getting 1st mortgage – via broker or bank?

HI Tess

Must admit my opinion is slightly biased being a broker myself however feel that a Bank is hardly like to tell you that you can do better down the road.

Lodoc loans are a specialised area especially in the current climate and your mortgage broker should be able to assist you in structuring the loan correctly the way in which it works best for you and not the lender.

Unfortunately I have little time for sausage machine brokers like mortgage choice who are merely interested in churning you through and the service and advice is only as good as the franchisee. 

A lot of the lenders you have mentioned do not have cost effective loan products in regards to lodoc loans so at least a broker can give you a few alternatives subject to your requirements.

Would need a few figures and some further information to make a decent recommendation.

Tess my apologies comes of typing quicker than i was reading.

Saw the word lodoc and went for it lol.

With what you have even Mortgage Choice should be able to cope with that sort of loan enquiry.
There are a couple of lenders waiving their application fees for First Home Buyers so that all bears well and you should be able to negotiate a good deal.

Why not post what they recommend once you have seen them and we can make comment.

You are wasting your time going to meet 5 different lenders. you can only go with 1 of them.  A good broker should save you time in this regard.

Hi Tess,
Also down the track a good broker can help structure your investment loans so you don't end up in a knot.
A single Bank will try and xcoll all your loans and can be a nightmare to undo.

Not only that  but with a broker you usually get to deal with the same person .
I email my broker at all times night and day……………Sorry Richard…….
and ALWAYS get a reply

Cheers

Hi Tess

I would just say that you shouldn't act on tax or financial advice from a mortgage broker unless they hold an Australian Financial Services License or are a Registered Tax Agent. Just make sure they do.

Cheers

Stuart

Hi Tess & Megan,

I have recently I decided to become a broker.  My initial stop was lookin at the franchised guys (Refund Home Loans, Mortgage Choice, Smartline, etc)  These companys are charging $10-70k to get new brokers in.  Alot of new previous expirience and tellig the new comers the can make 6 figure incomes very easily without too much effort because you are using there name and systems.  Alot of people are getting into these and then struggling to make the level to live comfortably.  Although they are trained well in simple loan applications, as Richard mentions often the structuring loans when you have multiple properties is important, and many franchised brokers are unsure.

I then went to a smaller aggregator who introduced me to one of their brokers after meeting myself.  The aggregator knew the broker well and thought we would be well matched.  I now have a highly expirienced broker as my mentor who I work for.  I figured for myself this is a better way to go as I get one on one guidance and advice, he is more interested in my progress as it helps his business (if I make mistakes it hurts his business).

We both have the same views on customer service – its all about service.  In our earlier conversations we discussed simple things like honesty, doing what you promise, friendly, helpful, etc.  My background – I owned a pizza shop a few years ago and ran it for 8 years.  In the area I operated if you had no customer service skills you would have no business.  I had times I put alot of effort in, and lost money on some orders (where the customer was at fault) to keep the customer happy as I knew the importance of customer referrals.

I think alot of problems that they come into this industry wanting to make millions (and getting promised that as well).  They are driven by money and they're not a people's person – this industry is all about dealing with people.  Franchise's measure the quality on how many applications get approved, not if they are structured correctly.

There are some really good brokers out there, best way to find them is word of mouth and asking for referrals on here.  On finishing, there are some good franshised brokers who like the convienance of the franchised system.

Totally agree with the last couple of comments.

We see it all the time Accountants giving Financial Advice when they are not licensed to do so.

Megan

All of the Big 5 Retail Banks offer a Pro Package of some sort but the terms, conditions and benefits vary considerably.

It is very much a horses for courses type product. If you have 1 property and cant see yourself buying anything else then probably not for you. I have many clients with dozens of properties under the 1 package (some lenders limit you to a number of loan applications) and they are saving literally thousands in application fees, valuation costs and interest each year.

I am sorry that your experience to date with Mortgage Brokers has not been a happy one but as i continously mention it comes of allowing a plumber in the morning to be a mortgage broker in the afternoon.

Meg

Without fishing for your business (promise i dont do that or need to) if you want to shoot me an email with what you are after i am happy to come back to you and give you some suggestions and then you can go direct to the lender if that helps.