CTV Morning Live: Mortgage application advice

Clinton Wilkins sits down with Ana Almeida from CTV Morning Live to answer viewers’ questions and to talk about mortgage application advice.

Don’t feel like watching the video? Check out the mortgage application advice video transcript below.

Transcript:

Mortgage application advice

Ana: [00:00:00] Thank you Ceilidh, Applying for a mortgage will be one of the most important financial decisions you’ll make in your life. So, you need to make sure that you’re well versed and ready for the responsibilities associated with getting a loan. This morning we have Clinton Wilkins joining us to answer some of those questions. Really happy to have you here.

Clinton: [00:00:17] Thanks for having me.

What is a mortgage adviser?

Ana: [00:00:17] So first off, let me ask you this. What is the difference between your role as a mortgage adviser versus a bank mortgage specialist?

Clinton: [00:00:25] I think it’s a great question. And a lot of people don’t know the difference. I mean, you can get a mortgage, you know, at the branch you can get a mortgage from a mortgage broker or a bank mortgage specialist. And I think, you know, the really huge pro for a mortgage adviser, I’m self-employed and I’m motivated to make sure that, you know, clients are getting the best deal and the best expert advice. You know, we have access to about 40 different lenders. So we’re able to take one credit bureau, one set of income, one set of documentation and really provide the best, unbiased advice to the consumer.

Ana: [00:00:53] Oh, that’s lovely. I like that.

Benefits of a mortgage broker

Clinton: [00:00:55] And it’s free. Mortgage brokers are one of the only things in life that’s free. And we’re really biased to the consumer versus to the little lender. I think I really lend my consumers the lender for a period of time. And then we’re able to stay involved and make sure that they’re still able to get the best advice and the best rate going. All right.

Ana: [00:01:09] Well, we actually put a call out to see what people, you know, wanted to know. So one of those viewers, her name is Amy Hillard. She wrote to us on Facebook and she said, I’m looking at purchasing, but would also want to include some renovations and add it in additions, rather, to the house. What kind of info do I need before I have to make that purchase? And to help make the whole situation smoothly. And, you know, a lot of people are thinking the same thing as her.

Purchase Plus Improvements

Clinton: [00:01:32] 100 percent. And it’s one of my favorite products. I love, what we call, purchase plus improvements. So the Coles Notes version is you need to have a quote for the work before you actually make the offer on the property or by the time that we get the offer. Because we submit the quote at the same time as the mortgage application. We do it all together and we love tying in those renovations into that mortgage because, at the end of the day, the mortgage debt is some of the cheapest debt that you’re going to have in your life. So the way that it works is that we can typically finance a maximum of either 10 or 20 percent of the purchase price, up to forty thousand. Now it’s a single advance product, so you need to do the work before you get the funds.

Ana: [00:02:08] Yeah.

Clinton: [00:02:08] So typically when the work is done, then we’ll send an appraiser to the property to confirm the work is done, or you can give us some paid receipts and we’ll get your money released.

Ana: [00:02:16] Very good.

It starts with a pre-approval

Clinton: [00:02:16] Yeah, it’s great. I love it. You know, I always recommend it to consumers when we’re doing a pre-approval because you know that old adage, it’s buying, you know, the worst home and the best neighborhood and you can really make it your own.

Ana: [00:02:26] Exactly. We’re seeing that more and more now for sure.

Clinton: [00:02:29] 100 percent

Ana: [00:02:29] So let’s say, for first-time homebuyers. What are some of the initiatives?

What about for first-time home buyers?

Clinton: [00:02:33] I think there are lots of great things going on. Right now, it’s very exciting. So the federal government has made a lot of announcements in terms of what they are offering. Now you can borrow up to thirty-five thousand from your RRSP as a first time home buyer. So, you can borrow your down payment from yourself.

Ana: [00:02:47] Oh, isn’t that nice.

Clinton: [00:02:49] And also now, if you’re getting divorced or separated starting in the new year, you could become a first time home buyer again and still access these programs. Even if you had owned a home. So there are some exciting things going on and just started now in September. The initiatives have started. So if you’re buying a resale home, the federal government will come to the table with an additional 5 percent of the purchase price. And if it’s a new construction home, they’ll come to the table with an additional 10 percent. So essentially, it will reduce the client’s mortgage payments, which is exciting.

Launch of the new federal program

Ana: [00:03:18] Yes.

Clinton: [00:03:19] And now the federal government will own a portion of your home so they can benefit from the price growth or they’ll willing to take the risk of that. If the price does go down, then they’ll take that.

Ana: [00:03:30] Well, that’s good to know as well.

Clinton: [00:03:31] It’s nice to put a little bit more money in the pockets of Canadians. It’s going to borrow their overall borrowing cars. And now there’s no payment for this 5 or 10 percent.

Ana: [00:03:40] Oh, good.

Clinton: [00:03:41] But you’ve 25 years to pay it off. So either you need to pay it off when you potentially rent your home, sell your home, or at the end of the twenty-five years.

Ana: [00:03:48] This what I was going to ask, how do you decide what is the right, you know, mortgage for someone, like for you?

What is the first step?

Clinton: [00:03:53] I think the very first step is a pre-approval. You know, when we look at client’s income, credit, and their assets, and we’re able to give them that expert advice. Everybody’s situation is different and I think that’s what makes my job really exciting because we’re able to make that Canadian dream a reality. And I really think that homeownership is part of the Canadian dream. So, you know, we love helping people. And I think that at the end of the day, you really need to look in the mirror. I don’t sit in your household. So we need to understand, you know, what does your budget look like? And sometimes your maximum budget and what you can actually afford are two different things.

Ana: [00:04:24] My gosh, so many great pieces of information there. Thank you so much. Helping everybody out. I appreciate that.

Clinton: [00:04:29] I really encourage everyone to seek the advice of an unbiased mortgage professional. It’s the biggest purchase of your life.

Ana: [00:04:34] That’s it. All right. Well, there you go. That’s great. Last piece of advice for you on this Monday morning. Thank you, Clinton. It is 7:50. There is more CTV Morning Live coming up after this short break.

Looking for more information or other mortgage application advice? Feel free to contact us!