Home Loan Broker

melaco on 03/09/2014 - 11:18

Just had an interesting conversation with a broker in regards to using their services to help me refinance my home loan.
It started off all nice and cheerful and as I was explaining my situation, he was quite confident in being able to organise a better deal for me with the big banks. But as the conversation continued and I referred to some of the online based loan providers (loans.com.au, ubank, state custodians etc) he started getting quite frustrated with me and seemed offended I would even be wasting his time suggesting those banks.
With my previous loan I went solo and bought my proper with one of the second tier banks. So this is my first experience with a broker and so far it hasn't gone well.
I've been told that with most of these online banks that I suggested don't give any commission to the broker, so I can only assume that this is why he wasn't interested in doing business with me.

If they exist, is there any body here that could suggest a broker that also takes these online banks into account? Thanks

Financial

Comments

  • Baysew on 03/09/2014 - 12:36

    What was the name of the firm ?

    RAMS are owned by Westpac and Aussie by CBA.

    Most brokers will only represent a basket of lenders.

    Your Share might be worth following up Cash-back firm urges clients to leave brokers

    There are brokers that share the commission that lenders pay for signing up a customer.

    • melaco on 03/09/2014 - 12:50

      It was Aussie home loans.

      Have you personally used that website for your own loan?

      Which brokers share the fee?

      • Baysew on 03/09/2014 - 13:38

        I was outside of a new Aussie Home loan office just today. Thinking how much it had changed. Once upon a time sourcing funds from Maquarie Bank and onlending them, with mobile lenders.Now Owned 100% by CBA and just a broker, building little branches everywhere (expense someone is paying for)

        I have not used Your Share for my loan, but did receive a few hundred dollars on a life policy, each year. Ie instead of the broker getting the trailing commission, Your Share became the broker and shared the commission.

        I searched on Google " cash back home loan brokers" that dragged up some leads.

        I remember one of these brokers having problems as the bank wasn't keen on them splitting the commissions (sort of under cutting the other brokers).. but illegal for the bank under trade practices.

        So some of these brokers may have come and gone.

        Your Share has been around for a while.

        You are probably way ahead already, finding the cheaper loans, that are cheap because they don't pay commission at all.

  • [Deactivated] on 03/09/2014 - 13:02

    Best broker in town…. www.ratecity.com.au

  • ode1online on 03/09/2014 - 13:37
    +3

    How dare you make an informed choice…

    Put your head in the sand and let the big boys handle you finances..YAY

  • Baghern on 03/09/2014 - 15:23
    +1

    brokers don't actually do much.

    They're there for people who do not know how to or are intimidated by the process.

    Anyone who can use the Internet and actually say the words, can you give me something better (along those lines) that the advertised rates will get better or the same as a broker from a bank anyway.

    Unless you're in an ugly position all banks will almost give you a better rate than the advertised as soon as you step in the door anyway.

  • smol84 on 03/09/2014 - 15:56

    I just went through this process for refinancing a IP and a new home loan. I can't stress enough how good the broker was.

    I started with the same Q about www.loans.com.au and the broker was happy for me to investigate them on the side, which I did… In the end I ended up getting a really competitive rate with a major bank through a broker. I couldn't beat the variable at loans.com.au but the fixed was much better through another lender. I tried to call these banks direct too and I wasn't able to get as good a rate as the broker did! The broker also waived all the set up fees for me.

    But the broker also saved my bacon.
    I initially wanted to go with a non-major bank lender (I won't name who) but they held up the process so much that 2 weeks before settlement they low-balled me on the valuation and wanted me to pay an extra $20k LMI. Keen to avoid that the broker got onto 5 banks at once and had me get the valuation I was looking for at a great rate, within 2 days. I wouldn't be able to do that on my own, it would take up all my time and if I missed settlement I would be up to pay $1000 a day in fees!

    Lastly, be careful with loans.com.au there are a lot of fees that I found out -which they don't tell you about.

