What to look out for in choosing a Mortgage Consultant?

[Dennis Ng]

Someone asked:”what to look out for in a good Mortgage Consultant?” at an internet forum discussion. Below is his question and my reply for your easy reference.

Cheers!

Dennis Ng, www.HousingLoanSG.com – Getting you the BEST Deal in Housing Loans in Singapore!

What to look out for in a good mortgage consultant?

I understand that there are many mortgage consultants, brokers, even bankers/bank officers positioning themselves as mortgage experts, dishing out free advice to people.

However, what value-add can these "experts" provide? Are they merely bank introducers? What is the difference if I were to contact the various banks directly? (assuming I don't mind spending time to find out all the nitty-gritty).

My reply:

Are all Loan Consulting firms the same? The answer is No. You might be glad and reassured to know that Leverage’s Mission is to help individuals and businesses get the BEST DEAL in financial services hassle-free and always put our clients’ interest first.

Therefore In choosing a Loan Consulting firm, a consumer might want to ask the following:

1. Do the Loan Consultants have prior working experience in banking and loans? If not, are they properly trained by experienced ex-bankers?

2. Does the Loan Consulting firm have working arrangements with all banks and finance companies? (or do they only work with a few financial institutions)?

3. Does the Loan Consulting firm provide an unbiased analysis of all the loan packages available in the market and let the consumer to make the final decision?

4. Does the Loan Consulting firm work with all law firms approved by banks and let the consumer choose whichever law firm? Or do they only work with only one or just a few law firms?

5. Does the Loan Consultant provide a one-stop personalized service? (Some firms only refer you to one or two bank officers to follow-up with you and do nothing else).

You might be glad to know that LEVERAGE HOLDINGS’s answer to ALL the above question is YES and it might be quite clear why you should choose a Loan Consulting firm that can answer yes to all above questions to ensure that your interest is protected and taken care of.

Other than above, these are the other value-add we provide:

1. a One-stop "answer" for all your questions relating to rules and regulations of HDB, CPF, Bank lending criteria, Credit Bureau etc. You no longer have to call the hot lines of each of these organisation individually and subject to waiting at each of the hot lines.

2. a One-stop comparison of ALL packages, including all the pros and cons of each package. Bank officers might be "biased" in their reply to your questions as they have sales quota to meet.

3. FREE indicative valuation of properties by banks' approved Valuers to help buyers to better negotiate with seller on the selling price of properties. We have clients who managed to reduce the purchase price by $20,000 to $110,000 due to this service we provide.

4. FREE coordination of different parties involved, including the bank, law firm and valuers. As you can see by now, we do everything from A to Z (from providing information, to providing analysis of Housing Loan packages, to applying the loan, to appointment of law firm approved by bank, to coordinating the various parties involved. Unlike some "fake" Mortgage Consultancy firms, we do NOT simply introduce clients to banks.

5. Save Money!

Help you save on Legal fees. Unlike some "fake" Mortgage Consultancy firms that collaborate with law firms to charge you HIGHER legal fees. We negotiate with law firms to LOWER legal fees. Typically, we can help clients enjoy savings in legal fees ranging from $200 to $900.

6. Convenience
We provide door-to-door personalised service to help you apply a loan anywhere at a time convenient to you! You can apply a loan in the comfort of your house or office, without need to go to the bank at all.

7. No telemarketers harrassing you.
If you call different banks yourself, what happens is you would give to each bank your contact details. You finally decide on one bank. However, what would happen in a few weeks' time is this:"you receive calls from different telemarketing companies (outsouced by bank) calling you trying to market to you different products, ranging from credit card, overdraft, credit lines, unit trust, insurance to current account and other investments.

However, if you call us, we can assure you that we do not give away your contact details to anyone. Finally you decide on one bank, and ONLY that bank would have your contact information, thereby GREATLY reducing the number of "nuisance" telemarketing calls you receive from various financial institutions.

8. FREE Service with no extra charges
You might wonder how much fees you need to pay us for the extra value-add we provide. You might be glad that we decide not to charge any fee at all as we’re paid by banks separately. Thus, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose to engage our service.

With all the extra value-add provided, it is NOT suprising that in other more advanced countries such as U.S.A and Australia, consumers choose to ONLY go to Mortgage Consultancy firm when they need to talk to somone on Housing Loans and Business Loans. In such countries, consumers RARELY go to banks directly themselves as they are well aware of the savings in BOTH Money and Time they would enjoy by going through a Mortgage Consultancy firm instead.