Should I see a Planner/Advisor or another?

Hi all, I feel I need some professional advice...

In summary, this is what I want to do.

Sit down with someone, tell them our goals/objectives and what we want to achieve re: our first home purchase (OO) and let them analyse our (my wife and I) income, expenses and plans to have a baby etc.

Then listen to them suggest options or ways we can go about doing this. What loans might be perfect for us, what time we should wait to buy, what percentage of deposit we at least need to save, and all the other aspects to our financial/property plan.

I suppose I either want to a) throw my plan at them and let them tweak it/make suggestions/give feedback, or b) throw my circumstances at them, and then let them draw up a plan for me.

Cheers for any advice on who to see!

 

seems to me you need to see a mortgage broker....

 

Perhaps I do, I'm not sure, that's why im asking.

 

How much is an appointment with a mortgage broker going to set me back? Or could I walk into my bank (Commonwealth) and speak to someone there for free?

 

Hi Rafael,

Personally I would recommend a bank lender over a mortgage broker.

Working in a bank we see many loans which have been written by a mortgage broker after the loan has been written as the mortgage broker doesn't want to service the client afterwards as they don't really know the ins and outs of the individual loan.

According to industry sources something like 80% of new loans are being written by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC). CBA own BankWest, Aussie Home Loans/Wizard (33%). WBC owns St George, Bank SA and RAMS.

Cheers,

Dan

 

Free...
And if anyone tries to charge you RUN!!!

 

I t the majority don't really earn the commission they do receive.would agree in general with Dan's sentiments in regards to brokers, once the loan is settled the broker gets their commission any problems would be referred to the bank and the follow up isn't there. This isn't true of all brokers however as some are quite good at what they do and really will see you through it all as well as getting you the best deal.

Also I would say once your portfolio or relationship with the bank grows your ability to negotiate discounts is greater as there is no broker taking the ~.30% commission on your loan which therefore the bank has to play with to retain your business.

Cheers,
David

 

I would second the motion of a "good" mortgage broker for IPs. It's OK to go with your bank for your own home, but it may still be worth shopping around - minor differences in interest rates and fees do add up.

We gave up on banks years ago, when they stopped training their loans managers properly to cut costs, and those left only understood first homes and upgrades (maybe it's just a Canberra thing, but I doubt it). You get discounts with the one bank for a couple of IPs, then nothing. You hit an unpublished 'ceiling' and everything has to go through head office as the branch doesn't have authority (our broker has had better access than the bank's staff).

From my experience, at least, far fewer processing mistakes (those we've had have still been at the bank end, or their solicitors) and better outcomes for IPs by trading off between banks with a "good" broker - even though our loans are still with major banks.

By "good" I mean a broker (when you get to IPs at least) who deals with investors and businesses, not a mass franchise - they only sell products (which seems to be who Dan is referring too). There are some "good" loans managers in banks too, but finding one who understands investing is getting hard.

As for overall strategies with your own home and then IPs, read, study, and ask questions on forums like this - good luck.

Dave