Community Trust meets evolving needs with 35-year amortization option, home equity lines of credit
This article was produced in partnership with Community Trust
Mallory Hendry, of Canadian Mortgage Professional, sat down with Grant Armstrong, director national sales and lending at Community Trust, to discuss how to accomplish client goals in a challenging environment.
The market is in a state of flux, and versatility in alt-lending has never been more critical. Community Trust is shouting this message from the rooftop as it rolls out new guidelines and policies to address the evolving needs of its broker partners and their clients.
“We’ve got rising interest rates, climbing inflation, a large number of individuals changing employers and we’re at different parts of the pandemic – and that’s on top of regular seasonality as well,” said Grant Armstrong, director national sales and lending at Community Trust. “Versatility is incredibly important because you need lenders, partners and clients who are willing to look at unique ways to accomplish goals.”
The new headwinds add to existing issues such as the continued growth of the gig economy, a transition to more self-employment and the COVID-19-induced mass shift to remote work. In this climate, there “needs to be more financing options that respect clients’ choices and acknowledges the changes going on in both their personal lives and the economic environment around them,” Armstrong said.
At Community Trust, there’s a huge emphasis on versatility and that starts with the product suite. Always aiming to offer products with multiple features and options, the organization recently launched a 35-year amortization option which provides more of that all-important flexibility, and also offers home equity lines of credit to give clients even more support in these uncertain times. Those products are in high demand, Armstrong noted, and were called for by brokers and clients alike as ways to address the fluctuating needs in the current market.
Whether clients are buying new construction or resale, are contract or self-employed, have struggled over the last few years and are recovering from battered credit, or simply need a support system from a major financial institution, Community Trust’s mission is to offer programs to suit a variety of situations.
“There’s no such thing as a cookie-cutter application anymore – no two come in the same,” Armstrong said. “It’s about being able to partner with the broker, analyze the client to understand their needs and focus on how we can help them.”
From the operational side, Community Trust continues to invest in service: in the mortgage advisory team, the technology platforms for brokers, and in the communication led by the marketing department about trends and upcoming information sessions. Community Trust also continues to train, spending a lot of time through business development teams working with broker partners to educate them on the alternative mortgage market and how they can use it to continue to meet Canadians’ needs – and demonstrate that We Care value, to which agility is so critical.
The current marketplace requires flexibility from brokers as well, and Armstrong urges them to take their time with clients. Spend time with them, listen to them and try to dig into what they really need as opposed to accepting what they think they need. Do they have a growing family? Are they avid pet lovers? Do they prefer life in the city or a more rural area? What are their goals, not just today but also five years down the road? Then spend the time learning the lenders that match, because not always is the fastest or easiest solution the best one.
“Dig into the client’s history, collect those few extra documents and position it to a lender that can take that client on for the long haul and provide solutions for them going forward as they achieve their goals – such as Community Trust,” Armstrong said. “We’ve always been well-positioned for these kinds of fluctuations because of our overall approach and given our priorities as a lender – and a leader – in the space.”
A privately held Canadian company in operation since 1975, Community Trust prides itself on a creative and optimistic approach to finding you the best options, executed by experienced and capable experts in the financial services field.
