Top 5 things to consider while choosing your Mortgage Brokers

So you’ve decided it’s time to have your own place, and are looking to buy a new house. At this stage, it’s important to figure out what your options are with regards to financing. For the uninitiated, this can be severely time-consuming and even after plenty of research, there’s a chance that your research simply isn’t enough to know the complexities. 

The problem isn’t figuring out where to secure a mortgage from – there are plenty of places where you can do just that. What’s important is knowing about your options with regards to your unique financial situation.

This is why it’s often the best choice to take the help of a mortgage broker in Melbourne. Of course, not every mortgage broker will be the right fit but that’s what we hope to teach you about in this post. 

Before that however, let’s examine the inherent benefit of working with a mortgage broker. 

Why Should You Work with a Mortgage Broker ?

Unlike banks or other financial institutions, a mortgage broker is (and should be) completely independent. They’re your advocates and helpers in securing a mortgage, and work with you to find you the best mortgage rate, terms and conditions keeping in mind your unique financial situation. 

This is how it works in principle, anyway. This is the reason why we use a mortgage broker:

• Find the best mortgage options for your finances
• Simplify the whole process and explain how it works in a way you completely understand
• Get pre-approved for mortgage by helping with documentation
• Complete your loan application

Once everything is in place and your application is approved, your mortgage broker will do all the heavy lifting in making sure proper documentation is in place and you know everything before you sign the loan documents. 

The key benefit of working with a mortgage broker should be apparent from this – it saves you a lot of time and hassle. Not only that, but a good mortgage broker will get you the best rates, terms and payments. 

With the benefits out of the way, let’s look at the top 5 things to consider while choosing your mortgage brokers. 

5 Things Before Choosing a Mortgage Broker

Do Your Homework

Don’t choose a mortgage broker simply based on references or testimonials from someone in your network. Arm yourself with information about several reputable brokers instead. Have they won awards? Does the community view them favourably? Do they have a website? How active are they on social media? What about online reviews? 

Oh and this goes without saying but, make sure your broker is licensed and listed. Look at the broker’s credentials and see if they’re listed on the Melbourne Financial Services Commission website. 

Don’t Make Any Decisions On the Phone

Financing a house is a pretty significant endevour, so you really shouldn’t be making any decisions about the broker you choose simply based on a phone call. Instead, meet up with the broker in person and see how they communicate with you.

If they talk in a language that’s difficult to understand i.e. they use too much technical jargon, chances are they’re just trying to confuse you even further. This is never a good sign. You want your broker to simplify things, and not the other way round. 

Good mortgage brokers will always encourage you to meet up with them in person so they can have a detailed discussion with you. Brokers have to get a good grip around your financial situation, so this is absolutely important. 

Ask The Right Questions

Don’t meet your mortgage broker unless you’re armed with the necessary information. If you show up to the appointment absolutely clueless about how the mortgage industry works, you’ll just get hustled. 

Some important questions to ask your mortgage broker are:

• Who are their lenders?
• How have they chosen their lenders?
• An explanation about how the mortgage application process works
• How they like to be compensated

Good mortgage brokers in Melbourne are completely transparent with their clients, and work hard to keep the whole process simple. Furthermore, such brokers will be happy to share details about their lenders and why they trust them.

Personalized Advice

An important thing to look at when choosing your mortgage broker is to ask them if they provide personalized advice that is tailored to your unique financial situation. Every person is different and has different financial circumstances. 

Good mortgage brokers won’t serve you generic financing options that can just as easily be had from a bank website. They’ll listen to you and how your finances look in great detail, so they can give you options that will work best for you.

Of course, personalized advice takes a lot more time and effort than just generic advice. But this also means that you won’t be getting financing options that the broker provided to someone from a wealthier background. Instead, they provide you with a mortgage that is best for your needs. 

Don’t Ask For References, Look For Reviews

References and testimonials are standard practice for service providers to show their prospective clients. However, stay clear of this trap and do the research yourself. No mortgage broker will show you testimonials from a disgruntled client. 

What you should do instead, is to look online for reviews and testimonials. Check their social media pages and see how people interact with their posts. Do they have any reviews on Facebook? How about a simple Google search for the mortgage broker’s company, does that bring up any reviews? 

By arming yourself with this information, you’ll be able to take a better decision on whether the broker will be the right fit for you.

See more: Mortgage broker vs. bank

Final Thoughts

Financing a house is a big commitment, both mentally as well as financially. So the last thing you want is to get a bad financing plan that will affect you negatively for a long period of time. This is why it’s important to look for a mortgage broker that’s right for your needs. The above mentioned things to consider are a great place to start, but keep your research process open ended.

Look for experienced mortgage brokers who have credentials and reviews to back them up. See how they performed during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Inexperienced brokers are not familiar with these scenarios, and will thus be unable to coach you in case such a scenario appears in the future. 

You deserve the very best mortgage brokers in Melbourne for your hard-earned money, and due diligence on your part will ensure you get just that. Hopefully, these 5 things to consider will point you in the right direction. Good luck!

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