We hold ourselves to a higher industry standard
The mortgage broking industry only become big in the late 1990s so there really is no universally agreed upon method of choosing a suitable loan for a client or working out which lenders can approve a loan.
At Home Loan Experts, we made a decision to be the best at what we do.
That meant we had to create our own formal systems for assessing loans, making recommendations and processing applications to give you the best possible result.
Our competitors are chasing their tails
With most mortgage brokers, you never know what you are going to get.
Each staff member does their job in a different way so the service you receive will vary depending on which of their mortgage brokers you do business with.
The reality is that many of our competitors are disorganised because they work in their business instead of working on improving their business.
If you work with us, these frustrations are eliminated.
We can deliver the same results and the same high level of service from any of our mortgage brokers and support staff.
Our systems
Although our managing director Otto Dargan isn’t a big fan of hamburgers, he was inspired by McDonald’s as a business.
It’s incredible that they have become the world’s largest restaurant chain despite having no chefs and teenagers for staff.
In fact, most people can make a better hamburger!
They are successful because of their incredible systems and training.
It’s for this reason that we decided to take the same approach.
We are one of the few mortgage brokers with an operations manual, loan processing manual, process checklists and auditing procedures.
We were also one of the first in the industry to create a formal process for our mortgage brokers to work out which lenders could approve a loan and then which lenders would offer some of the lowest interest rates and fees on the market.
Our technology
Did you know the average age of a mortgage broker is 43?
Many mortgage brokers are simply not up to date with recent technology and some cannot effectively use a computer!
We have embraced new technology and this has enabled us to deliver fast and quality service to our clients. In particular:
- Our market leading CRM allows us to track your loan effectively.
- We have built our own credit scoring system to automatically assess your risk profile.
- We use Google Apps for business to manage our emails, shared documents and data storage in the cloud.
- We have a variety of online templates to assist you when our lenders require a written statement.
- We receive our faxes as emails which means we never lose a fax.
- Our online application system avoids the need for data entry which could delay your loan.
- We have access to the Equifax (previously Veda Advantage) credit reporting system and can view your credit file.
- We have a membership with Real Estate Investar which gives us access to property market and specific property data.
Our people
According to the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), only 1 in 3 mortgage brokers makes it through their first year. This is why we are very careful about who we hire!
Mortgage brokers
Many of our competitors hire anybody and train them to be a mortgage broker!
Before you decide to use a mortgage broker you should ask them what they did before they were a broker.
Broking is a full time, complex profession that requires specialist education, training and relevant experience.
When we hire mortgage brokers, we specifically look for people who suit our business model.
We prefer to hire people who have worked as a credit manager in a bank, whose job it is actually approving and declining loans.
This gives us a significant advantage over our competitors.
Our mortgage brokers know exactly what the banks are looking for, how to present your application to the lenders and they have friends who work inside the banks.
You can view the profiles of our mortgage brokers in the Why use us? section of our website.
Support team
While most mortgage brokers work on their own, each of our mortgage brokers has their own personal assistant. This allows them to focus on working with you rather than filling in forms and waiting on hold with the banks.
The support team backing up our mortgage brokers have all been trained to the same level as our mortgage brokers. As a result of this, they are able to process applications efficiently with no errors.
Our hiring process
We believe that the quality of our business is a direct reflection of the quality of our people.
Early on in the business we made a decision to learn how to hire effectively. We created our own hiring process which is designed to select the best of the best to become a “home loan expert”.
- We only hire mortgage brokers with significant experience.
- Our mortgage brokers must meet minimum education standards.
- All staff must pass a maths, computer and English skills test.
- We call every past employer for a reference.
- New staff members have regular performance reviews and a mentor assigned to them.
- Every staff member must pass a trial.
- Every staff member must have their credit history and criminal history checked.
- We typically go through over 300 resumes just to hire a receptionist!
Our training program
Our vision is to be the best specialist mortgage broker in Australia. To achieve this we must have a market leading training program.
- Our initial training contains 40 modules designed to turn our new staff into experts.
- We regularly schedule training with the banks and our specialist lenders to stay up to date.
- Our business pays for up to $2,000 p.a. for external training programs for each staff member.
- We test our mortgage brokers on a fortnightly basis to ensure they are aware of recent policy changes.
- We audit our mortgage brokers and support staff on a monthly basis to ensure a low error rate and compliance with legislation.
It is because of our commitment to ongoing training that our managing director was named Australia’s Brightest Broker in both 2011 and 2012.
How does this help our clients?
What does this mean for you as a customer?
- You get regular updates at each stage of the process.
- There are fewer errors and rework.
- We double check the bank’s work and fix their mistakes.
- We have special processes for difficult loans such as non-resident, guarantor, trust and construction loans.
- You get a faster approval.
- We keep track of the expiry date of your fixed rate (if applicable).
- We automatically contact you to review your loan each year.
- We have an excellent reputation with the banks.
- More of our loans get approved!
Do you need our help with a loan?
Are you ready to apply for a mortgage? Please call us on 1300 889 743 or complete our free assessment form and one of our mortgage brokers will contact you to discuss what we can do for you.