Frequently Asked Questions

Considering a mortgage broker FAQs

What is the meaning of life?

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What does a mortgage broker do?

Mortgage brokers are qualified finance industry professionals. They work with you to determine your borrowing needs and objectives, and to help you determine how much you can borrow. Brokers help to ensure that you don’t take out a loan that is not right for you. Like your solicitor, accountant or financial planner, we are specialists in what we do and will provide you with a suitable finance solution to help you achieve your goals. With a mortgage broker, you can expect a more personalised level of service than you would usually receive directly from a lender. Additionally, our brokers have access to finance products from a wide variety of lenders. This means your broker can compare lending products from different lenders to find a loan that’s just right for you.

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Do you charge fees for home and investment loans?

Some mortgage brokers charge a fee for their services and some don’t. When you take out a loan via a mortgage broker, it does not cost you more in loan repayments. Brokers get paid a commission by the lender for bringing new business to them, but this does not impact your interest rate. Some brokers charge a fee for their service. They must disclose this fee upfront to you so that you know what it will cost if you engage their services.

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Do you just recommend the lender that pays you the most commission?

Absolutely not. Firstly, there is very little difference between the commissions paid by the various lenders. Secondly, there is also legislation in our industry called the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (or NCCP), that is designed to protect consumers and ensure ethical and professional standards in the finance industry. We tell you upfront what commission we will be getting from the lender. Our job, our only job, is to find a competitive loan for your needs and objectives.

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Is it more expensive to use a broker?

Some brokers charge a fee for their service which they must disclose to you up-front before you engage their services. However, the costs of the loan are the same. These costs depend on the loan and lender you choose. If you want to save on loan costs, just tell us. We can locate loan products from the lenders with the lowest fees and charges.

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How much can I borrow?

There are specific factors that need to be considered when determining how much a customer can borrow, such as income, employment position, the deposit saved, current living expenses and any liabilities. Our borrowing calculator can give you a rough idea of how much you may be able to borrow. For a more accurate assessment, please contact us and we can go into your options and discuss your circumstances in more detail.

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Should I go with a fixed or variable rate?

A mortgage broker will recommend a product based on what you say is most important to you—for example, “pay my loan off quickly” or “guaranteed repayments” or “low cost”. We do however, live by the following: “if you want flexibility take a variable rate loan, if you want budget certainty, take a fixed rate loan, if you want both, then do a split loan.”

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I'm not in your area, can you still help me?

Absolutely. We can meet with you via Microsoft Teams.

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Which lenders do you deal with?

We are Connective Brokers and we have access to many lenders. This means we can source you a loan from different lenders to provide you with a variety of options that are suitable for you and your situation.

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How do interest rates get set?

Mortgage brokers do not set rates. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meet on the first Tuesday of every month to determine the official cash rate for the country. Lenders then use this information to set their own rates. Lenders also adjust their rates according to their costs and other economic considerations.

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Why should I use a mortgage broker if I can go directly to a bank/lender?

Lenders will only sell you their own products. Each bank (orlender) has a variety of loan products on offer—low doc, package loans, loanswith re-draw facilities, plant and equipment loans, fixed rate loans, interestonly, interested in advance, variable, introductory variable…and so on. Theissue you face as a consumer is ‘which loan is right for me?’ And that is whereyour mortgage broker becomes an invaluable resource!

If you go direct to the bank, you will only be offered the loan optionsavailable through that one lender. As your mortgage broker, we do all the legwork to find the right loan for your needs. We are across many lenders and allof their loan products, and our sole purpose is to find a suitable loan tomatch your personal financial circumstances and goals.

Get Real Finance client FAQs

What is the meaning of life?

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Where do I find my income statement on myGov?

Log in to myGov. Go to Australian Taxation Office under your linked services and go to ’employment’ on the navigation. In the drop-down menu under employment click ‘Income statements’. Your employer/s details are listed in the current tab. At the end of each employer listed, is an arrow that expands the details. At the bottom of those details is a "print-friendly version" button to download a copy.

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You negotiated a discounted rate on my current loan, do I need to change my direct debit?

Yes. These discounts are applied automatically to your loan/s. However, this can take up to five business days to action. While the discount rates are automatically applied, any active direct debit amount does not automatically change/adjust. This means that if you want to lower your direct debit amounts in line with the discounted minimum repayment schedule, you must make this update yourself via your online banking. If you choose not to lower the direct debit amount, those extra repayment amounts will mean you'll pay off your loan faster!

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My loan is coming off its fixed rate, what do I need to do?

Nothing, as you will hear from us. We have built our systems to ensure that each client's circumstances are regularly and proactively reviewed. Our team automatically reviews your loan and contacts you in advance to discuss what needs to happen when your loan is coming off its fixed rate. The only thing you must do as our client is tell us when your contact details (phone and email) has changed!

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