How to Close More Deals as a Realtor: Mortgage Strategies That Win
If you're a REALTOR® looking to close more deals and stop losing buyers to financing issues, this episode is your starting point. Host Scott Dillingham — a licensed mortgage agent who has closed over $2B+ in Canadian…
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Show notes
If you're a REALTOR® looking to close more deals and stop losing buyers to financing issues, this episode is your starting point. Host Scott Dillingham — a licensed mortgage agent who has closed over $2B+ in Canadian real estate — reveals the exact mortgage strategies top producers use to win more listings and grow their business.
Scott stresses the pitfalls of defaulting to a client's bank for pre-approvals, which can limit options and reduce borrowing power. He contrasts this with using an experienced mortgage broker who accesses multiple lenders for optimal terms. Examples include how some banks factor 3% of credit card limits (even if balances are zero) into debt calculations, artificially lowering pre-approval amounts—e.g., $30,000 in limits could add $900 in phantom payments. Brokers avoid this by selecting lenders that only consider actual owing amounts, maximizing client qualifications. Similarly, child tax benefits vary: some lenders use only 30-50%, while others allow 100%, leading to vastly different pre-approval figures.
Wrapping up this quick weekly update aimed at five minutes or less, Scott encourages realtors to refer clients to experts like his team at LendCity for strategy calls. This approach not only secures better rates and terms but also builds client trust, ultimately helping realtors close more deals.
Key Takeaways
- Insured Mortgage Rates: For purchases with less than 20% down, lowest 5-year fixed at 3.69% and variable at 3.45% as of November 2025—ideal for first-time buyers but includes CMHC fees.
- Insurable vs. Uninsurable Options: Insurable (20%+ down, 25-year amortization) offers rates like 3.69% fixed and 3.69% variable; uninsurable (30-year amortization) starts at 4.24% fixed and 3.95% variable for greater flexibility.
- Avoid Bank Defaults: Sending clients to their bank limits pre-approvals due to restrictive policies; brokers compare lenders to optimize qualifications and rates.
- Credit Card Debt Impact: Some lenders calculate 3% of full limits (e.g., $900 on $30,000 limits) even if paid off, reducing borrowing power—brokers select ones that only factor actual balances.
- Child Tax Benefit Variations: Lenders differ in usage (30%, 50%, or 100%), affecting pre-approval amounts; choose accordingly for maximum leverage.
- Broker Expertise Benefits: Access to multiple lenders ensures best terms, educates clients, and shifts preferences away from banks for better outcomes and more closed deals.
Links to Show References
- LendCity Mortgages (for Strategy Calls and Pre-Approvals): lendcity.ca
- (00:03) - Welcome to Close More Deals
- (01:56) - Understanding Mortgage Rates
- (02:32) - The Importance of Experienced Lenders
- (04:20) - Maximizing Client Pre-Approval
Realtor questions from this episode
Why shouldn't a realtor just send a client to their own bank?
Scott, who says he used to work at a big bank, says that sending clients to the bank is the path of least resistance and severely handicaps the client's pre-approval and the realtor's paycheque. A broker can compare lenders and policies, and once clients see where other lenders would qualify them, they stop caring about going with their bank.
What examples does Scott give of lenders treating the same income differently?
Credit cards: most lenders count 3% of the balance owing, but some count 3% of the limit, so two cards with $30,000 in limits and nothing owing could add $900 of artificial payments. Child tax benefit: some lenders use 30%, some 50% and others 100%, which gives different pre-approval amounts.
How do insured, insurable and uninsurable mortgages differ?
Scott says insured means less than 20% down. Insurable means 20% down or more with a 25-year amortization, where the lender insures behind the scenes so there is no CMHC fee to the borrower. Uninsurable means 20% down with a 30-year amortization. He notes the rates he quoted on the recording are as of that date.
Transcript
Transcript of the episode as recorded. Rates, fees and program details are as stated on the recording date and may have changed.
Welcome to the Close More Deals podcast.
