Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Fun'n'games with One Direct Mortgage Co
The auction is in about 11 days, and I'd like to bid if I get a home loan pre-approved. One Direct are definitely the cheapest, charging only 6.71% and the barest of fees. It will be interesting to see the problems I encounter from using such a service with no face-to-face anything.
Their Full Page Ad
-------------------
Says to go to onedirect.com.au. Site doesn't work unless you enter www.onedirect.com.au OOPS! Someone should be fired!
Their Site
-----------
It says:
Step 1 - Apply
Call us on 13 14 01 and your Dedicated Lending Specialist will complete the application form for you.
OOPS! I was told to download their application form and send it to them.
The Form
--------
In the financial part, they ask me how much the repayments on my home loan will be. OOPS - aren't they supposed to be telling me that?
On the phone I was told I could use one direct to get pre-approval. A box to tick on the form indicating that I didn't know which house I was buying would be less confusing.
The Rush
--------
I was told on the phone that to talk to a consultant I would have to wait until Friday. But their site has this timetable explained:
Day 1.
Talk to consultant. "Your Dedicated Lending Specialist will call you to confirm your details and/or provide you with an indication of your approval subject to verification of your financial details. They will also tell you which documents we need to complete the formal assessment of your loan application."
Basically as soon as I get the docs to them, they can give me formal approval. So it's possible to be pre-approved in 1 day, according to their site.
Reality
-------
The whole process took several months, with requests for info, then more info that they forgot to ask for, and each email exchange took a week, and their email account couldn't handle large attachments (even though they ask people to scan and send in documents).
If I had relied on One Direct, I would've come close to missing settlement. Fortunately I was also dealing with Mortgage Choice, and they were virtually perfect, and for the extra 0.1% I'm paying, I don't mind.
Their Full Page Ad
-------------------
Says to go to onedirect.com.au. Site doesn't work unless you enter www.onedirect.com.au OOPS! Someone should be fired!
Their Site
-----------
It says:
Step 1 - Apply
Call us on 13 14 01 and your Dedicated Lending Specialist will complete the application form for you.
OOPS! I was told to download their application form and send it to them.
The Form
--------
In the financial part, they ask me how much the repayments on my home loan will be. OOPS - aren't they supposed to be telling me that?
On the phone I was told I could use one direct to get pre-approval. A box to tick on the form indicating that I didn't know which house I was buying would be less confusing.
The Rush
--------
I was told on the phone that to talk to a consultant I would have to wait until Friday. But their site has this timetable explained:
Day 1.
Talk to consultant. "Your Dedicated Lending Specialist will call you to confirm your details and/or provide you with an indication of your approval subject to verification of your financial details. They will also tell you which documents we need to complete the formal assessment of your loan application."
Basically as soon as I get the docs to them, they can give me formal approval. So it's possible to be pre-approved in 1 day, according to their site.
Reality
-------
The whole process took several months, with requests for info, then more info that they forgot to ask for, and each email exchange took a week, and their email account couldn't handle large attachments (even though they ask people to scan and send in documents).
If I had relied on One Direct, I would've come close to missing settlement. Fortunately I was also dealing with Mortgage Choice, and they were virtually perfect, and for the extra 0.1% I'm paying, I don't mind.
Labels: finance, one direct
