Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Hi Guys,

Looking at perhaps jumping on the Australian property ladder in the next few months or so.
Just wondering if anybody had any recommendations concerning obtaining a home loan?? I have spoken with a couple of finance companies both have agreed in principle to finance but with everything thats going on in the economy at the moment I'm a bit weary about jumping in with perhaps the wrong loan company/bank?

Any advice greatly received :)

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Avoid St George...

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Avoid Macquaire. Expensive and don't give a crap about keeping your business.

Switched to Westpac and I've been very happy.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

You could have a chat with the girls at Vision Finance. We used them to find our mortgage when we bought our house last year and they were very helpful. They don't charge for their services and get business from recommendations.
Their number is 1300 36 36 77 and they're in Melbourne.:thumbup:

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

We went with Bankwest and their 1% tracker...really happy with it:

http://bankwest.com.au/Personal/Home...ker/index.aspx

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

What loan to value ratio are you thinking of? BankWest now require LMI on loans over 65% of the purchase price while Westpac only require it over 85% so this will make a difference.

If you really don't know what you want it probably is best to speak to an independent mortgage adviser as they will be able to help around fixed rates, discount rates or line of credit along with fully featured or basic types. They should also be able to find the best deal for you and generally at no cost to you as they get money from the mortgage companies for arranging you business.

As a minimum all the majors offer a 0.7% discount on their standard mortgage rate so I would certainly look at paying no more than that as an interest rate.

Don't forget to also check fees both up front and when closing an account (particularly the closure fees in the first few years)

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

A credit union. They treat you like a customer, all the staff are in Australia and they have no overpaid execs.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

There is a book, by an Australian called something like...
"How to pay off your mortgage in 5 years...by some who did it in 3"
Well something like that...

Those of you guys over 35 might remember the adoption by some UK lenders of what was essentially, coincidentally, an Australian idea of 'Daily Calculation of Mortgage interest'. This along with other things make just slight overpayments on your mortgage impact very beneficially on your mortgage term...and save you thousands of $ in 'unpaid' interest.

I got this book on Amazon and it tells you how to get the best mortgages...not just low rates but flexible ones too....

I have read it and plan to take when we go to Australia...
Now the hard bit...selling our house in the UK!!
Has anyone heard of a book called...
"How to sell your house in less than 2 years by....."
HKA
x

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

[QUOTE=spottydog;7078303]What loan to value ratio are you thinking of? BankWest now require LMI on loans over 65% of the purchase price while Westpac only require it over 85% so this will make a difference.


You sure about that!!:confused:

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

We used Home Loan Connexions in QLD to sort out all our mortgage details. Tracy & Roz there were fantastic, I couldn't recommend them highly enough. We heard about them through a recommendation on this forum. We are in Perth so location doesn't matter and they had a real challenge with our visa status changing, having no deposit etc. but they were on the ball with everything. Nothing was too much trouble. They got us a fantastic deal and the service was second to none.

Why not give them a call, it won't cost you anything. Contact details are:
Tracy Kearey 07 3821 5014, email [email protected].

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Best of luck with buying your own place.
TJ

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Hey Guys can't thank you enough for your input. I shall get on the case right away, its a daunting thing to do having never bought a property over here before. Thanks again :D

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

If it's 65% it's dropped a lot. I worked on their retail lending software [Lendnet] for a while and if I recall the LMI [Lenders Mortgage Insurance] triggers were based on the postcode and the type of property [basically units/apartments required a lower LTV than a house; country areas also. I'm sure there were some postcodes that were automatically rejected for lending but I can't remember where they were]. The main level floated around 90-95% then but I would imagine it has dropped now.

I would imagine all of the lenders will have dropped their LMI triggers - also, if you NEED to get LMI, I can guarantee you the insurers have tightened up their requirements also so many more people won't be able to get it, and therefore won't get a mortgage.

As as an aside, I just switched my BW mortgage from a Lite Variable to a tracker. Ok, it only lasts for two years but with the 1% discount that's a nice extra chunk of money I can pay towards my mortgage, especially since [through gritted teeth] I am managing to still pay it off at the rate I was at earlier in the year when rates were at their highest.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

I used Aussie Home Loans. They compare your needs with a number of mortgage providers. Happy with the deal i got, rate still lower than with the bank 12 months on and they passed on the full 1% reduction last time RBA dropped the rates.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Please send me an email or a PM if you would like the contact details of the home loan advisor we are working with in Melbourne.

