For many people, mortgage payments are their single largest expense. Yet, when financing a home, most Canadians don't comparison shop to ensure they're getting the best mortgage rate and terms available. This mistake can cost homeowners tens of thousands of dollars over the course of their mortgage.

Here are seven ways mortgage brokers can help:

1. Access to competitive rates. Brokers deal with multiple competing lenders and can often access exclusive rates. Based on the number of mortgages brokers complete each year, they also have the power to negotiate rate discounts from lenders, which can be passed on to their clients.

2. A free service. Mortgage brokers' services are typically available at no cost to consumers. Brokers are paid by the lender selected by their clients.

3. Knowledgeable advice. Brokers offer consultative service, advice and solutions that are customized to each client's needs. And unlike banks, brokers work for you.

4. Speed and convenience. Brokers will work around a client's schedule to make the transaction as easy and convenient as possible.

5. Pre-qualification. Whether you're shopping for a new home or refinancing your existing mortgage, a broker can help you obtain a pre-approved mortgage, often with up to a 120-day interest rate guarantee.

6. Preserved credit rating. When you shop for a mortgage, there is an accumulation of lender inquiries on your credit bureau report, possibly affecting your credit rating and, ultimately, the rate and terms of your mortgage. This isn't the case with a mortgage broker, who only does one inquiry yet can still get many competing lenders to quote on your business.

7. Peace of Mind. The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Brokers has a stringent Code of Ethics that members are required to adhere to in order to retain membership.

More information on this topic is available online at www.mortgageintelligence.ca.

Credit: www.newscanada.com

Most mortgages have the option to allow payments to be made on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This option may be desirable for two reasons. The first is it can save you money as you can expect to pay off your mortgage about 4 years sooner. This can save you dramatically over the life of your mortgage. The other reason why these options are so popular is that if your employer pays you on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, you can simplify your budgeting by making the payment line up with the way you paid.

Paying extra amounts on your mortgage can make a big interest saving over time. When we select a mortgage company, privilege payments options are something that we look for. A 20% privilege payment will allow you to pay off up to $20,000 per year on a $100 000 mortgage. It is important that the privilege payment also be flexible to allow you to pay smaller payments on the mortgage and as often as you wish. An extra $1000 periodically paid on a mortgage can help you become mortgage free faster.

When you require a mortgage for more than 75% of the purchase price of a property, that mortgage must be insured by Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) or GE Mortgage insurance. The premium charged by these company`s decreases as the down payment increases. When you finance your property at 95%, a premium of 2.75% is added to the mortgage. By increasing the down payment to 10% of the purchase price the premium can be reduced to 2.5%. If you can put down 25%, you can avoid any additional insurance fee. Depending on your situation there are ways that you can structure this financing to avoid the CMHC or GE insurance premium.

As mentioned above, when you put a 25% down payment on your purchase you can avoid the CMHC premium. More importantly the larger the down payment, the lower the amount of interest you will pay over the life of your mortgage. It is important to note that it may not be wise to stretch yourself to increase your down payment and end up borrowing on credit cards or a line of credit at a higher rate.

The options for mortgages available can be very confusing for most mortgage shoppers. Terms for mortgages vary between variable and fixed rate, 6-month terms to 10 year terms. Taking a variable or floating rate mortgage can have savings. Typically the shorter the term or guarantee of the rate, the lower the rate will be. This does not always happen, depending on the market place and the economy, but history has shown that short-term rates tend to be lower than long-term rates. The up side of variable rate is the strong potential for interest rate savings. The down side is the fact that you are accepting the interest rate risk without a guarantee. If you are considering a variable rate mortgage you need to look at your own risk tolerance, and your cash flow available to deal with potential increased payment. Considering projections of rates and where we see interest rates heading can also be important in this decision. Make sure you talk to an expert when you are making this decision.

Many people would like to start building equity in their own home, but are held back by concerns about cost. In fact, the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation estimates that 40 per cent of renters in Canada today can afford to buy their own home.

If affordable housing options are available to nearly half of all renters, what's holding them back?

Sometimes the media reports of housing prices can give a misleading impression about the cost of home-ownership. The media typically reports median or average prices without explaining the distribution of home prices behind those figures.

A median is that price at which half the homes sold for more while half sold for less. That means that there are just as many homes that sold at a price lower than the median than those that sold at prices higher than the median price. The median price doesn't give any indication of the spread of these prices. Many properties are sold for much lower - or higher, of course - than the median price.

