Things have changed significantly over the last few decades…
FACT – When you walk into a bank, you are on your own when it comes to your own financial interests.
Everyone may be friendly and eager to help when you walk in the door, but the bank is a business, and it exists to make a profit.
That means that your bank wants to make money out of you.
This doesn’t mean bankers are not trustworthy or honest people. It’s just that they work for large corporations and their role is to sell you products offered by their employers which may or may not be the best financial solution for you – The better the deal they give you, the least amount of profits their employer makes.
Many people just go to their bank for loans and other financial products. It seems easier and more convenient to keep their financial accounts with one bank and they assume that, because they have been loyal customers, they will get a good deal. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
Here are 10 things your banker probably won’t tell you and 10 reasons it is a great idea to work with a proficient finance broker to get a btter deal:
They can only offer you limited options
Obviously, they won’t tell you about loan products offered by other banks which may suit you better.
Bankers are sales people
They are incentivised to “sell” you a specific solution including credit cards and insurance. The more products or services they get you to “buy” the more money the bank makes.
Sure, finance brokers also get paid by the banks for the services they offer, BUT they get paid irrespective of which lender is chosen – they pretty much get paid the same whichever bank is selected – and they don’t get paid for jamming credit cards and other unnecessary products down your throat.
There are 3 doors into the bank.. or is it 4 ?
1 The front door where most retail (mum and dad clients) enter.
2 The business branch available to larger accounts – the bankers here are more investment and business savvy and…
3 The institutional branch – where the ‘big boys’ go.
Of course the bigger the accounts the better the deal… unless you use a good finance broker who can take you in trough a 4th door – He/she will negotiate the absolute best deal every time.. as this derives max satisfaction for their client and does not change their commission = win-win
Mortgage rates are negotiable
If you ask them, they can usually give you a better deal, because the bank would rather drop the interest rate a little than lose your business. However this is only if you ask otherwise they prefer to keep the profits for themselves. This is a big issue of conflict of interest.
Again, this is where a good finance broker will/should always get you the absolute best rate applicable for your circumstances. There is no advantage for the broker to see you get a less good rate.. on the other hand, the happier you are and the longer you will remain as a client of the broker.
An offset account can be better than a term deposit
Putting your spare cash into an offset account is effectively earning you the interest rate on your mortgage, and therefore makes you more money than a savings account or term deposits.
Bank fees are a big money maker
It’s unlikely your banker will tell you that fees are amongst the biggest money maker for the banks. Nor will they tell you…
Some fees can be waived
You bank won’t tell you this, but sometimes certain fees can be waived, just because you asked.
They are not financial advisers
Some borrowers assume bank employees are trained to help them make financial decisions, but that’s not the case.
The ‘system’ will decide on your loan application
Many people think that their bank manager or the loans officer will decide, but in reality ‘the system’ will assess your loan application. All your information will be fed into a computer and your application is reduced to a number. A bank manager does not have more say over an approval then a finance broker has.
You should shop around for the best loans or financial products
Yeah right.. but where do you start? and how much time & effort will this take? And who can you trust?
Finance Brokers have the answers to all the above questions
You can probably trust Google.. Just type ‘Best Mortgage Broker Gold Coast’and select the broker with the most amount of positive reviews & 5 star ratings