Mortgage Brokers

BUSINESS DIRECTORY > FINANCE > BUSINESS FINANCE

Mortgage Brokers - How Much Can I Borrow?

X Inc Finance - Mortgage Brokers

When you are thinking about getting a home loan or an investment loan, it definitely pays to have a visit with a Mortgage Broker.

In the most competitive lending market we have ever known, a Mortgage Broker knows what is on offer as they generally deal with 20 - 30 lenders from a ‘panel' of financial institutions, including banks and non-banks. These days there are lots of new lenders with many many more options than was traditionally available in the past.

In essence, a Mortgage Broker evaluates your home loan needs against the lenders on their panel for the best deal. The sheer amount of lenders in the market coupled with the enormous numbers of products mortgage brokers deal with mean that most good mortgage brokers use specialized software to access and keep up to date with the whole range of loans on offer from their lenders.

A good mortgage broker should be happy to work through these options available with you on their Laptop.

How do I know a mortgage broker is any good?

Establishing that a Broker is right for you and has experience and qualifications as well as being committed to the industry code of practice is vital to ensure you're getting the best loan for your needs.

Here is a step by step check list that will help you know if your Mortgage Broker is on the level.

For residential loans, all of the Broker's services should be free. That is the whole service of giving you information in relation to home loans, negotiating the loan for you and handling the paperwork through to approval. The Broker service should happily include:
- Negotiating the loan for you.
- Handling the paperwork and ongoing follow up for you.
- Being available for subsequent loan enquiries.
- Helping if there is an issue between you and the lender.
- Checking all the paperwork for you.
The right Broker will take the time to really understand your entire finance situation, both now and into the future.
Your Broker should have a wide range of home loans from a wide variety of lenders, eg. banks, and non-banks, conforming and non conforming.
Check the qualifications and experience of your Broker, even ask for references from previous borrowers. Are they an MIAA member?
Ensure your Mortgage Broker is not just an agent for one lender.
Make sure your Broker discloses all commission and payments received so you can judge whether a particular loan recommendation is being influenced by how much the Broker will be paid.
Ask your Mortgage Broker to show you on their laptop how the loans they offer are researched and rated. Good Brokers should have the appropriate software and be able to clearly outline their criteria and logic.
Ask your Broker how they comply with the Privacy Act to ensure the security of your personal and financial details.
Your Broker should have professional indemnity insurance.
A good Mortgage Broker should be able to explain the most complex offers in plain English.
It is up to you, but it really helps if you actually like your Mortgage Broker as well!

How does the Mortgage Broker get paid?

Mortgage Brokers usually run their own businesses.

Lenders work with Mortgage Brokers because they effectively give the lender a bigger ‘shop front' without carrying a traditional employee overhead. Some lenders don't have branches and totally rely on Mortgage Brokers to represent their products. The lender pays the broker fees or commissions for your business.

Just as if you were dealing with a Bank Manager or lender, these fees do not change the interest rate you pay on a loan. (To be sure you are being recommended to the right lender, just ask your Broker to show you all the lenders on their panel and what your loan options would be against each lender's criteria.)

X Inc Finance - Mortgage Brokers

BUSINESS DIRECTORY > FINANCE > BUSINESS FINANCE