A List of the Best Mortgage Lenders in Canada

Understanding the Importance of Mortgage Shopping

Your mortgage is probably one of the biggest purchases you will ever make. With that said, you want to do your homework and look around for the best rate as it can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. This is especially true as interest rates are getting higher, so you want to be sure and do some comparison shopping. The following are some of the best mortgage lenders available in Canada.

1 Scotiabank 2 MCAP / RMG 3 First National 4 TD Canada Trust 5 Home Trust Company 6 Street Capital 7 Merix Financial 8 Equitable Bank 9 Manulife Bank 10 Canadian Western Bank

Utilizing Rate-Comparison Sites for Mortgage Rates

The following are some of the different places you can look to see the different rates that are available.

Rate-comparison sites. These are several websites that allow you to compare mortgage rates from different lenders all from the comfort of home. Some of the sites you can check in Canada include LowestRates.ca, Ratehub.ca, RateSpy.com, and RateSupermarket.ca. All of these mortgage rate comparison sites allow you to look for the rates available in your province and to narrow down the search by type of mortgage such as fixed or variable and term duration. The rate-comparison websites are a great place to start your mortgage research.

Limitations of Rate-Comparison Sites

It's a good idea to search all of the major rate comparison sites, as not all of the available mortgage lenders will be listed on all of the sites. You'll want to keep in mind that some of the lowest interest rates that you see online will come with strict conditions you might not meet. Also, some of the offers featured on the rate-comparison sites are available only through the mortgage brokers that advertise them. Doing your research through the rate-comparison sites is a lot easier than collecting quotes directly from a variety of lenders as you'll probably get more information than you'd be able to gather simply on your own.

Benefits of Using a Mortgage Broker

Mortgage brokers. A mortgage broker is considered to be a middleman between you and the mortgage lender. A benefit of going with a mortgage lender is that usually, the lender, not you pays the commission. It is a mortgage broker's job to find you the best mortgage given your particular financial situation. Mortgage brokers give personalized service, as they walk their clients through the mortgage process and might even throw in a freebie, such as covering the home appraisal fee. Brokers who work at large, high-volume firms will often sacrifice some of their commission to negotiate a better rate for you, and can sometimes shave off between 0.15 and 0.20 of a percentage point off the mortgage rate.

Negotiating with Your Bank for Better Rates

Negotiating with your bank. Walking straight into the local branch of your bank is one of the easiest things you can do, but it might cost you if you haven't done your due diligence. It's a good idea to instead shop around and find the best rate and term that you are looking for, then take that rate to your bank to see if they will match or come close. You might feel more comfortable holding your mortgage a big lender such as your bank, so paying that extra 0.10 or 0.15 of a percentage point on your mortgage rate might be all right with you. A good thing to know is that your bank may not be willing to budge on their rate unless you can prove that you really can get a better rate, so you may need to show them a written commitment from one or more other lenders. The risk with shopping around is that too many credit inquiries may damage your credit score.