Real Estate

First time home buyer. Bank or mortgage broker?

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Jr. Member
Sep 1, 2012
122 posts
33 upvotes
Ottawa/Gatineau

First time home buyer. Bank or mortgage broker?

Looking to by a new house soon. I am trying to decide if I should go with a bank or a mortgage broker for my mortgage.

I am banking with TD, but I have heard bad thing about their collateral mortgages. I will maybe go with Desjardins or Scotiabank if I decide to go with a bank.

What do you think about mortgage brokers? (CanWise Mortgages, Multi-Prêts Hypothèque, Hypotheca, etc). I saw some good reviews on google. Do you have some mortgages brokers you suggest me?
33 replies
Sr. Member
Aug 6, 2014
830 posts
300 upvotes
Ottawa, ON
stefxx wrote: Looking to by a new house soon. I am trying to decide if I should go with a bank or a mortgage broker for my mortgage.

I am banking with TD, but I have heard bad thing about their collateral mortgages. I will maybe go with Desjardins or Scotiabank if I decide to go with a bank.

What do you think about mortgage brokers? (CanWise Mortgages, Multi-Prêts Hypothèque, Hypotheca, etc). I saw some good reviews on google. Do you have some mortgages brokers you suggest me?
we checked out two banks and got terrible rates from them. a mortgage broker was able to get us better rates. there's a thread in this forum with the lowest mortgage rates of all. i asked my mortgage broker why her rates were slightly higher than those posted in the rfd thread and she got all flustered and said that the super super low rates are difficult to get out of and come with all sorts of penalties. she makes commission so take what she says with a grain of salt.

if you don't know anything about mortgages, a mortgage broker should also take the time to explain stuff to you clearly and answer your questions which might be of value to you.
Newbie
Dec 31, 2015
14 posts
1 upvote
Ottawa
stefxx wrote: Looking to by a new house soon. I am trying to decide if I should go with a bank or a mortgage broker for my mortgage.

I am banking with TD, but I have heard bad thing about their collateral mortgages. I will maybe go with Desjardins or Scotiabank if I decide to go with a bank.

What do you think about mortgage brokers? (CanWise Mortgages, Multi-Prêts Hypothèque, Hypotheca, etc). I saw some good reviews on google. Do you have some mortgages brokers you suggest me?
I'm a realtor in Ottawa and I would recommend a mortgage broker. The main reason is they shop around for you and you don't have to go around yourself from place to place. You may pay 1/10% more but you will be sure its the best you can get. Brokers are good for difficult cases as well. I have known cases where people were quoted high rates by their banks and after I told them to go to a broker they were able to get the best rate without having to trust what they were told. Good luck.
Jr. Member
Sep 1, 2012
122 posts
33 upvotes
Ottawa/Gatineau
Investing wrote: I'm a realtor in Ottawa and I would recommend a mortgage broker. The main reason is they shop around for you and you don't have to go around yourself from place to place. You may pay 1/10% more but you will be sure its the best you can get. Brokers are good for difficult cases as well. I have known cases where people were quoted high rates by their banks and after I told them to go to a broker they were able to get the best rate without having to trust what they were told. Good luck.
What do you mean by "You may pay 1/10% more"?
Newbie
Dec 31, 2015
14 posts
1 upvote
Ottawa
stefxx wrote: What do you mean by "You may pay 1/10% more"?
Say 2.79 versus 2.69. It assumes you can shop around and get the 2.69 in the first place. If you're not careful the best you might be able to do on your own might be 2.99. You can't really know this on your own. On top of that you have to provide info to each bank and each bank has to do credit checks and they will know you're shopping them. Some will drop you or just ignore you if they feel there is only a remote chance. Take the risk out of it and go with a broker. I know of a good experienced one.
Jr. Member
Sep 1, 2012
122 posts
33 upvotes
Ottawa/Gatineau
Investing wrote: Say 2.79 versus 2.69. It assumes you can shop around and get the 2.69 in the first place. If you're not careful the best you might be able to do on your own might be 2.99. You can't really know this on your own. On top of that you have to provide info to each bank and each bank has to do credit checks and they will know you're shopping them. Some will drop you or just ignore you if they feel there is only a remote chance. Take the risk out of it and go with a broker. I know of a good experienced one.
Thanks. I will look around for a good broker. I'm on the Quebec side.
Deal Addict
Apr 4, 2013
1274 posts
410 upvotes
Look for a mortgage broker on the Quebec side. The rules are very different for Quebec and most ON brokers are not licensed for mortgage business in Quebec. Some do it by partnering with a Quebec broker, but that just adds another lawyer to the approval process. Go directly to the broker yourself.
Newbie
Oct 9, 2014
51 posts
24 upvotes
Vancouver, BC
Whoaaaa. The implication a few posts above is that you would pay more going through a broker. That is just not the case for a standard mortgage situation. Banks and other lenders release their very best rates through brokers. Usually these are better than you could ever get in a branch, no matter how hard you haggle. Just choose the broker carefully-some do not offer the best rates up-front. The reason is not, as fisher44's broker stated, that there is anything "difficult" about the mortgages, but that they are taking a higher commission for themselves. Any broker worth patronizing will offer no-frills and regular-frills products and help you choose between them.

