18:04] And number two, how am I going to staple this back together

[00:18:07] because I don't have one of those big staplers?

[00:18:09] Oh, my God. Totally.

[00:18:10] I knew you were going to say the T1 generals,

[00:18:12] but I forgot about that staple.

[00:18:13] That's so true.

[00:18:16] So hey, I have to go back in my history.

[00:18:18] I started at KPMG as an articling student

[00:18:21] after graduating from university.

[00:18:24] And I remember we had a very specific stapler that was used.

[00:18:27] There was actually three staplers.

[00:18:28] There's a regular size stapler.

[00:18:30] And then there was the one for files that were a slight bit bigger.

[00:18:34] The regular stapler wouldn't cut it, so maybe 10 pages plus.

[00:18:38] And then there was the 50 page plus one, which is this.

[00:18:41] It almost took up an entire desk.

[00:18:44] It was this huge stapler that you had to almost get permission to use.

[00:18:48] But yeah, I'm very thankful that we don't have those anymore.

[00:18:51] People can simply upload a PDF of their tax return.

[00:18:55] Most people have their account and send that directly to us.

[00:18:58] So very easy process and reduces a lot of paper waste.

[00:19:03] Totally.

[00:19:03] So yeah, so we've been talking about mortgages.

[00:19:06] Right?

[00:19:06] So there's another sort of a little maybe half step

[00:19:09] before the mortgage application, which would be pre-approval.

[00:19:12] So yes, we also do pre-approvals or requalification, however you want to define it.

[00:19:20] So yes, we can get you pre-approved for a mortgage.

[00:19:23] We're happy to do that.

[00:19:24] It's a good thing to do when you're thinking about buying.

[00:19:28] You're not sure how much you qualify for.

[00:19:29] You want to secure your interest rate.

[00:19:31] A lot of realtors like to see this, that you've got something in writing from a lender.

[00:19:36] It gives them a little bit more confidence in you as a buyer.

[00:19:40] It helps to show you what sort of documents you're going to need when you do put that offer in

[00:19:46] so that subject to finding condition window isn't quite so stressful because your

[00:19:53] boss just went on holidays to Peru and now you can't get a letter of employment.

[00:19:58] Helps to avoid things like that.

[00:20:01] I love that.

[00:20:02] And that pre-approval process, like you said, Mindy, it is absolutely critical to finding out

[00:20:07] what you can afford so your broker will let you know exactly what that number is.

[00:20:10] You can pass that figure along to your realtor, like Mindy said.

[00:20:15] And again, it's a small thing but sometimes in a rising rate environment,

[00:20:20] having that pre-approval with a locked-in rate

[00:20:23] helps ensure that you don't have any rate surprises.

[00:20:27] Very true.

[00:20:27] So then I guess we can get on to...

[00:20:31] You talked a little bit about negotiating with lenders.

[00:20:34] Yeah, so this is that part if you just imagine us as an intermediary between client and lender.

[00:20:41] And so our fiduciary duty isn't to the lender, it's to our clients,

[00:20:46] but we do need to maintain relationships with lenders

[00:20:49] in order to get the best products and rates for our clients.

[00:20:53] So it's important to maintain professionalism at all times.

[00:20:58] And I feel the better the relationships are,

[00:21:00] the better ability we have to negotiate for our clients.

[00:21:04] So we actually can with some financial institutions negotiate rate.

[00:21:09] We can submit rate requests after we get an approval.

[00:21:13] If there's a situation where a client's been offered something a little bit lower elsewhere,

[00:21:17] but we have a better product with a little bit of a higher rate,

[00:21:20] we can then show that lender, hey, these guys got...

[00:21:24] It's like the price match at the grocery store.

[00:21:28] It's kind of like that same thing.

[00:21:30] Those are really good points.

[00:21:31] And the one thing I wanted to add to that is that as brokers,

[00:21:36] we talked about having access to a lot of different lenders.

[00:21:38] So we have access to banks, credit unions,

[00:21:41] what we call our monoline lenders or mortgage channel lenders.

[00:21:45] We have access to alternative lenders and to private lenders.

[00:21:48] What I should say though is we also maintain relationships with the lenders

[00:21:55] that we actually don't have access to.

[00:21:57] So as brokers, there's some banks that do not deal with the brokers.

[00:22:01] They don't deal through the broker channel.

