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Choosing A Hamilton Mortgage BrokerThe most important factor when choosing a mortgage broker in Hamilton is to find somebody that you trust. Trust is a very hard thing to build and it is very fragile. Of course it is important to find a broker who has the necessary knowledge, expertise, contacts and creativity. But generally speaking, if you’re just looking for the best mortgage rate, all the brokers have access to the same banks and the same rates.
So What Makes One Hamilton Mortgage Broker Better Than Another?
Just because most mortgage brokers have access to the same mortgage rates, it doesn’t mean that they are all created equally. So what are some of the defining factors? Well, I already mentioned trust, but let’s look at the answer from a different perspective. What can mortgage brokers do badly?
1. They can pre-approve you with a purchase price that is not realistic.
It takes time for a Hamilton mortgage broker to properly scrutinize and underwrite a client’s income, down payment and credit when determining a realistic purchase price. It’s easy (and lazy) for a mortgage broker to say you’re pre-approved for a $500K home without looking at your income documents.
If you’re trying to maximize your purchase price, you’re probably going to go with a broker that promises the highest amount. This is a mistake. You see those advertisements on television that claim 30 second pre-approvals. It’s impossible to properly pre-approve somebody in 30 seconds. There are too many questions. Talk to a Hamilton mortgage broker.
A False Sense Of Security
If you have a false sense that you can afford more than you can, guess what? When the time comes you will not qualify. At best, you will have wasted your time and the time of the realtor. At worst, you have placed a firm offer on the home, the financing falls through and you lose your deposit (and potentially get sued for losses). Bottom line: find a mortgage broker in Hamilton that asks questions!!! It may be inconvenient but the more the better.
2. Some Hamilton mortgage brokers can “drop the ball” on you.
So you find a mortgage broker in Hamilton that you think you can trust and that you start to worth with. Great! So you have purchased a home and you have a mortgage approval from the bank. You have received it from the mortgage broker and you have reviewed it with him/her. You and the mortgage broker believe that it is safe to waive your condition of financing.
Beware! Every mortgage approval is conditional. That means that the lender has requirements that must be met by the mortgage broker AND the lawyer in fact, before they will advance the funds. The bank has the right to revoke their offer at any moment leading up to the closing date on the purchase. It is VERY easy for the Hamilton mortgage broker to drop the ball on you.
Here is an example:
One of the lender requirements is valid ID. I know it sounds silly – but you need to prove who you are to get a mortgage! If your driver’s license has expired and you don’t have a passport, the purchase may not close on time. Again, you need a Hamilton mortgage broker who does his/her due diligence to protect you. In other words, you need to trust him/her because there are many things that can go wrong and prevent a purchase from closing on time.
3. They can gouge. BIG TIME.
A mortgage broker in Hamilton is in a unique position to abuse you! If you are financially strong and you are getting a mortgage from an A bank, you should not be paying a brokerage fee. A brokerage fee is a fee that the mortgage broker will charge for his/her services. Do not accept this. When the Hamilton mortgage broker places your mortgage with an A lender, the broker is already paid handsomely. They should not double dip.
When There Are Fees
When the client is not as financially strong, the Hamilton mortgage broker will often place the mortgage with a B lender. Generally B lenders will charge a lender fee that they may or may not split with the mortgage broker. It is normal to be charged a lender fee and/or a brokerage fee for B lenders and private lenders. This is normally 1% of the mortgage amount for B lenders and sometimes 2-5% for private lenders, depending on the risk. You need to be careful.
But Mortgage Brokers Are Regulated
But you may say, aren’t Hamilton mortgage brokers regulated? Aren’t they required to disclose their fees? Yes, they are! However, you may not read everything carefully OR the broker may wait to disclose and get you to sign everything until it is too late. If you are signing your documents 5 days before closing, you don’t have time to go elsewhere. You either accept the gouging or don’t close on time. Not a good position to be in! You need to trust your Hamilton mortgage broker!
4. They can mislead you and put their own needs above yours.
How is this possible? Let’s say that you call up your broker to tell him/her the good news that you’re moving! Great! After congratulating you, the absolute first concern of the broker should be: will there be a penalty and how can you avoid it. A dishonest broker will immediately advise you to break your existing mortgage and set up a new one. Why? That’s how the Hamilton mortgage broker gets paid the most!
Port Your Mortgage!
If you are moving, you should always try to port the mortgage. That means you take the mortgage with you to the new home (and increase it if necessary). Of course, there are circumstances where it makes more sense to break the existing mortgage (the savings of the new mortgage may outweigh the cost of the penalty) or your purchase closes on the same day that your mortgage matures. How will you know this? You need to trust your Hamilton mortgage broker to give you the right advice.