Welcome to the Close More Deals podcast. I'm your host, Scott Dillingham. I'm really excited to be here today to show you guys how to grow your business. I've been helping teach and coach REALTORS® for years about special programs, rates, terms, conditions, anything and everything under the sun, which has enabled REALTORS® to close more deals. So, I'm here today to show you how to close more deals as well. So, generally when I do these things, I like to start off with rates.
So, I'm going to share my screen. If you're watching this or listening on Spotify, you can watch this and you can see exactly uh what I'm going over here. So, ideally 5-year fixed, this is insured, so we're putting less than 20% down. We've got a 3.94 and up. If we go with a variable, we've got 3.54 as the lowest, as you can see. Now if we go insurable. So insurable means behind the scenes the lender is still insuring it with CMHC or equivalent insurance provider.
However, there's no CMHC fee to the borrower. So you do have to have 20% down or more and you have to have have a 25-year amortization. So that can be a negative for some buyers because they want, you know, some might want the smallest payments and want the 30-year. But if we look at the 5-year fixed, the lowest is actually remains the same at 3.94. But for the variable, that does go up a little bit. We're at 3.69. And then lastly, uninsurable.
So this is purchases 20% down. We're getting a 30-year amortization. Uh the lowest rates are starting at 4.24. And then if we go with the variable, we're showing around 3.95. Now, please keep in mind all rates are as of today. The next thing I want to talk about as part of these episodes I'm trying to do like 5 minutes or less once a week so you have the latest updates. I think the most important thing that I want to get this started off with is you want your clients to deal with an experienced mortgage lender or broker.
I used to work at a big bank and I got so many referrals because the…
I used to work at a big bank and I got so many referrals because the REALTOR® said, "Oh, well, my client banks there. It was easy to easy to go there. And you know what? That might be right, but you are severely handicapping your client's pre-approval and your paycheck by having your client just go to the bank. Now, on the broker side of things, realizing and seeing all the different lenders and all the different terms, um there's differences. So, for an example, and I'm not going to call out the lender's names here, but there is a major bank that let's say you have two credit cards and they total like 30 grand of limit, okay?
And you owe nothing on them. There are some lenders that will factor in a minimum payment against that debt as if you leveraged it all. Okay? So for credit cards, they factor in 3% of most lenders, it's it's 3% of what's owing, but some of these lenders are going to do 3% of the limit. So that means we're using $900 of artificial payments for the client's pre-approval, which means their amounts that they can get are much smaller. where we would knowing that we would partner with a lender that doesn't factor that in to have your borrower qualify at the maximum leverage.
You see what I mean? And I'm not going to call out the bank, but it is a big bank and it's one of those banks that people just say, "Oh, you bank there. Just go bring all your documents. Just go with them. It's easy." So, I know it's a little more challenging to be like, "Hey, you should speak to an expert who has all of the lenders. Not all, but you know, as close to all of the lenders as possible, so you're getting the best information.
Another example, um, child tax benefit, right? Some of the lenders only use 30% of it, some will only use 50% of it, while others will use 100. So, right there, there's three different lenders with three different policies that we could get three different pre-approval amounts for your borrower. So, if I know they're trying to qualify for the maximum, I'm going to leverage that and partner with a lender who understands this and can qualify your client not, you know, using 100% of their child tax benefit.
So, there's little tricks and and tweaks.
So, there's little tricks and and tweaks. So, I just want to start off this week with that, okay? Don't just let them go to the bank. That is the path of least resistance. We will ask the client as well when we're working with them if they prefer the bank, but then they get access to us and our expertise. Um, but when we start to show them where the other lenders are in comparison to where their bank, you know, would qualify them, what the rates might be, they're they're on it.
They don't care anymore about going with their bank. So, we've just done them a huge service by showing them what's out there. So, anyways, looking forward to hearing from you next week. If you want to work with us or any expert on my team, the link is below to refer your clients to book strategy calls or even you yourself can call us. Um, and we'll give you any information that you need about your clients and we'll work with you to help you to close more deals. See you next week.