0Brokers are now responsible for nearly 60% all loans written in Australia and this figure is rising! Why, because it’s a win - win - win… for you, the broker, and the lender!
Have you ever stopped to wonder how it is a broker doesn’t charge you any fees for their service? You wouldn’t be the first. So, in the spirit of transparency, we want to let you in on the behind the scenes of our business... Let’s start at the start... Banks and lenders in the retail market have overheads. Aka - branches. They pay rent. Wages. Marketing. Utilities. Stationary costs. And, instant coffee costs (ewww! Who likes instant anyway?) They also have what’s known as "Third Party Banking". That is us, the brokers. We are ‘freelancers’ because they don’t pay our rent, wages or, in our office, Nespresso coffee costs. Instead, they pay us commission based on our ability to get loans funded with them. Much like a real estate agent would receive commission if they sold your house. It's simply a different model to branches, with a different remuneration system. We feel brokers have an edge though, as we can work for multiple banks instead! But do you sell the exact same products as the banks? Yes! However our brokers are accredited with between 30-40 lenders so you end up with way more choice! Some lenders alter the name of a product for the broker market so they can distinguish where the loan came from, but the rate and fees are exactly the same. For instance, Commonwealth Bank sell a 'Wealth Package' which brokers sell to clients as a "Mortgage Advantage Package", there is literally no difference aside from what your contract says! Surely the products you sell aren’t exactly the same as the ones I see in branches? Absolutely, they are! However, we do have some tricks up our sleeve as brokers… Let me give you an example; Today if I log on to a major bank website, I can see a home loan product offering a variable rate at - 4.80%. Less the package discount of 0.5% (for buying a package) and you get a rate of 4.30% When you deal us, we can negotiate this rate further! We recently negotiated a 1.70% discount on that same rate by undertaking what is called ‘price negotiation’ with that lender. That means the rate was 1.20% cheaper via us (i.e. 1.70% was our discount, but the package discount is only 0.5% online) than it was as advertised directly through the lender! Ergo the client got 3.10% via us Vs 4.30% with the lender!!! The average loan in the Southern Highlands is around $550,000 at Wilson Financial so the negotiated rate represents an interest saving of $6,600 ......PER YEAR So why else would you choose a broker over going direct with a lender? Aside from the obvious reasons above such as extra choice of lender and price negotiations, shopping around in one spot there are some other benefits...
Why would lenders use brokers then? Why not just only have branches? Many smaller non regional lenders like ING for instance, grow their business quite quickly simply by using a broker network and some lenders are actually predominantly serviced by brokers, like Macquarie Bank. Deloitte recently published findings in their Productivity Commission draft report which outlined that mortgage brokers have helped increase the market share of smaller lenders, and that to replace brokers, they would need to open 118 new branches EACH just to do what brokers have done for them. This is something that most small lenders are not planning on, due to the overheads. We would add that the same independent report cited that; “Preliminary analysis suggests that brokers do obtain slightly lower interest rates... it is not clear if this is attributable to brokers’ ability to negotiate with lenders or to other factors such as the characteristics of borrowers who use direct channels to source their loan”. Ooh – shock horror – really? As a long term brokerage active now since 2003, here at Wilson Financial, it’s always been our ability to negotiate! Want to take our google challenge? It's easy.... I have one challenge for you. Go online and google the name of any lender alongside the word “reviews”. Here is an example. You will often find going direct CHALLENGING, from a service perspective. Meanwhile, have a look at our testimonials page, our Google reviews, or our Facebook reviews. The results speak for themselves!!! How does the service compare - isn't it faster going direct to a bank?? *COUGH COUGH* WHAT! Errr.... Ok, let me ask you, if you were in a jungle, with no map, no compass, no navman or phone, and needed to get from A to B, would you rather go yourself with say, a website, some brochures and a call centre to help you, and at every milestone you meet a new person who doesn't know your back story... By the way, if you got half way and were declined, they'd say good bye and leave.... OR would you rather have your own tour guide, who walked every step of the way with you, liaised with your accountant, solicitor, real estate agent, and was your confidante the entire time? We literally do not leave your side, we have a little policy that we do not leave any of our ducklings behind, we advocate for our clients loans to be approved, and we help show them HOW to navigate the massive minefield of finance and property. We assist with the forms, the questions the long term planning, and the biggest one... WE FIND A LENDER WHO WILL APPROVE YOU! Because guess what... someone who goes to lender