Would be interested to hear from anyone who recently got a mortgage. Where they got it from and the best mortgage rate etc. Just wondering if we should go through a mortgage adviser or straight to a bank...Thanks in advance.

I got mine through a mortgage broker, he was really helpful as I had no credit history (long story) but a reasonable salary and 20% deposit. He got me a mortgage through a financial company in Toronto at a very good rate of 2.3% as none of the banks would consider me due to lack of credit history.

His name is Wes and can be found here, if you are interested.

Same here. We used a broker recommended by our realtor. We consulted them again when we renewed our mortgage recently. Got good advice on both occasions.

WE have used a broker and are currently getting final approval having been pre-approved. Our current deal, is Prime - 0.80% fora 5 year variable. Our bank couldn't really touch this. This is for ~5% down for PRs.

I think that it is always wise to go down both avenues. Get a pre-approval from your bank and also contact a good mortgage broker to compare the two. Both are easy to deal with and can generally come to your home out of business hours for a shot at your business.

Something to keep in mind is that it is not just the interest rate that is the deciding factor but also the mortgage privileges i.e. pre-payment, discharge penalties, portability etc. that have an impact on what you will pay. I recently moved and went with a mortgage that was .2% higher then the lower offer because of the prepayment privilege and discharge was a lot better. Because we are disciplined about prepayment, we will save move then the .2% over the term in interest avoidance.