Every year in Australia, 10,000 new homes are built. When you compare that with the fact that there are typically half as many homes on the market for sale in Melbourne alone – you’ll start to see why so many people are considering having their own properties built. For first time buyers, investors and property developers there are a couple of ways to apply for mortgages.
The first is via mortgage broker and this option seems to be increasing in popularity as the years go by. The second is by approaching a bank directly which, although can offer satisfactory results, more and more people are finding the stress and duration of this method becoming less appealing.
Benefits of a mortgage broker
The first thing that’s worth knowing about a good mortgage broker is that they will typically take care of the majority of technical and time consuming tasks that a bank will often demand of its solo applicant. These tasks include applying for pre-approval on a loan, deciding on a particular repayment plan and even submitting forms.
Mortgage brokers can help by taking care of interest rate comparisons, negotiation fairer conditions and terms on behalf of their clients – or simply approaching lenders to show interest.
Plenty of people find themselves restricted for time when attempting to apply to a lender directly; mainly due to the fact that the waiting periods can be so long-winded in between reviews and approvals. Although not all home loans brokers will offer options to fast-track applications; the ones that do will often have an in-house loans officer that they know, and one that may be able to speed up the approval time.
And what about applying alone?
On the other hand, most borrowers will have the option of applying directly to a bank in an effort to secure a home loan. Although this can be preferable when a personal approach is required; the majority of banks will be more than happy to work through mortgage brokers as well. If you are keen to apply for a mortgage on your own however, then be sure to brush up on your loan knowledge.
Using online tools such as mortgage calculators can help you to understand what your financial situation may permit as far as your borrowing goals are concerned. And you might also want to make sure that you understand how interest rates work and what different repayment plans might involve. If you do decide to go it alone, you’ll be responsible for ensuring that your knowledge is up to date – and as banks can occasionally try to take advantage of their borrowers; it always pays to know what you could be getting yourself into first and foremost.