Lindsay Austin and her husband never imagined they could get a home with a lakefront view. Their real estate journey began in 2012, when the couple purchased their first place, a townhome in Kelowna B.C. with the help of a Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage broker. By 2017, they were ready for something bigger and better. So the couple reached out again to their mortgage broker, who was there to lend a hand. After months of searching, the couple found their home. A one-acre property just outside the city overlooking Okanagan Lake. They purchased the home for $618,000 and moved in just before the summer.
“It’s rural, a little out of town. It’s exactly what we need,” Austin said, noting her mortgage broker was patient and right by their side as they spent months searching for the right place.
Q: Why did you choose a mortgage broker?
A: We got connected with our broker in 2011. At the time, being our first home, we were financially lost. We were new to the market and my mom said reach out and try. And it just made the process so simple. She’s a one-stop-shop. She collects all of our information once, and I have this touch point and this person who I can trust. My brother and sister-in-law just went through the process, and they had appointments at all sorts of banks, and they sit down and do this and that, and then they do it again with another stranger. Our broker was able to get our information streamlined and out to all of the available lenders and get us the best rates and just simplify it for us. I think that was so key. She made the first process in 2012 so smooth and so easy for us. It wasn’t even a question that we would go with her again because it was so easy the first time.
Q: How was it working with a mortgage broker?
A: It was fantastic. I can say her customer service was so high, and she was always looking at every option. Even with the changes (to mortgage rules) in the last couple years, I’m sure mortgage brokers have had to learn a bunch of new things. She was such a good communicator, and it’s so easy having just one touch point.
Q: What advice would you give someone in your situation?
A: Ask lots of questions, and your mortgage broker will have all the answers. That’s their job and that’s why they make it so nice and easy. Ask lots of questions and be totally honest. Those, along with communication, and you’ll have a very pleasant experience.
Courtesy of JEREMY DEUTSCH – Communications Advisor