You may have noticed the many websites out there that list mortgage rates. Cannex.com, Canoe.ca, and RateSupermarket are a few examples.
Sites like these can be handy for cross-checking mortgage rates. If nothing else, they keep your broker on their toes.
Rate pages have limits however. Below are some things to remember when perusing these kinds of sites.
- The information is not always up to date.
Lenders and brokers on these sites do not always update their rates promptly. In comparison, a good mortgage planner is often current with their rates to the hour.
- The information is not always what it seems.
Some lenders and brokers advertise amazingly low rates. Then, when you call, you find out they’re quoting:
- Teaser rates (ultra-low rates that expire)
- No-frills products (i.e. mortgages without pre-payment privileges and other perks)
- Quick-close rates (rates that apply only if you’re closing in 30 days for example)
- Jumbo rates (rates that apply only to mortgages over $250,000 to $500,000)
By contrast, a good mortgage broker always quotes rates that apply specifically to your wishes and your circumstances.
- The information is not complete.
How can you tell from a rate page if a mortgage has good payment flexibility, pre-payment privileges,
portability, assumability, readvancing credit, free home warranties, good conversion rates, favourable interest compounding, self-employed programs, or other important features? You can’t, but mortgage planners can tell you.
Mortgage planners also have unpublished rates that rarely make it to most major rate sites.
- Once you find a rate, there’s no hand holding.
Unless you’re working with a mortgage planner, you have no one objective to:
- advise you of better alternatives
- handle all your paperwork
- advise on how to properly structure an application to maximize chances for approval
- give you advice throughout the process on qualifying, handling credit issues, paying down your mortgage quicker, preparing your documents for submission, etc.
- advise on avoiding fees
- give you the truth about a lender’s service quality and turnaround times
Low rates are great. Lower the better we say. But there’s more to the puzzle, and more to lose, if you put your trust in a rate page.