Paid by the lender
When your loan settles, the lender pays us a commission. It doesn't come out of your pocket and it doesn't change your loan.
No hidden fees
No upfront charges and no invoices for our home loan service. If a specific service ever carried a fee, you'd know before we start.
Your interests first
We recommend the loan that fits you, not the one that pays the most. That's not just our ethos, it's the law: mortgage brokers owe you a Best Interests Duty.
What the lender pays us
On average, about 0.6% of the loan when it settles, then about 0.15% a year while you keep it.
The first part is called upfront commission. The second is called trail. Trail is paid each month on what you still owe, so it usually gets smaller as you pay the loan down. Some lenders pay a little more trail after a few years, up to 0.25% a year.
On a $500,000 loan that works out to about $3,000 upfront and about $750 in the first year of trail. Every lender pays a little differently, and we give you the expected figures for your loan in writing before you go ahead.
What a clawback is
If a loan is paid out early, the lender takes its commission back from us, not from you.
Most lenders take back:
- all of the upfront commission if the loan is paid out in the first 12 months, and
- about half of it if the loan is paid out between 12 and 18 months.
Many lenders keep a clawback going for up to two years, often still at half. A loan is paid out when, for example, you refinance it to another lender, sell the property, or pay it off in full. A clawback comes out of our pocket, never yours.
Why we ask about your plans
Planning to sell or refinance soon? Tell us at the start.
It helps us pick a loan that suits how long you will keep it, for example one without break costs if you might sell.
This is not a lock-in. If a better deal turns up, we are happy to look at it with you. Sometimes your lender will match it so you do not have to move. If moving is better for you, we will help you move, even when that means a clawback for us.