Best regards.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

[QUOTE=sj oldfield;7078806]That is certainly what a friend was told when deciding who to get her first mortgage with a couple of weeks ago.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

[QUOTE=spottydog;7081648]Unfortunately, your friend has probably got it confused with something else. We are accredited with 30 lenders including Bank West to offer their home loans and this is not true.

If it was, they wouldn't be able to have any new customers. Another possible explanation is that the broker didnt wish to offer BankWest.

Home Loan Advice for first home buyers
 

Great tips, it's also a good idea to stay away from internet only mortgage brokers whom you are not able to meet face to face, see their accreditation certificates etc.

On the rates issue, basic home loans with no ongoing fees are also very competitive now. Many bank lenders are waiving set up fees on their BASIC LOW RATE home loan products. Basic low rate home loans are a very good alternative to PROFESSIONAL PACKAGE home loan products which have $24 per month or upto $395 annual fees to have a similar rate.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Of course - be careful who you choose to help you source a good home loan.

In relation to the last post, Loans4homes are fully accredited with the MFAA and COSL and Australian Loans Company whose panel of lender we have access to.

All certificates and accreditations are avaliable to view. We aim to meet face to face with 90% of our clients, for obvious reasons this is not always ossible but we have procedures in place to make sure we are fully compliant with best mortgage brokering practices.


Just thought it best to clear up any confusion

Tambo

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Hiya if any one is looking for financial advice please give Rebeka a call from mortgage force, i can honestly say from the feedback I have had from the many English people she has helped she is worth her weight in Gold
Let her know that Sarah @ Gold Coast Relocations recommended her to you and please let me know how you go a bit about her below.

From my experience in helping many new Aussies from the UK in finding finance, you are most likely familiar with how a mortgage broker fits into your property purchase.

I have around 35 Australian lenders on my panel and state of the art software that can compare what each lender is offering, and which lender will be the cheaper option for you long term.

This software is updated every hour to ensure all the latest products, interest rates and specials are available to us.


Hope this helps

Sarah x

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

I recommended Tracy about 18 months ago, we are in our 2nd year of a 3 year fixed term and I can not say a bad word about her or her service, she is brilliant.

Put it one way as long as I have a mortgage she'll have my business!

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Tambo, please take the time to read rule 9. I've just removed 2 of your posts in this thread which were a blatant ad.

To any other people in this thread offering services, please be reminded the OP was asking for recommendations from other members, it doesn't mean you use this thread as an excuse to tout your wares.

Many Thanks

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Mortgage choice did ours - we were really happy with colin fairchild in brisbane. I didnt think we woudl get ours as our employment is interesting but it all came together and he was really supportive

Vivienne

Home Loan Recommendations
 

This is no longer true.

You need to have a mortgage of over $750,000 to earn a discount of 0.7% with one of the majors.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations
 

What about Westpac, I had a quick look.

http://www.westpac.com.au/internet/p...Interest+Rates

If you look at the variable rate at the top it has a tiny 1 next to it. Then look at the bottom and it says this:

1. 0.70% p.a. discount is available for variable rate loan amounts of $250,000 and above (for Low Doc loan, the discount is 0.6% p.a. for variable rate loan amounts between $250,000 and $499,999). For variable rate loan amounts between $150,000 and $249,999, the applicable discount is 0.4% p.a. The discount is not applicable to Flexi First Option Home Loan and Flexi First Option Investment Loan.

So, it looks like you can still get it with Westpac if you take out a variable rate. Not sure about the others though because I don't have time to check them all.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

Westpac all the way, their rates are very competitive. Don't use a broker just go straight to the bank. I been using them for 18 months for my mortgage and apart from high initiation and exit fees, which they all rip us off for, they are very good.

Re: Home Loan Recommendations?
 

I agree, I switched over from Macquarie last year. I went straight to Westpac and argued with them by email for days and eventually got a great rate. They were very helpful and have been great so far.

Macquarie on the other hand never once tried to get me to stay with them!

Re: Home Loan Recommendations
 

Cobblers - Bankwest requires a minimum loan of $100K for the Tracker discounted loan.

Sydney Home Loan Advice
 

CBA changed their rules. The others have so far stayed the same.