Frequently asked questions.

Eligible first home buyers may be able to buy with as little as a 5% deposit and no Lenders Mortgage Insurance, under the federal Home Guarantee Scheme. Places are limited and the criteria change from time to time, so we check your eligibility properly in the first chat rather than assuming.

It depends on the lender and your situation. Many lenders look for 20% to avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance, but plenty will lend with less, and scheme or guarantor options can bring it down further. Deposit is only part of it: lenders also want to see genuine savings, and enough left over for costs like stamp duty and conveyancing.

Lenders Mortgage Insurance protects the lender, not you, when your deposit is under 20%. Depending on your circumstances there are several ways to reduce or avoid it: scheme eligibility, a guarantor, certain professions that lenders treat differently, or a larger deposit with the right lender.

Pre-approval is a lender's indication of what they would likely lend you, based on documents you have already provided. It is not a guarantee, and it usually has an expiry date. Most buyers find it worth having before they bid or negotiate, because it tells you your real range and shows an agent you are serious.

Often, yes. A family guarantee lets a parent use equity in their own property to support part of your loan, which can reduce or remove LMI. It is a real commitment for them, so we walk both sides through what it means and what happens if circumstances change.

Grants and concessions vary by state, by property type, and by whether you are buying an established home or building new. Victoria has its own rules and they change. We check what currently applies to your situation instead of working from what was true last year.

When the numbers work after costs, not simply because a lower rate exists somewhere. A rate that looks better can cost more once fees, a longer term or lost features are counted. It is also worth a look if your circumstances have changed, you want to access equity, or you are paying for features you never use.

Usually a discharge fee from your current lender, possibly an application or valuation fee at the new one, and government registration costs. Fixed loans can carry break costs, which are worth checking before anything else. We put the real numbers side by side before you decide.

An application creates an enquiry on your credit file, and several applications in a short window can read as financial stress to a lender. That is one of the arguments for using a broker: the aim is to apply once, to a lender we have good reason to believe will say yes.

Often, yes, subject to your property's current valuation and the lender's criteria. Equity is commonly used for renovations, an investment deposit, or consolidating other debt. Consolidating is not automatically a win: stretching a short debt over a long loan term can cost more overall even when the monthly figure drops.

Lenders use cashback offers to win refinances, and they come and go. They can be genuinely worth having, but a cashback attached to a worse rate or higher fees can cost you more across the life of the loan than it pays you once. Offers are lender-specific, carry eligibility criteria, and can be withdrawn at any time.

Commonly a few weeks from application to settlement, though it depends on the lender's processing times, how quickly a valuation happens, and how fast your current lender releases the loan. We chase the parts that stall so you are not the one making those calls.

The lending rules are usually tighter and the pricing is often different. Lenders assess how much of your expected rental income they will count, and how your existing commitments stack up. Structure matters more than on an owner-occupied loan, because how it is set up affects your flexibility later.

Frequently, yes. Equity you have built up can form the deposit on an investment purchase, subject to valuation and the lender's criteria. How that is structured matters, so it is worth a conversation with your accountant alongside us.

Neither is automatically right. Interest-only can help cash flow in the short term, but you are not reducing the balance, and the repayment steps up when the period ends. Principal and interest costs more now and less overall. The tax position is part of the picture, so this one belongs in a conversation with your accountant.

Many Australians can, using a self-managed super fund and a specific loan structure. Not every lender offers it, the criteria are strict, and the fund covers the deposit and costs. It is a heavily regulated area and the rules have moved in recent years, so we work through it alongside your accountant rather than in isolation.

There is no fixed number. It comes down to serviceability, how each lender counts rental income and existing debt, and how the portfolio is structured. Some investors reach a wall with one lender and keep going with another, which is where seeing the full panel helps.

That is exactly when a broker earns their keep. Lenders treat self-employed income very differently from one another: how they read your returns, how long they want you trading, how they handle add-backs and retained profits. Knowing which lender looks kindly on your shape of income is most of the job.

A loan for borrowers who cannot supply the standard two years of tax returns, assessed instead on alternatives such as BAS statements, bank statements or an accountant's declaration. Criteria and pricing differ from a full-doc loan, and not every lender offers one.

Many lenders want two years of trading, but not all of them, and some will consider a shorter period where you have a track record in the same industry. It depends on the lender and the strength of the rest of the application.

Yes. Commercial property, development finance, asset and equipment finance, and car loans, alongside residential lending.

In most cases there is no direct cost to you. The lender pays the broker a commission after your loan settles, and we disclose exactly how we are paid before you commit to anything. Where a fee would apply, you are told up front and in writing, not at the end.

A fair question, and the right one to ask any broker. As a credit representative we are bound by the Best Interests Duty for home lending, which puts your interests first in law rather than as a slogan. Ask to see the reasoning behind any recommendation. You should get a straight answer.

Nothing. No documents, no forms, no obligation. The first conversation is about your situation and what you are trying to do. If it goes further, we tell you exactly what to gather and why each item is needed.

It varies with the lender, the type of loan, and how quickly documents come together. A straightforward application can move quickly; a complex one takes longer. We would rather give you a realistic timeline at the start than an optimistic one you plan around.

You keep our number. We stay in touch, review your loan periodically to check it still suits you, and we are here when something changes, whether that is a renovation, an investment, or a rate that has quietly drifted.

English, Nepali and Hindi. If it is easier to explain your situation in your own language, that is genuinely available here, not a line on a website.