What is the problem with the bank's mortgage "advisor"?

I have met with many mortgage brokers. I've noticed the power of words and titles. Therefore, I recommend that you ignore the small sign on the bank's "advisor's" desk. When you discuss a mortgage, call the person referred to as an "advisor" a "salesperson" or the bank's "seller." "Mortgage banker" would also be fitting here.

The difference between the terms is large: a consultant is a person to whom you pay money in exchange for the best advice For you.  On the contrary, you don't pay the seller money, so it's clear to you that their words should be taken with a grain of salt as they are serving someone else.

Or in other words: don't buy from a "consultant" and don't take advice (without checking) from a salesperson.

Interest

I also encountered a couple who told me, "The bank manager told us we wouldn't get a better offer at other banks." First of all, I assume the person who spoke with you wasn't the bank manager, but perhaps the branch manager. Secondly, would you believe the manager of a used car lot if he said no one would give you a lower price? Use the same logic when speaking with bank employees: advisors, managers, clerks, or in short, salespeople.

The mortgage banker at a bank does not give advice, just as a washing machine consultant at a store is not a consultant but a salesperson.

The difference between consultation and sales is that with sales, you don't pay for the meeting, and from the seller's perspective, a free meeting has one sole purpose – to ensure that at the end of the meeting, there will be a deal. Therefore, when you go for a mortgage "consultation" at a bank, you will only receive information that can help close a deal with the bank.

In contrast to the bank's interest in you taking a mortgage from them, the interest of an independent mortgage advisor is different. An independent mortgage advisor doesn't care if you take the mortgage from one bank or another.

Who pays the consultant

The mortgage advisor receives their salary from you, and you are their client.

The bank's mortgage marketer does not receive his salary from you, but from the bank, and because he is a salesperson, the "service" is provided free of charge.

In this context, it's worth mentioning a well-known marketing saying: "When the product is free, you are the product.".

The bank's mortgage advisor training

There are those who say to me, 'Well, this is what will happen to a regular customer with the banker, but in my case, it won't happen because the banker is a childhood friend/cousin/brother-in-law, etc., and he will take care of me.".

Mistake! Even if the banker really wants to give you the best advice possible, she won't be able to. The bank that trained her and that positioned her with a screen containing certain data did not teach her what would not contribute to a sale, nor does it present her with data that doesn't contribute to a sale.

For example, the banker is skilled at knowing if, at a certain income level, the bank has a reasonable chance that you will be able to meet mortgage payments. No one gave the banker tools to see what your mortgage payment would be in, say, 5 years.

No one gave the banker the tools to recognize that, while according to the bank’s raw data (up to 40% of your income can be allocated to mortgage payments), you’ll be able to make the payments, based on your lifestyle as a couple—or that of one of you individually (it doesn’t really matter)—you actually need a mortgage with much lower payments because Otherwise, your relationship will be severely damaged. Due to future financial pressures. 

A mortgage banker will not typically say something like, "On the surface, you can afford the mortgage, but in my personal opinion, this apartment is too much for you and you should look for another one.".

Product Introduction

A mortgage banker, by definition, only knows the products their bank sells. For example:

• You could hear a mortgage banker tell you that you can get Grace (A period in which only interest is paid without repaying the principal) For two years only.
  A private consultant knows all the products at all the banks and will be able to say that at another bank, you can get a grace period of ten years.

• Mortgage bankers will tell you to pay off the fixed, unindexed loan in one payment.
  A private consultant informed me that this limitation exists only at one bank (Ahlan Discount) and at other banks there is no problem withdrawing the non-indexed fixed payment in installments.

• A mortgage banker will say it's impossible to mortgage an existing apartment to purchase another, while a private consultant knows of ways (completely legal and proper) to do this outside the banking system. The list could go on and on. 

• At the bank, the mortgage banker only knows about mortgages, which is why banks give the false impression that you can only finance the purchase of an apartment with a mortgage.
  A private advisor also knows about products outside the banking system, such as loans and other sources of financing that can help you increase your equity or get better mortgage terms. Therefore, by the way, I prefer the term "housing loan advisor" or simply "housing financial advisor.".

In summary

In the insurance field, Ministry of Finance regulations have prohibited insurance agents from calling themselves Consultants pension and instead they must call themselves Marketers Pension. I wish the Supervisor of Banks would also understand that the word "advisor" in this context is a misnomer and would rule that bank mortgage officers should be called mortgage sellers or mortgage marketers, not advisors. Mortgage advice is best left For people whose profession it is.