Your home is usually the largest purchase you’ll make in your lifetime, but it’s amazing how few people invest the time and effort to make sure they’re getting the best deal on their home loan. Instead, many people adopt what they think will be the simplest option and approach their current bank to avoid the hassle of finding a more competitive loan—and that’s where a mortgage broker can help.
If you’ve never used a mortgage broker before, they compare a variety of home loan products from a range of different lenders to help you find the one that best suits you. However, not all mortgage brokers are the same.
To encourage more people to shop around for a better deal and remove some of the pain of finding a good mortgage broker in Canberra, we’ve pulled together some of the key things to look for when choosing a broker.
What to look for in a mortgage broker
- Access to a large lending panel. In an ideal world mortgage brokers would be able to compare every home loan on the market to find you the best deal, but in reality, mortgage brokers will only compare loans offered by the panel of lenders they work with. In short, the more lenders they have on their panel, the more loans they’ll be able to show you. To ensure you’re getting a good picture of the range of loans on the market, look for a broker with access to a broad range of major lenders, as well as some smaller non-majors.
- A transparent commission structure. You should also consider how the broker will be paid. mortgage brokers are generally remunerated for their work by the bank or lender that you choose to go with, so it shouldn’t cost you as the customer any more to use a mortgage broker than to approach a lender directly. However, how much they earn from successfully selling a loan could vary significantly between each lender, potentially creating a conflict of interest when recommending a product or lender. All mortgage brokers in Canberra must disclose any payments, bonuses or incentives they will receive from the lender in return for the sale, so it’s worthwhile asking them outright how much they’re set to earn so they can’t pull the wool over your eyes.
- End-to-end service and support. Some brokers are very transactional in their approach, largely focusing on the loan upfront but providing very little additional support when needed. Property transactions can be very complex and if your broker isn’t willing or able to explain products, interest rates, loan structure, repayment options and the settlement process in detail, you may find yourself in hot water down the track when something doesn’t work as you anticipated. As the industry has evolved, many of the larger banks have become more selective about which brokers they choose to accredit, often focusing on their level of experience, support systems and capacity to deliver ongoing client support once the loan has settled, so if a broker has some major lenders on their panel, that can be a good indication of the level of service and support they provide.
- Local and independent. It’s also a good idea to look for a local Canberra mortgage broker that operates independently, without any connections to a bank. It may come as a surprise, but a large number of brokerage firms that claim they are impartial are actually wholly or partly owned by a bank. By choosing a local and independent broker, not only will you be more likely to receive unbiased advice, but because they recruit, employ and train staff from the region, you’ll also be supporting a local business to make a positive contribution to the Canberra community and economy.
- Reviews from previous customers. Finally, make sure you also do a little research to find out what previous customers had to say about their experience using the various mortgage brokers in Canberra. Mortgage brokers are essentially sales agents who want to win your business, so instead of blindly believing everything they tell you, take the time to read through some online reviews to see if you can get some valuable insights and a more balanced view of what to expect if you go with them.
The best mortgage brokers in Canberra
To make it easier to find a good local mortgage broker to help with your home loan, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best Canberra mortgage brokers based on your feedback and other online reviews.
Clarity Home Loans
Located in Marcus Clarke Street in Canberra City, they’re locally and privately owned. Most importantly, unlike many others in the industry, their brokers don’t earn commissions. They pay their brokers a base salary, and any bonuses they can earn are largely based on compliance and customer satisfaction, meaning there’s no financial incentive for them to recommend one product over another. They also have access to a panel of more than 30 lenders including all the major banks.
They place a strong emphasis on service with company standards that ensure their brokers fully explain not only the home loan process, but the entire property transaction from start to finish including what’s involved from each party at each stage. They have great relationships with all Canberra conveyancers and can guide you through everything from applying for any grants or concessions, to preparing for settlement.
While they’re experienced in all facets of property finance, they’re particularly skilled in helping manage the transition between selling an existing property and buying the next property (which is arguably one of the most confusing property transactions to navigate). They’re also great if you’re looking to refinance or consolidate debts into a single loan.
They’re also well-equipped to help with investment loans (explaining everything from loan products and interest rates, to repayment options and potential tax benefits) and commercial property loans.
They’ve also received loads of positive online reviews, like this Google review from Adz HB: “…dealing with clarity has been amazing from the start, their attention to detail, communication, high level of industry knowledge and experience stood out at all times.”
Canberra City ACT 2601
CASA Mortgage Services
Based in Forrest (in Canberra Avenue), they’re not limited to home and investment loans—they can also help with vehicle, equipment and personal loans. With access to hundreds of different loans, they can manage the whole process for you, including handling all the negotiations with your chosen lender.
