It’s no secret that I absolutely hate the way most mortgage brokers advertise their services. ”WE HAVE THE LOWEST RATES EVER” or “YOUR MORTGAGE PREAPPROVED IN 10 MINUTES OR IT’S FREE” To those brokers I would say, “first of all – stop yelling at people, and secondly, all brokers offer discounted rates compared to banks posted rates, do you really think that you can provide quality service to your clients in 10 minutes… Really? Just stop and think about that for a minute.”
At Highland Mortgage we believe that when you deal with us, your experience should be so much more than rates and fastest possible turnaround time. The constant advertising of these things creates assumptions about the way all brokerages operate so I figured I would outline how the industry actually works and how we are different.
Generally speaking, you will get offered a lower rate from a broker than from a bank, but broker to broker, there will be very little difference in rates offered. Although it appears as though a lot of brokerages are saying that they have lower rates compared to the broker down the street, they aren’t, they are really comparing their discounted rates to the banks posted rates. A brokers responsibility is to deal with several lending institutions to be able to “shop for the best product” – I think the lack of clarity here causes people to start looking for the best rates between brokerages which really makes the job of a broker seem less effective. My advice, there is very little difference between the rates and products being offered between different mortgage brokerages, find a broker you like and stick with them.
As for the brokers who say they can get you a preapproval in 10 minutes, they just don’t know what they are doing! It is true that any broker can take an online application and without any question as to your specific circumstance, they could essentially submit your application to a lender and receive a “pre-approval” from a computer generated approval system within 10 minutes. My question is, what value does this really provide? No one has actually looked at your application and you don’t even have a clue where to start the process. The brokerages that advertise this way are tipping their hand and really saying they view their clients as just another number in a list of people contributing to their bottom line. More importantly the question that has to be asked here is:
Well, we are building our business on customer service, “Our goal is to be the most referred mortgage brokerage in Saskatchewan.” How are we accomplishing this? By looking after the individual needs of every client we work with.
When you deal with us you can expect that we will go through all your mortgage options, discussing what is important to you and then work with you to develop a mortgage plan that you are comfortable with. We discuss rate, prepayment privileges, portability, payment structure, suitable amortization, mortgage goals, IRD scenarios and so much more. We will take as much time as necessary to make sure our clients are clear about all their options and that they are comfortable with the process before moving forward.
So without too much of a sales pitch here – We don’t believe that “the best rate” & amazing turnaround time should be an all or nothing proposition, we package both of those into our customer service goals but offer so much more. If you are the kind of person who wants to work with professionals who have your best interest in mind, we would love to work with you. Connect with us however you feel comfortable, the coffee is always on!