Here’s another example:
you are purchasing a home and you have a huge down payment but it won’t become available until after the purchase closes (you are cashing in some investments). In this case, a dishonest mortgage broker in Hamilton may sell you a large mortgage that you will then need to pay down considerably in the near future when the investments arrive. Don’t do this. It is better to split the mortgage into 2 parts if possible:
1. A mortgage in the amount that remains.
2. A second portion that does not carry a penalty like a line of credit.
Why Use A Hamilton Mortgage Broker At All?
If you’re looking for a mortgage in Hamilton, Ontario, then chances are you have 2 choices. You can walk into a bank or you can call a mortgage broker in Hamilton.
Advantages Of The Bank
Some banks offer AMAZING mortgage rates. Especially RBC lately. It’s almost like the mortgage is their “lost leader”. Meaning that they offer you a ridiculously low mortgage rate that they make very little on BUT they make up for it in fees and interest on your other business. They want to be your one stop shop for all financing, investments and savings.
Beware!
But beware! The banks will almost NEVER offer you their best rate up front. They will likely test you. If you are thinking of keeping all your business at the bank, you should still call a Hamilton mortgage broker for 2 reasons: 1. Maybe the broker can do better. 2. You can use the information to negotiate a better deal with the bank.
Mortgage Brokers Have Limitations
The bank can often do things that Hamilton mortgage brokers cannot. For example, mortgage brokers are not good at doing unsecured loans. These are things like personal loans, student loans, car loans, unsecured lines of credit. However, a good mortgage broker will know his/her limitations and more importantly, they usually have contacts with the branch where they can refer you to the right person. Many mortgage brokers have some pull in the bank because we will often send them business (or vice versa).
Advantages Of A Mortgage Broker
Here are some advantages of using a Hamilton mortgage broker:
1. We run your credit once
And can use it over and over again with different lenders. If you walk into 5 banks asking them to give you a quotation on a mortgage, each one will check your credit. This is not a good thing. A Hamilton mortgage brokers will check your credit once and can use it to check with over 57 different lenders to see who has the best rates and terms for your particular situation.
2. We are impartial.
Every Hamilton mortgage broker has a hand full of lenders that they frequent. Usually each one has it’s own specialty. One might be good for rentals and another might be good for a high ratio owner occupied purchase. One does 35 year amortizations and another one is good for land only. Walk into a bank and guess what they will sell you: their product of course!
3. We are creative.
Hamilton mortgage brokers generally have access to private money. They can do second mortgages, equity loans, bridge loans. Hamilton mortgage brokers have bigger tool kits. In fact, this is why many banks will have brokers to whom they will refer their clients when they can’t do the job themselves.
The “Lowest Mortgage Rates” But Read The Fine Print
Many Hamilton mortgage brokers claim that they are able to get you the Lowest Mortgage Rates. However, there are so many other points to consider. I know you may think that is lip service, but it is really true. It would be nice to have everything:
- Lowest Mortgage Rates
- Prepayment Privileges
- Small penalty for breaking the mortgage early
- The ability to break the mortgage without selling the home
- 30 year amortization with no mortgage rate premium
- Fixed rate
- A rental or investment property with no premium
Unfortunately, that just doesn’t exist.
“Bait & Switch”
Don’t fall for the “bait and switch”. The Lowest Mortgage Rates are advertised but often the Hamilton mortgage brokers knows full well that it is not realistic or that it is not practical. For example, if it is for a refinance, it might not apply. If it is for a conventional mortgage, it may not apply. The Lowest Mortgage Rates almost always fall under one main category: this is the “high ratio” mortgage.
High Ratio Mortgage
A high ratio mortgage is one where the mortgage amount exceeds 80% of the value of the property. In other words, the down payment on a high ratio mortgage is less than 20%. Why do high ratio mortgage yield the Lowest Mortgage Rates? If you put less than 20% down, the Canadian Government mandate that you buy insurance, regardless of the Hamilton mortgage broker. This insurance protects the bank in case you default on the mortgage. It also thereby reduces the bank’s risk and consequently, the interest rate.So as you can imagine, the interest rates for these scenarios are the ones that are posted across the internet to catch your attention. However, when you consider this scenario, the consumers pays for this rate through the cost of the insurance. This insurance fee is added to the balance of the mortgage adding years onto the amortization. Furthermore, just to add insult to injury, they force the consumer to pay the HST on the cost of the insurance premium. This contributes to the closing costs.
