FAQ

Why choose from one when you can choose from many banks? As good as a employee of a bank may be they can only sell their home loans and they firmly believe they are the best. But, how do you know?

Do you believe the Ford deal selling you a Ford when he says this is the best car in Australia? Or do you go and do your own research? With home loan finance you don’t need to do the research, we do it for you.

We work with a variety of lenders and can find the cheapest and best loan package available to suit your needs.

• Choice: Is your bank going to tell you if another bank is cheaper? Are they going to tell you if another lender’s products suit your needs?
• Free services: Most of our clients pay nothing for our services. For a list of situations where we will charge, please refer to our fee schedule.
• Level of service: Did you know that mortgage brokers consistently outrank bank managers in customer satisfaction surveys?
• Keep it simple: We will take the hassle out of applying for a loan. We’ll deal with the banks so that you don’t have to!
• Expertise: Our mortgage brokers have a much higher level of training and experience than bank lenders.
• Specialised lending: Your bank cannot go outside of their lending policy but we can choose a lender that can approve your loan!
• Annual reviews: Did you know that the banks can change your rates after your loan is advanced? We will check to make sure that your loan is still competitive.

Many people approach their bank directly and either get their application declined or miss out on a more competitive discount. Don’t make the same mistake! Speak to The Home Loan Guy who will offer you more than just your bank’s own products.

How do mortgage brokers get paid?

We are paid by the banks for introducing new applications and for doing much of the work that would otherwise be done by one of their staff.

We are like your personal bank manager that works for you many lenders instead of just one. This outsourced approach is very efficient and benefits both you as you have more choice and the bank as they do not have to pay us anything if we don’t lodge applications with them.

We are paid between 0.33% and 0.85% of the loan amount as an up front incentive and an ongoing incentive of 0% to 0.285% of the loan balance per annum. Most lenders pay 0.65% for upfront commissions and 0.15% for trails, GST excluded.

This is not paid by you, it is paid by the lender. For a copy of our lender’s incentive schedules please contact one of our mortgage brokers.

When fees may apply?

If you repay the loan (or refinance or sell your property) in the first 24 months after settlement then the lender will charge us a short-term loan fee because we have introduced an unprofitable loan. Clawback can be up to 0.77% of the loan amount in the first year or 0.385% of the loan amount in the following year. If we are charged this fee by the lender, then we will in turn charge the clawback directly to you via an invoice.

Only payable if you repay the loan within the first 24 months.

How can we be sure that you will recommend a suitable loan?

It is a common misconception that mortgage brokers recommend unsuitable loans for their clients to try to maximise their incentives.

The reason for this is that prior to the regulation of our industry in 2010 there were a few unscrupulous mortgage brokers which gave the rest of us a bad name.

We recommend several suitable loans for you and then let you decide which one you would like to apply with. In fact, as a holder of an Australian Credit Licence, it is against the law for us to assist you with applying for an unsuitable loan.

We are a team, and we are in this together. There are things I cannot do and things you cannot do in the process and we need to work together to make this happen. You will need fill in some initial paperwork and supply the required documentation.We can then complete a preliminary assessment and prepare a list of options for you to choose from. I will give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.

Once we know which lender you would like to proceed with then we lodge the loan online directly into their system and track this all the way though to the settlement – and importantly keep you informed as we go.

You will also need to sign the loan contract as

Do you choose particular banks to get a higher incentive?

The thing is that you are our client and we want the best for you, it is why we started working in this industry. If we do the best we can for you, you will refer your family and friends. That is why we exist and makes us warm and fuzzy inside.

We give you a list of options or solutions and explain to you the positives and negatives of each lender. It is our goal to give you the tools and the information to make an informed decision.

We have a panel of 36+ lenders – this includes big banks, little banks, non banks, all different options. So many that we just call them “Lenders”. This means that you get more choice and a better range of loan products.

Are you owned by a bank?

Some mortgage brokers will tell you Did you know that many other mortgage brokers are actually owned by a bank?

• Aussie Home Loans is owned by the Commonwealth Bank (CBA).
• Mortgage Choice is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and has several banks as shareholders.
• Fast, Plan and Choice are owned by Advantedge (a division of NAB).
• Many others are private companies with undisclosed shareholders.
• Home Loan Experts is a 100% privately-owned Australian company with no lenders as shareholders.