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The first question I usually get when a potential client calls me is what is your mortgage rate for 5 years? It makes me wonder if that is the only thing that is important when you are shopping for a mortgage. I was speaking with one of my financial planner colleagues and he told me that he almost never has clients call him and ask the price of a certain mutual fund or stock. We began to talk and realized that mortgage brokers by advertising "best rates" and "lower rates than your bank" have trained their clients to ask for the best rate. Is rate really all that important when you are talking about the largest debt you probably will ever have?
When clients choose a financial planner they usually ask questions about the planner's experience, outlook on the market, past record with clients' portfolios but certainly not rate or price. I think mortgage clients ought to be doing the same thing. With all the current news about interest rates rising to further cool off the real estate market I think it is important that my clients have a plan to help them prepare for the payment shock in 2-5 years when interest rates may be up as much as 2%. When was the last time your bank sent you an email advising you that their mortgage rates were going up and that you should increase your payment to keep your risk down? Or when was the last time your mortgage company called and told you over the last 2-3 years that your rate was higher than the current rate and perhaps you should investigate refinancing at a lower rate to save you money?
If you would like to have these strategies and more for your mortgage then I suggest you give us a call at 250-862-1806. If you have an existing mortgage you can also sign up on our email list so that you will be notified when YOUR lender increases their rates. Remember you should have someone who wants to help you manage your mortgage just like a financial planner manages your investment.
Sign up for free mortgage rate email alerts here: Money in your mortgage
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
