2 Comments 2 CommentsGlen McLeod, of Edge Mortgages, said it was another way for banks to attract customers. “If I had the budget, I’d do it in a heartbeat because it’s another way of telling the bank ‘this is a person looking for a home loan’.”
But he said it was potentially dangerous because banks did not follow such processes up with advice. “If the customer goes via an app and puts the wrong information in, they can get into a position where they think they’re approved and they’re not.”
They would also only be told how they fitted into standard bank policy – if their situation did not fit, they would not be approved. McLeod said brokers could offer a much more detailed explanation of which lender would suit and what sort of structure would be best. “If you go direct to a bank, you just get ‘these are our rates’.”
Kiwibank’s head of online, Peter Fletcher-Dobson, said the process for dealing with Home Hunter approvals was exactly the same as any other channel.
“Once you’ve submitted for pre-approval - it takes only a few minutes - a lender will be in contact to discuss what you want to do next. The long and short of it is that once you’re pre-approved for a Kiwibank home loan as long as the information you’ve entered is valid then there should be no problems progressing to full approval.”
People can also apply for Welcome Home Loans via the app.
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100% agree with Greg's comments above in the article. This is especially true for borrowers seeking to purchase a property via auction where they going in with a cash offer. The lender in question introducing this app is already well known for changing its mind over whether its clients are actually pre approved or not for a home loan especially on Welcome Home Loans!
Despite what some bank IT people think not everything can be done online via an app nowadays. You still actually need a personal banker or mortgage broker in the loop to give advice to borrowers and ensure they can afford the commitment of a mortgage that they are taking on. AND also to ensure the property they are wanting to purchase is actually satisfactory to the bank i.e. leaky home, apartment, company share etc.
Frankly I see apps like this been a can of worms for banks.