I’ve set out to gather a handful of mortgage broker links and resources for each province in the country and I’m starting out with my own province, British Columbia. Whether you’re hunting for your first home, or in the market for another purchase, these links and resources will help you find the right mortgage broker for you. Before you start your home search, you need to know how much you are qualified to purchase. The amount you qualify for depends on a variety of factors such as your credit, down payment, your income. the interest rate plan and the lender you choose. While you may be able to get pre-approved at your bank, they will not be able to provide the same range of products and mortgage limits that a mortgage broker can.

BC Mortgage Broker Resources:

BC Mortgage Loans - BC Mortgage Loans is a free British Columbia mortgage referral service. The network of Vancouver, BC mortgage brokers that we work with provide the best mortgage options and the best mortgage rates for BC mortgage customers anywhere in the province.

The BC Mortgage Guy - Rob became a broker in 1999 after a successful 25-year career with a major Canadian chartered bank. He held various management positions with the bank which included bank manager and other administrative positions in the regional office. He was involved in revamping the bank’s national mortgage program to meet consumers’ needs. Rob was top mortgage producer in Canada several times, not because of any fancy marketing program or financial plans. He did this simply by providing exceptional customer service by making sure his clients came first.

BCMortgageRates.com - HMC Home Mortgage Canada is licensed under the Mortgage Brokers Act of B.C. and is governed through the Financial Institutions Commission who in turn report to the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations in the Province of B.C. Every Broker is required to maintain a high standard of conduct as well as adhering to a strict rules and regulations set up by the Ministry to protect the public.

My Mortgage BC - This site is a great resource chalk full of content that will help you understand what you need, and what to look for in a mortgage. The site also offers a handful of tools such as mortgage calculators, question and answer section, rate checking and mortgage news.

BC Online Mortgage - BC Mortgage Broker Dean Larson is with Dominion Lending, and is known in the industry locally here in BC. His specialty is providing convenient, quick, professional mortgage services to clients all over Western Canada, specifically British Columbia. Apart from mortgage planners, there aren’t a lot of other places to get this kind of help. Bank reps are particularly limited in the advice they can give because they don’t have daily exposure to products from all lenders, nor do they recommend the competition.

The BMO Mosaik MasterCard is a flexible credit card that lets you pick and choose a suite of features that allows you to make a unique card. This is a great credit card for someone with some established credit, and without any credit problems you can pick and choose the unique features, you can even choose from 6 different designs. All BMO Mosiak MasterCards include Extended Warranty coverage. Balance protection can be added for an additional fee. This BMO card can be applied for online which makes for an easy process saving you time and money. Here is a listing of the cards features and bonuses;

Interest Rate:
No Fee Rate Plan interest rate of 18.5% for No Fee
Low Rate Plan interest rate of 11.4% for $25/yr

Rewards:
Gold WestJet AIR MILES for $80/yr (1/$15 reward miles + 150 bonus)
Silver AIR MILES for $35/yr (1/$20 reward miles + 100 bonus)
Bronze AIR MILES for no fee (1/$40 Reward Miles)

1% CashBack for $49/yr (1 CashBack point for every $1 in card purchases)
0.5% CashBack for no fee (1 CashBack point for every $2 in card purchases)

Insurance Benefits:
Gold Total Travel Protection (under age 65 only) for $99/yr (includes Gold Travel protection and Gold Medical Protection)
Gold Travel Protection for $69/yr (Silver Travel Protection benefits plus trip cancellation insurance baggage and personal effects insurance and more)
Silver Travel Protection for $29/yr (Includes collision damage waiver insurance, unexpected return home insurance and more.)

Gold Medical Proection for $89/yr (Trips up to 31 days)
Silver Medical Protection for $49/yr (Trips up to 17 days)
Get comprehensive out-of-Canada medical coverage that protects you and your family throughout the year. Covers up to $1 million in eligible expenses.

The worries and questions of Canadians in this troubling time can be all over the map so I’m going to make sure I can help educated and inform everyone of the latest issues. I’ll be covering the news and blogs from Canada’s top economist and news resources. Depending on where you live, you’ll be feeling the effects of the economy a little more than others. BC has the upcoming Olympics which is bringing in a lot of revenue, so the pinch is less felt out west. With the looming problems with the auto industry in Canada, we could be seeing some major problems. I’d like to invite everyone and anyone to submit news or guest posts by using the contact form.

News From Around The Web:

Government of Canada Invests in Tourism and Heritage Infrastructure in the North - Action Plan

The worst is behind us - Jonathan Ratner

Canadian Inflation Pressures Fade away in March - TD Bank Financial Group

The economy is no longer the same, get used to it! - Green Party

Positive Signs In Canadian Economy – But A Long Way Still To Go - A Dawn Journal

I’m about a month late to posting this video but it is from Batchelor & Constable and they’re talking about how the US Economy is still better off than Canada’s, but I fail to see why amidst their “professional” opinion. I could go on and on for hours about how we’re not printing worthless money day after day for the past year to inflate our economy, but I’ll let you folks battle it out in the comments.