An average price is the total dollar volume of homes sold for a particular period, divided by the number of units sold. Average prices are typically reported for the sales activity in a given area for a given month, quarter or year, and provide a snapshot of past activity. Average prices of properties sold in the past give only a limited indication of what housing inventory for sale is priced at today. An understanding of the housing in a particular community is needed to put average prices into perspective. For example, sales of a new sub-division or townhouse project of larger, upscale homes at higher prices will bring the overall average price up, giving the impression that all housing prices have risen. In reality, prices for the older, smaller housing units in the community may not have changed, or they may have even dropped.

A better measurement technique is the housing price index (HPI), which tracks the price of a typical, or benchmark property. HPI statistics can often provide a new depth of interpretation to average and median statistics. Ask your realtor whether this technique is used in the area where you wish to purchase your home.

Scott can provide a knowledgeable market analysis and show you what is available within your budget.

If you are planning to purchase a home in Whitby, Oshawa, Courtice or Bowmanville, you will be faced with many decisions. What comes first buying the next home or selling your present home? What is your price range? What will be the location, size and style of your next home?

Before getting the answers to these questions there is one major decision to be made: which Realtor shall you choose to help you get through the maze of forms and give you the direction needed to successfully complete your real estate transactions?

Buying a home is too important to leave up to a committee. Some buyers like to leave their name with three or four salespeople. Although it may seem to be to the buyer's advantage to have a number of people to work with, it is usually a very ineffective approach. The basic assumption is that a committee of agents can produce more results than working exclusively with one realtor. Like most committee assignments--everybody's responsibility is nobody's responsibility.

ONE REALTOR = COMMITMENT

You need the total commitment of one Realtor whom you feel comfortable with and who will get to know and understand you and have compassion and empathy for your particular situation. Buying and selling a home is a journey that must be carefully plotted and mapped from the start to completion. Tell this Realtor that you will work with them exclusively as long as you see the effort and work needed to get the job completed. In fact if you are a Buyer you should sign a Buyers Agency form with this agent to show your commitment, as well the agent should put in an escape clause for you the buyer if they do not perform or work actively for you. In this way you will have a dedicated Realtor who will make it his personal responsibility to handle all the details to get you to a successful completion of this real estate journey.

A REALTOR NEEDS CANDID FEEDBACK

A good agent will listen to your needs and search through properties that are available both their own office and the Multiple Listing Service, then sort out the inappropriate ones. They will likely show you a number of homes and get your feedback and then continue the process until you have found the right home. Be very candid with your feedback, point out your likes and dislikes of the properties. Your Realtor should have a copy of each of the listings you will be viewing with a space on each of the pages for your written notes. You will not remember the likes and dislikes you have of each home after you have finished your entire showing tour. Make your notes immediately after viewing each home. Also remember it is in your best interest to view only a maximum of 4 to 5 homes on any one showing tour. It is easy to become confused when viewing too many homes at one time.

A Realtor is paid on a straight commission basis. They do not receive a salary or have an expense account. They are paid only after they have sold something and it successfully closes. This is why working with more than one Realtor is not a good idea. None of the Realtors will know if it will be to their financial benefit to spend any of their time or effort trying to find you a property, when you could possibly buy through another Realtor. Believe it or not, you will be best served by dealing with one committed Realtor as opposed to shopping the field with a variety of Realtors and Brokerages. By giving your commitment to one Realtor, the Realtor will work with the enthusiasm and diligent efforts required to successfully complete your transaction.

"How long has it been on the market"? This is a question many buyers ask. The thought behind it is often one of two things. Either there's something wrong with the home or the price is too high. Both of these notions may need clarification. Let me deal with the first thought.

Consumers need to know that under the closest scrutiny one could argue that there is something "wrong" with every home. The real question here is:- does the price reflect what is being offered? In this case what is "wrong" with a home may be exactly what makes it right for some one who appreciates the opportunity and the reflected price.

Regarding the thought of overpricing, it must be considered that where a home is extremely unique, a long marketing time may be necessary in order to obtain market value while pursuing a buyer with the same unique interest. On the contrary, with atypical homes, a long period of time on the market may point toward inferior marketing but mostly toward an overpriced listing for that market regardless of what is "right or wrong" with the home. However, sometimes when homes are reduced and buyers ask "how long has it been listed" the proper response is "at that price only...weeks". By illustration and a bit of exaggeration to make the point, suppose a home is on the market for 2 years at $300,000 and the seller reduces it to $250,000. Then, while the buyer is asking "how long has it been listed", there are 5 offers being presented, followed by the hollow apology "Sorry it's sold".

It is obvious then that both notions for time on the market may be incorrect. While you can always make an offer, it's always best to ask yourself "does the price reflect what is being offered" to avoid disappointment.