[00:22:04] I find it a huge advantage to know what those lenders do well

[00:22:08] because there's often times that a client will come by

[00:22:12] and they have a scenario that works really well with bank A.

[00:22:16] It's a bank that we may not deal with.

[00:22:19] But for me and for Mindy,

[00:22:22] and I'm sure for a lot of brokers that do this really well,

[00:22:25] that referral to that bank or that client

[00:22:28] because it's the right thing for the client is so important.

[00:22:32] I will always keep in touch with you after the fact.

[00:22:35] We will do that.

[00:22:37] Even if the bank doesn't deal with brokers,

[00:22:40] I'm happy to keep in touch with you

[00:22:41] because we can act as your kind of go-to.

[00:22:45] We can answer questions.

[00:22:46] We can figure stuff out because oftentimes we find that the banks,

[00:22:51] they may not always have the same employees in place

[00:22:54] and they may not always have the same level of service

[00:22:56] that we can provide.

[00:22:57] If we can be that person, that touch point for you,

[00:23:01] then essentially we create a win.

[00:23:04] Maybe at some point in the future you come back

[00:23:06] and we do your mortgage.

[00:23:07] So that's how we win.

[00:23:09] That's a really good point and goes back to that.

[00:23:13] Keeping a client first, client centered.

[00:23:16] Evaluating the overall picture.

[00:23:18] It's quite often, especially at renewal time for example,

[00:23:23] everybody wants a better rate at renewal

[00:23:25] but sometimes the math just doesn't make sense

[00:23:28] and the product offering that they're already in

[00:23:31] is the best way forward.

[00:23:33] But that doesn't mean that we're going to then just be like,

[00:23:36] all right, we're done with that client.

[00:23:38] Absolutely not.

[00:23:39] We are still here.

[00:23:41] Whether you want to be or not.

[00:23:43] Exactly.

[00:23:44] And I always find that clients are just so happy

[00:23:48] to have someone that has an unbiased opinion.

[00:23:52] And realistically for us, the win is when you're

[00:23:56] in the right product at the right time.

[00:23:59] So whether we have access to it or not,

[00:24:00] we have got access to most products

[00:24:02] but we just don't have access to all.

[00:24:04] But if we keep in touch then I think we create

[00:24:06] that opportunity to have another interaction.

[00:24:10] And again, potentially that's a client for life.

[00:24:13] Yes.

[00:24:14] And then kind of taking it one step further into the products,

[00:24:17] we have access to specialized products.

[00:24:22] We'll get into what specialized means

[00:24:24] but the interesting part here is that sometimes

[00:24:26] we actually get referrals from various banks

[00:24:30] who don't have these specialized products

[00:24:33] and they'll be like, this is a...

[00:24:36] They'll have had a previous relationship with this client

[00:24:38] and say, it'd be really great if you guys could find

[00:24:41] something for them or whatever.

[00:24:43] That relationship does kind of go both ways.

[00:24:45] It's nice that sometimes when you get those people

[00:24:48] that are looking out for the client's best interest.

[00:24:51] But specialized mortgage product,

[00:24:52] what the heck is that?

[00:24:54] Self-employed individuals.

[00:24:56] What if you only started your job

[00:24:58] being self-employed a year and a bit ago?

[00:25:01] Can you get a mortgage?

[00:25:03] What about first time home buyers

[00:25:05] that need help with the down payment

[00:25:07] or is there anything for that?

[00:25:09] What about if your credit score is a little bit bruised,

[00:25:13] reaching the required thresholds?

[00:25:15] Can you still get a mortgage?

[00:25:17] Or what if you've missed mortgage payments in the past

[00:25:19] or had a bankruptcy or consumer proposal?

[00:25:22] I think a lot of people think that

[00:25:24] because something like that has happened to them

[00:25:27] that they're just immediately ejected

[00:25:29] from the home buying process.

[00:25:32] But that's not the case.

[00:25:33] Well, and even something like...

[00:25:36] You've probably heard of the stress test.

[00:25:38] So stress test is the ratio of your income

[00:25:41] to your debts.

[00:25:43] And sometimes you might hit the top of the stress test.

[00:25:45] You might max out your ratios.

[00:25:48] Well, we have lenders that have extended ratios.

[00:25:50] So there's again another specialized product

[00:25:52] where we can kind of look to various sources

[00:25:55] to find the thing that might fit for your scenario.

[00:25:59] Commercial lending.

[00:26:00] Sometimes people may have a new business

[00:26:03] that wants to buy a commercial space.

