Your Mortgage Process

The process of working with a mortgage broker is like working with your own personal finance department where everyone is keenly interested in your success, and not obliged to use any one particular lender.

Here's how the process of originating a mortgage with a RateMiser Mortgage Advisor usually goes.

Step 1: Complete a Mortgage Application Form

Most of the questions on a mortgage application can be answered very easily e.g. personal contact information, recent residential and work history, gross personal income, approximate value of assets... So go ahead and get started.

If this is your first mortgage application with RateMiser, contact the RateMiser Mortgage Advisor nearest you to help you complete your application in person or by phone. 

Alternatively, you can simply complete our secure mortgage application via this website any time of day or night and a RateMiser Mortgage Advisor will be assigned to you.  Your Advisor will contact you to review and help complete your application.   Be sure to include any notes such as best times and numbers to call at the bottom of the application.

Once you are a RateMiser client, all you'll need to do is update your profile to complete your next mortgage application. 

Step 2: Gather Your Docs

There are three categories of information the lender will require to verify the information on your mortgage application: Income, Financial Statements, and Property Info.  Most lenders will not require all of the documents below, but depending upon your situation, these are the kinds of things you may be asked for:

Income Documentation: 

• Employment letter verifying your position, tenure, full-time or part-time status
• two recent pay stubs
• T4 slips
• your two most recent year's CCRA Notice of Income Tax Assessments (especially for self-employed applicants)
• T1 General Income Tax Returns including Statements of Business Activities schedules. These are most helpful if they were prepared by an accountant.

Financial Statements: 

• most recent statement from your current mortgage,
• most recent monthly statements on debts you intend to pay out,
• statements on credit cards and lines of credit with unusually low minimum required payments. 
• statements showing any income taxes owing have been brought up to date.
• checking, savings, and Investment account statements showing the last 90 days history on the source of your downpayemnt (downpayments must not be from borrowed sources, in most cases)
• void Check from the account where you want your mortgage payments to be drawn.

Property Information: 

• In the case of a purchase, a complete purchase and sale agreement including all schedules, addendums, and counteroffers, signed by all parties.
• An MLS listing cut is a detailed property description that your realtor will be familiar with that describes the property in detail.
• A property appraisal is sometimes required to be conducted in the name of the lender.  Your RateMiser Mortgage Advisor will usually order this appraisal for you if required.  The appraiser will contact you to arrange access and payment. 
• Water Potability Test if your home is not on city water.
• Property Survey or location certificate.

What documentation your lender will actually require depends upon your income and property type.  But the above list will give you a good idea what might be required so you can start gathering. 

The specific documentation conditions you need to meet will be outlined in a "mortgage commitment" document, which you will receive via your Mortgage Advisor once your application has been approved.

Step 3: Review, Complete, and Execute the Forms

Once your mortgage application has been approved by a lender, your RateMiser Mortgage Advisor will send you four forms to complete. 

1. The Mortgage Commitment/approval.  
When a lender approves your mortgage application they send you a "Commitment".  The commitment outlines the conditions of the mortgage they are willing to offer you based on the information you provided in your mortgage application and credit bureau report.  Be sure to reveiw the terms and conditions carefully to confirm that they match your expectations.  Feel free to ask your Mortgage Advisor to walk you through the document and clarify anything that is unexpected or unclear.  Once you are satisfied with the terms and conditions of the commitment, be sure to execute it thoroughly and accurately with the help of your Mortgage Advisor.

2. The Mortgage Application and Consent Form
The mortgage application form reflects the information sent to the mortgage lender along with your credit bureau report that was the basis for the lender's commitment.  Review the application  with the understanding that the credit bureau debt balances are usually 30-90 days behind.  Once you're sure there are no material discrepancies in the application sign it and the associated consent form.

3. Provincial Disclosure Forms
Some provinces require mortgage borrowers to be presented with standard forms that clarify the effective annual cost of credit and declaration of any conflicts of interest the mortgage broker may have on the deal. 

4. Mortgage Life and Disability Forms
There is no obligation to accept the mortgage life or disability insurance offered to you when you get your mortgage.  If you are interested in life and/or disability insurance on your mortgage then please read the documentation and then complete and sign the insurance form to accept or waive the coverage.  We have chosen to offer Mortgage Protection Plan insurance which we believe is the best mortgage insurance on the market.

Step 4: Closing the Deal

Once all your forms are completed fax all pages of each document along with the required documents to your RateMiser Mortgage Advisor.   Your Advisor will package them off to the lender and the lender will review and verify the documents and communicate back if there are any further conditions to be met.

Once all your conditions are met (and sometimes before) the lender will "instruct" your solicitor or notary how to set up the final mortgage documents and close the mortgage.

Your lawyer's office should contact you, but you can also contact them as the closing draws near, to schedule an appointment to go over and sign the final mortgage document in detail.  Your lawyer or his or her assistant will usually tell you what to bring to this meeting.

On the day of this meeting or shortly after your new mortgage will be closed.  At that point, you will have a direct relationship with your mortgage lender and can call the lender directly for little changes, such as pre-payment amounts, or payment dates.

You are encouraged to contact your RateMiser Mortgage Advisor at any point throughout the mortgage process and beyond with any questions you may have.