Rate buydown debate heats up

A controversial profile in CMP stoked the fire of indignation for one broker who argues buydowns cheapen the industry

A controversial profile in CMP stoked the fire of indignation for one broker who argues buydowns cheapen the industry.

“(When) selling low rates, the advice isn’t there and the only thing the client gets is a low rate? What is a lower rate if, say the client bought it two years ago at 2.79% and we can now do 2.49%?” Nick Bachusky, an Ottawa-based broker, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “He gave the lower rates then but it won’t benefit the client now because they aren’t getting any advice.”

Ron Butler, one of the industry’s most successful brokers, was recently featured as an Industry Icon in the latest issue of CMP. And in the article, he claimed the future of the industry was a higher prevalence of bought-down rates.

“Wouldn’t it be nicer if the client just got the best possible deal and didn’t have to meet anybody to do it? Someone online or on the phone could meet with them – something that is efficient and easy to do,” Butler told CMP. “Nine out of 10 brokers are so wedded to their model of earning 125 basis points on every file.

“If you want to give better rates than (another) broker is offering, you can’t cling to legacy models.”
It’s a future Bachusky and, indeed, thousands of brokers across the country want to avoid.

“When I picked up the issue and I read that, I just shake my head. That is backwards; that’s where quality suffers and that’s when we lose our jobs and that’s when robots take over,” Bachusky said. “That’s not why we became mortgage brokers; buydowns are not why we became mortgage brokers.

“We love our clients, we want to be in communities, we’re viewed as people who can do the best job and we care about clients’ debt ratios.

Which side of the debate do you fall on? Have your say in the comments section.