They can show you loans for almost any type of property purchase whether you’re looking to buy, invest, renovate or review your current loan. They’ll do all the paperwork, manage the application process and take it through to approvals and settlement, allowing you to be relatively hands-off. If you’re strapped for time, their brokers can also arrange to meet you at a time and place that suits you to make the process easier.
They’re a great option for first home buyers, happy to explain everything from your borrowing capacity and repayment options, to eligibility and conditions for the first home buyer grant. They’re also able to offer plenty of tips and advice if you’re thinking of building a new house of building a new house or apartment.
Their brokers can explain the various benefits and drawbacks of every type of loan in depth and they take the time to discuss the other fees and costs of buying a property like stamp duty, legal/conveyancing fees, building and pest inspections, lender costs and mortgage insurance.
Rioter Mark_74 also gave them a good rap, commenting “I highly recommend Joel Defazio from Casa mortgage services. He got me a good rate on my home loan in a timely manner and kept me updated at all times.”
Fife Financial
Founded in 2010 by Directors Nick Fife and Michael Slater, you’ll find their Canberra office in Lathlain St in Belconnen, but they also have offices in Goulburn and Wagga Wagga. With more than 30 lenders on their panel including several major banks, they can show you hundreds of different loans and help you manage the process from your initial application through to approval and settlement.
In addition to home loans, they also provide conveyancing, financial planning, legal and insurance services, so are one of the few mortgage brokers in Canberra that can say they honestly provide end-to-end property and financial services.
As part of the Australian Finance Group (the largest mortgage broking group in Australia), they also have access to IT systems which allow them to manage much of the lodgement process online. They’re also participating members of the Credit Ombudsman Service (a dispute resolution service provided by ASIC), which gives you access to external support if you have an issue or complaint about their service or professionalism.
Previous customer Sally Friend had good things to say about them, commenting “Fantastic! Great help! Michael is top bloke!” in her Facebook review of them.
Your experience with mortgage brokers in Canberra
Thanks to our commenters who have provided insightful feedback on the best and worst Canberra mortgage brokers.
If you believe we have got it wrong, please let us know.
Please comment below detailing your experience with Canberra based mortgage brokers. Who would you recommend? Who would you use again? Who would you steer clear of?
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The Canberra Mortgage Brokers helped me and did a fantastic job!
I had Berra finance in Canberra look after me, I can highly recommend Alex he goes all out to help his customer’s he is the best mortgage broker Canberra
I highly recommend Radka Paulovicova from Clarity. Our original lender (the bank we had been banking with and who had approved our original loan) were proving to be a nightmare. With only three weeks to settlement (with even less business days because Easter and ANZAC day holidays were in the middle) I called Clarity and explained our situation to Radka. She arranged for us to come in that evening to discuss our situation. From that first meeting, Radka took control of the process, she identified a new lender with a loan approval processes that would work for us. Her communication skills are excellent and she went above and beyond to make sure every t was crossed and every i dotted so nothing could slow the process down. She delivered and we settled on the designated day and we are very grateful that the service she offers existed. Our only regret is that we didn’t contact her sooner.
These days, whatever you wanted to do, buy or seek a service, it’s Dr. Google who holds the answer for you. However, how do you decide which of the options to go with?
I am good with research and numbers. As an Engineer, I can pull apart components of a system or design one. As a certified accountant, I learnt how the banking industry works, what I need to demonstrate, how the finance industry works and how to calculate these magical repayment figures. As a management consultant, I know the client’s expectations of me. The cornerstone is to take my client on a journey!
If I were to highlight one lesson that I learned during the last 17 years of my professional work it is going to be: find the experts in what you want to get done and let them score you the best outcome. We all know how stressful is our daily life is! Add to that building your dream home! The result is, lots of hard decisions to be made.
Here is where “Clarity” comes to play! The way they listened to me; understanding what I wanted to achieve; developing number of options with their pros and cons; taking me on that journey to land on the best option for me, and most importantly, making that plans come to life and secure the funds!
If you are in the market for a loan, Clarity is the way to clarity!
