There has been press recently concerning the benefits of using a mortgage broker when looking for home finance and car finance – yes, a mortgage broker will generally be able to assist you with your car finance as well as standard home finance and investment loans.

The mortgage broker business boomed during the 1990s when there was a plethora of home finance and car finance loan products

The good news is that home finance interest rates are heading south! The Reserve bank of Australia like other banks around the world has been effectively reducing the cost of home finance by cutting the Official Cash Rate over the past few months. Australia saw a drop of 1% in the cash rate in October and then another 0.75% in November and the likelihood is that the RBA will pass on a further

In Australia many lenders rely on a mortgage broker or mortgage brokers to generate new business for them. Many Australian banks closed their branch offices during the late 1980s as they turned to technology and internet banking to grow their businesses. The branch network was considered expensive to run. The banks believe it is far better to pay a mortgage broker to generate home finance loans

A mortgage broker is worth his weight in gold I recently decided to refinance my home loan and my investment loan and it was suggested to me that there was little need for a mortgage broker because it was easier enough to go direct to a bank and apply for a loan. I thought that I would speak with my own bank. The first frustration was I could not actually contact my branch direct. I had to

I read an article recently that suggested that borrowers who use a mortgage broker pay more for their loan than if they go direct to the bank. It is extraordinary when this sort of poorly researched misinformation is published in a magazine.

I have been involved ion the mortgage industry in Australia for over 25 years and during that time I have seen the growth of the mortgage broker market.

First home buyers, investors and those looking to upgrade their property by way of home improvements or the purchase of a bigger home are all in a better position to do so than they were some six months ago when home finance interest rates were looking like hitting 10% p.a. In mid-2008 the Reserve Bank of Australia was lifting interest rates to curb inflation knowing that an increase in the

There are not too many benefits coming out of the world wide credit crisis, but one at least, is the reducing home finance interest rates that we are now experiencing in Australia. Home finance is becoming more affordable as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) drops interest rates. In October interest rates reduced by 1% p.a and then in November they reduced again by a further 0.75%. While the

The world economic global crisis has had a huge and negative impact on the car finance industry in Australia because the major suppliers of car finance here have recently withdrawn from the car finance market. GE Money and GMAC who are believed to have had at least 60% of the car finance market in Australia have suddenly withdrawn from this market. While GE Money has continued to play in the

Car dealers and lease brokers are anxious as a result of GE Money’s withdrawal from the Australian car finance market. Only in September GE Money was reassuring business partners that it was “here for the long term” was “funded for 2008” and had “liquidity” at “competitive rates”. This all went out the window recently when GE Money announced that it was withdrawing from the car finance markets

The mistake many buyers make when they are looking to purchase a new car is to settle their car finance with the dealership. Certainly there may be times that the car finance offered by the dealer is competitive but as a general rule you will find a better car finance package through other financiers in the car finance space. All too often, buyers of a new car are swept up in the emotion of