When taking out a home loan, you can choose to conduct the search alone, or use a mortgage broker to manage the whole process for you. For the vast majority of people it makes more sense to work with an experienced mortgage broker. In this article we share with you some of the reasons why working with a broker is more advantageous than trying to work through the home loan search process alone.
Quality Information and Expert Advice
When you contact a home loan lender with an enquiry, the information they provide you with will be naturally biased towards the mortgage products they offer.. As a result of this, to find the loan that best suits your needs, it is vital that you compare the loans offered by different lenders. This is where a broker can help.
A mortgage broker will be able to offer you guidance on the various products of different loan lenders, based on your specific needs. Mortgage brokers are trustworthy sources of information as they are closely regulated and monitored by ASIC, so you can be assured that they are working to find the best home loan to suit your individual needs.
Convenience
If you approach lenders directly, finding the best home loan to suit your needs will take time. In addition to contacting the lenders, you will have to compare quotes, and request further information on the products that you believe fulfil your requirements.. This process can be simplified greatly by allowing a mortgage broker to do the bulk of the work for you. Since brokers work with multiple lenders, they will be able to compare quotes for you, and report back with a number of loan options and advise you on the most appropriate choice to fit in with your individual requirements.
A broker will also be able to provide you with advice in regards to the specific requirements of each lender when it comes to applications and facilitate the application process for you if you choose to proceed.
Through their knowledge of the home loan market and their access to a vast network of lenders built up over time, a mortgage broker can quickly refer you to a loan product and lender that is suited to your particular need. This can be of extra convenience if you require a non-standard loan. For example, a broker could refer you directly to a lender that specialises in accessing funds for commercial properties, saving you time and money.
Preservation of Your Credit Rating
Not only is ‘shopping around’ for home loans time consuming and inconvenient, but every time you make a loan enquiry with a financial provider it is recorded on your credit record. Making too many enquiries into various loan products will ultimately affect your credit rating and have a negative effect on the amount of funds you will be able to borrow when you eventually decide on a loan product.
Working with a mortgage broker means that they can make all of the enquiries for you, without attaching your name to the request, and therefore preserve your credit record until you are actually ready to take out a loan.
Cost-effectiveness
The majority of mortgage brokers provide their services for free and generally receive their compensation through the commissions from lenders for a successful referral. This commission process is highly regulated however and is completely transparent. A broker will look at your individual needs and help you apply for funds through the most appropriate lender saving you both time and money by sending you directly to the right lender for your circumstance.
More Choices
If you’re planning on taking out a home loan on your own, your default option may be banks. While banks may be convenient, using banks alone will limit your loan choices. Brokers however have access to a number of lenders from credit unions through to building societies.
In general, mortgage brokers work with at least 34 lenders. This means that you will have a lot of loan options to choose between. Not only will this increase your chances of finding an affordable loan, but also your chances of finding a product that is truly tailored to your needs.
There are many benefits of using a mortgage broker. From helping you save time and money to preserving your credit rating, brokers provide you with finance options and advice to best suit your individual needs.