[00:26:05] Sometimes that's really tough for lenders to look at.

[00:26:08] Given our experience,

[00:26:09] we can structure that in such a way

[00:26:11] that it makes it desirable for lenders to look at.

[00:26:14] Whether it's a small commercial mortgage or a large one,

[00:26:17] we have access to a lot of different avenues.

[00:26:21] Yeah, that commercial lending space is very interesting.

[00:26:24] And yes, we will be doing some commercial episodes

[00:26:28] in the future for sure.

[00:26:30] The commercial thing is a neat product

[00:26:32] because it can be something as simple

[00:26:35] as an accountant buying a small office space

[00:26:39] or it can be something as large

[00:26:41] as a manufacturing company buying a big industrial space.

[00:26:45] Or somebody building a rental apartment building.

[00:26:49] Yes, exactly.

[00:26:51] So a rental apartment building.

[00:26:52] There's so many different options

[00:26:53] on the commercial side

[00:26:54] and there's different products,

[00:26:56] different things available on that side as well.

[00:26:58] So yeah, stay tuned for our commercial lending series.

[00:27:02] We might do a series.

[00:27:03] I'm not going to promise a series

[00:27:05] but I think it's going to have to be at least two episodes

[00:27:07] because there is just,

[00:27:08] as we dive deeper into the commercial world,

[00:27:11] there are just so many different types of facilities.

[00:27:17] Facilities as in like debt facilities

[00:27:18] like mortgage products, lines of credit, whatever,

[00:27:21] et cetera, et cetera,

[00:27:22] that are just defined and qualified for

[00:27:25] and utilized so differently

[00:27:26] than they are in the residential world.

[00:27:28] So probably at least two episodes.

[00:27:30] Stay tuned.

[00:27:32] Yeah, and so then part of that,

[00:27:34] here we are residential mortgage broker.

[00:27:35] How on earth did we start doing commercial products,

[00:27:38] for example?

[00:27:40] Well, it's all about coordinating

[00:27:41] and relationship building

[00:27:43] and maintaining relationships

[00:27:45] with the various contacts, right?

[00:27:46] So that's it.

[00:27:47] So yes, we're working with lenders.

[00:27:50] That's one of the other parties

[00:27:51] that we coordinate with

[00:27:53] but there's a whole myriad of other professionals

[00:27:56] that we work with from beginning to end

[00:28:00] and even beyond to make sure that

[00:28:04] every aspect is covered for our clients.

[00:28:07] That's right.

[00:28:08] Well, and those relationships

[00:28:10] are ones where we get to know

[00:28:13] the people on the other side.

[00:28:14] So whether that's a realtor,

[00:28:16] a lawyer, a financial advisor,

[00:28:18] appraiser, home inspector,

[00:28:21] all sorts of people

[00:28:22] that are in and around the mortgage industry

[00:28:26] that are related to any particular transaction,

[00:28:29] we get to know them.

[00:28:30] We can provide you with some referral sources,

[00:28:33] so places that you might want to go

[00:28:35] to chat with these people

[00:28:36] about the various scenarios that you might have.

[00:28:39] Or we can also vet people to kind of say,

[00:28:43] well, these are the ones

[00:28:44] that are doing a lot of this

[00:28:46] or potentially here's a good option

[00:28:48] for you in this particular area

[00:28:50] if you live in Kelowna

[00:28:51] or if you live in Victoria.

[00:28:53] So it's always nice to know

[00:28:55] the people that are in and around the industry

[00:28:57] because they are a good,

[00:29:00] not only a good resources,

[00:29:01] but they're a good place to kind of start

[00:29:04] part of that process that you might be in.

[00:29:06] Yeah, and just like our industry,

[00:29:08] the mortgage broker industry is changing,

[00:29:10] so too are those other sort of,

[00:29:12] you know, on the cusp

[00:29:14] or on the shoulder industries

[00:29:15] that work towards helping facilitate mortgages.

[00:29:18] So by maintaining close relationships

[00:29:20] with lawyers or appraisers say,

[00:29:23] we are always at the forefront

[00:29:25] of what's going on in that aspect,

[00:29:27] in that part of the transaction.

[00:29:29] So that's also very important.

[00:29:32] God forbid, oh yeah,

[00:29:33] you know, lawyers can get this done

[00:29:35] in three days, blah, blah, blah.