    E.g. Each time you use your card to get money out you pay a fee of $2 (I think you get 4 or 5 free a month)
    You pay fees to transfer money in or out of your account too
    The valuation fee for me was $440, free if you go with a broker

    So for me +1 for the broker, it cost me nothing and it was cheaper than if I did it myself so I don't care what commission he gets.

    • Baghern on 04/09/2014 - 09:51

      They got you what you should of got already

      As long as you have good credit ratings one of the first things a bank will do is wipe all fees.

      I tried the banks first, then went to a broker to see if they had 'insider deals', zilch.

      • smol84 on 04/09/2014 - 13:12

        I guess it depends on the loan size and the bank.. for me it worked out well - I work for a bank and even the deal I could get was worse than what a broker can get. It's rather common for brokers to get better rates because of how banks are structured. For e.g. if you have a client with a billion dollar portfolio he will get a better rate than Joe Shmoe who waled off the street and only wants a 300k loan. Brokers go to banks and say "hey I can give you 150 mill worth of loans a month so give me a better rate than the other guy". So depending on the size of the broker and their pull will the banks will yield different results.

  • smol84 on 03/09/2014 - 16:01
    +1

    I just realised I didn't answer your Q - no I couldn't find a broker that looked at the online lenders, I had to do that research myself.

    But I was upfront with my broker and he told me straight up that he could beat the online banks and was able to find my a better loan through an established bank with better facilities i.e. bank accounts, credit cards, no fees on transactions etc.

    So just ask them, but do your own research to compare - you will be surprised at the good rates available in the market right now!

    • melaco on 03/09/2014 - 16:22

      Thanks a lot for all that info, do you mind me asking who your broker was?

    • iampoor on 03/09/2014 - 16:43

      Great write up - wouldn't mind knowing who your broker is as well as I might want to move soon.

  • insider2 on 03/09/2014 - 17:37

    this was what i got form loans.com.au

    Our 100% offset account is a separate account and is linked to our variable home loan The offset account is held with loans.com.au and is set up on the day your home loan settles. The 100% offset account is a transactional account in which you can have your salary direct credited, set up direct debit/s, transfer funds to other institutions and pay bills via BPAY. A Visa Debit Card is issued to each applicant as part of your offset account. This allows you access to your funds via EFTPOS and the ATM networks. EFTPOS is unlimited and unrestricted and there is no cost. So in effect you can get cash out when shopping.
    For ATM withdrawals you receive five free ATM withdrawals per month per visa debit card. You can access these funds via Westpac, St. George, Bank of SA & Bank of Melbourne. If you exceed the five free withdrawals per month per visa debit card you will be charged a transaction fee of $2.50 for each extra ATM withdrawal.
    Any funds sitting in the offset account help reduce the amount of debit interest accruing on the loan account and helps you pay off the loan faster.

  • Sweetnsour on 04/09/2014 - 07:45

    State custodians don't pay commission to brokers from my understanding. So they "offer the lowest competitive rate". Seen them at many property expos, cant say how their customer service levels are since they are no frills.

  • WT on 04/09/2014 - 10:41

    He cracked the shits because they are cheaper and he cant match it or make any money out of it

    • melaco on 04/09/2014 - 11:22

      I totally understand why he can't help me out, but I don't think he should've been so rude about it. I spoke to another broker yesterday and he was the complete opposite. He encouraged me to go ahead with one of the online banks seeing as he believed I would have a strong application. He said that his services are more suited to people that are more likely to have their application denied by the banks

      • baxter on 15/09/2014 - 14:05

        @ Melaco - who did you end up going with? And what rates did you get? We're in the same situation deciding whether to use a mortgage broker, or simply go through one of the cheapest online rates. Any good advice from your experience?

        • melaco on 15/09/2014 - 16:25

          I'm currently in the process of refinancing with Macquarie Bank. They couldn't match the online based banks rates but my fiancé is an employee and receives a discount close to the them. From the people I've enquired with they've recommended I chose this option over the rest. But to get this discount I can only apply directly with Macquarie, not via a broker.

  • Willy Bargin on 16/10/2014 - 13:46

    on a positive note _ if you want a "homeside" home loan ( NAB back) you HAVE to get it through a broker, They dont deal with the public

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