Bank vs Mortgage Broker

Hi magic32

I am a big believer in relationship banking – ie, if you have accounts etc or a history with a lender, and are reasonably happy why go elsewhere to theoretically save time or money. Got a complex deal, time restrictions, your local branch of your favorite bank has a snotty nosed acne covered still living at home 'kid' as their 'Senior Lender' Lo-doc, or lazy – maybe – but other than that I would suggest going to the source directly to be a better option. Some lenders consider broker deals a higher risk than direct ones, particularity those that use credit scoring – sorry, but that is true – so it could be the difference between getting a loan or not. That said, standing by my first comment, if you have an existing relationship with a broker you are reasonable happy with why not continue to use him/her.
Cheers

I agree with some of your points, but definately not all. For a start, you can have a relationship with a banker, but if anybody thinks that the institution places any value on them individually then they are sorely mistaken. The fact is that when push comes to shove credit officers have the final say and they don't have relationships with anyone. It is true that you can sometimes get loans through the system faster going direct, but not in every case, and most times this doesn't matter anyway. It is also correct that some lenders give broker clients an automatic lower credit score, NAB in particular, however, not every lender credit scoes and even when they do it mostly only matters for high LVR loans.

People also shouldn't reduce the role of the broker to simply finding the cheapest product and handling the application, of course these are roles that all brokers play. Investors need more than this, they need advice on loan structuring and which products suit their optimum structure best and often assistance with how to go about building their portfolio. The ability to obtain finance is often the biggest issue in being a successful investor and buying the wrong type of property.

Regards
Alistair