Best way to get NZ mortgage, Bank or Broker?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Best way to get NZ mortgage, Bank or Broker?

TeaLeaf

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#261280 19-Nov-2019 15:05

My younger family member is buying a house.

I pay for everything with cash or with my Aussie SMSF.

For the average person on $110k in NZ and a healthy $150k deposit, who are the best people to approach re mortgages? Shop online? Broker?

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meow
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#2357296 19-Nov-2019 15:12

To be perfectly honest there is no right answer here.

Banks are very competitive right now and so the rate that is advertised is what you'll normally get from a broker (from experience). If they've been with their bank for quite some time it could be worth talking to a personal banker but if they're unsure of the whole process it can be sometimes easier to talk to a broker. This also all depends on your bank.

I personally dealt with the bank directly and the whole process was pretty easy.

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xpd

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#2357297 19-Nov-2019 15:15

Going back 10 years now, we went to bank.

Well known and popular broker basically laughed at us and said to come back when we had better jobs effectively. Said no one would loan us the amount we were after.

Bank was happy to give us hell of a lot more than we were after.

So that put me off brokers for life.

YMMV.

XPD / Gavin

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mattwnz

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#2357298 19-Nov-2019 15:17

Who is offering you the best rate? It should cost anything to shop around, apart from time. I had always heard that brokers can sometimes get better rates from banks, but I don;t know if that is still the case.

TeaLeaf

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#2357301 19-Nov-2019 15:24

Thanks Michael, thats what I expected. Only times I used brokers in Aus was when I wa 25yo and had only been in this contract role for 6 months even though I had long history at Telecom.

The second time I felt like I got nothing out of the process.

So from then on I just searched for the best rates on the terms I wanted.

duckDecoy

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#2357306 19-Nov-2019 15:33

Our intern recently went through this process. Kiwibank gave them a better rate and higher cash back than the broker was able to negotiate, and they didn't even tell Kiwibank they were considering a broker. Could depend on the broker I guess.

DjShadow

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#2357308 19-Nov-2019 15:37

We got our first home through a Broker, they were good as they took care of the Home & Contents as well as providing proper advice on Kiwisaver also

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Mahon

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#2357315 19-Nov-2019 15:54

TeaLeaf:

My younger family member is buying a house.

I pay for everything with cash or with my Aussie SMSF.

For the average person on $110k in NZ and a healthy $150k deposit, who are the best people to approach re mortgages? Shop online? Broker?

Brokers get paid a commission from the bank and will tend to select the bank that offers them the best deal.

You should try your bank first and negotiate a good interest rate especially if you are a long term customer.

mortonman

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#2357321 19-Nov-2019 16:06

Check out the latest rates and deals on interest.co.nz. They update daily and also note what banks are offering incentive.s

Ive used both a broker and dealt direct. The broker was useful as the transactions involved moving old family home into a rental an dbuying an new house into a trust but when it came to refixing etc Ive found it easier to deal directly with the bank

timmmay

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#2357337 19-Nov-2019 16:15

10 years ago I went through a broker. I ended up with a mortgage through my existing bank at a rate better than they offered publicly at the time. Rates are pretty low right now, not sure how much extra you'd get from a broker. Talk to your bank first, see if they'll give you a discount off standard rates, and if they won't tell them "thanks, I'll go to a broker and see what they can do for me before I commit".

tripper1000

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#2357343 19-Nov-2019 16:30

I went through a broker for my first mortgage. I found them to be very helpful, no only sorting out the loan but teaching me about the house buying process. They gave me a choice of banks and let me rank them in order of preference. Also went over all the early repayment strategies, which was invaluable info. Since then, I've gone to the banks direct.

If your family member hasn't bought a house before you may need to teach them the lay of the land, what to expect, all the hoops that need to jumped through etc. I've had to coach young people at work through buying their first house. The bank gave them the money and said "see-you". They simply didn't know how the settlement process went, what to expect, what was expected of them etc. Conditions of sale (painting etc) hadn't been completed and they were just going to hand over all the money!

CokemonZ

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#2357344 19-Nov-2019 16:30

Agree in general with the above comments.

If it's relatively simple go direct, a broker can't do much for you. This sounds like you. FWIW I have found they are all great at signing you up but anything after initial sign up like renewals they are all generally pretty rubbish.

If it's complex - multiple properties, strange financials, investment properties with quick renovations and remortgages - then brokers can be useful as a good one knows how to work the bank process slickly.

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eracode

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#2357567 20-Nov-2019 07:13

xpd:

Going back 10 years now, we went to bank.

Well known and popular broker basically laughed at us and said to come back when we had better jobs effectively. Said no one would loan us the amount we were after.

Bank was happy to give us hell of a lot more than we were after.

So that put me off brokers for life.

YMMV.

Things have changed quite a bit over the past ten years.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

rphenix

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#2357617 20-Nov-2019 07:56

Do both :)

Talk to a broker, then go talk to the likes of kiwibank who wont deal with brokers - or any bank the broker doesn't come back with an offer from.

tchart

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#2357621 20-Nov-2019 08:00

eracode:

xpd:

Going back 10 years now, we went to bank.

Well known and popular broker basically laughed at us and said to come back when we had better jobs effectively. Said no one would loan us the amount we were after.

Bank was happy to give us hell of a lot more than we were after.

So that put me off brokers for life.

YMMV.

Things have changed quite a bit over the past ten years.

I dont think things have changed, its just a matter of circumstances and who you talk to on the day. When we first bought (~14 years ago) our bank (that we had been with for 10+ years, had all our insurance etc) laughed at us and a broker helped us get a mortgage with another bank. When it came to refixing we jumped back to our old bank as they had better rates. Apparently they have no loyalty to you so you shouldn't have any towards them.

That first mortgage can be tricky to secure but once you've got it things change.

I'd suggest going to a bank first off and if no luck then a broker (they usually know who will be willing to bend the rules).

clevedon

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#2357622 20-Nov-2019 08:01

mortonman:Check out the latest rates and deals on interest.co.nz. They update daily and also note what banks are offering incentive.s

The advertised rates are only a starting point though. I've never paid the carded rate - always negotiated lower.

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