The most critical question you need to know when looking for a mortgage to buy a home in Calgary is where to find the best lender. This will require considerable homework and research. Your mortgage lender is the person who holds the purse strings on your mortgage, and whether you get approval to buy that dream home also depends on the level of service they provide to their customers.
Know the Prevailing Mortgage Rates
Many first time home buyers tend to focus largely on the interest rates. Finding the best mortgage rate for your home can of course make the difference in saving or losing thousands of dollars over the amortization term of the mortgage. You want a lender who can lock in a choice mortgage rate quickly and isn’t quibbling and nitpicking over details that cause you to miss out.
Know the Mortgage Fees
A homebuyer also needs to know the fees they are going to be charged when they settle on a lender. Some of these fees can be negotiable so you don’t necessarily have to accept them at face value. Fees could include such things as closing fees or possibly commissions. Always remember to ask your lender about additional what additional fees or cost are involved before you sign on the dotted line.
Know your Mortgage Lender
There are many different types of mortgage lenders found in Calgary. Most people often choose the place where they do their banking as a starting place. Banks are the most common mortgage lenders, but there are also many other different lending places that offer mortgages such as credit unions, trust companies or private lenders. A home buyer should research their lender before they approach them. You can do a lot of your own research on- line to learn how well particular lenders perform.
Talk to your friends who have recently bought or refinanced their home and ask them if they would recommend the lender they choose.
Another option is to ask your real estate agent if they know a lender they have worked with before.
Know What Questions to Ask
Getting a mortgage requires that you fully understand your financial situation, what you can afford now and what your future financial circumstances will be in the future. You have to decide on whether you a fixed or variable mortgage is right for you, the term of the mortgage, the amortization and what the penalty will be if you want to pay the mortgage down.
Consider using a Mortgage Broker
As you can see, there’s a lot of work that needs to go in selecting a mortgage lender. Even though you’ve done all your homework and provided the lender with all the required paperwork and met with the lender, you still can’t be certain whether they will approve your loan.
Why not take all the guesswork and potential frustration out of the equation and make it an easier process by letting a mortgage broker do all the work for you. They are mortgage experts because that’s their speicalty. They don’t work for they lenders because they work for you. It doesn’t cost you any extra costs to use their services because they receive their commission from the lender when your mortgage is approved.
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