Conventional Mortgage
This is the converse of a high ratio mortgage. A conventional mortgage is one where the amount of the mortgage equates to less than 80% of the value of the property. In other words, a conventional mortgage is one where the down payment is 20% or more. The rates of conventional mortgages where the purchaser is putting 20% down are generally avoided. Why? Because they are generally the worst rates you can get. As you put more and more money down, the rates improve until you reach the 35% down level. At this level of down payment, the rates are comparable to those of high ratio mortgages. Good Hamilton mortgage brokers will explain this.
Understand The Fine Print
As Hamilton mortgage brokers, we often see clients who come through our practice that have been abused by other Hamilton mortgage brokers. For example, they may have received the Lowest Mortgage Rates when they signed, but when the time came to pay out their mortgage early, they find out that the lender has a clause preventing them from doing so; a “bonafide sale”. So the borrower cannot exit the mortgage even with a penalty. Were the Lowest Mortgage Rates worth it in that case? Most of our clients in that situation would say not.Beware The Hidden Fees
Hamilton mortgage brokers will offer the Lowest Mortgage Rates to their clients and the clients only to find out too late that there is a brokerage fee. Since the mortgage broker is not getting paid very well or at all due to the low rates, they charge a brokerage fee. Consider that when you factor in all the fees (legals, appraisals, brokerage), the actual annualized percentage rate that you are paying is much higher than the original “Lowest Mortgage Rates” offered by the Hamilton mortgage brokers.Do Not Be Blinded By The Lowest Mortgage Rates
We would recommended that you check the details beforehand. Low rates can be mesmerizing. They can also be very costly in the end. The problem is that if you have already waived your condition of financing on the property, and you go to sign with the Hamilton mortgage brokers, you might discover this too late. If you do not have time to arrange alternative financing to purchase the home, you will be stuck. You have no choice but to sign with the broker or lose your deposit on the property. This puts you at risk of being sued by the seller if they sell it for less than you had agreed with them.
Surround Yourself By People You Trust
This is why it is extremely important to work with a Hamilton mortgage broker you can trust. Robert Floris and Sean Howard have a loyal following of many clients, many of whom have left reviews on their Google page. Some businesses will fabricate Google reviews. We have a large box overflowing with actual old school cards from happy clients. We can show you these cards if you would like to come and visit us at our Mortgage Architects Office located at 236 Pritchard Road in Hamilton, Ontario.Word Spreads Far and Quick
It is hard to know who to trust which is why we Hamilton mortgage brokers, value and respect the trust of our clients. We are never greedy and we treat them with respect. Word spreads, we can sleep at night and we have built a strong reputation in the Greater Hamilton Area from Woodstock, Brantford and Ancaster to Burlington, Mississauga. We also have a lot of experience with mortgages towards Stoney Creek, Grimsby, St. Catharines, Welland and the Niagara region. We also have lawyers that we trust and we would be happy to recommend them to our clients unless they have their own already.Robert Floris is a Hamilton mortgage broker. His office is located at 236 Pritchard Rd., Hamilton, Ontario, L8W 3P7. If you would like to speak with Robert, he can be reached at 1-855-55-TRUST. Alternatively, you can contact Robert here.
If you would like to apply for a mortgage online, please follow this link.
If you would like to see our Google reviews or leave one yourself, you can do so here.
Robert Floris CFP, AMP
Lead Mortgage Agent
M08004919
1-855-55-TRUST
mortgages@robertfloris.com
See All Reviews
Travis West17:49 20 Apr 23I have just had the great pleasure of working with Sean Howard to renew our mortgage. Sean is great! He was completely transparent, was able to answer all my questions (and there were many), and secured us a great rate. Sean walked us through every step of the way. I would recommend Sean to my closest family and friends, and now to you if you are reading this. Thank you Sean!Brittany Speller13:46 10 Apr 23We recently switched lenders and renewed our mortgage with Sean. We were quite anxious as it was our first renewal at a time with higher rates but Sean helped us secure a competitive rate, a lot lower than what we were being offered by our previous lender. He was very responsive to all our questions and eased our worries at each step. He made the process smooth and overall we are very happy with the experience. We would definitely recommend him to others.Christine Yanke18:22 06 Mar 23I have known Robert for over 30 years in fact, he has been my mortgage agent since 1988. What I really respect about Robert is that he is not only passionate about what he is doing but he goes above and beyond to make sure that you have thought out every step and scenario before signing the dotted line. And, he does the work to make sure he is getting the best for you. He truly is an advisor or better yet coach because he wants to make sure this decision you are making is absolutely the right one. And, that has meant so much to me over the years. He spends the time no matter how much that is, to ensure you are walking away happy. I highly recommend Robert. He is the best of the best in this industry!Paul Jewell18:33 17 Jan 23My wife and I purchased a townhouse a couple of years ago. After multiple delays, including a long one due to Covid, the time came to arrange financing. Due to various circumstances, we