FAQs

"WHAT DOES A MORTGAGE BROKER DO?"

Mortgage brokers are professionals in the home loan industry. They work with you to determine your finance needs and help you understand how much you can borrow. Brokers help to ensure that you don’t take out a loan that is not right for your financial circumstances or needs.

Professional mortgage brokers only focus on loans. If you need legal advice, you go to a solicitor who is a specialist in the law. If your pipes are leaking, you go to a specialist in plumbing. It’s the same when you need a loan.

Brokers have access to a wide variety of loans. This means your broker can find a loan that’s just right for you.

DO YOU CHARGE FEES FOR HOME AND INVESTMENT LOANS?

Some mortgage brokers charge a fee and some don’t. When you take out a loan via a Mortgage Broker – it does not cost you more. That is an absolute myth. Brokers get paid commission by the bank for bringing new business to them, this does not impact your rate or level of service.

Some brokers charge a fee for their service. They must disclose this fee upfront to you so you know what you will be up for if you engage their services.

DON’T YOU JUST RECOMMEND THE LENDER WHO PAYS YOU THE MOST COMMISSION?

The truth is that there is very little difference between the commissions paid by the lenders. You can also rest assured that your interests in this respect are covered by law. The mortgage and finance brokering industry has legislation called the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (or NCCP), that is designed to protect consumers and ensure ethical and professional standards in the finance industry. We are required to present you with a selection of suitable loans from different lenders and tell you upfront what commission we will be getting. Our job, our only job, is to find the best loan for your needs and serviceability.

ISN’T IT MORE EXPENSIVE TO USE A BROKER?

Some Brokers charge a fee for their service which they must disclose to you up-front before you engage their services. However, the costs of the loan are the same, depending on the loan you choose.

HOW MUCH CAN I BORROW?

This is dependent on how much you have saved for a deposit and what you current expenses are. Give us a call and we can go into your options in more detail, or check out the loan calculator page of our site!

SHOULD I GO FIXED OR VARIABLE?

A mortgage broker is only allowed to recommend a product based on what you say is most important to you – for example, “pay my loan off quickly” or “guaranteed repayments”. With regard to interest rates, however, we recommend the following; “if you want flexibility take a variable rate loan, if you want repayment certainty take a fixed rate loan, if you want both, then do both and use a split loan.”

I AM NOT IN YOUR AREA, CAN WE STILL WORK TOGETHER?

Sure thing! We can work via Phone, Email, Facetime, Skype etc to run through details and then can meet at a later date.

WHICH LENDERS DO YOU DEAL WITH?

I am a Connective Broker. This means that I have access to many lenders – these include the major banks, second tier lenders and credit unions. We can source you a loan from the lender of your choice.

WHO SETS INTEREST RATES?

The Reserve Bank of Australia meet on the first Tuesday every month to determine the official cash rate for the country. The lenders then use this information to set their own rates. Mortgage brokers do not set rates.

WHY SHOULD I USE A MORTGAGE BROKER IF I CAN GO WITH A BANK?

When we talk about a ‘loan product’ we are referring to the thousands of options that are currently available for you for your loan. Each bank (or lender) has loads of different loan options – low doc, package loans, re-draw facilities, plant and equipment loans, fixed, interest only, interested in advance, variable, introductory variable… the issues you face as a consumer is ‘which loan is right for me?’ And that is where a mortgage broker comes in. If you go direct to the bank, you will only be offered the loan options available through that one lender. As your mortgage broker, we do all the leg work for you. We are across many lenders and all of their loan products and our sole purpose is to find the right loan for your needs.