What Does An Expat Mortgage Broker Do?
Taking out a mortgage can be a long and arduous process, especially for Australian expats. You need to know what to look for in a mortgage and how to save money. Therefore, hiring an expat mortgage broker can make the process easier and save you money.
Continue reading our expat mortgage broker guide to find out what an expat mortgage broker does, how they can help expats, how much they cost, and more!
What Is An Expat Mortgage?
An expat mortgage is precisely what it sounds like; a mortgage specifically for expats. Expats are those who live in a country that isn’t their country of residence.
A common misconception is that an expat mortgage is a mortgage for overseas property. In actuality, expat mortgages are mortgages in the expat’s country of residence that they can take out while living in a different country.
Get a free Australian mortgage assessment today.
What Are Expat Mortgage Brokers, And What Do They Do?
Expat mortgage brokers are mortgage brokers who specifically deal with mortgages for expats. They can make the process easier and save you money.
Applying for a mortgage is more challenging today than it ever was; an authorised credit representative needs to assess your mortgage application to see if you are a suitable candidate to take a mortgage out with them. If you find the idea of this process daunting, you can hire an expat mortgage broker to help you.
An expat mortgage broker’s first responsibility is to do one of the most challenging jobs: research available mortgages. They need to research the Australian home loan market to find the most suitable mortgage that will save you the most money; a great Australian mortgage broker will contact many banks to get the best home loan offers.
What Do Expat Mortgage Brokers Do For Australian Expats Specifically?
Although you might know what expat mortgage brokers can generally do, you need to know what they can specifically do to help with an expat mortgage application. Expat mortgage brokers can help you find a bank that will sympathise with expats, help you save money, assist you with the application, and make the overall process more manageable.
They Help You To Find A Major Bank
Thanks to changes in the Australian banking sector, acquiring an expat mortgage is more challenging now than ever. The most significant way an expat mortgage broker can help you is by helping you to navigate the home loan process. Specifically, they will find you an Australian bank willing to process a loan for you.
Most expats looking for a home loan in Australia will look to one of the major Australian banks to arrange a mortgage (Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, etc.). However, because of their restrictive policies, they are unlikely to provide an expat with a mortgage; this is where an expat mortgage broker comes in.
They can help provide expats with excellent bank options that will accept their applications. They do this by:
- Researching multiple bank options that aren’t the major banks.
- Reading up on the banks’ policies to make sure they accept expats.
- Approaching the banks to get an idea of their home loan options.
They Help Expats To Save Money
Choosing a mortgage broker to help expats save money because they have far more experience with the home loan research process.
They can help you save money in numerous ways, including:
- They can research multiple banks to find the best prices for your principal loan and interest payments.
- They can often find and provide exclusive deals for expats that they couldn’t get without them.
Despite their ability to provide expats with a cheaper home loan, it isn’t a certainty. Depending on certain variables (interest rates, bank policies, etc.), they might not be able to find you the best deal. However, expats have a much better chance of saving on home loans with an expat mortgage broker than without one.
They Can Assist With The Mortgage Application
Filling out a mortgage application can be time-consuming, and knowing what to select if you’re an expat isn’t always straightforward. Therefore, using an expat mortgage broker for the application process can help because they can ensure you fill in all the sections correctly and don’t provide any false information.
Additionally, expat mortgage brokers can help with other applications relating to expat mortgages. For example, if you need to apply for extra borrowing capacity, an expat mortgage broker can help you fill out an application.
They Can Help To Make The Expat Mortgage Process Easier
Buying a house is a long process with multiple stages; juggling all stages can be stressful. Therefore, an expat mortgage broker is a fantastic idea because they essentially take the research and application stages out of your hands.
An expat mortgage broker helps you by making the process easier to manage.
Get a free Australian mortgage assessment today.
Does An Expat Need An Expat Mortgage Broker?
An expat doesn’t necessarily need an expat mortgage broker to help with the home loan process. If you’re an expat, you can acquire a mortgage yourself by researching banks, checking their policies to see if they accept expats and filling out the online application.
However, an expat mortgage broker is worth considering because they can help you with these processes. They can research banks, read through bank policies, and help you fill out the application.
Additionally, they can help you save money on a home loan by researching as many prices as possible and finding exclusive deals on expat mortgages.
How Much Does An Expat Mortgage Broker Cost?
Before you acquire an expat mortgage broker, you need to know how much they cost so you work out if you can afford them. Thankfully, most expat mortgage brokers work on commission income, meaning that the loan provider (the bank you choose) pays them a commission fee.
Additionally, most loan providers will have similar commission rates for expat mortgages. However, it would help to research your bank options to make sure their commission rates are similar.
One crucial element when acquiring an expat mortgage broker is knowing what commission they will get; if you get a good mortgage broker, they will be transparent with the commission they receive and will tell you the specific amount if you want to know.