were not in a position to sell the house we were in, so we had to try and arrange an equity-only mortgage. Both of us being retired, with only our pensions as income, none of the banks were interested in helping us.Our daughter and son-in-law recommended a mortgage broker in Hamilton, Robert Floris, that they had dealt with on a number of occasions in the past. When I contacted Robert, he was the nicest person to talk to and reassured me that he could help us. Robert introduced me to his business partner, Sean Howard, who took it from there.In all our dealings, Sean has always been most approachable, always ready to listen to problems and apply his expert knowledge to sort them out. He really seems to care about his clients and he was able to come up with the solution to the situation we were in.I have found Sean to be kind, sympathetic, very knowledgeable and I have no hesitation in recommending him if ever you are looking for a mortgage.Amber Wilson23:48 28 Oct 22We cannot thank Sean Howard enough for everything he has done for us, amazing broker, very patient.Always looking out for our best interest and very informative.Sean has always been up front and honest right from the beginning.He never quits and always finds an option.He takes away the added stress when its already very stressful buying a home.My husband and I would highly recommend Sean, we are very happy and it wouldn't have gone so smooth without his expertise and advice.Sarah Chambers17:57 03 Oct 22I was in a real bind and needed a mortgage quickly! After making several calls to various mortgage brokers , I grew even more frustrated with their slow process and not being able to reach them to ask questions and get straight answers.More searching online and I came across Mortgage Architects here in Hamilton. I called and spoke with a very kind and patient mortgage broker, Sean Howard. After explaining my stressful situation and that I needed a mortgage very quickly, Sean immediately put me at ease with his compassion and positive nature. He always had back up plans in place so that I never worried about not getting my mortgage in time. He was truly there for me 24/7 always returning any calls or emails right away. I'm over the moon because I got approved for my mortgage exceptionally fast. He jumped through a few hoops for me and went above and beyond what I thought was possible. I am forever grateful to him. I can honestly, and fully recommend Sean Howard for your mortgage broker.🙏🤗Sarah Chambers, Hamilton, ONAmanda20:08 25 Aug 22I first heard of Sean from my boyfriend when he was looking at a property for himself. He was super impressed with Sean, so naturally when my mortgage came up for renewal, he was the first person I went to. He is very very knowledgeable. This year is a tough year to renew with interest rising and his knowledge of the industry landed me a very competitive rate and I could not be happier with the outcome. He responded to any inquiries quickly and thoroughly. He has even responded to us on weekends and after hours. He is excellent at explaining things. He had my best interests in mind throughout the entire experience. I will be recommending Sean to family and friends and trust him to provide the same service I have received.JENN M20:34 29 Jul 22I had the pleasure of working with Sean on a time sensitive deal.First off, he executed with extreme professionalism, while displaying much dedication and empathy.When I felt like giving up, Sean's assurance that it would all work out helped in leaps.Throughout the entire process, from aligning the right people along the way, made for a rather smooth deal. Full transparency was always at the forefront and my questions were answered in a timely fashion.I would definitely recommend and continuing working with Sean, as I have full confidence and trust in what he does, as his clients' needs are met.SEAN, I THANK YOU.JENNDan Vidic17:50 28 Jun 22My wife and I just purchased our first home, and we used Sean Howard as our Mortgage broker after hearing about the great experience our close friends had with him.From our initial conversation, to getting us pre-approved right away (to lock in the rate before the hike), to the actual approval process, our experience with Sean could not have been better. He made sure we both fully understood all the parameters of the complicated mortgage process and made it easy for us to make an informed decision on our home. When we were putting in offers (often after hours to meet deadlines) Sean was responsive right away to work with us to provide our best offer. Once we found the house, he provided all the options available and his advice on what he thought was best for us. This was during the start of all the interest rate hikes which made things more difficult, but we were happy with the decision we ultimately ended up making with Sean's help. He seemed genuinely interested in helping us find our ideal home suited to our income and needs, not just to get our business.If you are in the market for a new home and need a mortgage broker, don't look any further than Sean Howard. You will not be disappointed with his exceptional customer service, professionalism and expertise in finding the right mortgage for you.Thanks so much Sean for all your work!Chris Oswin19:00 24 Feb 22Robert Floris helped my partner and I get our first mortgage. He helped us learn about our options and explained all the different terminologies or packages available. He made the process easy, fun, and stress free and was very helpful if we had any questions at any point in the process. Robert is extremely welcoming but also completely honest with us on what was affordable and realistic for our incomes. He managed to get us a very competitive interest rate on our variable mortgage and we could not be more pleased. Thank you Robert!
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