Had a client with $80,000 down couldn't believe her credit score was so low. Resulting in higher interest rate. She moved from British Columbia to Welland in the Niagara Region. Rented while looking for houses. She forgot about a $25 balance on her Visa for 4 months which kicked the hell out of her credit score which could have been fixed easily if banks actually did a real preapproval i.e. do a credit check before the offer.

Now I always insist on a specific mortgage broker just because she does do diligance which is better for the customer anyway.

Banks in Canada do a cursory glance at income and then pull the scores when we have a deal.  Amazing how they value their time but not ours....

BMOwill do a full check so no surprises and others also if you ask.  Once had a pre-approval that took 3 WEEKS to be able to remove - great score but they owned businesses and alot of other property.  Finally convinced my client to go elseshere and had an approval in 6 hours.

Just like a Realtor - mortgages depend on not only your client but the choice of lender.

Like there is not enough out of our control in this business.

Good Luck!

That is an amazing drop in score. Something was up! We had an agent in our office that the day before close her client filled for bankruptcy. Talk about underwriting say NOOOOOO! The client said I thought they had already checked our credit. We were just trying to save money so we could afford to fix the place up after we got it.

Now is renting an apartment in a lower end complex. Really sad! Just glad it wasn't me though. I know advise people not to buy cars, get credit cards or file for bankruptcy as soon as we talk about finding them a home. I tell them that story and let them think about what happened.

Todd

I pull a lot of credit reports myself.  Particularly if the clients can't provide me with one.  The cost is less than a ride around town and it gives me a better idea of which lender to approach.  

I got into the habit of doing this because my wife started doing it 11 years ago.  She went out showing 400k homes and the next day found the guy couln't get a loan from his mother much less a bank.

This is what I've learned from one particular Buyer.  I don't want to say that they are ignorant, but some are definitely less educated in the home-buying process.  Some believe that the pre-qual is an approval and they're done.  Wrong! Some believe they can quit their job, run up their balances, etc. because no one checks after the mtg commitment. Wrong!

Especially with 1st time buyers, I go over all the things that can go wrong from my experience, before closing.  I also go over the things that can go wrong during the first year of home ownership.  I learned these things the hard way and they still won't always listen to you.

Brian,

New look or just a different photo. Quite noble a portrait?

And the saga continues...

Bood luck.

John