Your credit score has a significant influence on the mortgage interest rate that lenders will offer you. Knowing what lenders look for and how to maintain your credit report will give you an edge when applying for the mortgage you want. If you are looking for the best interest rates in the market then most lenders will want to see a minimum of a 680 beacon score on your credit report. Some specialty programs may require a 700 or 720 beacon score, but generally, a 680 score is required to qu...

Are you interested in having a residential line of credit but don't know if you would qualify because you are self-employed? A line of credit is a great tool to help manage cash flow and provide security for those unplanned expenses. There are several options available for the self-employed homeowner. You can either add the secured line of credit behind your existing 1st mortgage, or you can refinance your existing mortgage and add that line of credit. Both options have different crit...

Do you earn commission income? Having a hard time qualifying for the mortgage you want? Real estate agents and insurance brokers are two common businesses that tend to be 100% commission based. Lenders consider commission income with a bit more risk than other types of self-employed business income. Three things to consider when seeking a mortgage using this type of income: Some lenders do not accept commission income for qualifying purposes. It is important to realize this niche and choo...

Has your mortgage payment got you down? Do you wish that you could lower your payment obligation? Well, this new product might be for you. Right now, every month you make your mortgage payment, and that mortgage payment consists of an interest amount and an amount that pays down some of the principal loan amount. Let's call this the traditional mortgage payment. An innovative new product that lenders are now offering is a mortgage that has two components (1) part of the loan amount ...

As a mortgage broker, clients ask me all the time what is the best mortgage interest rate. In general, the interest rate is a reflection of the risk associated with the file. The higher the risk, the higher the interest rate and the lower the risk, the lower the interest rate. From my experience, there is a seemingly endless number of factors that lenders use to determine risk which influences the interest rate for a particular file. However, here are three broad areas which to consider: ...