When it comes to mortgage brokers in Canada, names like Butler Mortgage will pop up and it is no surprise. The broker is one of, if not the best of, Canada’s leading names in that area of business. Connecting mortgage borrowers to lenders with efficiency and precision, Butler Mortgage is definitely a broker to be reckoned with.
The company claims that it operates on the premise of providing its customers and clients with the best rates for mortgages in Canada. Its rates are supposedly matched to the individual needs of each client. To achieve this, they sort through numerous rates and terms and then determine the one that fits the specific client perfectly.
Whether these claims are true or not, this review will attempt to examine Butler Mortgage’s operations and as well as determine if they are the mortgage broker for you.
Butler Mortgage Overview
When it comes to a family business, Butler Mortgage is a prime example. Founded by Ron Butler and his two sons, Will and David Butler, the company boasts of access to most of Canada’s major lenders.
Operating out of Ontario Canada, this immense network that has been nurtured and strengthened over the years is what allows them to provide their clients with rates that are keyed specifically to them. This means you have no worries about getting great rates, Butler Mortgage has a long list of choices that you can choose from.
Beyond providing you with the mortgage rates that are supposed to be the best, Butler Mortgage also gives you financial advice.
As local business providers, Butler Mortgage will help you examine all your possible choices before guiding you to pick the most financially sound path. And thanks to their long list of lenders to pick from, their advice is usually unbiased and well-informed.
Asides from their impressive rates and sound financial advice, Butler Mortgage also brags about having specialized knowledge. It is through this that they can design their customer-friendly packages that are delivered quickly to their customers at all levels.
The company operates from the local level up, so you can be rest assured that everyone gets treated fairly and equally; there are no customer preferential treatments.
Now that we know what they are all about, let’s get into the meat and bones of it. Let us talk about the products that Butler Mortgage gives its customers.
Butler Mortgage Products
Mortgage Purchase
Once you have your dream home in your sights, getting a fitting mortgage plan on it becomes a paramount issue. This is where Butler Mortgage steps in. They have a specially designed and customizable plans that are made available to you.
You can look forward to getting quotes with the following features
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Quotes without having to pull your credit score: These quotes can either be fixed or variable, and open or closed. You can get a quote within 24 hours with options of 25, 30, and 35 years of amortization products.
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You can lock your rates: for 120 days, you can fix at a particular rate, alongside the approval to waive financing. If you so choose, you can also go with the 100 percent financing program or the no-down-payment program.
The entire process is simple and easy to follow. It begins with you requesting a quote and Butler Mortgage will search through their large database to source for one that suits your borrowing requirements perfectly. With the size of their network, this isn’t especially difficult.
Once a match has been determined, you will receive 2 free mortgage loan quotes. This will be at most 24 hours after you made your request. You are free to select whichever of the quotes you want.
Butler Mortgage Pre-Approval
If you are to buy a home, then getting a mortgage pre-approval is a fundamental step in the process. This is why Butler Mortgage brings its 27 years of experience in the system. With an experience qualified broker at your side, you will avoid a lot of inconveniences that new homeowners face.
For example, if a broker, say, Butler Mortgage, for instance, assist you in getting a mortgage pre-approval, then you can expect the following benefits
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Your interest rate mortgage is locked for 120 days at most. This will help you avoid periods that the interest rates go up as well as provide you with leeway to get automatically locked into lower interest rates during this period.
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You gain information about the mortgage you can take out on a home. This will effectively help you streamline your home hunting journey to fit your budget.
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Anyone selling a home will be more interested in you as you are more financially prepared than others. This will give you the extra edge when you are looking to get your dream home.
Butler Mortgage offers mortgage pre-approval with this in mind. The company will navigate the entire process and cut a clear path just for you.
Butler Mortgage Refinancing
If you are looking to get lower interest rates and definitively cheaper monthly payments, refining your mortgage might be the way to go.
Most times, there are four most likely causes of you considering mortgage refinancing;
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To pay off your debts with debt consolidation.
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Your mortgage interest rate has dropped
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You want to or have taken out cash from the home
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Your credit score has significantly improved.
Of these four, paying off your debts via debt consolidation is the most common reason people seek refinancing on their mortgage plan, this is why it is the main focus of Butler Mortgage’s mortgage refinancing operations.
Butler Mortgage’s debt consolidation, according to their website, assists you in lowering your monthly payments by unlocking your home’s value by up to 80%. This is done with help from their trusted lenders and insurers.
As a client of Butler Mortgage, you can look forward to a 70% savings on your monthly payments, and with your mortgage equity, your bills will be paid off faster and at a lower rate than before.
