Secure a Brighter Future

A Mortgage Broker is a licensed professional with the knowledge and tools to research borrowing options for their clients to finance a property purchase. An 'Independent' Mortgage broker is a broker with no direct affiliation (monetary or otherwise) to any particular lender, and therefore able to recommend the most suitable lender and product from a panel. A Lender Broker works specifically for a particular lender, or lender group, and can only provide borrowing options from the products distributed by their employer company.

An Independent Mortgage Broker is not bound by any financial or monetary association to a particular lender or product, giving them a wider array of options to present to their clients. The main guiding principal for any Independent Mortgage Broker is the 'Best Interest Duty', which specifies that the Independent Broker must put the interests of their clients before any other in searching for suitable borrowing options.

You may be able to get a better rate by going directly to your bank, but you will never know for certain unless you speak with a Mortgage Broker as well. Around 80% of all residential property finance in Australia is now intermediated by a mortgage broker, and your Broker is able to look across a wide panel of lenders and products, many competing with each other for your business, to provide you with the most suitable finance options.

Equity is the market value of your property less any money owing on that property, generally expressed as a percentage of the property value. Lenders generally require you to have some equity in your property before they will agree to lend money against the property, known as a deposit for new properties, or equity in existing borrowing arrangements.

A Guarantor is a third party associate of the borrower, usually family or friend, willing to offer their property as security so the borrower can obtain finance for a property when they do not have enough equity or a large enough deposit on their own. Like parents using the family home as security for their children to borrow funds to buy their own homes.

An Expat is a person who lives and works outside of their native country of citizenship, while also retaining their citizenship.

There are currently around 1 million Australian Expats living and working all over the world, many of them unaware that they are able to borrow money from Australian lenders and buy property in Australia, all while earning an overseas income in foreign currency.

If you are interested in buying a property back home, either for investment, or as a family home to one day return to, let us help you work through the process and find you the right solution.

How long is a piece of string?

Until you sit down with a professional who can walk you through lender policies, property types, interest rates, loan features, borrowing and property purchase costs and the myriad Government grants and market forces affecting property values, you will find it difficult to answer any of these questions for yourself. It costs you nothing to consult with an Oscar Financial Mortgage Broker, and it will likely save you a great deal.

Government stamp duty is likely going to be the most expensive cost, other than the property itself, when buying a property. The value of stamp duty varies from State to State in Australia, with many State Governments offering concessions or waivers for certain property purchases, such as first home buyers.

If you would like to know more about stamp duty, and how it will affect you and your ability to purchase a property, contact us for a free consultation and we'll help you get started.