A mortgage is one decision at the start and another every year or two after it. Trail commission is the lender paying the broker to keep looking after the client. If a broker takes the trail and never calls again, they are being paid for a service they are not providing.
Current as at September 2026.
One of the reviews on our About page is from a client on their third loan with Thy Ha. Third. That’s what broking looks like when it works, and it’s the opposite of how most people picture it, which is a single transaction that ends at settlement.
I’ve built the business on the relationship version, and I want to explain why, because the reason is the economics of a loan that runs for decades, and once you see the economics the rest of how we work makes sense.
Why is a mortgage not one decision?
A mortgage is one decision at the start and then a decision every year or two for as long as it runs. Your fixed term ends. Rates move (three rises this year alone, to 4.35%). Your income changes. You have kids, or your kids leave. The property goes up in value and suddenly there’s equity you could use, or shouldn’t. You want to renovate. You want a second property. You want to pay it off faster, or you need to slow down.
Every one of those is a moment where the loan should be looked at, and most of them are moments where a bank will do nothing unless you ring. Our FAQ page lists the triggers we use: time (a year or more has passed), uncertainty, a change in the home’s value, wealth creation using equity, and a big personal expense. That’s a list written for a relationship.
What the trail commission is actually for
Here’s the part of the industry that people don’t get told. When a loan settles, the lender pays the broker an upfront commission, and then a smaller trail commission every month for as long as the loan stays with that lender. The lender pays the broker a commission, and we set out the published ranges in Why choose a broker over going direct to a bank.
The way I read trail, it’s the relationship, priced: the lender keeps paying while the client stays, so the broker has a reason to keep looking after the client. If a broker takes the trail and never calls you again, they’re being paid for a service they’re not providing. If they review your loan every year, that’s what the trail was for.
I’ll be blunt about the incentive: if you refinance away from a loan we arranged, we lose the trail. So we have a financial reason to keep your loan competitive, and I’d rather tell you that than pretend it’s pure goodwill, because the incentive lines up with yours.
What happens when nobody reviews your loan?
Book a time with a Loan Lounge broker — no cost, no obligation.
The ACCC measured that gap in its 2020 home loan price inquiry, and we go through the numbers in Loyalty to your bank is a tax on your future. That’s the cost of a loan nobody is looking after. The bank has your business and little reason to reprice it. You have a rate you stopped looking at years ago.
Somebody has to be watching, and the ACCC’s own suggestion was that lenders be forced to prompt customers after three years. A broker on trail has a reason to do it without being forced.
What the relationship looks like in practice
It’s not complicated, and it’s not a lot of your time.
An annual check-in, sometimes fifteen minutes on the phone: is the rate still competitive, has anything changed, does the structure still fit. Usually the answer is “you’re fine” and that’s the end of it for a year. When it’s not fine, a repricing, which means going back to your current lender for a better rate on the same product, no refinance and usually no valuation. Lenders do this because they’d rather keep you at a lower margin.
A refinance when repricing isn’t enough. Two to three weeks, sometimes longer, and only if the saving clears the costs.
And the calls that aren’t about the loan at all. “We’re thinking about an investment property, what would that look like.” “My brother’s buying his first place, can he ring you.” “The business needs a van.” That’s the third-loan client. Those conversations happen because the first one went well and someone stayed in touch.
Why we’re set up this way
Loan Lounge has been going since 2015. The brokers each have their direct number on their profile page and our two lounges in Burwood and Cabramatta are places you can walk into. Between the seven of us we speak English, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Mandarin, which matters in the suburbs we’re in, and matters more on the fourth conversation than the first.
We also give 10% of trail income to organisations working against human trafficking, every month since 2015. That’s another reason the trail matters to us: a loan that stays where we put it keeps giving for as long as it’s there. A client who leaves in year two because we went quiet costs the charity as well as the business.
If your current broker hasn’t called since settlement, or you went direct and nobody’s ever reviewed the loan, that’s the gap. Call 02 9037 2825 or book a time with one of the brokers. It’s a fifteen minute conversation to find out whether it’s costing you anything.
Frequently Asked Questions: Broking Is a Relationship, Not a Transaction
What is trail commission?
A monthly commission the lender pays the broker for as long as your loan stays with that lender. The lender pays the broker a commission, and we set out the published ranges in Why choose a broker over going direct to a bank.
How often should my home loan be reviewed?
At least annually, and whenever your income, your property value or your plans change.
Does my broker have an incentive to keep my rate low?
Yes, and we would rather say so plainly: if you refinance away, the trail stops. That incentive lines up with yours.
Related reading
- Why Choose a Broker Over Going Direct to a Bank?
- Mortgage Broker vs Bank: Why a Lender Panel Beats One Bank
- Loan Lounge vs the Big 4 Banks: A Side-by-Side
- More on the services we arrange
Book a broker or find a broker near you. Or call the Burwood office on 02 9037 2825.
General information only. This article does not take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account, and is not financial product, tax or legal advice. Lending criteria, fees and rates vary by lender and change without notice. Loan Lounge, Australian Credit Licence 515608.