Back to Mortgage Basics

As a mortgage broker sometimes I assume everyone knows what a mortgage is. I know, I know it's wrong on my part, but that's why I'm making this entry.

What is a mortgage?

In its simplest terms, when someone lends you money and they hold your house as security that is considered a mortgage.

A few of the reasons why a mortgage can seem complex are as follows,

A) The lender requires you to meet their lending criteria which can require you to provide your whole life story. OK maybe not your whole life story but what you've been up to for the last 2 - 3 years from a financial perspective.

B) You have to negotiate with the seller through a realtor. It's important to have a good realtor for the negotiation process.

C) You have to deal with a lawyer which means fees. Fees are usually below 1k and the lawyer ensures that the title (ownership) of the home is transfered into your name.

D) You often have to get an inspection and appraisal.

There can be many more variables that come into play when obtaining a mortgage and each transaction is different.

Your realtor, lawyer, mortgage broker can all work in unison to make the transaction as straight forward and as easy as possible.