Almost all the benefits of civilization are becoming available to the masses first abroad, and they reach us only when they are already there at the peak of popularity. A similar situation has developed with credit brokers, without whose services no citizen would take a loan in Europe or the USA.
Russians are still not very familiar with such specialists, and their appearance on the financial market is more suspicious than trusted. At the same time, a broker can really help you choose the best loan conditions from the many offered today.
Mortgage broker - who is it?
Today, the number of credit organizations is growing exponentially, and it is very difficult for an ordinary citizen to figure everything out on his own, and it will take a lot of time. It is in such situations that a mortgage broker helps to understand. Who is it? This profession is relatively new in our country and is associated with the provision of assistance to the population in obtaining loans. It would seem, why help borrow money? We can all do this anyway, but no, the situation with banks is not so simple.
Among the huge list of various offers, it is the broker who is guided “like a fish in water” and will help you choose the most favorable conditions for a particular client. In addition, a mortgage loan broker will accompany the transaction until it is concluded, help in approving, collecting the necessary documents, arranging insurance and will advise the customer on all possible issues throughout the entire cooperation process.
First stage
In order for mortgage broker to select the most suitable loans for the client out of the offers on the market, his work begins with communication. In a personal conversation, the borrower explains to the broker what kind of housing he needs - second or new, in which area, the area of the apartment, how much he is willing to give for it and what conditions the bank will agree to.
It is also important to indicate your official and unofficial income, since such specialists most often have connections with credit organizations, and they can agree to take into account unconfirmed income when drawing up the contract.
Offer options
After discussing and analyzing all the conditions of a future transaction, the specialist studies the offers of banks and offers his client the most suitable options, taking into account all his wishes and opportunities. In addition, a mortgage broker can also collect and execute documents. Who would do this without his help? Of course, the client himself, and would have spent a lot of time on this.
At the stage of consultations, the specialist will certainly offer to take all the steps to complete the transaction, possibly for a fee. It is very important for an ordinary citizen, even after the list of loan options proposed by the broker, to check their actual benefit for themselves. The fact is that for attracting customers, many banks provide credit brokers with a certain material benefit, which rarely provides an opportunity to save for the client. As they say, trust, but verify, because the activities of brokers are not yet regulated by law.
Conclusion of an agreement
This stage is the final in cooperation with a mortgage broker (who it is, is already clear). The contract is necessarily fixed on paper and signed by both parties.
The agreement itself indicates the conditions of the loan received from the bank, the amount that now needs to be paid to the organization, and the cost of the specialist’s services.It is very important to know that such an agreement comes into force only after signing a transaction with the bank and should not contain additional unused services with a separate payment.
Benefits of Collaboration
Among the abundance of credit organizations, only a small part is heard by most, and most often not because of their reputation, but thanks to advertising. Based on the popularity of the name, most citizens choose a lender for themselves, while not receiving very favorable conditions, or after a visit to the organization the client is generally refused a loan. A mortgage broker can provide assistance not only in choosing the best offer, but also increase the client's chances of approving an application. This is done simply, the specialist explains to the client how to properly present himself to the bank, which should not be said, but what is better to mention, or he goes to the credit organization on behalf of his customer. Increase the chances of issuing help and communication broker.
At the same time, it is highly likely that he will vouch for his client, and a loan will be issued to him even with unofficial income or a bad credit history. Also, a conscientious specialist will help:
- get a discount or an additional bonus to the mortgage;
- lower interest rate;
- reduce the time for consideration of the application and make this process free;
- get a loan right on the day of application.
Service list
Abroad, specialists of this profile are engaged exclusively in financial consulting, but in order for this profession to take root with us, brokers also have to take on additional work, which allows only him to conduct a deal. That is, the services of a mortgage broker may not be limited to financial ones, but include both real estate and legal. So, experts help customers:
- choose housing according to requirements;
- check its developer;
- check all real estate documents;
- choose the best bank and loan program for the transaction;
- help to collect documents;
- conduct a transaction until the moment of signing;
- as disputes arise, resolve them and advise the client.
The benefits and lack of cooperation
The main advantage of concluding a deal with a broker is that such a specialist has extensive experience in mortgage lending and is well versed in the offers of various banks.
Experience gives the specialist the opportunity to quickly determine the presence of possible difficulties in repaying a loan in the future and hidden interest. Also, brokers often have certain connections in banks, which will certainly allow the client to receive benefits in the form of expedited processing or receiving a certain bonus.
The only downside of cooperation is that you will have to pay for such a benefit. Of course, you can find a free broker in the staff of a real estate agency, but he will only provide his services to the clients of this company, and she, in turn, may require a large amount of work that fully justifies the work of all specialists in the end.
Cost of services
The cost of a mortgage broker, or rather, the services it provides, depends on the amount of the transaction itself. Most often, specialists ask for their work 1-5% of the total price of housing, but some may provide services for a fee. That is, the transaction will cost 3%, assistance in selecting favorable credit conditions - 1%, and so on. This calculation allows the client to use only one broker service to choose from, but since the decision on outside assistance has been made, it is better to take advantage of all the advantages.
If a specialist offers his services at a cost above 5%, then his interests are unlikely to coincide with client ones. Such specialists want to get rich sooner, and there is no guarantee that they will offer customers really favorable conditions for them, and will not send them to the organization with which the broker has concluded a cooperation agreement.You can often meet unscrupulous brokers on the Internet, but they can also appear in real life, so you should always verify the authenticity of their actions.
Selection rules
Despite the fact that the specialty of a credit broker appeared in our country relatively recently, you can already meet a huge number of such specialists. For example, there are already more than 100 of them in the northern capital, and even more in Moscow. You can choose from them the most responsible and truly interested in the benefit of the client based on real opinions from former customers - reviews. A mortgage broker is required to have them, as well as give new customers the opportunity to share their own experience of cooperation.
In addition, the client needs to pre-screen out unwanted specialists for him in other ways:
- duration of work in this area;
- list of organizations with which it collaborates;
- cost of services;
- the possibility of concluding a formal contract.
Also, a professional broker is always ready to explain in detail to the client the need for each document in processing a transaction with a bank, which even credit organizations themselves can not always tell when they require a list of securities. For safety reasons, the customer may require written submission of all possible transaction options from different banks. It is very important to pay attention to the text of the contract itself with the specialist. It must contain the loan period, interest on the loan, the size of monthly payments, the possibility of refinancing and the cost of the services of the broker.
Grounds for trust
The activities of specialists in this field are not yet regulated by law, since this profession is completely new, but it is fixed at the level of the Civil Code. Compulsory training for a mortgage broker takes place at the International Academy of Mortgage and Real Estate.
Upon completion of training, all graduates are issued the appropriate certificates, which specialists must provide to their clients upon request. Special licenses for such work are not currently provided, therefore only a document on the completion of training is a confirmation of the authenticity of the broker. It is not necessary that the specialist will be interested in the benefit of the client only and will not offer him the mortgage program of the bank from which he receives commissions. In this case, only reviews from former customers will help you decide which can be found on the Internet or by directly asking the broker. A good, conscientious employee will certainly provide an opportunity for a new client to familiarize themselves with the thanks of past customers.
