Home Loan
Advice
Most people compare properties for months and compare loans for an afternoon. The loan is the part that costs you for the next thirty years. A mortgage broker’s job is to work out what you can actually borrow, find the lenders likely to say yes to your situation, and manage the application so it does not fall over at the wrong moment.
What home loan advice involves
A mortgage broker works with a range of lenders rather than for one of them. That matters because lenders assess the same borrower differently. Two lenders looking at identical income and expenses can arrive at very different borrowing capacities, and a situation that one declines another may approve without hesitation.
Mortgage brokers in Australia are required by law to act in your best interests when providing credit assistance. That duty is a legal obligation, not a service promise.
How a mortgage broker helps with your home loan
Working out what you can borrow
Borrowing capacity is not one number. It depends on income type, existing debts, living expenses, dependants, and how each lender treats them. Self employed income, bonuses, overtime, commission and rental income are all assessed differently from lender to lender. We work out the realistic range before you start looking, so you are not making offers on properties you cannot finance.
Choosing between lenders
Rate matters, and it is not the only thing that matters. Fees, offset and redraw features, how the lender treats extra repayments, how they assess your income, and how they behave when something changes all affect the total cost. The cheapest advertised rate is often not the cheapest loan.
Loan structure
Fixed, variable or split. Interest only or principal and interest. Offset account or redraw. One loan or several. These choices affect your flexibility as much as your repayments, and undoing a structure later can cost more than getting it right at the start.
Deposit, equity and lenders mortgage insurance
If your deposit is below a lender’s threshold, lenders mortgage insurance usually applies. It protects the lender, not you, and it is a real cost. There are ways it can sometimes be reduced or avoided, including guarantor arrangements and lender specific policies for certain professions.
First home buyers and government schemes
Federal and state assistance for first home buyers changes regularly, and eligibility depends on your income, the property, the state and sometimes the timing. We check what applies to your situation at the time you buy rather than relying on what applied last year.
Pre approval and making an offer
Pre approval tells you what you can offer with confidence, but it is conditional and it expires. We explain what your pre approval actually covers, so you know the difference between an approval that will hold and one that may not.
Managing the application
Applications fail for avoidable reasons: missing documents, a valuation that comes in low, a change in circumstances mid process, or a lender that was never going to approve the file. We manage the submission and deal with the lender’s questions.
Speak to our experienced team today.
Home load advice by situation
1 – You are buying your first home
The most information dense purchase most people ever make, usually on a deadline. Government schemes, deposit requirements and lenders mortgage insurance all interact.
2 – You are self employed or a contractor
Lenders assess self employed income very differently from each other, and some are far more workable than others depending on how long you have been trading and how your accounts look.
3 – Your income includes bonuses, commission or overtime
Some lenders count all of it, some count a portion, and some count none. This single difference can move your borrowing capacity substantially.
4 – You are buying with a partner who has debt or credit issues
Whose name the loan is in, and how existing debts are treated, changes what is available.
5 – You are buying before you sell
Bridging finance and deposit timing become the central problem rather than the rate.
6 – A family member is helping with a deposit
Gifted deposits and guarantor arrangements each have their own lender requirements and their own consequences for the person helping.
7 – You are buying an apartment or something unusual
Small apartments, rural property, off the plan purchases and unusual construction can all restrict which lenders will lend and how much.
8 – Your circumstances have changed since you were last approved
A new job, a new baby, a new car loan or a probation period can all affect an approval that felt settled.
Who this is for
- First home buyers
- People upgrading, downsizing or relocating
- Self employed borrowers and contractors
- Buyers whose income or situation does not fit a standard template
- Anyone who has been declined elsewhere and does not know why
Who this isn’t for
- Anyone wanting a rate comparison and nothing else. Comparison sites do that free.
- Buyers who have already committed to a specific lender and simply want the paperwork processed.
Our advice process
01 Evaluation
02 Discovery
03 Strategy
04 Implementation
05 Review
Home Loan FAQs
How much can I borrow?
It depends on your income, your existing debts, your living expenses, your dependants and the lender you apply to. Lenders assess the same borrower differently, particularly where income includes bonuses, commission, overtime or self employed earnings, so the range across lenders can be wide. A broker can work out the realistic figure across multiple lenders before you make an offer.
Does using a mortgage broker cost me anything?
In most cases the lender pays the broker a commission once the loan settles, rather than the borrower paying a fee. Some situations, particularly complex or commercial ones, work differently. Any fees payable by you are disclosed in writing before you proceed, and you will not be charged anything you have not agreed to.
How much deposit do I need?
It varies by lender and by the type of property. Where your deposit is below a lender’s threshold, lenders mortgage insurance generally applies, which is a cost to you that protects the lender. Some professions, guarantor arrangements and government schemes can change what is required. There is no universal minimum.
What is lenders mortgage insurance?
It is insurance the lender takes out, paid for by you, that protects the lender if you default and the property sells for less than you owe. It does not protect you. It generally applies when your deposit falls below the lender’s threshold, and it can sometimes be avoided through a guarantor arrangement, a government scheme, or lender specific policies for certain occupations.
Should I choose a fixed or variable rate?
Fixed rates give certainty for a set period, and generally limit extra repayments and charge a cost to break early. Variable rates move with the market and usually offer more flexibility, including offset accounts and unlimited extra repayments. Some borrowers split the loan between both. The right choice depends on how likely you are to need flexibility and how much certainty is worth to you.
How long does approval take?
It varies significantly by lender and by how complete the application is when submitted. Straightforward applications with all documents in order move faster than complex ones. The most common cause of delay is missing information, which is one of the things a broker manages.
Can I get a home loan if I am self employed?
Yes, though the assessment is different. Lenders generally want to see business income over a period, and they vary considerably in how they treat it and how long you need to have been trading. Some lenders are far more workable for self employed borrowers than others, which is where knowing the differences between them matters.
What is the difference between pre approval and approval?
Pre approval is a conditional indication of what a lender is likely to lend based on your circumstances. It is not a guarantee, it usually has conditions attached, and it expires. Full approval comes after you have a specific property, the lender has valued it and all conditions are satisfied.