Start Here - How to Close More Deals - For REALTORS®

Show Notes

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

Episode Transcription

Introduction

Welcome to the Close More Deals podcast. I'm your host, Scott Dillingham, and I'm really excited to be here today to show you how to grow your business. I've been helping, teaching, and coaching realtors for years on 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.

Current Mortgage Rates

Generally, when I do these episodes, I like to start off with rates. If you're watching this (or listening on Spotify, where you can watch along), I'm sharing my screen right now so you can see exactly what I'm going over.

Insured Mortgages (Less Than 20% Down)

For an insured mortgage (putting less than 20% down), the ideal five-year fixed rate starts at 3.94% and up. If we go with a variable rate, the lowest is 3.54%, as you can see.

Insurable Mortgages (20%+ Down, No CMHC Fee to Borrower)

Now, for an insurable mortgage—this means the lender is still insuring it behind the scenes with CMHC or an equivalent provider, but there's no CMHC fee to the borrower. You do need 20% down or more, and a 25-year amortization. That can be a negative for some buyers who want the smallest payments and a 30-year term. But looking at the five-year fixed, the lowest rate remains the same at 3.94%. For the variable, it goes up a bit to 3.69%.

Uninsurable Mortgages (20% Down, 30-Year Amortization)

Lastly, for an uninsurable mortgage (purchases with 20% down and a 30-year amortization), the lowest rates start at 4.24% for fixed, and around 3.95% for variable.

Please keep in mind, all rates are as of today. You want to realize that because we don't want to set expectations and then have them fall through—that's not good. So that's kind of where the rates are right now.

Key Advice: Work with Experienced Mortgage Brokers

The next thing I want to talk about—and part of these episodes, I'm trying to keep them to five minutes or less, once a week, so you have the latest updates—is the most important thing to start off with: 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 realtor said, "Oh, well, my client banks there. It's easy to go there." And you know what? That might be right, but you are severely handicapping your client's preapproval—and your paycheck—by having your client just go to the bank.

On the broker side, we see all the different lenders and all the different terms—there are real differences. For example (and I'm not going to call out lender names here), there's a major bank where, say you have two credit cards with a total limit of $30,000, and you owe nothing on them. Some lenders will factor in a minimum payment against that debt as if you've leveraged it all. For credit cards, most lenders calculate 3% of what's owing, but some do 3% of the limit. So that means we're using $900 in artificial payments for the client's preapproval, which shrinks the amount they can borrow dramatically.

Where we would step in, knowing that, is to partner with a lender that doesn't factor it in—to qualify your borrower at the maximum leverage. You see what I mean? And I'm not going to call out the bank, but it's one of those big ones that people just say, "Oh, you bank there? Just go." Bring all your documents. It's easy.

So I know it's a little more challenging to say, "Hey, you should speak to an expert who has access to as many lenders as possible, so you're getting the best information."

Example: Credit Card Debt Calculation

[As described above—major differences in how unused credit limits are treated.]

Example: Child Tax Benefits

Another example: child tax benefits. Some lenders only use 30% of it. Some use 50%. Others use 100%. Right there, three different lenders, three different policies, three different preapproval amounts for your borrower.

If I know they're trying to qualify for the maximum, I'll leverage that and partner with the lender who can qualify your client using 100% of their child tax benefit. So there are little tricks and tweaks like that. I just want to start off this week with that: Don't just let them go to the bank—it's the path of least resistance.

We will ask the client if they prefer their bank, but then they get access to us and our expertise. When we start to show them where the other lenders stack up compared to their bank—what the rates might be, how much more they can qualify for—they're on board. 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.

Closing and Call to Action

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, book strategy calls, or even you yourself can call us. We'll give you any information you need about your clients, and we'll work with you to help close more deals. See you next week!