Robert McLister·
Mortgage Broker News
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Broker Execs Sound Off

Mortgage-Brokers The past few years have brought rapid change to the mortgage industry.  Lenders and products have come and gone, and the competition has become ferocious.

A group of four executives weighed in on these changes at CAAMP‘s recent mortgage conference.

The panel included…

  • Michael Beckette, President & CEO, Mortgage Alliance
  • Colin Dreyer – President & CEO, Verico
  • Gord Dahlen – EVP, Invis/Mortgage Intelligence
  • Grant Thomas – President, The Mortgage Group

Here’s what each had to say… Story

Robert McLister
Robert McLister
Robert McLister is one of Canada’s best-known mortgage experts, a mortgage columnist for The Globe and Mail, and Founder of mortgage broker intelliMortgage Inc., RateSpy.com, a website comparing Canada's best mortgage rates and Mortgage Editor of RATESDOTCA.

4 Comments

  1. QUOTE: Thomas predicted that, “in 5 years, brokers will have another 12-13% penetration.” That could be derailed, however, if “there are roadblocks put in our way by institutions or government that don’t know the value we add.”
    I’m tired of brokers putting themselves up on some type of pedistal. They don’t offer anything special from a product perspective and from the relationship side it’s most likely the worst in the industry.
    I much prefer dealing with my financial professional (Yes, mine happens to be a Financial Planner tied to a RBC). Since I don’t have a lot of investment $’s, my mortgage is what helps be get anchored with a Financial Planner. We chat a couple times each year about many different financial aspects of my life to ensure everything is coordinated (retirement, pension, RESP, estate planning, other credit needs, vacations). At renewal, I don’t have to re-tell my story and hope my broker is as decicated to getting my business as he was 5yrs ago when I originally took my mortgage.

    Reply

  2. Hi Brian,
    Thanks for the comment. You are not a fan of brokers and you want people to know it. That is fine.
    As you probably realize, many people will strongly disagree with statements in your post.
    Mortgage planners’ entire business model is based on choice. That is their “special” ingredient.
    As for relationships, planners live and die on referrals. The best mortgage agents work ardently to create lifelong relationships with clients. When your mortgage comes up for renewal, a good planner knows your whole story already and can easily move you to the best lender at the time with minimal hassle.
    If your views are based on a few interactions with subpar planners, I urge you to find a good one and see how the experience compares.
    Cheers,
    Rob

    Reply

  3. We just started working with a broker after spending years with a major bank, not realizing we were overpaying thousands of dollars due to higher-than-necessary interest rates. You can usually get much better financial advice for a lot less money overall by going with a mortgage broker for your mortgage and taking all the money you saved and paying a fee-only advisor that won’t try to constantly saddle you with overpriced mutual funds his company offers. My 2 cents..

    Reply

  4. Tom – The truth is that only about about 1/100 clients can justify a fee-only advisor. For the 99/100 remaining clients, they are left with virtually no benefit after the fee-only advisor fee is factored in.
    If you find the right people at a bank (there are always bad apples in every industry), you will get their services for free and be further ahead overall at the end of the day.

    Reply

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