Mortgage brokers are service providers. They may offer great service but have a limited selection of lenders. They might have a broad network of lenders but poor customer service. And they may fall somewhere else on this spectrum. When shopping for a mortgage broker Saint-Laurent based, ask the right questions so that you can separate the wheat from the chaff. Here are the top questions to ask a Saint-Laurent mortgage broker.
Mortgage brokers may be paid by the customer or the mortgage lender. Most mortgage brokers are commission based, but some charge a flat fee. Those who are commission based are motivated to help you close on your home loan so that they can be paid. Those that charge a few can help those who aren’t going to close on an expensive home loan, such as when you are trying to finance a cheap property or refinance the last portion of your mortgage balance. Mortgage brokers paid by lenders may channel customers to the lenders that have the greatest incentives. You can vet mortgage brokers for this scenario by asking how many lenders they work with. If they only have a few mortgage lenders in their roster, they are really a sales rep for those firms. The lenders may not even charge you a fee, but the lender will charge you higher interest rates to offset the fee they pay the lender.
One reason to ask this question is to verify that the mortgage broker is working with a wide array of lenders. If they only list a few mortgage providers, they aren’t offering you more than you could find on your own. Another reason to ask this question is so that you can learn about the quality of the lenders the mortgage broker works with. Are they working with a national network of credit unions and regional banks, or are they working with de facto loan sharks? When you ask for referrals for customers the mortgage broker Saint-Laurent residents used, ask them who ended up holding their loan.
A mortgage broker should have a reasonable answer to this question. For example, they may tell you that they can find you a better interest rate or more favorable mortgage terms than mainstream lenders. They may offer better customer service, helping you fill out paperwork and show up with all the documentation required to maximize the odds your home loan is approved. Go ahead and ask what the odds are that you would be approved for a home loan if you worked with them.
Online reputation management means that you have to be wary of online reviews. Businesses can pay for fake good reviews and purge bad reviews in some cases. Do read the negative reviews, since this can warn you about issues with the business. However, most happy customers won’t leave a review. Ask for recent references so that you can ask their current clients what they think of the mortgage broker. You’ll also learn more about the mortgage broker this way. How responsive are they? How quickly do they respond to emails or phone calls? Are they open the hours their customers need to meet with them?
