Mortgage advice

Two interesting scenarios have come across our desks in the last 10 days and I hope they demonstrate to you why you would use the go2guys as your mortgage broker over the DIY approach.

In the first case we suggested to a couple that they tidy up a handful of things (especially their account conduct) before we  bothered to approach a bank on their behalf even though there were some real strengths to their position, not the least of which was a great level of income. The basic problem was they were clearly spending willy nilly and living outside their means. One of them was particularly forthright and decided to totally ignore our advice and approach their bank directly. I heard about the result through a friend of theirs (also a client). Yep, you guessed it – an embarrassing decline. What’s worse, we know that lender is a really good fit for them once they’d tidied themselves up. But they’ve blown their chances in the short term.

In the second case a prospective client had been recommended to us from a friend (again, the friend was a client) and after a quick look at the situation we determined that the current bank was not the right lender for what they wanted to do as they didn’t meet that bank’s lending criteria. Despite our advice the prospect felt stongly that their established 15 year banking relationship demonstrated loyalty and that that loyalty would ‘surely’ be rewarded with an approval. It wasn’t. .

I mention these examples not because I want to say ‘I told you so’ but because they’re a demonstration of the value we provide in helping you get the best mortgage available. We’re trying to give you as many aces as possible so that when your application lands on the credit manager’s desk they can see you’ve got a winning hand.

Although most people think the best mortgage deal comes down to interest rate and various loan features the reality is that the interest rate on offer doesn’t make a skerrick of difference if you can’t get the loan approved in the first place.

Talk to us – we deliver!

Do banks lend over 80%?

I was asked this question the other day. The really funny thing was that I thought everyone knew the answer was ‘yes’. Clearly I spend too much time reading lending criteria instead of engaging in the real world!

To borrow over 80%, you need [Read more...]

The truth about low deposit mortgages

You may have noticed that banks have become more flexible in their lending policies especially for borrowers whose deposit is less than 20%. In fact, you may have even seen some advertising on TV (Westpac) or on Facebook targeting first home buyers (ASB).

While the banks are certainly lending to people with low deposits (thats anything less than 20%) there are some tricks and additional costs for borrowers in this category – ever heard the term ‘lending creiteria apply’?

Sure, you’ve got to have good income, have saved your deposit and clean credit; everyone knows that. But let me tell you, there’s more to it than that.

In fact, we’re thinking of writing a short paper titled along the lines of ‘the truth about low deposit mortgages’ to help you understand exactly what we do to present you in the best light to a bank. Let us know if you’d be interested in reading that by flicking us a quick email to [email protected] with the subject line “mortgage truths”