Buying a home is the most important lifetime investment, especially for hongkongers who are deemed to allocate a significant portion of their income to finance their home for many years to come. We are here for every step of your mortgage journey.
One question clients often ask during consultation: Why do I need your service, though it is free? Why can’t I just walkin the bank myself and do the mortgage myself? Below is why.
Rates Shopping
When you work with a bank, you have a bank. When you work with a broker like us, you have access to every bank. Mortgage brokers are independent professionals that shop your loan package between different banks. We don’t just look for the best deal, though. We also look for a bank that can provide a loan that meets your needs. Plus,we know how to shop around. If you go to banks yourself, you’ll have to compare many different offers with slight differences in terms, all described differently. We do all the heavy work for you so that you don’t need to get distracted in your daytime job.
The Power of Relationships
If you’re an important customer to your bank, they might give you better treatment than someone off of the street. However, if you’re not planning to buy various services (e.g., insurance, investment) through them, you’ll just be a single, one-time customer to your bank of choice. As a mortgage broker, because we place many loans with banks and give banks their repeat business, are often important to the bank. The relationships that brokers form with mortgage specialists at banks help them to get your loan closed more quickly and smoothly. We repeatedly work with the same people at the same banks. We have their cell phone numbers and we know when they’re going on vacation. These working relationships can help us get the deal done for our clients.
Holding Your Hand
Your real estate agent know houses, but they don’t know loans like we do. Furthermore, they are more interested in getting the deal closed and by the time you need to do mortgage, the deal is already closed. You have already signed the sales and purchase agreement. When it comes to the nitty gritty of providing the banks with the documentation what they need, or helping to explain your situation in a way that they can understand, real estate agents cannot beat a mortgage broker such as us. Throughout the loan process, we serve as your liaison, not just with the bank you choose, but with all of the other professionals that are part of the transaction, for example, legal officers and property professionals from our network. We are your single point of contact and your companion throughout the process. We can even attend the closing to help you understand the documents that you’re signing.
Even if you are a borrower with solid-income and work in government or big corporations, our advisory service can still help. There are just so many tricks and techniques you should know to ensure you get the best deal. For example, how to secure a 60% discount for mortgage insurance programme? What happens if you buy a house significantly higher or lower than the market price and your banker frowns on it? Do you know which bank can get the best deal if you are a civil servant and need to rely on the government’s HPS or HLISS allowance programme? If you plan to sell your house and buy a bigger one, or to change the title to your spouse a couple of years down the road, do you know some banks have special offers for that? Even if you are a high salaryman working in Fortune 500, there are traps and precautions which can get your mortgage disapproved that you should be aware of and plan ahead.
Getting Tough Loans Approved
If you’re self employed, have a low credit score, or do not have adequate verifiable income proof and try to secure a home loan by directly walking in big banks yourself, you may have been misinformed about what banks are looking for and you may have heard
- it’s harder to get a loan if you run a small business or no tax returns;
- you’re less likely to get approved;
- you’ll pay a higher rate; or
- you will NOT be able to borrow as much, or you need a guarantor
Well, we can help you bust these myths. Just because you have been rejected by the biggest bank in town does not mean mortgage is out of reach for you. You just dont know how to select the right bank. Already been rejected by HKMC for 80% LTV application? Dont be disheartened. There are other mortgage insurance entities which can still lend 80% LTV with the same rate and insurance premium as HKMC. You just have not heard of them from your friends and uncles who are not in the mortgage business. We understand all the options in town for various circumstances and we are well connected with them. Request a free consultation with us and we are ready to pull up our sleeves and walk you through the daunting application process, smoothly and seamlessly.