Mortgage Originators endeavour to find borrowers their best home loan alternatives from a number of lenders. They act as an intermediary between the borrower and lender, providing a seamless service to remove all the hassle from the mortgage process. Historically, the term Mortgage Broker is used. In most instances our service is free, and in situations in which we may decide to charge a fee you will be notified in advance and reason provided for charging a fee for that particular service.

Our Commitment to you is to find the ideal loan to suit your financial situation. We will help you determine your precise needs and provide a range of the best loan options to meet them. As Global Mortgage Solutions is accredited with over 50 lenders we have more than 300 products to choose from.

If you are thinking of buying, the first thing you need to know is how much you can borrow. We can arrange pre-approval loans so that you can confidently make an offer or bid at auction on the home of your dreams. Of course we can also arrange finance approval at any time during your property negotiation.

If you already have a loan and are concerned about the interest rate and fees you are paying, Global Mortgage Solutions may be able to help restructure your loan so you can benefit from the current interest rates and excellent packages available.We will give you an independent, unbiased assessment. Once we have determined your requirements we will present you with a number of loan options, highlighting the benefits of each, thereby allowing you to make a well informed decision when selecting your loan.

We come to you. We are available at a time and place convenient to you, whether it is at work, at home, after hours or even on weekends.

Global Mortgage Solutions will follow the progress of your Loan Application through to settlement. We will ensure that your loan application is processed in a timely and efficient manner. Once approved we will liaise with all parties, including the lenders and solicitors, to ensure a smooth path to settlement.

Our service does not end there. After settlement we will always be available to assist you with any query about your home loan or to discuss additional loan requirements.

Standard Variable Rate Home Loan

This is perhaps the most common loan in Australia. As the name implies the interest rate may vary either up or down over the period of the loan. The Standard Variable Rate Loans also tend to be the most flexible type of home loans with extra loan features such as redraw, offset and the ability to make additional repayments readily available.

Benefits

• If interest rates fall so should your repayments.
• Probably the most flexible of all home loans allowing you to redraw funds, make additional payments and offset credit balances against your loan balance. These extras may reduce the amount of interest you have to pay, meaning you will be able to repay your loan faster.

Considerations

• If interest rates rise so will your repayments.
• Make sure you require the added benefits as lower interest rates are available if you do not need these extra loan features.

Basic Variable Home Loan

This is a “no frills” version of the Standard Variable Rate Loan. Basically the extras offered under the Standard Variable Rate Loan are removed thereby allowing the lender to reduce the interest rate charged. The less loan feature the cheaper the interest rate! It is ideally suited to clients who do not have any surplus cash flow.

Benefits

• If you are not going to use the features of the Standard Variable Rate Loan why pay for them?

Considerations

• Make sure you are happy with the loan features available as these Loans can be restrictive.

Introductory Home Loans (“Honeymoon”)

These are commonly promoted by the Lenders to attract interest rate sensitive customers. They generally offer a guaranteed low interest rate for a set period of time after which the interest rate will revert to the Standard Variable Rate.

Benefits

• As the interest rate is lower for the introductory period, so are your initial repayments.

Considerations

• Your repayments will most likely increase once the introductory period is over.
• You need to assess your overall position as introductory loans can often end up more expensive in the long run than other products.

Home To Home (Bridging Loan)

If you have enough equity in your current home, Global Mortgage Solutions can arrange for a Bridging Loan. These loans enable you to buy your new home now and sell your current home later. The good news is these loans can be arranged at Standard Variable rates.

Line of Credit (Equity)

A Line of Credit is an ongoing source of low cost finance that is secured against the equity that you have in your home. It is similar to an overdraft facility in that funds can be withdrawn up to a certain limit with no principal repayment deadlines.

Lines of Credit are generally used for investment purposes, that is, as equity for an additional property investment or for investment in shares or managed funds. Lines of Equity can also be used directly for everyday personal use in which you can have your credit card “tied” to it whereby you can use your credit card (say 55 days free of charge) and then have it “swept” on the 55th day from your Line of Credit. This popular concept is a worthwhile option to consider. You may wish to direct your salaries, rent, dividends and any other source of income to be credited directly into your line of credit so that the outstanding balance is reduced every time monies are deposited into it. It is very much like an “overdraft” and at cheaper interest rates with greater flexibility. One thing you have to be vigilant is that you must be disciplined enough to monitor this account on an ongoing basis so that you do not end up overdrawing the facility. It will work very well if you monitor it regularly.

Benefits

• You can use the funds as and when they are required and only pay interest on the outstanding balance.

Considerations

• You need to be budget conscious to operate this type of loan. If you are unable to budget or have a tendency to spend any money available then this may not be the loan for you.