A and doesn’t always fit the policy mould may fit with lender B! Imagine if you started your tour of the jungle only to find your lender wasn't the right fit for you, and didn't know the way - you have to go back to the start of the journey and find a new tour guide. Occasionally (and not often) we have a lender that declines a client, it could be that the property valuation didnt' stack up with that lenders valuer, guess who has the capacity to order two new free vals with two new lenders instantly, and push all your existing data to a new lender? BROKERS. Banks do not have this edge, they only work for themselves, whereas WE represent you and are motivated to get your loan approved because let's face it, even we do not get paid if we don't land you some debt!! Also, it's human nature to like and want our clients to get what they want, we love to get personally invested, so it's actually kind of awesome to be able to 'hustle' when the going gets tough and find a back up solution! Furthermore, brokers are databanks of policy, and this is their MAJOR skill set when it comes to finding finance. Personally I am 17 years into broking and 19 years in finance and I’m still seeing new scenarios I haven’t seen before! The lending landscape never stops changing too, so we have to keep up, and we have done that at Wilson Financial by having Aces in their places! We have residential brokers, commercial brokers, equipment finance brokers, and a financial planner. We have a century of expertise in one spot, just to help you! This is our passion and we love it. We are confident we enhance the client experience. We know lending is not a ‘one size fits all’ situation so we pride ourselves on finding the right product for you. All at no cost to you! So how do we stay transparent? We do a full commission disclosure in our credit proposal to every client. This MUST be signed before any client proceeds so nothing gets hidden or lost in a contract. We pride ourselves on being fully up front and honest about the money we make from selling you a lender’s product. So, there you have it. A straight forward disclosure. No bells. No whistles. No T&Cs. Just truth. Interested in talking loans? Contact us today via the details below. We look forward to helping you on your journey. Wilson Financial office - 1300 780 826 or 02 4860 3399
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Following on from one of our recent articles on how financial institutions are helping Australian’s get back on their feet after the bushfires, this week we’re diving deep into some of Australia’s green lenders.
‘Green lenders’ are financial institutions who are effectively using your money to invest in companies and industries who do no harm to the environment. A bit like the way you might choose to use less plastic or buy more sustainably produced foods… these lenders want to do their bit. .If you want to make more informed choices about what type of lender you are supporting, so you can select a green option next time you borrow, we have analysed lenders that we are accredited with here at Wilson Financial. BANK AUSTRALIA Bank Australia takes number one on the list for us! Bank Australia exists to create mutual prosperity in the form of positive economic, social, environmental and cultural impact. They believe in benefiting their customers, communities and the planet. Their money is regarded as clean because they never loan to industries that do harm, including; fossil fuels, live animal export, gambling, arms production or tobacco. In addition to this, all of their loans are subject to a Responsible Banking Policy. Bank Australia have also recently introduced the Clean Energy Home Loan. If you are buying or building a NatHERS rated 7 Star or higher home, or planning sustainable upgrades, you could be eligible for a 0.40% p.a. discount off your interest rate for up to five years. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation are financing half this discount. They are also the first bank in Australia to have its deposit and home lending products certified 'responsible' by the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia, and they direct 4% of their after-tax profits to projects that help people and the planet. They are the ONLY Australian lender listed in the ‘Don’t Bank On The Bomb’ report which you can read here. To read more on responsible banking at Bank Australia you can click here. TEACHERS MUTUAL Teachers Mutual believe in the power of responsible investment. Their focus is on ethical operations, taking action on climate change, offering socially responsible finance products and giving back to their community. They have been certified as both a climate neutral and climate conscious company by South Pole, the leading provider of global sustainability financing solutions and services. This certification means Teachers Mutual is a carbon neutral bank. For six consecutive years they have been voted one of The World’s Most Ethical Companies. So… what about the big guys? We dug up some data on the big four and a few of our other major lenders… ANZ At the core of their framework is fair and responsible banking that is, keeping pace with the expectations of customers, employees and the community, behaving fairly and responsibly and maintaining high standards of conduct. Some of the ANZ’s most recent goals are to;
