Are you looking for information on Ottawa mortgages for your new home or to re-mortgage your previous home?
We remember how confusing it all seemed when we bought our first home in Ottawa. Buying a home can be stressful enough on its own but then there is the added stress of trying to find the best mortgage rate too!
Do you get a variable or a fixed mortgage? What is the difference between the two?
Do you go with a financial institution like one of the major Canadian banks or with an Ottawa Mortgage Broker or Agent? Who will give you the best rate?
You will hear varying opinions from everyone you know. We asked friends and family who also live in Ottawa and they all had their own opinions based on their personal situation.
Keep in mind that we are not professional mortgage specialists. We are fellow Ottawa home owners who had to do a lot of research and leg work to find out as much as we could about Ottawa mortgages and where to go to get one. You will want to make sure to ask your financial institution or mortgage broker as many questions as you can.
Here are a few tips that we would like to share with you. We found that it made it a lot easier when shopping around for the best Ottawa mortgages:
- Familiarize yourself with the terms – A lot of websites have a glossary to explain the difference between a variable and a fixed mortgage or the explanation of the amortization period.
- Check out the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation website (www.cmhc.ca). It offers a lot of great tips and advice
- Check the financial institutions websites regularly to see what their posted interest rates are (check their websites or the daily newspaper)
- Fill out the online mortgage calculators to see what your approximate monthly payments will be – you can fill in your mortgage amount, your amortization period and the estimated interest rate and it will calculate your monthly mortgage payments
- Call around to a few Mortgage Brokers and see what they can offer you
- Read about the advantages of making bi-weekly payments as opposed to monthly
- Don’t be afraid to tell the Bank or the Broker what rates you are being offered. They want you as a customer so they will do whatever it takes to offer you the best rate (remember – even a 0.5% difference helps)
- You don’t have to stay with your regular Bank. You can still keep your accounts at one bank but your mortgage at another.
We are very happy with the mortgage rate we ended up with and with the financial institution that we used. Keep in mind though that what is good for one person will not necessarily be good for the other person. It all depends on your financial situation and what you are capable of paying each month.
The best way to find a mortgage broke is to ask friends, family & co-workers for recommendations. You can also check out the yellow pages in the phone book and call around. Meet with them and have a list of questions ready. Make sure you feel comfortable with the person you are dealing with.
We wish you the best of luck looking for Ottawa Mortgages. Shop around and do what you feel is best for you!
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