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Home Loans
Top quality home loans advice in NSW
We are committed to helping you find the right mortgage product. We offer a variety of products to meet each borrower's individual needs. We make the process of securing a mortgage simple and straightforward by offering you the latest in financial tools that enable you to make sound financial choices.
At FG we know that each client has specific needs and we strive to meet those specific needs with a wide array of products, services and best of all — the highestquality individual attention. We are eager to help you and your family determine strategies to meet your personal financial goals.
Through our website you can learn more and evaluate your mortgage options, then call or email us anytime with any questions you have. We can help you obtain:
- Pre-approval for a mortgage to purchase your new home.
- Pre-approval to lower repayments on your existing mortgage.
- Receive quotes for Life, Car and Home insurance.
We hope you will explore the site and its impressive resources. As an independent mortgage and insurance company, we are here for you every step of the way, whether your goal is buying a home, refinancing a mortgage, protecting your family, saving on auto insurance or reaching another financial goal.
Purchase
21 simple steps to purchase your property (As perfected by the team at Financial Genius):
- Visit mortgage consultants to discuss your financials, goals and strategies.
- Find a solicitor for settlement
- Consult with an accountant about the right structure or purchasing entity for you
- List your personal rules and criteria for your property. Search via newspapers, website, real estate agents or buyers agents
- Buy historical purchase property reports. Eg www.homepriceguide.com.au or www.rpdata.com.au
- Analyse the property financials
- Ask for a copy of Sales & Purchase Agreement from real estate agent. Review, the contract with the solicitor
- Negotiate the price with any special conditions
- Pay 0.25% deposit, with subject to clauses. This will give you 5 days cooling off period
- Arrange building/pest inspection or Strata Report
- Obtain a written market rental assessment from agent (Investment only)
- Obtain the finance for your property purchase
- Once finance and any other conditions are met, ie Final Approved
- Pay 5-10% deposit (contract is exchanged)
- Arrange Home and/or land lords insurance
- Review life & income protection insurance
- Sign Loan documents
- Inspect property before settlement
- Settle and take possession (keys from agent)
- Arrange a chattel valuation for depreciation purposes. (Investment only).
- Arrange utility connections and move in.
Note: Every purchase can be different, please use above steps as a general guide
Refinance
If you already have a mortgage, you may want to switch to a different mortgage product with the same lender (or a different lender) to get a better deal. This may save you money, and it may be possible to arrange temporary or long term changes such as changing the term of your mortgage or making extra repayments.
You can save up to 5 years of Home Loan repayments by refinancing and selecting a better product. The actual time saved will depend upon the current product/s you have, loan amount and other circumstances. Home Loan Manager will provide a more specific overview for your individual situation. Call us on 1300 537 000 or Click here to email us. Alternatively Click Here to submit a Loan enquiry online.
Will I have to pay any penalties?
You should check your mortgage agreement to see whether you would have to pay redemption fees. These penalty charges could be expensive and depends upon the lender and the products you have. Some lenders may charge Deferred Establishment Fee (DFE) and some may charge one moth interest rate as penalty. It's also advisable to get independent financial advice before you make a decision to make any changes to your mortgage arrangements.
When is changing worthwhile?
Your reasons for wanting to change your mortgage will probably depend on your personal circumstances. You may want to do so because:
- you were tied into your existing mortgage for a number of years, but the fixed term has now ended and better deals are available.
- you want a more flexible mortgage which will allow you to pay extra and/or take payment holidays.
- you took out a fixed rate mortgage when interest rates were high and want to look for a lower rate now that interest rates have fallen.
- you are worried that your endowment policy won't produce a large enough lump sum to pay off the capital you borrowed.
- you are having problems affording your monthly payments.
Can I switch to another mortgage deal?
You may be able to save money by switching to a different scheme with your existing lender. Many lenders have more competitive schemes than they did a few years ago - you won't know unless you ask. You may want to switch all or part of your mortgage from an endowment to a repayment mortgage because you are worried that your mortgage won't be paid off at the end of its term. If you are in this situation, it may be worth making a complaint first - you may be entitled to compensation.
Can I switch to another lender?
You may be able to transfer your mortgage to a lender offering more competitive deals. You are more likely to have to pay redemption fees if you do this (especially if you have only had your mortgage for a few years) but it may work out cheaper in the long run. Shop around before you decide.
Can I change the term of my mortgage?
Mortgages don't have to be for 25 years. If you can afford to pay more each month, you could cut the term, and end up saving a lot of money in interest. Most lenders won't charge for shortening the term.
Alternatively, you could reduce your monthly payments by extending the term. This will give you a longer period of time to pay back your loan, so your monthly payments will be smaller.
Can I pay extra?
If you do have cash to spare, it may be better to pay off some of your mortgage than put the money in a savings account, especially when interest rates are low. However, you may want to keep enough ready cash for emergencies, such as expensive repairs. You may be able to choose to pay extra each month, or through a lump sum once a year. Check whether your lender calculates interest by the day or the month - if it's calculated monthly, paying a lump sum once a year may be a better option. You should also ask if there will be any penalty charges involved.
FAQ
1. What is the Role of Financial Genius Loans (FGL)?
FGL works on behalf of a borrower to source and identify the loan which best suits the borrower's needs, requirements and financial goals. We identify the lenders which are likely to approve the loan and then answer any questions you may have such as:
- Current interest rates?
- Should I choose fix or variable rate?
- How much can I borrow?
- Are there any application, valuation, legal and on-going fees?
- Which documents do I need in order to obtain the loan?