There is a lot of money on the line here - quite likely thousands. I suggest you spend a couple of hours reading a few weeks' worth of posts on the mortgage rates thread here. There is a lot of redundancy, but it won't take
long to find out what the real lowest rates. It really is time well spent.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Mar 26, 2015
2573 posts
438 upvotes
BC
Logically, it would be a broker.

However,
we got the best rates through a bank - direct. Better than any broker or smaller tier company whether in rate or condition. As mrthwap says, read the mortgage rates thread so you know what is possible.
Go Raptors, Go!
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 2, 2013
5697 posts
1522 upvotes
Edmonton, AB
Broker- lower rates. Some people are old school and prefer only the biggest banks though.
Accountant (Public Practice)
Deal Addict
Jul 20, 2008
2668 posts
1400 upvotes
North York
I went to bank as first time home buyer and they checked my credit history and themselves offered me 2.48%.

Initially they were offering me 2.54% and another bank was offering me 2.50.

I can pm the names of bank.
Sr. Member
Feb 8, 2011
665 posts
207 upvotes
Toronto
I had a connect at TD so that was the best rate I could get, I even talked to one of those mobile mortgage guys at my company and he couldn't beat the rate.
Deal Addict
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Jun 26, 2011
1689 posts
399 upvotes
I went through a broker and am glad I did - the bank rates could not even compare.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 1, 2015
1968 posts
927 upvotes
Etobicoke, ON
stefxx wrote: Thanks. I will look around for a good broker. I'm on the Quebec side.
Make sure your broker presents you with all options. You can get a 5y fixed in Quebec at 2.34%.
Life can be good
Sr. Member
Apr 23, 2009
901 posts
87 upvotes
stefxx wrote: Looking to by a new house soon. I am trying to decide if I should go with a bank or a mortgage broker for my mortgage.

I am banking with TD, but I have heard bad thing about their collateral mortgages. I will maybe go with Desjardins or Scotiabank if I decide to go with a bank.

What do you think about mortgage brokers? (CanWise Mortgages, Multi-Prêts Hypothèque, Hypotheca, etc). I saw some good reviews on google. Do you have some mortgages brokers you suggest me?
Are you living on the Quebec side now and looking to buy in Quebec? Or living on the Quebec side and looking to buy in Ottawa?

I went with RBC when I purchased my house, but decided to renew with a broker. RBC thought it was cool to play the 'we are offering you the best possible rate! Oh wait, we just found another discount to give you!' game but couldn't compete with the broker.

We were referred to the broker in Ottawa, close to Bank and Riverside. I can PM you the contact information if you are interested, I found her very pleasant to deal with.
Jr. Member
Sep 1, 2012
122 posts
33 upvotes
Ottawa/Gatineau
Adams06 wrote: Are you living on the Quebec side now and looking to buy in Quebec? Or living on the Quebec side and looking to buy in Ottawa?

I went with RBC when I purchased my house, but decided to renew with a broker. RBC thought it was cool to play the 'we are offering you the best possible rate! Oh wait, we just found another discount to give you!' game but couldn't compete with the broker.

We were referred to the broker in Ottawa, close to Bank and Riverside. I can PM you the contact information if you are interested, I found her very pleasant to deal with.
Yes, I am living on the Quebec side and looking to buy in Quebec.
Member
Jul 21, 2009
401 posts
377 upvotes
Ottawa
Depends on your credit history, down payment and current salary I suppose.

I'm a first time home buyer here in Quebec and just landed a 2.49% for 5 years with TD - very satisfied with the rate/terms. Didn't feel the need to shop around for a broker after receiving this offer.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Feb 2, 2014
11233 posts
3351 upvotes
Toronto
twostepdrew wrote: Depends on your credit history, down payment and current salary I suppose.

I'm a first time home buyer here in Quebec and just landed a 2.49% for 5 years with TD - very satisfied with the rate/terms. Didn't feel the need to shop around for a broker after receiving this offer.
Did TD tell you that all their mortgages are collateral charges and if you ever want to switch lenders, you have to pay extra fees?
Kevin Somnauth, CFA
Principal Broker/Owner - First Toronto Mortgage - MA (Ontario #13176, BC #X301007)
Real Estate Salesperson - Century 21 Innovative
Jr. Member
Sep 1, 2012
122 posts
33 upvotes
Ottawa/Gatineau
CdnRealEstateGuy wrote: Did TD tell you that all their mortgages are collateral charges and if you ever want to switch lenders, you have to pay extra fees?
That's why I don't want to go with TD.

I went to talk with a TD specialist a few weeks ago and asked if the mortgages are collateral and he replied: don't worry, all the banks are the same... Bunch of liars.
Deal Addict
Jan 20, 2016
2028 posts
1013 upvotes
Houston, TX
FirstGear wrote: Broker- lower rates. Some people are old school and prefer only the biggest banks though.
Not every time and depends on situation. In my case brokers could not provide the lowest advertised rates, as I was self-employed last year, next go on contract...so the rate goes +.10...20% from ad rate and TD with 2.29% for 3y actually become the same as via brokers. But broker was going to charge $500 legal fee, and additional fee for HELOC, TD waived all fees (so it was about $1000-1500 savings from broker)
Also conditions are more flexible in TD case.
yes, it's a collateral but I think I'd renew with them as they could provide good discount for their clients with a "package" (I have account, TFSA and RRSP with them)
also you have to pay fee when you change a lender anyway, my old one was non-collateral but still have to pay $300 fee. Legal fee to change collateral mortgage is $500, not a big difference imo.

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