Links Property Finance · Sydney home loans: Mortgage Broker vs Bank
Straight answer: it depends what your file looks like.
Mortgage broker vs bank: which is better?
Whether a broker or a bank is better depends on your file. A bank can only offer its own policy; a broker compares many lenders and must recommend a loan in your best interests.
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For a simple file that fits your bank’s policy, going direct is fine. For self-employed income, a small deposit, credit history or a tricky property, comparing lenders usually changes the result.
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What moves the number
Choose any that apply. Each shows roughly how much it changes the figure, the way a lender’s assessment would.
is an indicative borrowing figure at today’s typical rates. Lenders typically count around 80% of rental income, which is why an investment purchase can lift your number, your real figure comes from a proper assessment.
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Side by side
| Going to your bank | Using a broker | |
|---|---|---|
| The menu | That bank’s products only | 70+ lenders, your bank included |
| The assessment | One policy reads your file, once | Policy compared across lenders before anyone applies |
| Cost to you | Nothing visible | $0 on most home loans; lender pays a disclosed commission |
| Duty to you | None beyond ordinary conduct rules | Best Interests Duty under Australian law |
| If the answer is no | The road ends at that counter | The file moves to a lender whose policy fits |
| After settlement | You are a customer in a queue | Annual review, repricing calls, one person who knows the file |
When the bank alone is fine
Long, salaried employment, a 20% deposit, clean credit, buying a standard house, and your bank happens to price sharply that month: walk in, you will likely be fine.
The comparison exists for everyone else, and for the textbook borrower who wants to know they did not leave money on the table.
When the comparison earns its keep
Casual or self-employed income, a small deposit, a past credit event, a small apartment, a probation period, overtime that your bank ignores: these are exactly the files where one lender says no and another says yes to the same person, because written policy differs.
One bank's decline tells you about that bank's policy, not about you. A broker's job is knowing whose policy fits before anyone applies.
Charles Touma, Mortgage Broker.
What is the difference in one paragraph?
Your bank can offer you its own products, assessed under its own policy, at its own rates. That is the whole menu. The bank route is one assessment; the broker route is a comparison.
A broker takes the same file to a panel of lenders, banks included, and matches it to the policy and pricing that read your situation best. Neither is automatically better, but they are different services, and the difference matters most when your file is anything other than textbook.
Who pays, and how that works
No broker fee on most home loans at Links. The lender pays a commission when the loan settles, and it is disclosed to you in writing before anything proceeds.
Lenders on the panel through Connective: major banks, non-banks and specialists. Your own bank is almost certainly on it, so the comparison includes them rather than excluding them.
The comparison happens on policy and pricing before an application is lodged, so your credit file is not shopped around. One application goes in, to the lender chosen on evidence.
Common questions about broker vs bank
How do mortgage brokers get paid?
By the lender (more in what does a mortgage broker do). The lender pays a commission when the loan settles, disclosed to you in writing before you proceed, which is why Links charges $0 on most home loans.
Some brokers charge for particular complex work; if that ever applied you would know the figure before saying yes.
Do brokers get better rates than the bank offers directly?
Not guaranteed, and distrust anyone who promises it. A broker puts your file in front of the lenders pricing sharply for your situation that month, instead of one lender’s menu; sometimes that is your own bank, often it is not.
Is it faster to go through my bank?
Not reliably. Lender processing times vary week to week, and a broker routes around the slow queues because they can see them. A clean file lodged at a fast lender beats the same file in a slow branch pipeline.
Is a broker obliged to act in my interests?
Yes. Mortgage brokers are subject to a Best Interests Duty under Australian law. A bank staff member offering you that bank's products is not, because they can only ever offer that menu.
What should I ask a broker before committing?
How many lenders they compare, how they are paid, who does the work on your file, and what happens after settlement. Choosing a broker covers the full list, including the answers you should expect.
Compare your options with a broker
Thirty minutes with Charles: what your bank would likely say, what the wider panel says, and whether the difference is worth acting on. Free, no credit check, no obligation to proceed.
General information only, not credit or financial advice. Lender policies, pricing and processing times vary and change; all lending is subject to individual assessment and approval.