Mortgage Brokers go the Extra Mile – By Kathryn Boothby, For Postmedia News on March 26, 2014:
“Len Collins is well-versed in mortgage financing – he owns four houses, so he’s had considerable experience in these matters. But even so, he says he never goes it alone.
Collins signed his first mortgage deal with a local bank when he was 24. “It was 1988. I was young and had a down payment. Going to the bank for a home mortgage was the standard thing to do. I didn’t shop around because mortgage brokers weren’t too prevalent back then.”
Collins bought and sold three homes over the next decade and a half. It was at that point he adopted the philosophy that real estate should only be bought, not sold. Around the same time, he met the mortgage broker who would help him assemble the stable of properties he and his wife own today.
He hadn’t had much exposure to brokers to that point. But he needed someone to help build his property portfolio in a cost-effective way with mortgages that matched his personal and economic situation.
“A mortgage is often the largest financial commitment of a lifetime,” says Jim Murphy, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP). “It’s important that consumers have choice, one of which is a mortgage broker who shops the market to find the best product at the best rate for the borrower, whether it’s a first mortgage or a renewal.””
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