[00:29:36] And then all of a sudden something changes

[00:29:38] and now it's like minimum time

[00:29:39] is two weeks or whatever.

[00:29:40] So we want to make sure

[00:29:41] that the advice that we're giving

[00:29:42] and those other modalities

[00:29:44] is in fact current and accurate.

[00:29:48] So yeah, that's another important piece.

[00:29:50] And we deal with those other types

[00:29:53] of industries quite a bit.

[00:29:55] So we'll have a good insight into

[00:29:56] not only what their timelines are,

[00:29:58] but their costs.

[00:29:59] I'm not going to ever quote you a cost

[00:30:01] because it's really dependent

[00:30:02] on that particular person,

[00:30:03] but at least we'll have a sense

[00:30:05] of a range of costs.

[00:30:07] And sometimes that helps

[00:30:08] because it just gives you a sense

[00:30:09] of what you need to budget.

[00:30:13] So yeah, so that's kind of

[00:30:14] the whole sort of free and during.

[00:30:19] But what we do to kind of help clients,

[00:30:23] I guess the big thing that for Pete and I,

[00:30:26] especially is the ongoing support.

[00:30:30] Whether you want it or not,

[00:30:35] we found in our careers,

[00:30:37] I don't know, 12 and a half years,

[00:30:39] I can't remember how many years

[00:30:40] you've been a mortgage broker.

[00:30:41] 15.

[00:30:42] Yeah, so that the key is communication,

[00:30:46] transparency, it builds trust,

[00:30:49] lets our clients know

[00:30:50] they're always honestly always,

[00:30:53] I'm always thinking,

[00:30:54] always remembering when

[00:30:55] there's something I'm like,

[00:30:56] oh, that's this person.

[00:30:58] I should let them know

[00:30:58] about that this happened.

[00:30:59] Maybe that will help them now.

[00:31:01] Maybe they can now get that house

[00:31:02] that they want to build a suite in

[00:31:04] or it's that ongoing support.

[00:31:06] It's that reminding,

[00:31:07] that communication piece

[00:31:08] that we just find

[00:31:09] is really important for us.

[00:31:13] And I like to think of it as

[00:31:14] almost pulling back the curtain

[00:31:16] on what used to be

[00:31:18] a very non-transparent process.

[00:31:21] I remember getting my first mortgage.

[00:31:23] It was very unclear to me

[00:31:25] as to what was happening.

[00:31:27] So through communication,

[00:31:28] we're better able to explain to you

[00:31:31] how the process is going to work

[00:31:33] right from the start.

[00:31:34] And then as each part

[00:31:36] of that process goes along,

[00:31:38] we'll give you updates

[00:31:39] and we'll let you know

[00:31:39] where things are going.

[00:31:41] It's nice to use technology

[00:31:43] to have the portal

[00:31:44] so you can actually see

[00:31:45] that you've uploaded certain things

[00:31:47] and we've got certain things.

[00:31:48] It's also nice for us

[00:31:50] to be able to follow up with you over time

[00:31:52] because if things change

[00:31:53] or there's opportunities available to you,

[00:31:56] then again,

[00:31:57] we've got that communication line open.

[00:32:00] So pulling back the curtain,

[00:32:01] giving you the power

[00:32:03] to make the best choices.

[00:32:05] That's what we do.

[00:32:07] For that customized mortgage solution.

[00:32:11] I love it.

[00:32:12] So if you've got questions,

[00:32:13] you know who to ask.

[00:32:14] We're here to help answer the process.

[00:32:17] Answer the process,

[00:32:18] answer the questions.

[00:32:19] I don't know.

[00:32:20] We're going to be here.

[00:32:21] I can't say it.

[00:32:23] No, the summary part

[00:32:24] is not working for me right now.

[00:32:26] So Mindy,

[00:32:26] I'm going to turn it over to you

[00:32:28] to summarize.

[00:32:29] We are here basically.

[00:32:31] We're here at the beginning.

[00:32:31] We're here at the end.

[00:32:32] We're here after.

[00:32:34] It felt good

[00:32:35] to provide some transparency

[00:32:37] as to how this all works.

[00:32:38] And yes, please like questions always.

[00:32:41] Never be afraid to reach out.

[00:32:42] Never be afraid

[00:32:43] to pick up the phone and call.

[00:32:45] We are here.

[00:32:46] This is The Mortgage Life.

[00:32:48] We look forward

[00:32:49] to continuing the conversation.

[00:32:51] So come back and listen.