The Friendly Banker

Credit cards can be as hazardous to your financial health as cigarettes are to your lungs, says Richard Baughman, and credit card companies will lure you in and keep you hooked more effectively than Joe Camel. During nearly thirty years as a loan officer at a number of Canadian banks and trust companies, Richard Baughman handled over 50,000 credit applications, and he learned that most people put less thought into shopping for a loan than they do into shopping for shoes! Naively believing that customer loyalty carries weight with the banks, or that credit reports are clean just because payments are on time, can set you up to be one of the millions of Canadians who will retire into poverty. The Friendly Banker shows how to escape debt and build wealth rather than lose thousands every year in interest to banks and credit card companies. The first rule is: PAY DOWN CREDIT CARD DEBT. In one of many easy-to-follow charts that appear throughout the book, Baughman clearly illustrates how paying off a measly $2,500 credit card balance can take up to twelve years! Once free of the financial industry's answer to tobacco, you will be ready to apply for a mortgage or other large loan, and Baughman will show you how. The way a bank evaluates you is crucial in negotiating for a loan or obtaining pre-approval for a mortgage. Baughman provides clear instructions on preparing for a conversation with a loan officer, including which documents to bring. He clearly explains how to obtain a copy of your credit report and how to correct any mistakes that might appear there through no fault of your own. He also describes the packaging and marketing of mortgage and other loan products, and how to compare them to obtain the true costs of borrowing. Baughman reveals the hidden costs and false bargains associated with mortgages that many unfriendly bankers don't want you to know about. Richard Baughman truly is The Friendly Banker we all would like to know, uncovering the real cost of borrowing — through case studies, examples and charts — while explaining how, by borrowing better, Canadians can invest in their future. Table of Contents......Page 6 Introduction......Page 10 1. A Discovery......Page 18 2. Your Home Mortgage......Page 26 3. Loyalty......Page 30 4. Getting To Know Your Banker......Page 42 5. Debt......Page 48 6. The Credit Report......Page 68 7. How To Self-Qualify for a Mortgage......Page 80 8. How Lenders Market Mortgage Products......Page 96 9. How to Determine the True Cost of Borrowing......Page 112 10. Shopping for a Mortgage......Page 124 11. Hidden Dangers in the Pre-Approval Process......Page 156 12. The Mortgage Closing......Page 170 13. How To Keep Your Home......Page 176 14. How To Successfully Buy Your Next Home......Page 190 15. How To Manage Your Mortgage......Page 210 B......Page 232 C......Page 233 D......Page 234 I......Page 235 M......Page 236 P......Page 237 W......Page 238