Hello We are looking to refinance and release some equity in Sydney What are the benefits, or negatives, of going to a big broker (Aussie Home Loans et al), or to a smaller broker such as some of the many, knowledgeable and friendly people that post on here. If it matters, I don't think our situation would be terribly complex or hard to get over the line. We have great income and would only be looking to refinance at 80%, assuming the val comes in. Cheers A
I would go to someone you trust to get the job done. Your experience at an Aussie is only as good as the broker you work with, so unless you have a recommendation from someone I would be more inclined to go to someone you have more evidence of their knowledge and experience. Bad and/or incompetent service can make the easiest deal feel like a nightmare.
Benefits of someone like Aussie - presence and locality. Easier to just walk in somewhere and get it done, especially for vanilla non complex deals. Nonetheless, you don't know what you don't know and sometimes good operators can open your eyes to a whole host of strategies to help you get where you want to. Downside - it does depend on the person you deal with. Its a bit like bank staff - some are fantastic and are great at what they do, others not so good. You often don't get to control it as much, as it depends on who you get. If you walk into a store you're a bit more uncertain of what you'll get (could be great, could be bad). If you do some research online/etc you can control a bit of that uncertainty as you'll get more feedback on who your dealing with that way.
I use a small broker that just works for himself. The main reason for me is that I find it a lot more personal, he genuinely knows our situation and offers great recommendations and advice to work through tricky situations. It's the little things though like being able to shoot a text through or have a chat at 8pm that make it work for me.
I see. Thanks all for the responses. I think you've steered me to going with a smaller broker that has been recommended to us.
Go with whatever/whomever you're comfortable with. The best brokers I know of all operate independent small/medium sized brokerages. Not to say that there aren't good franchise brokers - I just don't know of any personally. Cheers Jamie
I like to compare this to the restaurant industry. Would you like to eat in a chain franchise type restaurant where each meal is the same or in a restaurant where eat meal is different?
Maybe it's just me. I prefer personalised service and someone who can answer to my questions pretty much right away, according to my personal circumstances. Big or small, doesn't really matter to me. I assume with big ones, it's not guaranteed that you will see the same broker who did the loan for you a couple of years ago. When a broker is a business owner, it's pretty much guaranteed. just my $0.02.
