You know the ads. The ones on the sidebar of your Facebook page, or on the real estate listing website, or worse yet, tempting you from your email homepage. The ads that brandish unbelievably low mortgage rates that coax you to make a call in hopes of saving some cash so you can get off your computer and get outside.
Read the Fine Print
While those low rates likely do exist, the likelihood of you being eligible for them is low. Typically the lowest mortgage rates advertised are for “Restricted Mortgages”, while most folks are better suited for “Full Feature Mortgages”. You’re probably wondering why anyone bothers advertising these rates if most people are not able to qualify? One word: Marketing. The companies that use these tactics have one intention; hook and switch. They tempt you with the low rate, get you on the phone and sneakily switch you over to a mortgage product that suits your needs….at a much higher rate. So next time you see a low rate that gets your heart racing, squeeze your eyelids nice and tight and read the fine print.
Restricted Mortgages
Restricted mortgages offer the rates that tend to turn heads. But they are lower than full feature mortgage rates due to the plethora of restrictions that come with them. These are like the rigid parents you are always begging for some leniency, to no avail. They are not portable, not blendable, have no or few prepayment options and just to boot, have massive prepayment penalties. There is no way to exit these mortgages unless you have a bone fide sale of your property. Perhaps you lead a life of complete structure and predictability and these restrictions don’t cause you to so much as blink. If that’s the case, enjoy the low rates this rigidity denotes on you. For the rest of you, read on to find the flexibility you crave.
Full Feature Mortgages
While Full Feature Mortgages don’t boast the lowest rates, they make up for it with the options they offer. They are more like the fun parents every kid wishes were theirs. Full Feature Mortgages tend to suit the masses, they are flexible, blendable, portable, have standard prepayments, and can be refinanced. Just to flaunt their confidence and fluidity a touch more, they are even okay with you transferring over to other institutions. These mortgages are about as fun as mortgages can be.
Now that you have this little morsel of mortgage knowledge, you are more prepared to truly understand the intention behind advertised low mortgage rates. Here at Spin Mortgage, we pride ourselves on being transparent in our marketing and communications. We wedge ourselves somewhere between the super fun parents and the overly rigid parents. We focus on empowering our clients with information to make the right decisions for themselves and would never waste your or our time with misleading advertising. We are always here for you if you have any questions or just want to talk.