Fixed Rate Home Loans

As the name implies you fix in a rate on your loan that cannot change for the agreed term, usually 1 to 15 years (however the most common fixed terms used are between 1 to 5 years). These loans are ideal for borrowers who want the security of knowing that their loan repayments will not increase during the term they have chosen. This product is especially popular with investors seeking to fix in the cost of their investment or with owner occupier borrowers who have borrowed highly and seek protection against prevalent interest rate rise.

Fixed rate loan repayments can either be Principal and Interest (that means the monthly payment covers both the principal and the interest component of the loan and as such your loan will be steadily reducing) or, Interest Only (that means the monthly payment only covers the interest component of the loan and as such your loan balance will not be reducing during the Fixed Interest Only term of the loan). Interest Only loans tend to be used by investors where the ability to calculate future interest can assist with taxation planning (please seek independent opinion from your Accountant).

Benefits

• Allows the borrower to fix in the cost of maintaining the loan. In other words you will know the cost of your repayments for the period of the fixed term.
• If variable interest rates increase you can smile because your’s won’t!

Consideration

• Fixed loans tend not to be as flexible as variable rate loans (that is, you may not be able to make additional payments or be restricted, redraw or offset credit balances).
• If the variable rates fall your’s won’t. You may also be up for early repayment penalties if you wish to repay, refinance or switch to a variable rate before maturity/expiry of the fixed term of the loan.
• If you are concerned about restrictions imposed by fixed rate home loan, why not consider a split loan facility where you maintain a portion of your loan on variable and fix in the remaining balance over a term that you would be comfortable with.

Split Rate Home Loan

These loans work by enabling you to split the loan two ways; that is, a portion is locked into a fixed rate for a fixed term and the balance is charged at the variable rate. It is an excellent way of reducing the effects of interest rate movements. If the variable rate falls, you will benefit from the fall on your variable rate portion; if the rates increase, you will benefit from your Fixed Rate portion, as the interest rate will not increase during its’ selected term.

Benefits

• Creates a sense of interest rate stability.
• The variable portion can give you flexibility such as redraw (ability to redraw additional payments that you may have made), offset and, the ability to make extra repayments.

Considerations

• If rates rise your variable rate will increase and therefore your payments will increase.
• If rates fall you will still be paying interest on your fixed rate loan at the original rate.

All in One Home Loan (off-set)

An All-in-One Loan allows you to repay extra amounts off your loan and “redraw” those extra funds when you really need it. The benefit is that, by making additional repayments over and above the minimum required payment, will reduce the balance of your loan, resulting in the reduction of your interest payment. The loan operates like a normal transaction account.

Some lenders do not have All-in-One accounts but instead operate Offset accounts. This is a “stand-alone” credit account that acts as your day-to-day transaction account. The outstanding balance on the account is “offset” against your mortgage and you only pay interest on the net amount. Most Offset accounts provide a 100% offset but this should be confirmed before entering into any agreement.

Benefits

• Best value for money as credit balances (or deposits) will reduce the balance on which you pay interest. Whilst repayments will not decrease you will be reducing your loan balance down faster.
• Operates like a normal bank transaction account.

Considerations

• Interest rate may be slightly higher due to the offset feature. Ensure that the Offset will be of greater benefit to you than the higher interest cost.
• Check the terms under which the Offset works, that is, do you have to keep a minimum balance in the account?

Interest in Advance Home Loans

Traditionally taken out at the end of the financial year; these are fixed rate loans that allow the borrower to pay all their interest for the next financial year in advance. This allows the borrower to claim any tax deduction in the current financial year (please seek opinion from your Accountant). As the tax deduction is the only reason for paying interest in advance, this type of loan therefore is provided only on investment home loans.

Benefits

• Tax effective.
• Discount may be provided on interest rate because of pre-payment.

Considerations

• Talk to your tax adviser to see if this is an effective strategy for you.

Professional Packages

Many lenders provide interest rate and/or fee discounts for potential borrowers whom the lenders describe as “professional” which may depend on the potential borrowers’ gross annual income, job profession or, depending on the amount of loan sought; whatever the case these products can provide borrowers’ with up to 0.70%pa off the standard rates, as well as providing other benefits to do with credit cards or insurance, etc.

Low Doc Home Loans

These loans are predominantly for the self employed who are unable to substantiate their income for traditional loan products. They are called “Low Doc” because the applicant/borrower is only required to supply the lender with a declaration (which come in different forms) that they can afford the repayments. These loans are often restricted by Loan Value Ratio (LVR) and, the maximum loan amount. Low Doc home loans (depending on different lenders’ lending policies and, the borrowers’ credit history) may end up being more expensive than traditional loans, due to higher risk profile.