How your broker can be your secret weapon in the spring buying season

With interest rates at record lows and a raft of Government incentives available for first home buyers, the urgency to get onto the property ladder has skyrocketed, sparked by a growing fear of missing out. And this fear is reasonable. After all, despite the mayhem in the market, it could be a great time to buy.

But it’s also a competitive time. And there isn’t much difference to split you and the next person at auction. But, what if we told you how you can separate yourself from the rest of the pack and really make yourself stand out at buying time?

A Mortgage Choice broker can give you a competitive edge with expert advice and tips to make sure you are as prepared as possible when that moment comes when you are going to war for your dream home.

How a Mortgage Choice broker can be your secret weapon

1. Help you get pre-approval

Loan pre-approval provides you with a conditional approval of a loan amount. Generally speaking, it's based on an assessment of your individual circumstances, needs and ability to repay the loan.

It may be your biggest weapon, when it comes to buying a home, as it allows you to understand how much you can borrow and therefore, what you can spend on a property, stopping you from looking at properties out of your price range.

It also puts you in a stronger position to negotiate with a vendor or bid at auction, giving you more confidence when it comes to bidding.

Our mortgage brokers will help you get pre-approval by assisting you with organising a deposit by illustrating a genuine savings plan to a lender. They can also help you identify any credit defaults you may have and what you can do to rectify the situation to help clean up your credit history. You’ll also be assisted throughout all the time-consuming paperwork, such as organising your savings records and identity documents, to help streamline the process for you.

2. Give you essential auction tips

The auction atmosphere can be overwhelming for people who are new to the experience and losing out on a home you’ve fallen in love with can leave you feeling very disappointed and unmotivated, so it's important to be prepared.

Your broker can help prepare you for crunch time by giving you essential auction tips so that you don’t crumble under pressure:

• Reviewing the contract of sale to make sure you understand your various legal obligations should you place the winning bid
• Familiarising yourself with the rules - No two auctions are exactly alike, so attend a few 'practice auctions' before the big day to make sure you know the rules and exactly how the event runs.
• Know your limits - Making sure you're really clear on the “maximum” amount you want to spend at auction is really important. In today's market with property prices soaring, it is easy for properties to sell way above the reserve price.  So don’t get carried away.

You can get more auction tips like this by speaking to your broker or you can find more here.

3. Help you do your research

Whether you’re a first home buyer or you’ve been around the block, it’s important to do your homework, which a broker can help you with. In preparation, you can:

• Find out what comparable properties have been selling for
• Attend multiple open for inspections
• Have an understanding of how much stock is for sale
• Narrow down the suburbs you’re interested in and research the market value of your desired property type
• Check government websites for projects that may impact the capital growth potential
• Ask for a free suburb report with all the information you need

4. Assess whether this is the right time for you financially

Buying a property is a huge financial commitment, so it’s important you have everything organised.

You want to ensure you have enough saved for a deposit, as well as some extra savings to help with other costs.

A mistake many home buyers make is that they focus on the price of the property. There are a number of other expenses associated with buying a home that you need to account for and therefore be financially prepared for.

There are Government costs like stamp duty and mortgage registration fee, there are loan application costs including Lender’s Mortgage Insurance and then there’s pest and building inspections on top of that.

A Mortgage Choice broker can help work these into your budget so that you don’t run into any nasty surprises.

Everyone’s financial situation is different and our brokers will work to find a solution that’s right for you.