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What Happens at Your First Mortgage Broker Meeting?

16th Sep, 2020 | First Home Buyer, Investor, Refinance

In this article:
If you have never met with a mortgage broker before, you might be unsure about what to expect. Here we fill you in on the details.

When you meet with a mortgage broker for the first time, you’ll discover you have an ally in the search to find the best home loan that suits your needs. So what information will your broker need from you and is there any paperwork you need to supply?

What to expect

Unlike meeting with a bank, a broker can offer the flexibility of making appointments outside standard working hours.

Before meeting with a mortgage broker, expect to have a quick phone chat to fill them in on what assistance you’re after. Your broker will explain what personal and financial information to supply. While each broker has slightly different processes, a Yellow Brick Road broker will ask you to complete an online client questionnaire containing prompts about your work history, personal details, income, expenses, assets and liabilities. Or if you prefer communicating via email, they might ask you to send through a few relevant documents like your driver licence and payslips.

Your broker will make an appointment with you at a convenient time. Unlike meeting with a bank, a broker can offer the flexibility of making appointments outside standard working hours. Before COVID-19, you could meet at the broker’s office or your home, but now meetings are held via Zoom or phone.

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What to get ready

Your broker might ask you to email or upload supporting documents before the first meeting, particularly if the enquiry is urgent. Otherwise, you can supply them after the first meeting. Supporting documents include payslips, group certificates, records of savings, bank statements, credit card statements, other loan statements and driver license or other ID.

Later, when you have chosen a lender, your broker will inform you if any more documents are needed to satisfy lender requirements (different lenders have different requirements).

What’s discussed at the first meeting

The common theme is to find out enough about you to work out the best loans for your requirements.

Your broker will ask questions to understand your circumstance, goals, stage of life and financial situation. The questions will vary depending on whether you’re a first home buyer, refinancer or investor – but the common theme is finding out enough about you to work out the best loans for your requirements.

This meeting will also be a starting point for determining what lending criteria you meet. All lenders have different credit policies, so your broker will look to place your application where it has the best chance of approval.

You might also discuss the features you would like in a loan, such as redraw and offset. We will explain the benefits of different elements to you and how they can be used to your advantage.

It’s also your chance to ask as many questions as you like. A good broker welcomes queries and takes the time to simplify complex concepts. If you’re a first home buyer, you can expect to get the professional guidance you need to feel confident about entering the property market.

If you’re using a Yellow Brick Road mortgage broker, you won’t have to pay for our services. We receive remuneration from the lender once your loan settles.

What happens next

Your broker researches the market for you, comparing rates of products that might suit your needs and negotiating the loan on your behalf. This is a considerable time-saver, especially with the coronavirus environment prompting some lenders to make continual tweaks to their products and policies.

Yellow Brick Road mortgage brokers have hundreds of loans they can show you and software that can search the loans by your criteria. This differs from approaching a bank, which will only be able to make recommendations about its own financial products.

Once the research is complete, you will receive a shortlist of loan options (usually three) for review. When you make your final selection, the broker gets to work on the loan application.

Your broker completes copious lender applications on your behalf and keeps you informed every step of the way. One of the many benefits of using a mortgage broker is the amount of paperwork you get to avoid during the process of loan settlement.