We’ve written before about the interesting position that banks create for themselves. All the advertising material that we see, hear, and read from banks talks about how they are there to help their clients into homes, and look after them in general. This is true, to an extent, but ultimately banks exist to make money for their shareholders.

Another incorrect belief is that because you have been with the same bank for a long time and never been anywhere else that they will automatically share in your dream of owning your first home or buying an investment property. The fact is you will always be more loyal to your bank than they are to you.

I’m saying none of the above because I have anything against banks – in fact we have a great working relationship with them all and they hold the funds that help many people get into homes. However, borrowers need to understand that they are not the banks top priority, or at least not the banks top priority all of the time.

We are at a stage when lending criteria is, on the surface, being loosened. People can borrow more against investment property and 90% lending is available for not only First Home Buyers but also for others who qualify. However, this is only the general criteria and how banks are applying it is another story. We are currently dealing with a number of issues where banks are declining, or deferring deals and we need to work quickly, and hard, to find solutions. These solutions often mean changing banks as the client’s existing bank will not assist.

As a borrower, consider what the bank judges you on and how each bank views every aspect differently: Income type – self-employed, salaried, contract, investment, where does it come from. Property type – residential (own home or investment), commercial, hybrid commercial, apartment (where, what size, construction-type, freehold or leasehold, rental type, how many floors). Getting a Gift or having parents involved in the deal – what do you parents earn, how long will this continue. Living overseas (where, where does your money come from, can you open bank accounts here, foreign languages, getting documents verified). Credit history – how many enquiries have you had (too many, too few), have you applied to more banks than you should, have you missed payments to your own bank (no matter when or how much, it is flagged when you step outside of limits).

If the incomplete list of variables above seems scary and complicated, it is because it is. To add to the confusion, the emphasis each bank places on these variables changes all the time.

As Brokers we deal with these variables all day, every day, as it is our fulltime job. We keep up to date with what each of the banks are doing and can deal with almost all of them. We have the ablity to shop around for the best approval to suit the individual needs of our clients.

My point is that you often get one shot at getting your mortgage approved. If you are a Mortgage Broker it makes sense to put together your own mortgage application, if you are not then it does not make sense. A lot of us work so we can fly overseas on holiday but, as part of that travel, we don’t assume we are going to fly the airliner. Pilots specialise in flying planes, you specialise in your area of work and we, as Mortgage Brokers, specialise in getting mortgages approved.

For any help or advice when it comes to borrowing, structuring of finances or re-fixing please let us know. 

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