Sale of broker book marks industry maturity

By Vernon Clement Jones The transfer of an established portfolio from one broker to another is offering encouragement to industry veterans convinced their years of service to the client have a significant and very tangible value. “We bought the database,” said Mindy Small, one of two partners at Summerside Mortgages – The Mortgage Centre, in […]

Tweaked ARM addresses broker concerns over alternative lending

With tweaks to its variable-rate mortgage, Equitable Trust is acknowledging what many brokers fear: one or two years on the alternative side can improve a client’s credit, but often isn’t enough to get them into the A sphere. “Every borrower who goes to the Alt-A/B sphere aims to be there only for one or two […]

Ontario broker lobbies for tighter ‘mortgage suitability’ regs

By Vernon Clement Jones The head of a large Ontario brokerage – and VP of the province’s mortgage broker association, IMBA – is lobbying for “better-defined” guidelines around “mortgage suitability” in the governing act, arguing it would help fend off competition from the banks. “It’s something that’s much talked about among brokers, many of who […]

Gold-buying broker raises concerns

Gold-buying broker raises concerns By Vernon Clement Jones Some brokers fear it may tarnish the industry’s reputation. But a business advertising broker services – at the same it hawks “cash for gold” – is nonetheless focused on customer service, said the jeweler/mortgage professional behind it. “I am a licensed mortgage agent,” Harold Gerstel, otherwise known […]

IRD Penalty Comparison Rates

The much-unlovedInterest rate differential (IRD) penalty is a mystery to most of the natural born population. People loathe it, largely because they don’t understand it. We continually come across folks who read their entire mortgage contract and are still confused by the IRD calculation. Fortunately, federal disclosure guidelines are on their way later this year. […]

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