This will help you reduce your interest and payments dramatically. They claim that your secured lines of credit programs will reduce by up to 65 % of your home value and Equity-based second mortgages will reduce by up to 85% of your home’s value.
In recognition of the over-extended credit card problems that are common in many parts of Canada, Butler Mortgage designed the Home Equity program. The program will help you reduce credit card debt and consumer loans by a whole lot. There have been reported cases of reduction to less than 2.15% interest.
Summarily, Butler Mortgage’s refinancing program will not only reduce your mortgage rate and monthly payments but will also come at low-interest rates. You also get a free consultation with Will Butler.
Mortgage Renewal
When it comes to renewing your mortgage plan, Butler Mortgage claims to have your back. The firm informs clients that their mortgage terms are up for renegotiation. This means you not only get new terms as well as a new interest rate on your mortgage plan.
When it comes to renewal, they advise that you avoid taking just any offer from your current lender and scout the market for fairer terms. Using Butler Mortgage’s services promises you the opportunity to have over ten banks, trust companies, and financial institutions compete to serve you.
The company also claims that they will restructure your current mortgage plan such that you pay off years earlier and end up saving up some money while at it. All these at the best and lowest rates you can get anywhere in Canada.
In truth, banks and lenders do not give the best rates on the first offer, so it is advisable to scout around for better rates when the time for renewals comes up, after all, there will not be any legal fee to pay for changing lenders.
Butler Mortgage’s services promise you the best rates, as well as a 24-hour approval, turn around, so their services are not all that bad in this regard.
Home Equity Line of Credit
A home equity line of credit or HELOC is another way to borrow funds. With it, you can use your home as collateral that provides you with a line of credit. Once you know how much you need and when you need it, you will be able to repay it whenever you can.
HELOCs do not have any penalties attached to paying them off. In this way and in the easy way it can be accessed it ends up being more flexible than any normal loan. The only thing you would have to worry about would be making sure you don’t hit your credit limit.
Home equity lines of credit also have much lower interest rates than loans. They can get as low as the Prime Rate +0.50%. This also makes them much cheaper than credit cards too.
Butler Mortgage’s HELOCs work for you by assisting with debt consolidation. You can turn your high-interest payments into low-interest ones. As a small business owner, you also have improved management options that will help out during your transitional period.
As a Homeowner, you can also benefit in terms of renovations. You can renovate for investment purposes and you will get a return on your investment. For more information on HELOCs, you can check here.
Self Employed Mortgage Plan
With the current global boom of the self-employed industry, companies have stepped forward to create packages for the self-employed. Butler Mortgage is one of these companies.
The company knows that while being self-employed can be a fun endeavor, it is not without its risks and discomforts. To make sure that getting mortgage financing is not one of these difficulties they came up with this product just for the self-employed.
Most lenders will require that you meet their criteria based on their tax assessments of your income before you qualify for a mortgage. This tax assessment criteria can be difficult to meet as a self-employed person seeing as you have to pay less tax. Butler Mortgage has a selection of lenders that cater specifically to this problem.
Butler Mortgage’s lenders will supposedly provide you with the opportunity to put a 5% down payment on your purchases even with a low tax income. There are also lenders that with you give you a refinancing option worth 90% of its original value.
Some of the amazing options you have to choose from include
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Low Documentation (Low Doc) Mortgage: this will let you purchase a new property or refinance your home for a value worth up to 90%of its appraisal value. You do not need any true income to get this plan, instead, your credit rating will determine your qualification.
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No Income Mortgage: This option lets you purchase a new property or refinance your home for a value worth up to 80% of its appraisal value. Just like the Low Doc Mortgage, you do not need perfect true income and even credit doesn’t have to be perfect. With just 20% equity, Butler Mortgage will assist you with procuring a mortgage that fits your situation perfectly.
For more information on these self-employed options, click here.
Butler Mortgage Other Products
Butler Mortgage has a long list of products that they make available to their customers, among which are:
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Investment Property
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Vacation and Second Home
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Divorce
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Credit Repair
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Construction Mortgages
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Purchase Plus Improvement
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New to Canada and so on.
The company also has a special package for first-time home buyers. For more information on all these, you can click here.
Savings with Butler Mortgage
With the few products discussed so far, it has become apparent that saving with Butler Mortgage is dependent mainly on your personal financial state more than anything else. It will also go a long way into determining the kind of mortgage size that you will get.
Regardless of the numerous possible financial states that exist, Butler Mortgage claims to have something for everyone.
This confidence is mainly placed on the tech-driven process.
The company uses an app that is capable of using your provided online information to match you with the perfect provider for you. This process also ensures that you get a large cache of options to choose from since it operates hand in hand with the large network that Butler Mortgage has built over the years.
The selection options are diverse in that you can choose which details particularly appeal to you.
