The Spring of 2007 saw many Canadians hop into home ownership (and therefore mortgages) for the first time. The dollar was strong, the economy chugging along nicely, employment was high, and mortgage rates were relatively low. It’s now 5 years later, and time to renew that mortgage.
Regardless of whether or not times are tougher for you 5 years later, it’s always a good idea to shop around when it comes to your mortgage renewal. I know it can be a bit of a hassle, but when you’re talking about one of the biggest purchases in your lifetime, it’s probably worth a couple of hours of your time to potentially save tens of thousands of dollars, isn’t it? Your current lender will probably make it very easy for you to just sign some renewal papers and get back into a mortgage with them for another 5 years. It’s pretty straight forward and fairly painless to do. And sometimes, it’s even the best route to go. But most of the time you’ll find that there are better rates and better options out there for you (and many times, those rates and options can be significantly better than what your current lender is offering you!).
You can always shop around for better rates yourself – most lenders post that sort of stuff up on their websites and in newspapers. But I think you’ll find the knowledge and service provided by most mortgage brokers is an invaluable asset (and the service we provide is almost always FREE – remember that the lender pays our fees on most residential transactions!).
Instead of potentially throwing money away to your current lender, and rather than spending hours going through websites and newspapers trying to find the best rate, let a mortgage broker do the heavy lifting for you. We work with dozens of different lenders, and because we play around in the sandbox of mortgages all day every day, we can easily get you set up in the best mortgage for you, and save you a bunch of time and money at the same time. It’s a win-win for everyone (well, except for your current lender if they’re not offering you the best rates from the start). 😉
So don’t touch that mortgage renewal package you got in the mail from your current lender – instead, send your favourite mortgage broker off an email or give one of us a call, and we’ll help you place you in a mortgage that best suits your current situation.
