If you are in the market for a home loanthen your best course of action is to obtain assistance from an experiencedmortgage broker who is also accredited with the national industry body, theMortgage Finance Association of Australia (MFAA). By dealing with a mortgagebroker who is a member of the MFAA you are not only assured of the knowledge,experience and training of the mortgage broker but you also have access to afree and independent dispute resolution process should, for any reason, themortgage broker or the lender with whom you eventually take out a mortgageloan, not comply with the Association's stringent code of conduct.
While the level of complaints againstmortgage brokers in Australiais very small when compared to the number of borrowers who utilise theirservices, it is nevertheless a wise decision to work with a mortgage broker whois a MFAA member. A quick, independent and free dispute resolution process isprovided by Credit Services Ombudsman Limited (COSL) which is one of the fewASIC ?approved dispute resolution entities in the mortgage broker / financearea. Should you have a complaint about your mortgage broker or lender thenthere is comfort in knowing that it will be handled without the need forlengthy and expensive court proceedings. If for any reason you are dissatisfiedwith the outcome you, as a borrower still have access to courts if you wish topursue the mortgage broker or lender. The member mortgage broker or lender, onthe other hand is bound by the decision of the Ombudsman.
Seeking the services of a mortgage brokerwill inevitable save you time and money. If you are working full time or notparticularly up to speed with what's on offer by way of mortgage loansthen utilising the services of a mortgagebroker is essential when negotiating your first home buyer loan or refinancingan existing one. If you choose to simply approach your own bank for a mortgageit is a rare situation indeed where you will find them offering a cheapinterest rate. They will perceive you as a ?captured client? who is not likelyto compare their loan or mortgage with any of their competitors. Too oftenborrowers and first home buyers simply apply to their own bank or that of theirparents but surveys indicate that by doing so, these borrowers do not receiveas competitive rates and terms as those borrowers who apply to a lender througha mortgage broker.
The benefit of using an MFAA accreditedmortgage broker is thus three-fold:
it saves you considerable time in that you do not have to do the leg-work of running around trying to find the most suitable and competitively priced home loan
it saves you money in that the mortgage broker is up-to-speed with any specials and good loan offerings at any given time
you have the added protection that in the unlikely event of a complaint, you can access a free and independent dispute resolution process.
