The Mortgage

I think we are doing something wrong.

Our builder recommended two banks but neither of the consultants seemed to know much about mortgages. The initial one from RBC insisted that mortgages are not negotiable, which is a very strange comment. Meanwhile, when I asked the gal from Desjardins to explain how she calculated that the 5% yearly dividend on our interest would reduce our rate by .27%, she responded that I should think of a dividend as money that falls from the sky. If only money did fall the sky, buying a house would be so much simpler.

I also tried thinking out of the box and called my in-laws banker at CIBC. Apparently, this was too complicated for her so she sent us to a mortgage broker. The broker seemed really nice and promised to calculate the Desjardins' price for me and explain it. When I e-mailed her back to see if she had done so, she said that she had, but had decided to transfer my file to another broker... she never explained the calculations (apparently she did them for her own benefit).

The other broker explained that the reason CIBC had transfered the file, because why would a bank want you to go through a broker, was because CIBC owned the brokerage firm. When I asked if they preferred CIBC since they were owned by them, she hesitated and said "Well, we try to do what is best for the client".

I don't understand. A bank can make 100s of thousands of dollars on a mortgage, why is it so hard for them to treat you well. I'm also starting to wonder what type of training/education you need. It seems like every time I ask a question they need a day to get back to me and the answer is always half assed and weird and in some cases has nothing to do with the question.

Arrghh. I will keep you all updated on our banking adventure.

Pam