- How much will the repayments be?
- What are the features of the loan?
- How much is stamp duty for the property and loan?
- First Home Owner Grant?
When the borrower is comfortable with the information provided and is ready to proceed, we complete the application process with the borrower to ensure it is correctly structured.
We then submit the application to the lender and monitor it all the way through the lender's system and look after everything for you until settlement has been effected. The process of using FGL is designed to SAVE you time and effort as we do most of the work for you.
Once the loan is settled, we provide an ongoing service by assisting you with any questions or issues you may have during the life-time of the loan. Every year we will do a annual financial health check on your loan progress. Just to make sure you are on track and are on the best loan product.
2. Do I pay a fee for using FGL?
The borrower does not normally pay a fee for using our mortgage services. FGL is paid directly by the lender once the loan has settled, the same way as travel agents are paid by the airlines. However if the loan is approved and you wish not to proceed to settlement for whatever reason, we will charge a fee of $600 to $1500. This is to cover our admin costs.
3. Do I pay a higher interest rate by going though FGL rather than a bank?
NO - All banks and lenders offer us the same (or lower) rates as they do to their own customers. In fact, for high borrowing clients, we are able to help you to NEGOTIATE a better interest rate and terms because the lender is aware that we are in a position to direct the loan application to another lender and seek a lower interest rate if we are not happy with what they are offering us.
4. Why do banks prefer to have FGL writing loans?
The banking industry has undergone many changes in recent years and as you are aware, banks prefer their customers to use internet banking, ATM's rather than its tellers. Similarly, it is cheaper for the lender to have FGL carry out the work, rather than having to pay for large numbers of staff and their associated costs, such as holiday pay and long service leave, not to mention the expense involved in setting up and maintaining modern offices for their own lending managers. Mortgage Brokers are therefore a very cost effective way for banks to obtain new loans and all lenders now have processing departments in place which are designed to support the work of Mortgage Brokers.
5. What advantages are there for me in using FGL?
We are specialists who know the lending industry and we are constantly updated with the latest product offerings, promotions, loans and interest rates by all the lenders. If you walk into a bank looking for a loan, that bank can only offer you one of their own loans which may not suit your requirements or have the most competitive interest rate.
By using FGL you will have direct access to over 450 different types of loan packages spread over 35 Plus different leading lenders. In other words, you have a selection of over 450 loans just by making the one telephone call to us.
6. What other advantages does FGL offer me?
You'll be served by a financially-strong and experienced Mortgage Broker. Our company gained a national reputation as an industry-leader in mortgage lending and servicing. Winner of the 2006 Australian Mortgage Awards as Broker of the year, we are an established company you can trust, with over $4 billion of loans under management. We are a company that will treat you with respect, courtesy and absolute integrity. Most importantly, our Mortgage Brokers are exceptional at helping you identify the loan that is most advantageous to your goals and financial situation.
7. Pre-approval vs. Conditional Approved
Many people are confused by the difference between a pre-approval and a conditionally approved loan. A pre-approval is a calculation that can be done over the phone by your mortgage broker. By asking a few simple questions about income, debts, and assets, your Mortgage Broker will be able to provide you with an amount that you would qualify for, for a purchase of a home. A conditional approval is a loan approval or commitment from a bank to approve your loan subject to certain terms and conditions. To obtain a conditional approval, your Mortgage Broker will complete an application that includes disclosures and obtain both information and documentation regarding your income, assets and liabilities. Then, your Mortgage Broker will verify all the documents you have provided and correspondingly lodges your file to a bank or lender for approval. It is highly recommended that prior to shopping for a property, you obtain conditional approval. Loan approvals are an essential part of writing an offer for a home and demonstrate that you are very serious about the offer you are making.
8. Is my personal financial information safe?
Yes. FGL maintains a privacy policy of the highest standard. We do not share your information with anyone without your permission. It is confidential information between you and TMP.
9. I've had credit problems in the past, should I forget about buying a home?
Absolutely not! Call us and we can determine if any previous or current credit problems might disqualify you from applying at this time and provide direction on how you can resolve those problems to improve your credit worthiness. We offer a variety of mortgage programs for people with less than perfect credit reference and we will do everything we can to get you the loan you need.
10. What's the difference between a fixed-rate and a variable rate loan?
With a fixed-rate mortgage, the interest rate is determined when your loan is settled (or approved). The interest rate remains the same for the fixed term of the loan. A variable rate loan increases or decreases based on Reserve Banks Cash rate movement. Which is best for you? It will depend on your financial situation and purpose of the loan.
11. What is Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI)?
Most lenders require LMI when a borrower makes less than a 20% deposit (for full documentation loans) on the home being purchased. LMI protects the lender from loss if the borrower fails to make mortgage payments. It is a once off payment.
12. Why do people refinance and would it be smart for me?
Property owners refinance to accomplish a variety of goals. But one basic reason is for them to save money. People most commonly use a refinance to:
- Convert a higher interest rate mortgage to a lower interest rate mortgage
- Lower their cost of debt by consolidate non-tax-deductible or higher interest rate debt, such as credit cards, personal loan, business loans, margin loans (shares), second mortgage or car loans.
- Convert a variable rate to a fixed rate
- To use the equity as deposit for another property purchase, share investments, buying business or working capital.
- To get cash for family needs/expenses or unexpected situations (eg tuition, medical expenses, holiday, etc.)
Is a refinance a smart move for you?
To find out, call us and you'll get our honest, objective opinion on what's most advantageous for you. We will do a full cost and benefit analysis to enable you make an informed decision.