Macquarie Bank

When you are in the market for a home loan, your choice of lender is just as important as your choice of loan. However, with the prevalence of mortgage brokers to organise home loans for you, you may not even enter the lender’s branch or speak to a representative during the loan process. The interaction parts of your home loan application are important because it is not the broker who you can call with a question about your statement or for more information on your loan features – after the loan application process you’ll normally be dealing with the bank.

Therefore, whether you are doing your own comparisons or using a broker to cut down on the search time, make sure to find out everything you can about the lenders on offer in Australia, and make sure you get the whole package.

Featured Macquarie Bank Home Loans

Macquarie Bank is part of the Macquarie Group which is a world-leader in the banking, financial, advisory, investment and fund management industries, with their global operations enveloping major financial centres around the world. However, that is not the only reason Macquarie Bank should be considered as your lender because while the reliability, experience and motivation of Macquarie are a good start to consider a lender, you also want to make sure they have the right types of loans for you.

Macquarie Bank helps you to create long term wealth with the right products and the best service. As a result, Macquarie Bank can be your single port of call for all of your finances whether your home loan needs change or you are seeking help to manage your cash flow. Macquarie Bank home loan products include:

• Macquarie Premium home loan. The Macquarie Premium home loan can be used by both owner occupiers and investors as the linked offset account can house your savings, or your safety net for when you are between tenants or doing repairs. The Premium home loan account also gives you ATM and EFTPOS access, unlimited accounts and no ongoing account keeping fees. If you add the optimum package you can also receive a Visa gold or platinum card so you can leave your transaction funds in your offset account all month long as you use the bank’s money.
• Macquarie Classic home loan. This is a basic home loan which doesn’t charge ongoing fees, and has a competitive low interest rate. This makes the Macquarie Classic home loan perfect for first home buyers, and even investors who want their investment loan to remain separate from their own home loan, while still being easy to manage. The Macquarie Classic home loan has two accounts to help you manage your home loan, with easy access and no account keeping fees. The Classic Package also include the Macquarie Visa RateSaver credit card.
• Macquarie Line of Credit home loan. A line of credit is a revolving loan amount which is approved up to a certain value, and which you can draw down upon when you need it – similar to a credit card. This flexibility allows you to manage your home loan and your investments through one loan account, with up to 10 sub-accounts. You’ll also have ATM and EFTPOS access, plus a gold or platinum Visa card with the Optimum Package.

How to Choose a Home Loan Lender

While refinancing has become much easier and doesn’t always have to be expensive, that is no reason to disregard the importance of choosing the right lender from the start, as it can make your home loan journey much smoother and easier.

To choose a home loan lender:

• Match the lender to the type of loan you need. You may not yet know whether you want an offset account or a fixed or variable interest rate, but what you do know is the type of borrower you are. For example, are you an investor, a first home buyer, refinancing or looking for a reverse mortgage? The type of loan you need can help guide your search for a lender, as many lenders will specialise in a loan type.
• Call the call centre. This is not something you will have to do if you go through a broker, but you should make the call regardless as you can tell a lot about a lender from their customer service. Find out the type of advice you can get, and the level of knowledge of the customer service representatives. Take note of how you’re treated and how long you have to wait on hold, as these are also good indicators of how your enquires will be treated in the future.
• Count the people. Also make note of the number of different people you speak to in your dealings with a lender, and how many times you have to give your information and explain what you need. ideally you should be assigned one loan manager, and have their direct line so you can speak to someone who knows you each time you call.
• Approval criteria. Each lender will have different approval criteria and if you are declined a loan with one lender, you may be approved with another. Therefore, find out how your circumstances would be treated, whether you have bad credit, are self employed or have little savings.

Related Resources

• Macquarie Bank Classic Home Loan
• Macquarie Bank Line of Credit Home Loan
  A Macquarie Bank Line of Credit home loan has many uses. You can use the funds on your other investment properties, make loans to your children, or renovate your property to increase its value. In fact any reason whatsoever but you must remain able to reduce the mortgage principal.
• Macquarie Bank Premium Home Loan