Thanks Marty,Perhaps the question of whether the ban is a good one or otherwise should be raised as a separate thread in the Opinion forum.However the issue raised by dbomber in this thread seems to be that he thought that break costs were exit fees, which of course they are. He also inferred that he thought exit fees were banned outright as the…[Read more]

Gidday Terry,Sorry for your confusion. Your link goes to a third party website that is not the actual legislation. i.e.it's a repost for the universities, hence the disclaimer it carries.Regardless, I had posted the link to the actual legislation (SLI 2011 No. 40) back in the beginning which in itself confirms that break costs are Exit Fees.Again…[Read more]

Thanks luke86 and you too Tracey B,However this isn't a battle with the banks, it's with the Federal Government. It also isn't waged on the basis of people who understood what they were getting themselves into (although I understand that people like Solomon10 think that they should have known what they are getting themselves into and should foot…[Read more]

Gidday gibbo1,Also note my post linked to the actual current legislation SLI 2011 No. 40 rather than the resource linked by Terryw which carries an all care, no responsibility disclaimer.You can also view the complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman on Exit Fees here which I encourage you to do if you would like to research the issue and respond…[Read more]

TerrywNothing new in your post and it pays to look at the thread where way back in the beginning  I posted:

Michael.Lee wrote:
Sorry Richard, you seem to be confused. What I said was:

Michael.Lee wrote:
Break costs on a Fixed Rate are an Exit Fee as are Discharge Fees.

My reference to others who incorrectly say otherwise which creates the…[Read more]

Thanks Terry,Yes it's an Exit Fee which if the loan was struck today, ought be illegal according to the Government advertising.But the point to this topic is that it isn't illegal even today, even though it is clearly an Exit Fee and even though the Government claims that Exit Fees are banned on all new home loans.If your friend got caught out…[Read more]

Solomon10,I understand your point of view and agree, but offer the following inputs to your thoughts.Excepting solicitors, most people who read contracts don't understand them and have those bits they don't understand explained to them by people they trust i.e. their bank manager, their mortgage broker. If the banks and the brokers are wriggling…[Read more]

Gidday Terry,Not to get off point, you can read about me in SMH here.No, I've never been a "refund broker" and No, I've never posted as "The Mortgage Detective" but Yes, my old username was mortgagedetective. However when I updated it to Michael.Lee my historical posts should have updated too.Although I must admit I don't know what "coming off a…[Read more]

Thanks for the feedback Jamie, but there was more than one question and I think the others are more important.

dbomber wrote:
Thanx James, so you agree with the bank? Isn't the brake charge an exit gfee?

The answer to this question seems to be that you side with the Banks and the Government on this and that's fair enough, however I see things…[Read more]

Gidday yourokcproperty,I agree with your basic sentiment that disclosure is the issue, not the fee itself.Nonetheless, this is why it is such an issue that the Government, Banks and certain Brokers are insisting that Exit Fees are abolished and that certain fees historically and commonly understood as Exit Fees are, since the ban, somehow no…[Read more]

Sorry Keiko. I was answering your question. 85% no LMI is possible still subject to my earlier comments.Cheers,Michael

Sorry Richard, you seem to be confused. What I said was:

Michael.Lee wrote:
Break costs on a Fixed Rate are an Exit Fee as are Discharge Fees.

My reference to others who incorrectly say otherwise which creates the confusion includes you:

Qlds007 wrote:
As Jamie mentioned exit fee and fixed rate break fee are two totally different things.

They…[Read more]

Hi Dave,You have every right to be confused. Besides you, Luke001 is the closest to the complete truth – i.e. that borrowers get caught out by the contradiction and misunderstanding.The broker responses here demonstrate why this is such a problem. Although many now claim Break Costs on Fixed Rate loans are not Exit Fees, it is widely acknowledged…[Read more]

Gidday Keiko,Yes, however it will come down to the strength of your application which includes both the unchangeable material facts, which lenders are approached for the deal, your buying power and how your story is pitched.I just posted a moment ago about truly independent mortgage brokers. It's worth kicking some tyres there and asking them what…[Read more]

House Call,Great you have found a solution.If you ever need SMSF funding, one of the leaders that I've turned to for my articles (and most of the media has as well) is i-financial. Ugly website, but a good knowledge source at http://www.ifinancialgroup.com.au.All the best,Michael

Sorry Terry and Greg, I seem to have confused you.A pro-consumer mortgage broker takes their fee from commissions and cashbacks 100% of the remainder. They are different to a Borrowers Agent. A Borrowers Agent doesn't have arrangements and is able to look at more than just shopping a deal. However when they do, they look at lenders directly as…[Read more]

Gidday Gents,Firstly, there is a real difference between a shovel and a spade, one is for digging, the other is for shovelling.Similarly there is a real difference between a mortgage broker and a borrowers agent.A traditional broker works for commission and has no agency/loyalty contract with anyone. Traditional brokers are a significantly more…[Read more]

Gidday Terry & Richard,Yes.. there has been a username change to avoid confusion with the active mortgage broker called Mortgage Detective and simplify things. Nothing else of course has changed.Thanks for raising the example of a doctor Terry, but you are probably better off looking at the real estate industry for a distinction.A real estate…[Read more]

Good point Luke,Tax advice, estate planning and asset protection are all critical considerations in any investment decision.It's great to bandy about ideas however when the rubber hits the road, get individual advice and make sure that this advice is independent and from a suitably qualified professional offering a written opinion.Mortgage brokers…[Read more]

Gidday Phrix,Sorry for joining this party late, however I was on deadline for an article.St George are an interesting lender and I use one of their mortgage broker training flyers on my facebook page – the course is called "Customers will do as they are sold".Although it's currently legal for any mortgage broker to claim independence there is…[Read more]