Doin my little bit for the brokers out there...

It's only a local paper quote, but its what I could do last week, published today.

Concerns ‘vulnerable buyers’ may pay more interest in wake of Banking Royal Commission

I do honestly like you lot (mortgage brokers), consistently hear good things from your clients and would hate to see the industry decimated.

Matt

 

I like the new MFAA ads on TV. Simple logical message.

 

What I fear most for buyers should brokers not exist is the consequence of applying direct to a bank and discovering they were not eligible with "that particular bank" and get a declined stamp on their credit files, oblivious to the fact this is very detrimental when they try another bank, and another after that. This can result in getting locked out of lending altogether for years (and not just for property but also buying a sofa on delayed payment, getting a phone plan etc).

 

Agreed @JacM - if the brokers go we are back to the vibe of the 70's and 80's going cap in hand to a branch but without local branch manager discretion... 2019 lending rules and the resultant high percentage declines means any borrowers who want to shop around end up with a worse looking credit report.

 

This is an area I know nothing about but I am curious......if a borrower shops around themselves that can get a bad credit report however if they use a broker to make the inquiry they are protected by not having to give the banks their details?

 

Brokers have banks’ serviceability calculators to do a soft check on whether the maths on an application will be approved or not.

 

Where can we get these serviceability calculators? Do banks provide them to public? It would save mortgage brokers a lot of time and efforts if customers can use same calculator at home and before approaching broker.

 

FYI CBA Bankers... have to complete a servicing calculator before proceeding to application. Common misconception that it's straight to application.

 

If you have a good business relationship with a great broker they often can take your case straight to the top guy/gal to discuss whether it would be approved or not without having a single word documented .

 

I wish they shares this but I cant see it happening.

 

Which ones would you like? Happy to share where possible (most lenders provide an Excel worksheet, but a couple only have an online interface which can't be accessed without an account).

I would suggest you don't rely on the results though. Experience tells me that most people won't enter the data in accordance with the banks actual policies. The means inaccurate results which are usually significantly more generous than what the bank would actually lend. In turn this leads to people spending more than they can actually afford.

 

Most brokers don't do credit checks at all unless there's a specific reason too. The credit check gets done by the selected lender when the application is lodged.

 

Brokers are more than the calculator. Its not uncommon for clients to advise their income is $120K and then the payslips show its $110K + some fringe benefits or salary sacrifice etc. Many clients will include income and then the broker learns the work is new and its casual so lenders may not even accept it under policies. Other problem areas can be bonuses, self employed etc. Trust income can also be problematic.

And the expenses for servicing needs some knowledge of what the lenders will chew up.

And I'm not a broker. I work alongside one and deal with a fair few.