CBA The CBA recently introduced a new reward scheme for energy efficient home owners who install solar panels. This initiative, aka ‘The Green Mortgage’ initiative, sees customers provided with a $500 cashback when certified solar panels are installed. Apparently this is the first of many initiatives to come. MACQUARIE The environmental impacts from Macquarie Bank’s direct operations predominantly relate to the resources they consume in their offices, data centres, and from their air travel. Macquarie seek to manage these impacts by monitoring and reducing resource use, maintaining carbon neutrality, improving the sustainability of their supply chain and occupying and creating innovative and sustainable workplaces, through the implementation of their Environmental Management Plan. Their steps to reduce resource consumption include energy efficiency measures, data centre virtualisation, waste recycling and water management programs across their global operations. Through their focus on occupying sustainable workplaces they aim to design and construct new premises in line with sustainability best practice and, where possible, achieve accreditation such as 6 Star Green Star, LEED Platinum, BREEAM Excellent or equivalent. Since 2010, they have maintained their carbon neutral commitment by reducing and offsetting the emissions from their energy use and business air travel. They do this by purchasing and retiring high quality voluntary certified carbon credits each year. NAB NAB are committed to understanding and managing the impacts and dependencies of their business on the environment. A few of their recent green achievements include a reduction of 43% in paper usage from 2015, making a $70b commitment to environmental financing by 2025 to help address climate change, and a commitment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 21% by 2025. NAB are also increasing plans to provide environmental finance from $55 billion to a targeted $70 billion by 2025.They are Australia’s largest arranger of renewable energy finance and 69% of their energy financing portfolio in 2019 was for renewables. They have also committed to increasing their internal renewable energy consumption from 50% to 100% by 2025. ST GEORGE St George are committed to reducing the environmental footprint of their operations and as such have a range of green initiatives on the go. These include; offering staff free loans of up to $4,000 each year, which can be used for purchases such as solar hot water systems and energy efficient appliances, committing to reducing the amount of paper they use and buying it from forests that are managed sustainably and reducing their energy consumption by implementing a range of energy saving lighting options. They have also undertaken a range of initiatives to improve water efficiencies. SUNCORP Suncorp conducts business in a way that protects and sustains the environment for current and future generations. Their Environmental Performance Plan focuses on decreasing emissions, reducing waste and creating a more sustainable workplace. In addition to this they are supporting ongoing transparency and regulatory reporting in regards to their impact on the environment. Suncorp has also committed to net-zero emissions by 2050 and increasing the use of renewable energy. WESTPAC Westpac have published a huge amount of information on what they are doing on the green lending front. Here is just a snapshot of what we were able to pull up;
MYSTATE Not so much Green, but philanthropic, we wanted to give this smaller lender a shout out These guys are Tasmanian lenders who help local youth with accessible grants. They believe it’s the little ideas, local organisations and small acts that can help make a big difference in people’s lives and help build a richer Tasmanian community. The MyState foundation has been helping educate, support and nurture young people since 2001. To date they have awarded over $1.8m in grants to more than 80 not-for-profits across 200 different initiatives. They support organisations and charities who are engaged in education or development projects for young people; especially those who help develop self-reliance, provide opportunity for further education, increase financial literacy or assist young people living with a disability to access special education, care or support. So there you have it… a look into how lenders are doing their bit to help the environment, the world, and their communities. Feel free to contact us for more information if we can be of assistance. Effective 1 January 2020, the federal government has introduced a new scheme for first time home buyers. Under the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme the government will now underwrite (or guarantee) loans for low to middle income owners to get people into their first home faster. What this means is that first home buyers will now be able to enter the market with as little as purchase costs, and 5% deposit* and…. no lenders mortgage insurance! Lenders will still do their normal checks on your financial situation but this will make it easier to get a loan without having saved a 20% deposit. This one change could literally save you tens of thousands of dollars! We also have word that we are able to negotiate rates with some lenders, as if you have a full 20% deposit which means your interest rate will also be eligible for better discounts as a result of the scheme with some lenders!
