My sister is looking for somewhere to take out a home loan, and she asked me to do some research for her and thought this would be a good place to start asking.
Could anyone suggest the places with the best interest rates and any other tips in regards to home loans?
Thanks.
ok thanks would there be any additional costs for using their services?
No additional costs at all. They get paid commissions by the banks after X period of time of you signing up. So it's in their best interest to find you a good deal to make sure you sign up through them. They'll almost always beat going to a bank directly. Sometimes offer added cashback too.
ok great thanks for the advice. Are there any better brokers you could possibly suggest?
More like they will find the best offer based on how much commission they will get.
Not a good one… They give you a list of every single bank offer they can find including breakdown of max capacity, DTI, product rate, assess rate, HEM, cashback, offset/no-offset etc.
I have estimates for 29 different institutions all laid out bare to compare and select my personal preference.
The banks that offer the lowest rates, have the lowest margins, so can't afford to pay broker commission.
Unless you are paying the broker directly they will never be comparing all of the options on the market. On the other hand it is super easy to compare the options yourself and potentially get a better deal.
@Notatightass: Can't hurt to look at them, but a lot of them are also after commission.
I think it is worth checking out places like whirlpool forums or ausfinance on reddit.
@Aureus: Anecdotally, I have not found that to be correct. Going direct to various banks has not yielded a better offer in my case than what broker was able to offer. Esp when you factor in offset account charges and cashback offers. YMMV.
You're talking about banks earning 8+% interest over 30 years. They can absolutely afford a ~0.7% commission (e.g. $7,000 for a $1,000,000 loan).
@Hybroid: It can't hurt to inquire with a broker (other then time), but I would advise against just going with whatever your broker pushes.
I have been refinancing a lot, just for cashbacks. I could have earned extra cashback via brokers, but that is a bit niche and I wouldn't feel good screwing over brokers.
@Aureus: Sure thanks, ill probably just tell her to look sites, brokers and directly ask the banks and just compare them.
Cheapest or best - pick one
I'm with Adelaide Bank and my rates currently are 5.44% and 5.63% respectively for fixed and variable. I can redraw and offet 100% on both accounts so there's that.
CS is so far so good as I always got connected fairly quickly via phone but their bank app is very barebone and leave much to be desired.
Ok thanks for the info, I'll pass it on.
Bank of Mum & Dad
Get a mortgage broker.
Assume this is your & hers first time? If so, the best deal might depend on the LMI/LVR and Offset/Redraw facilities . Google the terms
Speak to a broker and they'll find you the best offers based her personal details, criteria, needs, options etc.