Finding the best home for your situation and budget, and then finding an appropriate lender to finance it, has always been a time-consuming process. The process may involve visiting several real estate agents, driving through neighborhoods to scope out availability, and attending multiple auctions. Finding a lender is even more critical since rates and fees vary--and if you don't shop around, you may wind up laying a lot more than is necessary on your mortgage.
Today, a great deal of the search is done online, and those who know how to conduct a successful internet search can save both time and money. In finding the right home, almost every real estate agent in Australia has a web site. The best place to start is with the Real Estate Industry of Australia (http://www.reiaustralia.com.au), which maintains a list of registered agents in every state and territory. Their database makes it easy to pinpoint real estate agents in the area you want to search.
Alternately, an increasing number of sellers are going through fixed-fee alternatives, which deliver an online venue for selling homes in exchange for a flat fee. Sites like Vendors Sale (http://www.vendorssale.com.au) do not charge a commission, which saves the seller money and also has the potential to keep the sale price low as a result. This is more of a do-it-yourself approach however as the buyer and seller will have to take more of an active role in the transaction. Regardless of whether you use a real estate agent or not however, you will still need to arrange for the conveyance. Real estate agents do not prepare the necessary forms, although they may sometimes work with a conveyancer who will do it for you.
In finding a mortgage lender or broker, the Internet also comes in very useful. With virtually every lender and broker in the country maintaining a web site, it's easier to compare prices than ever before. In addition, there are convenient third-party sites that allow you to enter your information into an online form, and receive quotes from the country's most reputable lenders. Typically, these third party sites do not charge the consumer any fee for this service. And because they often maintain a database of dozens of lenders and brokers, they may have information about a mortgage product or a lender that you were not aware of.
As with in-person transactions, one must always be on guard when dealing with mortgage lenders over the Internet. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (http://www.asic.gov.au) last year took action to protect consumers against fraudulent claims made by mortgage brokers, who must warrant that their claims are factually correct. However overall, it seems that the increased convenience of using the internet to help with your homebuying more than outweighs any drawbacks as many sites offer resources of enormous help to the consumer.
Tracey Anderson is a mortgage broker with 16 years experience in the Australian mortgage industry. She currently works with a number of broker networks including Mortgage Mall both as a broker and an expert industry analyst. For more information and resources on the mortgage industry, visit Mortgage Mall (http://www.mortgagemall.com.au).