mortgage brokermortgage 26 Mar 2008 11:00 PM
Why use a Mortgage Broker? by Michelle Kour
If you are shopping around for a home loan, then you may want to consider using a mortgage broker.

Mortgage Brokers will compare loans and help you find the right home loan product for your circumstances. Mortgage Brokers help families establish home loans to buy their own homes, investors to expand their property portfolios and business people to develop better and often more tax effective finance structures.

A mortgage broker can save you time and offer expert advice, and what’s more, the services of mortgage brokers in NSW are usually free. Mortgage brokers make their money from commissions as the lender pays the broker fees or commissions for placing your business with them. Just as if you were dealing with a bank manager or lender, these fees do not change the interest rate you pay on a home loan. Mortgage brokers effectively promote the lender without the need for that lender carrying the traditional overheads such as staff and branch networks. This can be of great savings for those lenders who do not operate a branch as they can partly rely on mortgage brokers to sell their products.

When deciding on which mortgage broker you will use, seek confirmation on the following:

1. that they have access to a wide range of lenders including both banks and non banks or mortgage managers. This ensures that the products being offered are not limited to just one or two lenders with whom the mortgage broker has an established relationship. Quite often mortgage brokers find it easier to “sell” a recognised lender, generally one of the major banks, as opposed to making you aware of better product that may be available through a less well known lender but nevertheless excellent mortgage provider in the market.

2. that they provide you with a copy of a Finance Broker Agreement which sets out the terms of the services offered.

3. that as noted below you make sure that the mortgage broker who you deal with is an accredited mortgage consultant with the Mortgage Finance Association of Australia – this ensures that if you have any dispute with the mortgage broker you can access a free ASIC-approved independent dispute resolution service to resolve the issue.

Almost half of Australian home buyers are now using a Mortgage Broker to find them the best home loan. Mortgage Brokers can access a greater range of mortgage options in NSW and Australia wide and have the ability to negotiate a better deal with lenders. Mortgage Brokers can often save you upfront fees or strike a better interest rate that may not be advertised. A mortgage broker offers loans from a panel of financial institutions, including banks and non-banks. In Australia there are countless lenders with an array of loan products that were not traditionally available in the past and competition amongst lenders for customers is fierce with new home loan products available every day.

Mortgage Brokers cater for all borrowers including first home buyers, self employed and business people, retirees, non residents, new Australians, bad or poor credit history and previous bankrupts.

Finally, when choosing a Mortgage Broker it is important that your Broker is a member of the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA). The MFAA is an organisation that regulates and applies industry standards to its members and has a defined complaints process.


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TODAY: Thursday, 20th November, 2008
WEALTH MAXIMISER - INVESTOR ASSIST UPDATE - JUNE 2008
The ATO has recently published an edited version of a Private Ruling on its website: http://www.ato.gov.au/rba/content.asp?doc=/rba/content/81797.htm A taxpayer and client of Austral Mortgage, applied for the private ruling to seek confirmation from the ATO that if there was a shortfall between his investment income and his investment outgoings then that shortfall could be capitalised under the home and investment loan & line of credit structure noted in his application.  

WEALTH MAXIMISER UPDATE - MAY 2008
Ever since the High Court decision in Hart's case, taxpayers have been seeking clarity from the ATO on the deductibility of capitalised interest in certain loan structures. On 16th April 2008 a favourable Private Ruling issued to an Austral client that provides insight into the ATO's current thinking on the subject.  

My Choice
Austral has recently expanded its product offering through its My Choice loan initiative. My Choice provides borrowers with access to a wide range of lenders and loan products for residential, commercial and equipment finance, so no matter what your need our friendly and experienced staff can assist you.

Austral in the Community
Austral Mortgage has been a Principal Sponsor of the Winston Hills Little Athletics Club since October 2006. We are proud to be supporting this community project and congratulate the young athletes of WHLA for their commitment to and successes in the sport.

WEALTH MAXIMISER UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2008
Wealth Maximiser Update 12th February 2008 - We have advice from the ATO that it is well advanced on a binding Tax Determination regarding the deductibility of capitalised interest on a line of credit facility. Borrowers with both a home loan and an investment loan should consider including a capitalising line of credit within their loan structure or at least ascertaining from their lender that they could access such a facility by way of a simple variation of their existing mortgage.

Trans Tasman Finance
Did you know that Austral has a wholly owned subsidiary, Gem Home Loans Limited, in Auckland NZ - we are able to assist with organising mortgage finance for you should you be considering buying property in NZ.

AusComm Finance
AusComm is the specialist Construction and Development division of Austral Mortgage - if you are a developer seeking finance for construction purposes - residential, commercial, retail, industrial - give Peter McAuley a call on 0419 220 630 or email him peter.mcauley@australmortgage.com to discuss your funding requirements.  

Mortgage Calculator
A number of excellent resource tools are now available on the internet for people in Australia seeking a loan to finance the purchase of a property or refinance an existing mortgage. One of the most useful and user friendly tools is a mortgage calculator. Before going too far in the purchase and /or borrowing process it is a worthwhile exercise to quickly gauge your borrowing capacity and also determine how your new mortgage repayments will impact on your personal cash flow. Mortgage calculator...

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