Vow informs brokers of major market changes

Speaking to Mortgage Business, Vow Financial CEO Tim Brown warned that brokers must keep abreast of all changes to avoid putting customers into the wrong product.

"The last thing they want to do is put a client into a loan that potentially doesn't work for them or potentially might cost them more. Brokers really have to do a lot of research before they put a borrower into a loan in the current climate,” Mr Brown said.

In an effort to educate brokers, Vow has been continuously sending updates to its members of pricing and policy changes as they happen.

In a document shared with Mortgage Business, Vow lists the most recent changes introduced by its top ten lenders.

Recent additions include ANZ’s announcement of new processes to cope with customers switching from an investor loan to an owner-occupied loan.

Mr Brown said the reclassification of home loans will add greater complexity to the lending environment.

"Lenders will now have to come up with a list of questions that borrowers will have to answer or they'll have to show some type of identification to prove that they're actually living in their address,” Mr Brown said.

“I think they'll have to go through some form of identification to prove the client's actually living there, like seeing bills in their name at the address. I think that will probably be the next level of qualifying buyers to make sure they do qualify for a certain rate,” he said.

Other recent changes include Westpac’s introduction of new HEM living expenses, St George’s serviceability changes and the introduction of new HEM tables and Bankwest’s 32 basis point loading on existing investor loans, effective 30 September.

“In this climate where the changes are coming daily we want to make sure brokers have got the most current information available to them all the time,” Mr Brown said.

“Sometimes the software doesn't keep up with the changes so therefore we have to do the electronic version until the change is actually embedded in the software and it often takes three to four days to get those changes through,” he said.

“We need to keep up the electronic changes and again this is another reason why brokers have got to, more than ever, check their emails on a daily basis just to see what has changed. It's changing within hours of the day, sometimes not even overnight.”