50 reasons to use a Mortgage Broker

Post by John Bolton - Squirrel Founder

One of the questions you might have if considering a mortgage broker for the first time is, why use a mortgage broker versus going to the bank direct? Or, what is the difference between a mortgage broker and a mobile mortgage manager? It’s hard to sum-up what we do in a couple of sentences, so here goes my 50 reasons why to use a mortgage broker and Squirrel in particular.

1. Better Pricing. We process over twenty mortgages every day, so we are in a unique position to know exactly what offers are in the market. A mobile mortgage manager works for one bank, enough said.
2. Better Advice. Our advisers are allowed to advise on things like loan structure, budgeting, and our view on future interest rates. Bank employees are not trained to give this advice and technically aren’t allowed to. If you’re dealing with someone in a branch they cannot provide advice at all.
3. Free Service. We generally won’t charge for our services unless it something complex, and if that’s the case we’ll tell you upfront.
4. Peace-of-Mind. It’s scary having open and honest conversations with your bank. We’re in a much better position to listen without judgement and find you the right solution.
5. More Choice. We have more options at our disposal than a bank and even other brokers. The differences are often hidden in the credit policy. What if your bank won’t give you any more money and you’re half way through a renovation? It happens.
6. Property Planning. We won’t just look at the current purchase but look to understand your short term and long term goals.
7. Debt Reduction. Help you formulate a debt-reduction plan.
8. Less Stress. We can’t promise you won’t have stress as buying a property is often one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make, but we’ll work hard to make it less stressful.
9. More Reliable. We can work with multiple banks to get you to YES.
10. Authentic. We’re confident in our abilities and don’t need to hide behind a suit. In fact during summer you might find us in shorts and jandals.
11. Professional. All of our Squirrel advisers belong to Financial Advice New Zealand which is the professional body for financial advisers. That means they must undertake CPD (continuing professional development) and have their advice process assessed every three years against best practice. Think of it like a WOF on your car.
12. Wealth Creation. Sometimes we can help you spot hidden value or we can put you in front of one of the team like JB who eats property for breakfast.
13. Refer. Often we can connect you with other high quality professionals like lawyers, accountants and builders to make your life easier.
14. Independent. We are one of the only major mortgage brokers that is independent and we’re extremely proud of that. Not only are our advisers paid salaries (not commission) but we are not owned by a real estate company. We joke that we are only recommended by 1 out of 10 real estate agents, for good reason!
15. Worldly. The average age of our advisers is 37. That’s older than most bankers and younger than the majority of brokers. In practice you get the experience with lots of energy.
16. Better insight. We can help you interpret a building inspection or a LIM report or point you to a professional who can. We can help you understand the property market and all of the pitfalls.
17. Forward Looking. When it comes to property and interest rates the future is uncertain but we’re not afraid to share our considered opinion. What you do is ultimately your call but having a better understanding of the risks is immensely valuable.
18. Easy. We can manage our clients completely online and over the phone, or if you’re in Auckland you can pop into our swanky offices. We make the process as simple as possible – no bureaucracy here.
19. Cool Advice Guides. We have a number of easy-to-read guides we’ve written to help you no matter what you are doing.
20. Never let go. We’re incredibly loyal to our clients. No matter what’s going on in your life, our door is open to discuss and plan your financial future.
21. Team players. Work with other professionals to help you achieve your goals.
    
    
    
    
22. We will arrange building inspections.
23. Review building inspection reports and give you plain-English feedback.
24. Help you navigate around code of compliance issues.
25. Give you property information from our valuation system to help you make better decisions.
26. Talk you through making an offer.
27. Arrange registered valuations.
28. Help you assess the feasibility of a property.
29. Keep you away from lemons and sharks.
30. Help you budget building a new home.
31. Manage progress payments on a construction loan.
32. Help you dig yourself out of a tricky situation.
33. Coach you through your first auction experience.
34. One of our advisers will always be available for anything urgent - 7 days a week.
35. Give you access to our whole team in case I’m not around and you need urgent advice.
36. Work with your family if you need help buying your first home.
37. Help you navigate getting your funds out of KiwiSaver.
38. Share the experiences of hundreds of other clients with situations similar to yours.
39. Always have your back.
40. Always leave the door open.
41. Take an interest in your life and that of your family.
42. Be a sounding board for any ideas you have.
43. Be honest with you.
44. Be proactive.
45. Think about your whole financial life, not just the mortgage.
46. Make sure you understand your risks and have a strategy in place to manage them.
47. Always act in your best interests, not ours.
48. Look after your friends as well as we look after you.
49. Keep you up-to-date with what is going on in the property market.
50. Help you with your fixed rate maturities.

Still not convinced and need further information? Read John Bolton’s own words about what he does as a mortgage broker.

Check out what our clients have to say about us.

The opinions expressed in this article should not be taken as financial advice, or a recommendation of any financial product. Squirrel shall not be liable or responsible for any information, omissions, or errors present. Any commentary provided are the personal views of the author and are not necessarily representative of the views and opinions of Squirrel. We recommend seeking professional investment and/or mortgage advice before taking any action.

To view our disclosure statements and other legal information, please visit our Legal Agreements page here.