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View Full Version : Housing loan brokers, real estate agents or direct to banks?



McMuffin
16th January 2007, 10:19 PM
Am wondering which is the most preferred way to source for a home loan. Thoughts anyone?

flier
17th January 2007, 09:58 AM
brokers.... simply too lazy to do my own shopping

HalcyonVI
19th January 2007, 09:49 PM
Well brokers of course but we have vested interest :) To be honest, not all housing loan brokers are good.

* Most mortgage broking companies do not partner with every single bank and financial institution in Singapore.
* Some do not even bother to understand your needs and risk appetite before recommending a package.

Why not agents then?
* The same reasons as above except that they are even worse :D

Some people say that it's better to go straight to the banks as they can bargain for better packages.
* This is not true most of the time. Unless your loan is relatively large (e.g. greater 700K) and you are of good financial standing, there is usually no leeway for negotiations if you approach the bank on your own. For this group, brokers may be able to help you get better deals because of:

a) their relationships with the mortgage lenders
b) higher bargaining power as a result of economies of scale

* And if you are loaning a large amount and are of good financial standing, it does not make much sense for you to source your own loan unless you have a weird sense of fun. The reasons being:

a) Hourly wage for such individuals would at least be $40+ per hour. The opportunity cost to source your own loan is around $200 if not more.
b) A good broker would also be able to help you get superior packages due to reasons mentioned above.

At MyHappyHouse, we further tip the scale by giving you professional advice and additional cash reward when you go through us for your housing loan. The choice is clear :D

Curry Chicken
25th January 2007, 12:52 AM
Sounds too good to be true le. How you guys make money like that :p

flier
25th January 2007, 05:40 PM
Sounds too good to be true le. How you guys make money like that :p

Yeah, I also interested to know loh. Consultation free....cannot be dun earn money right?

HalcyonVI
26th January 2007, 01:42 PM
Yes, of course we have to earn money :) But our paymasters are the banks and financial institutions so to borrowers, it's free currently. On a side note, mortgage brokers overseas (e.g. UK, US, Australia etc) do, in fact, charge borrowers as well. Since brokers are paid by the lenders, a mortgage broker that partners with EVERY mortgage lender is important; otherwise, the advice will be partial towards the broker's partners. MyHappyHouse is the ONLY mortgage broking firm currently that partners with every mortgage lender in Singapore.

doraemon1234
13th December 2007, 12:08 PM
I think to go through brokers does seems to makes whole lot of sense. Banks only will push their own packages, even when it is not suitable (I experienced before). But through a broker, compare packages with other banks. Saves me time and hassle.

Guess so many of us not used to the idea yet. Still used to the old methods, either property agents (if new purchase), or go back to current banks (if refinancing). If not for this forum, I also don't know got such thing....

Heard its common in UK and Aust.... I spent all my donkey years in Singapore lah .. how I know?

We need some serious education and awareness on mortgage broker industry here man! :cool: