ANDREW BIRD

A Mortgage Broker is a professional who acts as a middleman between borrowers seeking a mortgage loan and the financial institutions providing these loans. They help you find the right mortgage loan from various lenders, offer personalised guidance, and negotiate favourable terms. Mortgage brokers simplify the application process, have access to multiple lenders, and can save you time and effort.

Our services are free. You don’t pay us. The bank or lender does at no cost at all to you. Mortgage Brokers are paid an upfront commission and a trail payment. The upfront commission is a one off payment that is paid to us by the lender/bank we refer your loan to (usually between 0.65% to 0.7%) as we do all of the legwork to get your loan approved. A ‘trail’ or ongoing commission is also paid by the lender to us which is an ongoing commission (usually around 0.15% p.a.) based on the balance of your loan. There may be occasions where you may be charged a fee by your broker. Terms, conditions and normal lending criteria apply. This generally occurs if we are dealing with a complex file that will require well above the standard amount of time to complete the file. If Margin Finance believes a fee will need to be charged, this will always be communicated to you before proceeding.

When you visit a bank directly, they will only be able to sell you a loan or product that they have. When you visit a mortgage specialist like Margin Finance, we find you the perfect loan out of 40 different lenders. You may believe that a certain bank is right for you, but how do you know that if a mortgage specialist has not assessed you?

The main documents you will need to provide to get a home loan are:

- Proof of identification: passport, driver’s licence, birth certificate

- Income: recent payslips, tax returns

- Expenses: a detailed list of your monthly expenses from subscriptions to petrol costs

- Assets: ownership details for other properties, cars, savings

- Liabilities: statements for any existing debts

When dealing with us, we will inform you specifically of all of the information we need to work on your mortgage.

Your borrowing capacity is an important number and can differ a lot between banks. You can use our borrowing power calculator here which will only give you a rough estimate of your borrowing borrow. You should always speak with a Mortgage Specialist to discover how much 45 lenders will lend you. The factors that determine your borrowing power are:

- Income

- Expenses

- Debts

- Dependents

- Purchasing costs

- Savings and Equity

At Margin Finance, we encourage you to speak to us even before you are ready to buy a property. Speaking with a mortgage specialist will allow you to understand your borrowing capacity and your likelihood of being approved. If you want to buy a property in 6-12 months, speaking with a broker now can help you identify your position and if your situation aligns with your goals. We help clients at all different stages of their journey. If you are unsure when you should be coming to see us, simply ask. You have nothing to lose, and so much to gain, by contacting a broker. Our services are free and we are full of information to pass onto you.