If the level of commission that the expat mortgage broker receives seems high, that’s because they are providing a high-quality service, including using their knowledge and experience to help you find the best loan for the best price (they can sometimes offer exclusive deals) and taking the time to research all the available banks and their policies.
The most significant decision an expat needs to make is whether an expat mortgage broker is worth it. To answer this question, weigh up how beneficial their knowledge and expertise will be for you.
Many expats will choose an expat mortgage broker despite their commission because they offer an excellent and valuable service.
How To Choose An Expat Mortgage Broker
If you decide to acquire an expat mortgage broker to help you get an expat home loan, you need to know how to choose one. You need to consider some significant elements when choosing an expat mortgage broker, including whether they have an official license, how much experience they have and their client base.
Are They Officially Licensed?
The most crucial element to check for an expat mortgage broker is if they have an official mortgage broker license. To get a mortgage broker license, you need experience in the industry; it must be current experience (ideally one to three years) in the mortgage brokerage or lending industry.
Checking if your expat mortgage broker has a license will tell you about their experience and expertise.
Additionally, you should research the licensing agent to check if they are an established and well-respected company.
Do They Have Enough Experience?
You need to research all the mortgage brokers you are considering so you can see if they have expertise in expat mortgages. Some mortgage brokers will say they can help with expat mortgages, but in reality, they only do a few expat mortgages a year.
You need to make sure they have expat mortgage experience and deal with expat mortgage clients at a steady rate. If you don’t hire an expat mortgage broker who knows precisely how to broker the expat mortgage process and mainly deals with Australian citizen mortgages, you might not get the best home loan.
What Is Their Primary Client Base?
As well as having experience with Australian expats, you ideally want an expat mortgage broker who specialises in them. To make sure you have an expat mortgage specialist, you need to ask them about their client base.
You want to aim for a mortgage broker with around 60% of their clients being expats. If it’s less than that percentage, you should look for a broker with more expertise in the expat mortgage field.
Suppose you choose a mortgage broker with less experience in expat mortgages. In that case, there is a likelihood that they will shop your application to multiple major banks because they don’t know the banks that sympathise with expats and deal with expat mortgage applications.
Get a free Australian mortgage assessment today.
Expat Mortgage Brokers: Final Summary
In conclusion, Expat mortgage brokers are mortgage brokers who specifically deal with mortgages for expats. They can help you with your expat mortgage application by finding a bank that will sympathise with expats, helping you save money, assisting you with the application, and making the overall process more straightforward.
Although expats don’t need an expat mortgage broker, they are worth having because they take the pressure and responsibility off the expat. They also have excellent levels of knowledge, so their bank research will be detailed and beneficial.
The loan provider pays the mortgage broker via commission. If you want to know your expat mortgage broker’s commission, they should be transparent and tell you.
To choose the best expat mortgage broker for you, you need to check if they have an official license and check if they have enough experience and expertise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Point Of An Australian Expat Mortgage Broker?
The point of an Australian expat mortgage broker is to help expats with their mortgage applications. They do this by:
- Researching banks and finding one that will process an expat mortgage application.
- Helping you save money by researching banks and finding exclusive offers (offers aren’t guaranteed).
- Assisting you with filling out your application.
- Making the overall mortgage application process easier and removing your stress.
Is It A Good Idea For An Expat To Get A Mortgage Through An Expat Mortgage Broker?
An Australian expat doesn’t need an expat mortgage broker to help with the home loan process.
If you’re an expat, you can acquire a mortgage by researching banks, checking their policies to see if they accept expats, and filling out the application.
However, an expat mortgage broker can help you by doing all the work; they will also use their expertise to get you an excellent home loan.
Can An Expat Mortgage Broker Save Me More Money?
An expat mortgage broker can save expats more money on your home loan in a few critical ways. The ways they can help expats save money on their expat mortgage include:
- They can research multiple banks to find the best prices for your principal loan and interest payments.
- They can often find and provide exclusive deals for expats that they couldn’t get without them.
What Is The Difference Between An Expat Mortgage Lender And An Expat Mortgage Broker?
An expat mortgage lender is a bank or financial institution that expats can arrange a mortgage with; they provide the loans directly to the expat.
An expat mortgage broker doesn’t provide the loan; they find an expat mortgage lender to provide the loan. Additionally, they research multiple expat mortgage lenders to find the right loan for their expat clients.
What Is An Expat Mortgage?
An expat mortgage is what you think it is; a mortgage specifically for expats. Expats are people who live in a country that isn’t their country of residence.
A common misconception is that an expat mortgage is a mortgage for overseas property. In actuality, expat mortgages are mortgages in the expat’s country of residence that they can take out while living overseas.
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