Why Jim?
Using experience to save time, stress and money.
All you need to know about Jim Cook’s mortgage practice can be found by reading Google reviews. He is considered a client advocate and an educator equally. He has been helping individuals and companies better understand their financial options for three decades. For the past 15 years, Jim has brokered some $200 million in mortgages, helping thousands of clients in Bruce County and across Ontario.
His passion is helping you understand the mortgage process and the decision you are making. Success is getting you the best solution while protecting you from costly mistakes.
He has worked with first time purchasers showing them what they need to know in order to make wise mortgage decisions, remaining as their go-to expert on mortgages and the purchase process and ensuring they have confidence to make an exciting first step into home ownership.
He has worked with individuals wanting to get out from crushing debt taken on to renovate, to cover past income gaps or just because spending got away from them by increasing their mortgage to payout that debt, often saving $1-2k per month in expenses.
He has worked with existing homeowners whether they are looking to real estate investments or looking to renovate or more typically make the move out of their current home into something more desired – navigating the varied decisions around current home equity and down payment, transferring their mortgage between properties and new builds versus resale purchases.
His greatest accolades come not from online reviews but when clients refer their siblings, parents or friends to receive the same care, attention and service they did. Professionally, Jim has worked as an auditor, commercial lender, CFO, CEO and on numerous corporate Boards. He has an MBA in finance, is an Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP) and was a Certified Management Accountant for over 20 years. His professional background is public on LinkedIn.
Today, Jim is a Mortgage Broker with TMG The Mortgage Group, a privately-owned, Canadian Mortgage Brokerage established in 1990. It is a national network of over 1000 mortgage agents benefitting some half a million households nationally. He was recognized in 2014 with the inaugural National Award of Excellence for Innovation and is consistently in the top 20% of all TMG brokers nationally. He has served on the Boards of Habitat for Humanity Grey Bruce and Kincardine’s BIA for many years and contributes a portion of every commission earned to the Breakfast Club of Canada.
About Brokers
When searching for a new mortgage about a third of Canadians still start with their Bank – the rest are seeking options from the mortgage brokerage community. (Jim has bank employees as clients). A recommended broker will have access to dozens of different institutional mortgage lenders, some of them names you know including TD, Scotia and Meridian along with others you may not recognize like First National, MCAP and Merix.
Different lenders bring different solutions. A Broker will determine the best lender option(s) based on what you are seeking to do, taking into account both rates and policies. The lowest rate is not always the lowest cost solution.
Brokers are paid a commission from the institutional lender that earns your business, not from you. This means they are on your side of the table from the start. They only get to eat if they can provide a solution that works for you.