Facilitator or false friend?

Fin24 user Liora Bamberger has added her voice to the debate on whether it makes sense to use a bond originator. She writes:

Unfortunately, the “profession” of mortgage originators has taken root in our property market.

The individuals who work as mortgage originators do not require any qualifications, nor are they governed by a professional body or any form of ethical constraints. The mortgage originators are driven by the commissions which they earn from banks for placing loan applications with them.

Yet, despite all this, these mortgage originators take it upon themselves to:

1. Give legal advice to buyers;
2. Insist on appointing the bond registration attorneys with whom they have a “relationship”;
3. Threaten and bully conveyancers for discounts on fees, notwithstanding that the conveyancer is entitled to fees recommended in a tariff set by the Law Society; and
4. Hold the banks to ransom for payment of hefty commissions by means of threatening to withhold loan applications from such banks.

I would seriously advise the public to steer clear of such individuals and to apply directly to a bank for a mortgage loan.

The saving which the bank will incur by not paying commission to a mortgage originator will be passed on to the client in the form of a better interest rate or more favourable loan terms.

 - Fin24

Have you had a good or bad experience with a bond originator? Let us know and you could get published.

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