The mortgage industry has completely changed in the last 2 months.  With the last round of rule changes, we have now entered a new galaxy of complexity in our industry, where lenders all price their mortgages differently depending on the client, the property & the type of financing requested.  It has never been more important for consumers to do their due diligence when shopping for a mortgage.

Before, if a borrower really wanted to do everything on their own & shop lenders themselves, they could.  It would require a ton of work – completing many applications, setting up lots of meetings with mortgage specialists, and hours of online research – but for the motivated borrower, it was possible to become a well-informed consumer without drawing on a broker’s service (which is free, by the way).  Now?  Good luck!

Let me explain: the aftermath of the mortgage rule changes last fall has left every lender with not only drastically different policies than the next, but greatly varying criteria of what types of mortgages they offer & at what rate they will offer them.  Even within a single lender’s range of options, the pricing now varies depending on the down payment size (less than 20%?  20%- 25% down?  Or greater than 25% down? Greater than 35% down?), amortization & property price.

Many lenders now flat out will only do purchase & not refinances.  Some will only do purchases for borrowers who pay for mortgage insurance.  Many have eliminated niche programs such as rental purchases or have stopped funding mortgages on properties priced at $1m or higher.  It has gotten to the point where brokers, the experts, will have a difficult time knowing what options are available to a client without reviewing their application & studying the matrix of lender policies & pricing nuances.

My point with all this is that it is more important now than ever before to use a mortgage broker.  Not only that, but a broker with the experience & size of business to guide you in the best way possible, utilizing the widest range of lenders.  Use the experts.  If you love how your bank greets you when you walk in & have been with them for 30 years?  Great, but understand that they are only 1 option out of 20+ national lenders, not to mention the local institutions.  With every bank & nonbank lender sporting drastically different options than the next, there is a very small chance you are getting the best product only speaking with your bank.

The best value you can ask for is someone well versed in the field to help you navigate the wide range of options.  Call a broker.  Use the expert.