Agent vs bank
Should you use a mortgage broker or your bank?
A bank branch sells one shelf of mortgages, its own. A mortgage agent shops many lenders to find the one that fits you. That is the core difference, and in Ontario it is set by the rules, not by opinion.
Many people type "mortgage broker Orléans Ottawa" or "Orléans Ontario mortgage broker" into Google, and the help is the same. I am a licensed Mortgage Agent working under Referral Mortgages Inc., not a broker, but I do exactly what people picture: shop the whole market for you.
Here is the plain version. I have access to banks, credit unions, monoline mortgage-only companies and alternative lenders. Many of those lenders compete for your mortgage at once, and plenty of my files land somewhere other than the biggest bank. That breadth is the point. A branch cannot match it.
I also choose on total cost, not the headline rate. A rate is not just a rate. The penalty to break the mortgage is the hidden cost, and when two lenders match on rate I lean toward the one with the smaller penalty, because life happens and rates can fall.
One more thing, said plainly. Mortgages are private. I do not publish client names or stories. What I can show you instead is my licence, my reviews, the lenders I work with, and exactly how I would handle your situation.
"A rate is not just a rate, the penalty matters." Nick Bachusky