Mortgage Broker Conundrum

Hi,

This is long...

Hubby (DH) and I are in the process of making some decisions which will trigger changes to our current loan structure. As further background we are both gen X. I have been on mat leave but am in a perm role, and have returned part time for now. We earn the same pay for our jobs normally but I have more investments from prior to our marriage so I am the primary bread winner overall. I generally consult with DH but make the decisions financially which he is happy with. I am trying to decide whether to stay with our current mortgage broker as we ended up allocated this person rather than choosing, I'll call him Broker B.

We went with Broker A who owned his own brokerage Company A in 2010. We had been hit by GFC and Broker A dug us out of a hole when we needed and also improved our structure resulting in more money staying with us. Around 2013 Broker A sold brokerage A to Company B, nothing changed for us at that point. 2014 we bought a ppor in Canberra (formerly from BNE) and dealt the Broker A again. Our loan structure was also further refined, we had contaminated a couple of loans through ignorance early on and we're finally able financially to get the splits right. Broker A suggested the structure which our accountant confirmed was correct (and charged quite a bit for the tick but I digress). So it all settled and we were happy.

2015 everything remained static, I also had our first child. During 2015 we received an email to say Broker A had retired from Company B and we were assigned to Broker B. Broker A is an early gen X maybe late boomer so we were surprised. Broker B made contact with DH almost as our baby was born, hubby told him to speak to me but leave it a couple of months.

2016 rolls around. Broker B makes contact with me, also lets me know he has approached our banks about the interest rates to ask for a rate cut on the variable (some is fixed). This was unprompted by us and we did get a rate cut. He seems nice enough but we haven't tested him in any way.

At this time, I start wondering about Broker A and find him via the Internet working for another company C (employee). I get his contact details but haven't contacted him yet.

We are now thinking of making some changes again and are looking at our options.We can stay with Broker B who we don't really know, go back to Broker A who has proved knowledgeable in the past or find a new Broker that is more of a gen X/Y so we can maintain a longer relationship. DH is happy to go with whatever I decide. I'm not sure so I am throwing the question out there, what do you think?

Thanks,

Kassy

 

Seems like a no brainer to me. Broker A has done good work for you in the past, you know and trust him. Not everyone is going to be around forever, but until he's fully retired, why not take advantage of his knowledge and experience?

 

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your reply. Broker A now works for a very well known company (think big sheep). I personally have no knowledge about the company and what they offer but heard some negative stuff anecdotally about 10 or more years ago. This is what makes me hesitate...

Kassy

 

Hi,

This might be a dumb question, if you refinance with an aggregator, are you then cross securitised because they are under one banner of the over-arching company?

Thanks again,

Kassy

 

No. aggregator is just the platform brokers use to communicate with the lenders and receive payment.
Speak to broker a. If he is so good he will go thru the drawbacks of using him. Get a second opinion from broker b if you want.

 

Peter, Rolf and Tobe, thanks for your responses! I'll give Broker A a call next week and decide what to do from there

 

Working for one company or another can often influence the products a person will recommend. At then end of it all however, it's often not really the company they work for, but the knowledge of the individual you're dealing with that really counts. This applies to all sorts of industries.

 

He may not be able to assist due to contractual obligations when he sold his business. I'm sure he can clear it up for you!

 

FYI, I have contacted broker A and it looks like we will be continuing to work together. @Simon Moore you were correct about the contractual obligations, the period of time for him has expired now. @Peter_Tersteeg you are also right about the individual's knowledge, just talking through what we were thinking of doing, he has come up with other alternatives that will most likely be better. Thanks again all for your help!