(*lender's criteria apply) Eligibility You can check your eligibility by speaking to us, or visiting this link. Call us if you're unsure about anything though! Property price thresholds To ensure the Scheme is only available for the purchase of a modest home, or the purchase of land and construction of a modest home, the following property price thresholds (maximum property purchase price under the Scheme) will apply in capital cities, large regional centres and regional areas; Region and Price Cap (AUD) NSW - capital city - $700,000 NSW - regional centre (Newcastle and Lake Macquarie) - $700,000 NSW - regional centre (Illawarra) - $700,000 NSW - other - $450,000 ACT - $500,000 QLD - capital city - $475,000 QLD - regional centre (Gold Coast) - $475,000 QLD - regional centre (Sunshine Coast) - $475,000 QLD - other - $400,000 For the full property price threshold listing for Australia click here. How to apply At present Wilson Financial is accredited with six lenders on their panel that are rolling are approved under the government panel to participate with the scheme. If you’d like more information or, if you’d like to apply, feel free to reach out to our mortgage broker contacts; Wilson Financial office - 1300 780 826 or 02 4860 3399 Liz – [email protected] or 0414 798 760 Chris - [email protected] or 0467 999 230 Colin - [email protected] or 0428 423 051 ![]() Australia is currently experiencing the worst bushfire season on record. If you are experiencing financial hardship as a result of this crisis, financial relief may be available. Several of Australia’s lenders have jumped on board to offer assistance to their affected customers and, more broadly, to the Australian community as a whole. Below you will find a summary of what support financial institutions may be offering. You will also then find contact information for several major lenders. If you are unable to locate contact information specific to your lender please reach out to us as we may be able to point you in the right direction. Each financial institution is offering slightly different support to customers. This support may include;
Lender Contacts ANZ Customers impacted can contact a dedicated hotline on 1800 149 549. Claims can be made online at https://www.anz.com.au/personal/insurance/make-a-claim/ Insurance customers can call 13 16 14. Visit: anz.com/hardship CBA For information or to make a claim call 1300 720 814 or visit any branch. If you're a business customer call 13 26 07 or your dedicated CommBank relationship manager. Visit: https://www.commbank.com.au/support/emergency-assistance-package.html NAB NAB customers who have lost their homes can immediately access a $2,000 grant to assist with urgent needs. These funds will be deposited direclty into the customer accoutns as early as the next business day. NAB employees who have had to evacuate their homes can also access a 1,000 grant. Call NAB’s dedicated team on 1300 023 429. Customers impacted by the loss of a home who need assistance can also visit their nearest open NAB branch, contact their banker directly or call NAB Assist on 1300 683 106 (8am-8pm Mon-Fri, or 9am-1pm on Saturdays AEST/AEDT). Visit: https://www.nab.com.au/about-us/social-impact/customers/natural-disaster-and-crisis-support Westpac Call the Westpac Assist Team on 1800 067 497. You can also contact your local branch or Relationship Manager. Business customers should call 1800 029 749. For insurance claims contact 1300 369 989. Visit: http://www.westpac.com.au/disasterhelp St George If you’re experiencing financial hardship contact 1800 629 795. For insurance claims contact 1300 655 489. Visit: https://www.stgeorge.com.au/disasterrelief Macquarie Bank Customers should call 1800 806 310 for assistance. Visit: https://www.macquarie.com/au/personal/fire-emergency https://www.macquarie.com/au/about/disclosures/financial-hardship ING If you’re experiencing financial hardship contact 13 34 64 To make a claim call 1800 611 422 (24/7) Visit: https://www.ing.com.au/faq-result.html?faqid=7449 MyState MyState Customer Care Team is available on 138 001. CGU insurance policy holders wanting to make a claim should contact CGU Claims on 13 24 81. Visit: https://www.mystate.com.au/about-us/support#/about-us/contact-us/financial-hardship Resimac Call 1300 793 741 or email [email protected]. Visit: https://www.resimac.com.au/bushfire-support