Friends!
Happy New Year. I really hope everyone takes an extra step this year into realizing their property investment dreams!
I know thats touchy feely but I mean it. Going to be a great year.
I am wondering if anyone is using quick direct for their mortgage vendor.
One thing that stuck out to me is about 1% lower than all other lenders because of their direct model.
What I am really interested in is getting through the noise and know others that are using them say "thumbs up".
I value anyone's opinion.
regards,
Chris
G'day Chris, take this as you will as this is coming from a MB & MB's don't have access to this product.
Don't be fooled by the 1% saving as this isn't even close to the mark. I've had a look at their website and they use the ANZ (who had the largest latest increase) at their standard rate of 8.77%. At least they also had the decency to also use Virgin 8.09%. For borrowings of $250k+ most ANZ clients would be paying 8.07% with no ongoing fees. With other majors this is 7.97% with maybe an annual fee. Their fixed rate appears to be quite competitive however as it reverts back to the reduced variable rate at settlement.
This being the case there are still some savings to be made an interest rate point of veiw. This is an attractive point for some clients and as such these
firms have their own neiche market. I call them a firm rather than a lender as I suspect they are a mortgage manager who source their funds from one or various wholesale funders, then add a margin and advertise it as their own.
Some concerns (from experience writing loans for a different one) I have with such companies is that they tend to be small set-ups who employ lowly paid staff (I was on set amount per loan on the side so this isn't a beef) and as few as they can get away with. The level of aftercare service can be an issue as once you're with them it's unlikely you'll leave due to the
HIGH exit fees. As such there is a risk that little in the way of staffing are allocated to such things.
Questions I'd be asking them (after a brief look at their site) would be such things as:-
Are there any settlement fees?
Any legal fees for document preparation?
Should you require addittional funds of say $20k down the track, will it be an issue??????? Some wholesale funders require a minimum of $50k and won't budge no matter how much lending you have with them. It's either that or take a new loan for the original loan balance plus the extra say $20K and pay early repayment fees. Not saying this is the case but I now some who do.
Find out how many staff they have dedicated to applications/settlements/aftercare.
Ask are their offices open to the public. Not that they maybe located conveniently but it may stop a BS answer the the prior Q
A question Dan had for you in earlier reply i alluded to above. Their fees are hefty and as such you're pretty much stuck with them for 5 years (maybe 4 depsnding on loan amount). Should you encounter problems borrowing from them in the future due to policy, LMI or serviceability you've either locked up the equity in the property they have or you'll pay a HEFTY price to move.
This may not be an issue for you personally but something you may need to consider.
How long have they been in business for? Verify this from ASIC site.
Do some reading on what the "expects" expect from this type of lenders in relation to their need to increase rates due to the sub-prime crisis. I read one last week that said they could be affected harder than the banks. Whether this is correct isn't for me to say as the so called "experts" who get paid plenty more than me seem to get it wrong often enough. I'll try and find where I was reading it and pass it on or if any other members know of it maybe they could refresh my memory
Finally, I know of a situation where a guy had a Mortgage Management company, then opened another, then another. All 3 operated under 1 parent company but advertised seperately. Great rates were on offer with only 4-5 staff and 1 office for all 3. Heaps of loans were written, problems that arose became of low priority compared to new applications so more problems arose. Staff get disatisfied and leave leading to more service issues. Last I heard he was running on 2-3 staff (Aust wide) and know of a client who would be very interested in getting his hands on someone.
Now.....what's to stop any of this persons companies from ceasing to write new business and operating under another "online" entity/name?
This isn't meant to be a scare tactic as I freely admit these firms have their own little nieche market and I'd like to think the odd one out there runs a pretty tight ship. Personally I had the opportunity to refinance at some very attractive rates with one such company. I didn't and don't regret it a little bit. This just means I'm not a part of the nieche market.
Maybe you do and this type of company is your cup of tea. You won't be the 1st and definitely the last.
Hope this didn't come accross as too negative as on rate alone they're not too shabby
Regards
Steve
~~prays to God that there aren't too many typos~~