Eligibility Requirements and Documents to Prepare.
Before you can apply for a mortgage with Butler Mortgage, there are a few conditions you must meet and a couple of documents that you must provide. Failure to meet at least one of the conditions or provide one of the documents voids your chances of application.
Applications conditions you must meet to become eligible for a mortgage plan are:
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You must be at least 18 years of age. (The minimum age limit is 19 in some provinces.)
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You must either be a Canadian citizen or at least be a resident of Canada.
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You must not have any unmanageable form of debt such as bankruptcy.
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You must be able to provide at least a 5% down payment on the home.
The documents to have on hand are:
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A government-issued form of identification. This can be your driver’s license or passport.
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Proof of income: Paystubs and letters of employment will be required. This will help verify how much money you actually make.
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Credit Report: Authorization for the company to pull your credit report will be needed. This will help Butler Mortgage determine your creditworthiness.
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Other Financial documents: You will be required to provide a list of debts and assets. This will be accompanied by proof that you can pay your down payments and closing costs.
Once you meet these criteria and have these documents ready, then you become eligible for a mortgage plan and can go ahead and process your application, how you will go about this will be discussed in the next section.
How to apply for a mortgage plan with Butler Mortgage?
Applying for a mortgage with Butler Mortgage is pretty straightforward and simple. In three short and simple steps, you will have started your application process and only need to wait for approval.
Steps to applying are:
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Provide your personal information, name, email, and so on, on the online application form.
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Make sure that all your provided information is correct and then submit your information.
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Once you submit your application, you only have to get verified and then you and Butler Mortgage will walk hand in hand to get the best terms to match your financial situations.
Meeting the eligibility requirements will be the best way to get verified. So make sure that everything is in perfect condition before you click the submit button. Thanks to this simple and straightforward process, Butler Mortgage put itself ahead of its competition.
The approval process is broken into three stages. This will let you put in a strong offer for any home you want to buy as soon as possible.
The stages are:
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Pre-qualified Approval: Once you answer a few questions and Butler Mortgage is able to check your credit score, you will get a pre-qualified approval letter that will inform you of how much you can borrow.
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Verified Approval: you will verify your income and assets before you can get a verified approval letter. The letter will reinforce your credit eligibility and gives you an extra edge when buying a home.
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RateGuard Approval: this approval rating will give you the opportunity to lock in your mortgage for up to 120 days. This will give you the time to focus on the home you want instead of worrying about your monthly payments going up.
Pros and Cons of Choosing Butler Mortgage
Pros of Butler Mortgage
The first standout benefit of using Butler Mortgage’s services lies in its easy application process. The entire process is simple and easy to follow and within minutes you can complete the entire process.
The next benefit is the large network of lenders that work closely with Butler Mortgage. Their presence ensures that you have a large selection to pick from.
You also get the benefit of being able to lock your rates for a period of time and expert advice on what to do. A mortgage expert will work with you to determine the best course of action for you.
The self-employed program is also a great benefit for self-employed people in Canada who are looking to get home. With a clean credit history, as a self-employed person, you also get the chance to own home stress-free.
Lastly, Butler Mortgage operates a referral bonus program. For each friend that you refer that closes their mortgage, you stand the chance of receiving a bonus worth up to $1000 in cash.
Cons of Butler Mortgage
There are not many cons to choosing to use Butler Mortgage’s services and products. The main problem lies in the company being an online-based company. This limits their operations in some ways.
The company has limited physical locations. They only have physical offices in some provinces such as Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. And even with these locations, they do not provide much of in-person service.
Another limitation is the need for computer skills to access the company’s services. While this is not hard to deal with in recent times, it is still an inconvenience that needs to be handled better.
Conclusion
Butler Mortgage’s operations can be considered innovative at the very least and with 27 years of experience under them, it is obvious that the company knows what it is doing. The company’s large network of lenders is also noteworthy.
Comparing their rates with other mortgage brokers, Butler mortgage rates are lower in most regards. It only goes to show that their claims of giving the best rates are not just for show. With the huge selection of products and services that they offer to their clients, it is apparent that you cannot do much better than Butler Mortgage.
Let me know your thoughts and comments below. Thanks for reading!
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By far, the worst company I have ever dealt with is Butler Mortgage. They took my information for mortgage renewal, and they were not able to provide refinancing.
When I called to inquire, they would tell me that they have no updates on my case and i have to wait. Whole week passed by and when i called them back, broker got mad at me. He told me “If you want to deal with another broker, go ahead. i am working on your case, you will not loose your house and they won’t put padlock on your house.”
Very disappointed by their rude behaviour.
Thanks for your feedback Mohammed, it will surely help others research of pick alternatives.