Nitish Kumar from Clarity Home Loans = THE BEST!! This is the third time I have used Clarity and they just keep getting better every time! Their processes are impeccable, they are prompt with updates and are always up to date with the market. I can not recommend Nitish, Melissa and the entire team highly enough! Use them and you will be set for life! Until the next one team 🙂
Very highly recommend Nitish from Clarity Financial – very helpful, clear, open and quick. Kept in touch the whole way through the process as well as of follow up after I settled! Easy and transparent
I’m really happy to have seen this story about Mortgage Brokers in the ACT. It’s a daunting business lending money no matter how much it is…..and when you are looking at borrowing money for a big purchase like a house….. it’s scary….. it’s a commitment….. it effects your life. I first had the good fortune to come across Micheal Searle who is now at Clarity some 15 years ago. 3 houses later, and numerous loans later for family and friends I can wholeheartedly recommend Michael. What’s good about Michael? 1. His experience. 2. His knowledge. 3. His ability to tailor loans to suits individual needs. 4. His ability to understand where you are in life and what’s important to you. 5. His ability to explain everything to you in layman’s terms. 6. He makes it easy. 7. He knows his banks and they know him, and 8. His demeanor. He’s just so damn likable. Does this sound like an ad? Maybe. However it’s well deserved. He’s honest, he’s about what you want, and what you can afford. I trust him, my family trust him, and my friends trust him. He looks after YOU. One doesn’t need anymore than that when looking for a loan.
As a first time home owner, I was very nervous as I didn’t even have a credit card and didn’t know what to do. Michael Searle soon put my mind at ease and walked me through which made it very easy. Four years later he continues to keep me informed and always makes sure I am aware of all options. I would highly recommend Michael and am very grateful for his extensive knowledge and support he has provided.
I would recommend Michael Searle and his team at Clarity Home Loans to anyone. He’s great at working with his clients to make sure they understand their options and offers recommendations that take your circumstances into consideration. He has been very patient with me and my typical onslaught of questions 🙂
I think it’s pretty clear the Michael Searle is the best in the industry. I completely agree with all the reviews below, he is so good at what he does and knows the bank’s inside and out. Michael is extremely helpful, intelligent and wise, we have saved thousands of dollars by following his advice and wisdom.
I absolutely would second Michael Searle from Clarity Home Loans. He’s a helpful and personable Mortgage Broker and makes it easy for the every man to understand the home loan process making it an exciting and stress free experience!
By far the best mortgage broker is Michael Searle from Clarity Home Loans. He is very professional and extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of real estate.
As you can imagine becoming a first home owner is very overwhelming, Michael explained absolutely everything from start to finish in great detail, answered all questions and made me feel at ease.
I have now been in my unit for nearly 3 years and will be using Clarity/Michael Searle in the new year when my partner and I buy our family home.
I cant thank you enough for everything Michael, you are the best.
Best mortgage broker is Michael Searle from Clarity Home Loans. I could not recommend him enough.
He explained everything with great detail to myself and my parents (guarantors) predicted possible problems that could arise and provided a solution as well as liasing with my real estate agent and solicitors to make it easier for me as a first home buyer as I really didn’t have a clue what I was doing until I met Michael. Always able to answer any of my questions and easy to trust and so reliable.
He was recommended to me by 2 other people and I hope he gets many more reccomendations as he is by far the best.
In around 2 weeks I will officially be home owner thanks to Michael!
I have used Guy Curtis from Clarity Home Loans to refinance and purchase a new property. I am extremely happy with the service I received. Guy has been excellent, fast and responsive. He is very patient at explaining, and structured my residential + investment loans very well.
I would strongly recommend Guy Curtis from Clarity Home Loans if you are looking for a reliable mortgage broker.
I used Michael Searle from Clarity Financial for the purchase of my property. Michael is a broker that can be trusted to negotiate the right deal for you. He explained everything and made the process easy to understand. Highly recommended to all.
Contact Vijay Gakhar, Senior Mortgage Broker at Aussie on 0412248859 or email him at vijay.gakhar@aussie.com.au if you want honest advise for your home or commercial loan needs. His professional service is free with no obligations. He has 17 years of experience in Canberra and is able to help you with a purchase, refinance or construction from 100s of loans to choose from. He helped us navigate through a very difficult situation and dealt with all stake holders on our behalf.
I do not recommend Home Loans Canberra. We did not trust them to sort out what was required for our application and as such, our settlement date was significantly delayed. We had to contact the banks directly to sort out the issues. Just do your research online and drop into the banks to figure out the best options for you.
I highly recommend Joel Defazio from Casa mortgage services. He got me a good rate on my home loan in a timely manner and kept me updated at all times. His number is 0411 801 949
I recommend Estelle Whitby from Bendigo Bank. Estelle was able to come to me when it suited me. I have a great product and a great rate and its also nice to know Bendigo Bank is helping my Canberrra Community. Call Estelle 0401 520 397
I used Shannon from Clarity Home Loans to refinance and restructure my loan and was very happy with the service I received.