EPISODE TRANSCRIPT BELOW!
Tracey: Hi everyone, this is Tracey Brock from Real 101. I’m happy to welcome Camille Parchment from First National to the show today. Hi Camille, happy to have you.
Camille: Hi Tracy, thank you for having me.
Tracey: No problem. So Camille, who is First National? Tell me a little bit about them.
Camille: Yeah, so First National is one of Canada’s largest non-bank lenders. We’re considered a monoline lender. And we offer residential and commercial financing solutions for customers all across Canada.
Tracey: Perfect.
Camille: This year, we’ll be celebrating 35 years in business.
Tracey: Congratulations!
Camille: Yeah, we’ve been established since 1988. We are listed on the TSX. We currently have over 100 billion in assets fund management. And we’ve earned a reputation in the industry for excellent customer service through our responsiveness and our transparency with our customers and our broker partners. So these are just a few key highlights in case mortgage brokers do have customers inquiring about First National and who we are as a lender.
Tracey: So what is the difference between a bank and a monoline lender? Most people don’t understand that.
Camille: Yeah, so with monoline lenders, we specifically focus solely on mortgage products. So we’re not going to call customers and solicit for additional business, such as a checking account or investments. And the biggest difference is how we calculate our penalty on a mortgage exit. So if the client decides to break their mortgage mid-term or if they fall and they decide not to stay with the current lender, the way we calculate the penalty is slightly different. Where banks are calculating the penalty based on the current posted rate, monoline lenders were calculating the penalty based on the current contract rate that we’re offering. So this is for fixed rate mortgages that typically use the greater payments interest or IRD calculations. There is a big difference with how banks and monoline lenders will calculate the interest rate differential.
Tracey: Right. And I have to tell you that I don’t know that a lot of people who have mortgages understand that when you get best rates from the bank, it’s always comes up what’s considered called a discount rate. It is that discount rate that makes the difference when you’re calculating the penalty. And most mortgage holders only keep a mortgage active between three-and-a-half and four years statistically. So a lot of people are paying a lot of penalty if they’re not with First National. So that’s something to keep in mind.
Camille: Yeah, it is beneficial for brokers to discuss this option with their clients because it could potentially save them thousands of dollars if they decide to break their mortgage mid-term.
Tracey: So Camille, what are some of the advantages of a mortgage broker bringing their clients to First National? How is it beneficial to them?
Camille: First National works exclusively with the mortgage broker channel. We remain dedicated to helping our brokers and our agent partners grow their business by supporting their clients. We understand that looking for financing on a property can be stressful, and it is our job at First National to assist brokers, so clients feel confident in the transaction. Mortgage brokers, you guys are the expert in your field. But you know, First National, we’re here to support, we’re here to make you look good as well. We work with three mortgage insurers, Canada Guaranty, Sagen, and CMHC, which allows brokers to access a large suite of mortgage products, as well as we partner with SCT, which offers several mortgage closing solutions. So, this is first Canadian title, and they are cost-effective and convenient for clients, and they’re also available in place of a solicitor for some transactions for some mortgage products. There are several resources available for mortgage brokers on the First National website, including our Merlin Broker Portal. So, brokers can log in. They can view real time access to their deal. They can communicate with their underwriter, upload documents, download mortgage commitments. And on the portal as well, there are product sheets and rate sheets available. That way they can get back to clients in a timely manner if the client has questions regarding mortgage products or rates. On the First National website, mortgage brokers have access to the Merlin Broker Portal. And here they can log in, they can view real time access to their deal to find out the status, they’re able to upload documents pertaining to the mortgage file, they can download a commitment, they can communicate with their underwriter, as well as view real time access for the status of their file. They can find out whether it’s been instructed or respond to the underwriter’s question. On the Merlin Broker Portal, they can also download our product and rate sheets. And there is a wide range of answers that they have. Merlin also features products and rate sheets. And it enables brokers to access information so that they can get back to their clients in a timely manner. And if answers are not available on the website, they can always reach out to an account manager. We pride ourselves on our service culture. And we have a dedicated team of internal and external account managers, underwriters, fulfillment specialists, funders, and we’re all here to assist our mortgage broker partners and their clients’ transaction. And in turn, we do have senior management that supports us. So there is a lot of collaboration behind the scenes at First National. And we strive for a seamless process.
Tracey: I can say though that you guys, honestly, have the best underwriters. And your response times, for anybody that you ask a question for, are always less than 24 hours at minimum. Sometimes I get an answer back instantly. So I really appreciate your team as well. I’ve used that program twice. One time was with my electrical wiring.
Camille: Have you?
Tracey: I did, yeah. And then the second time was with my furnace. It was both within the same year. So it’s good to know that this is up to that $10,000 limit. As long as it’s a different occurrence on a different item, you can go back to that program and it will be active again for you. The benefits are amazing. We had electrical problems. And that was so many, many years ago. And nothing has ever happened since. The benefits of that program are amazing. We had electrical problems and it got fixed for $50. And we didn’t have to worry about the costs or having to hire the person to come out. They took care of everything. So it’s an awesome thing. And I can just say, it’s less than 20 bucks a month after the program ends. So it’s a really great program as well. So I like that. And then also there’s other things that are also advantageous to clients to have a First National mortgage. What would you say there?
Camille: Yeah, absolutely. I would recommend every client to check out our website, very convenient for them to log on to My Mortgage for them to view their mortgage details. Also, our customer service team is available through email or by phone if they’re not comfortable with online banking. And we have a lot several demonstration videos on our portal as well how clients can take advantage of our pre-payment privileges, especially on our fixed rate mortgages. They can increase the mortgage payment by 15%. They can apply lump sum payments. They can double up on their payments as well. As long as they do not exceed 15% of the original mortgage balance annually. They can pay down their mortgage principal quite quickly. And if they are in an adjustable rate mortgage, they do have the ability to apply a lump sum and they can double up on their payments as well.
Tracey: That’s wonderful. Well, Camille, thank you so much for coming and talking with us today. It’s been very informative. I can tell you that I personally like using First National and I recommend any mortgage broker to reach out to Camille or somebody else on her team that will be able to assist you with asking questions. As a client, if you’re a first National Client or you want to be a First National client, ask for them when you’re going talking to your mortgage broker. So Camille, thank you so much for coming out.
Camille: Thank you so much for having me, Tracy.
Tracey: You’re very welcome. And I just want to say thank you to everyone for listening. Be sure to follow us on Socials. And if you need to reach me directly, you can reach me at 416-788-6207 or tbrock@dominionlending.ca. Thank you everyone. And be sure to watch next time. Have a great day.
Episode Hosted By:
Tracey Brock – Mortgage Broker M09001257 Dominion Lending Centres
Website: https://www.TraceyBrock.ca
Phone: 416.788.6207
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Show Guest:
Camille Parchment – Business Development Manager
Phone: 289-879-9546
Web: www.firstnational.ca
Email: camille.parchment@firstnational.ca
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/caparchment
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