Pepper Money Call the hardship team on 1800 356 383, between 8:30am and 5:30pm, Monday to Friday (AEDT). Email [email protected] Visit: https://www.pepper.com.au/lending/help-centre/customer-service/financial-hardship-assistance Liberty Financial Call 13 11 33 Email [email protected] Direct message on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/liberty.social/ Visit: https://www.liberty.com.au/financial-hardship La Trobe Financial Call the Mortgage Help Team on 1800 620 639 For insurance claims call CGU Claims 24/7 on 13 24 80 Visit: https://www.latrobefinancial.com.au/ Rate Setter Call 1300 768 710 Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm AEST https://www.ratesetter.com.au/ Other assistance available to residents of the Wingecarribee Shire Council Mayoral Relief Fund Wingecarribee Shire Council have launched a Mayoral Relief Fund for residents directly affected by the Green Wattle Creek or Morton fires. Residents can apply for $500 for a household or $250 for individuals. Identification may be required. To make a claim residents need to fill out the PDF form available here: https://www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/mrf Free Mental Health Support She Counselling She Counselling is offering 5 free 60 minute counselling sessions for those directly affected by the Green Wattle Creek or Morton fires. She Counselling works with women over the age of 18. Services are provided in Mittagong. Visit: https://shecounselling.com.au/ Call: 0412 707 242 Email: [email protected] Nest Psychotherapy & Counselling Nest Psychotherapy & Counselling is offering up to 4 free counselling sessions at their office in Picton. Online and phone crisis support is also available. Nest works with anyone over the age of 16 and extends a particular welcome to anyone from the LGBTQIA community. Visit: https://nestcounselling.com.au/about/ Call: 0484 223 042 Email: [email protected] Want to give back to your community? Here are 3 great ways to support those affected by the devastation… Celeste Barber - RFS Australian Comedian Celeste Barber started a Facebook fundraising campaign on January 3, 2020. Money raised is going to The Trustee for NSW Rural Fire Service & Brigades Donations Fund. At the time of publication, this fund had raised nearly $50 million! DONATE HERE: https://www.facebook.com/donate/1010958179269977/10157671223743418 My Sisters Keeper – RFS Masks Ophelia Haragli is a Sydney cancer survivor who now advocates for cancer patients. She runs the ‘My Sisters Keeper’ Facebook page. When learning about our volunteer firefighters’ desperate need for respiratory masks, she couldn’t help but do something. Ophelia started a fundraising campaign to raise money to buy masks to protect volunteers from the short and long term implications of breathing in smoke. In record time Ophelia researched and sourced the masks and got them out to RFS stations, right in the thick of the crisis. Her lifesaving work continues. More information: https://www.facebook.com/Mysisterskeeperophelia DONATE HERE: Ophelia Haragli BSB: 082231 Account number: 436029234 Description: MSK firefighters World Wildlife Fund - Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) works in partnership with a variety of organisations, communities and individuals to save the Australian environment. Among other things, their work focuses on protecting those endangered species most in need. “It’s been estimated that around 1.25 billion animals have been killed across Australia to date. This includes thousands of koalas and other iconic species such as kangaroos, wallabies, kookaburras, cockatoos and honeyeaters burnt alive, and many thousands more injured and homeless.” (Source: WWF) WWF are collecting funds to help save wildlife but also to assist in restoring our lost forests once the fires have cleared. DONATE HERE: https://donate.wwf.org.au/donate/koala-crisis/koala-crisis?t=AP0120W03#gs.rno0gb The team at Wilson Financial are happy to assist in any way, please contact our office on (02) 4860 3399 if you wish to talk to someone or need assistance connecting to these services. |
AuthorLiz Wilson has been working in finance for nineteen years now. She regularly blogs on industry topics and here you will find over a hundred personally written blog topics and case studies... Archives
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