With so many lenders now having to compete with one another in an attempt to obtain a fresh influx of customers, there’s never been a better time to apply for a mortgage. Australia is one of the only countries to feature a debt ceiling and as a result, the government is able to moderate what they owe in a way that only minimally impacts businesses.
Banks are some of these businesses and thanks to the support of the economy, they are now in a great position to offer loans, mortgages and other financial services to their customers. There are two main ways to apply for financial support from a lender – the manual way (which involves direct application) and the third party way (when hiring mortgage brokers).
Depending on the applicant’s choice, the way in which they deal with the bank will differ.
In either event, they will deal with one of two experts. The first will work outside of the lender’s employment and is often considered the more unbiased option. They are known as are brokers and it’s the job of these professionals (like ours at Mortgage Broker Melbourne) to find the best deals on loans, handle negotiations and take care of all correspondence with a bank.
Loan officers are the other experts that an applicant can expect to face – and they, unlike brokers, will work directly for the banks. This means that they’ll be restricted to what the lender is able to offer financially, as well as operating in the best interests of the bank itself. Although very approachable and typically friendly, many applicants find that they can be a little one-track-minded as far as their services are concerned.
Working for the bank means that they will want to ensure that their institute receives a great deal from their new customer – and this can end up costing the applicant more, than when opting for a broker. In fact loan officers will often extend a very basic level of deals and packages to their applicants, mainly due to the fact that if they can get away with a better repayment, they will.
So, what do brokers do differently?
By comparing a multitude of lenders including their current interest rates and deals on loans, a broker will be able to present the best solutions to their clients. This can make things much easier when it comes to making a decision on the right bank to apply to. What’s even better is that a broker will also take care of the negotiations (just in case they feel that a greater deal could be had); minimising the workload for their client in the process.
If it’s a personalised, reliable service that can offer great savings you are probably best to go with a broker. If you don’t mind spending a little more, or if you simply want to take care of the correspondence, negotiations, paperwork and other time-consuming tasks yourself, then a loan officer may be the way to go.