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Home Loans
Owner occupied lending, including the files other brokers find difficult.
Home loans
Home loans, and why the same file gets different answers
Two lenders assessing identical documents routinely land more than $200,000 apart on the approved loan amount. The differences come from how they treat overtime and bonuses, how they read self-employed add-backs, whether they count trust distributions to a non-borrowing spouse, and what buffer they apply to existing debt. None of that is visible from outside, and a single bank will not tell you where it sits.
Owner occupied lending is the most competitive part of the market, which is exactly why comparing is worth doing. The spread between lenders on rate is real, and the spread on borrowing capacity is larger still.
We take the files other brokers send elsewhere: self-employed applicants, trust and company structures, shift workers, contractors and people with short trading histories.
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Home Loans
What we can help you with
Variable, Fixed and Split
Flexibility, certainty, or a deliberate combination of both. We model the split rather than guessing at it.
Offset Accounts
Reduce interest without touching the loan balance, which matters if the property ever becomes an investment.
Low Deposit Options
First Home Guarantee, family guarantees, professional LMI waivers and capitalised LMI, priced against each other.
Self-Employed and Alt Doc
Twelve months of ABN registration is enough for many lenders. We know which read your structure most generously.
Shift Income and Overtime
Some lenders count 100% of regular overtime, others 50%. On a $30,000 variable component that is worth $150,000 of capacity.
Upsizing and Downsizing
Sell first or buy first, modelled properly with bridging as a real option rather than a last resort.
Why the same file gets different answers
Lenders publish rates. They do not publish their servicing calculators, and that is where the real variation sits.
| Income or liability type | Most generous treatment | Most conservative treatment | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular overtime and shift penalties | 100% counted with 2 years history | 50% counted | On $30,000 of allowances, roughly $150,000 of capacity |
| Bonuses and commissions | Averaged over 2 years, fully counted | Excluded or heavily shaded | Decisive for sales and executive incomes |
| Trust distributions to a non-borrowing spouse | Counted in full where the household controls the trust | Not counted at all | On a $180,000 distribution, the difference between approval and decline |
| Retained company profits | Added back where you control the company | Ignored | Common for self-employed applicants |
| Other lenders existing loans | Actual repayment plus a small buffer | Full assessment rate applied | Compounds across a portfolio |
| Credit card limits | Around 3.0% of limit per month | Around 3.8% of limit per month | A $30,000 limit is roughly $150,000 of capacity either way |
Indicative of the range across the LoanBuddy panel at September 2026. Lender policy varies and changes. Not a quote.
Nothing in that table is a secret, but no single lender will tell you where they sit relative to the others. Matching the file to the lender that reads it most favourably is the entire value of comparison, and it matters far more than the last few basis points on a rate.
Self-employed and alt doc lending
Self-employed borrowers can get a home loan without two years of tax returns. Alt doc lending verifies income through BAS statements, business bank statements or an accountant declaration instead. Most alt doc lenders want at least twelve months of ABN registration and six months of GST registration, and price above standard rates to reflect the lighter verification.
| Full doc | Alt doc | |
|---|---|---|
| Income evidence | Two years personal and business tax returns, financials, ATO notices | Any two of: BAS statements, 6 to 12 months business bank statements, accountant declaration |
| Minimum trading history | Usually 2 years | Commonly 12 months ABN, 6 months GST |
| Typical maximum LVR | Up to 95% with LMI | Commonly 80%, some to 85% |
| Pricing | Standard market rates | A margin above standard |
| Best for | Established businesses with clean returns | Newer businesses, or where returns understate current income |
Indicative across the LoanBuddy panel at September 2026. Individual lender policy varies and changes.
Add-backs, where self-employed applications are won
Your tax return is written to minimise taxable income. Your loan application needs to show income. Add-backs are the bridge: expenses claimed in the business that a lender adds back because they are not genuine ongoing cash costs. Depreciation is almost always added back. Additional superannuation usually is. Motor vehicle and travel rarely are. Retained company profits and trust distributions depend entirely on the lender.
An alt doc loan is not permanent either. Once two years of returns exist, most borrowers refinance to full doc pricing, typically saving one to two percentage points. We diarise that at settlement so the review happens when the returns are ready rather than three years later.
Buying with a small deposit
Four routes, and which is best is a numbers question rather than a matter of opinion.
| Route | Deposit needed | Cost | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Home Guarantee | 5% | No LMI | Eligibility criteria and property price caps apply |
| Family guarantee | 5% or less | No LMI | Puts a limited portion of a parent property at risk |
| Capitalised LMI | 5% to 10% | Roughly $28,000 to $34,000 on an $800k purchase | Added to the loan, so you pay interest on it |
| Professional LMI waiver | 10% or less | No LMI | Restricted to certain occupations, commonly medical and some professional groups |
Illustrative only. LMI premiums, scheme caps, eligibility and the list of waiver occupations change. Current at September 2026.
The comparison people find most surprising is that paying the insurance is sometimes the right answer. It is a defined, one-off cost that involves nobody else, and where parents have plans of their own in the next few years a guarantee can cost the family more than the premium would.
Our guarantor loans page sets out the family guarantee structure in detail, and the first home buyers page covers the schemes.
Upsizing: sell first or buy first
Every upgrade runs into the same question, and the honest answer depends on your end debt position rather than on a general principle.
Sell first gives you certainty on the sale price and a clean deposit, at the cost of moving twice, renting in between, and buying back into a market you have just sold into. In Western Sydney, six months of rent plus two moves is commonly $20,000 to $26,000.
Buy first with bridging lets you move once and sell properly rather than under time pressure. Modern bridging capitalises the interest so there are no repayments during the term. On a six month bridge over $700,000 of peak debt the all-in cost is commonly $27,000 to $38,000, and the risk is that the sale is slower or softer than expected.
Subject to sale works in a slow market and almost never at auction, because auctions are unconditional.
We model all three with real numbers. Our bridging finance page covers how peak debt and end debt are calculated.
The process
How a home loan runs
Four to six weeks from application to settlement on a clean file. Pre-approval takes two to five business days once documents are in, and is worth having before you start looking.
- 1Day 1, 45 minutes
Discovery call
Income, deposit, existing debts, what you are trying to buy and by when. No document upload before we have spoken, because the conversation shapes which documents matter.
- 2Days 2 to 5
Capacity comparison and strategy
We run your position across several lender calculators and send a written loan strategy setting out the options, the numbers and the recommendation with reasons.
- 3Days 3 to 8
Pre-approval
Submitted to the lender that suits your file. Two to five business days is typical. A genuinely assessed pre-approval, not a system-generated one, is what lets you bid with confidence.
- 4When you find a property
Formal application
Contract of sale goes in with the file. Where the pre-approval was properly assessed, this step is short.
- 5Days 2 to 10 after contract
Valuation
Ordered by the lender. We chase it, and where the price is at the top of the range we use lenders with more than one valuation panel so a second opinion is available.
- 6Week 2 to 3
Formal approval and loan documents
We check the rate, the fees, the loan term and the structure against what was recommended before you sign anything.
- 7Week 4 to 6
Settlement
We coordinate with your solicitor and the lender, and confirm afterwards that the first repayment, the rate and any offset account are all correct.
- 8Every 12 months after
Annual rate review
We diarise your settlement anniversary and review the rate against the market each year without being asked.
FAQ
Common questions about home loans
Answers to the questions we are asked most often. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
It varies more between lenders than most people expect. Two lenders reading identical documents routinely land more than $200,000 apart, driven by how they treat overtime, bonuses, trust distributions, retained profits and existing debt. We run your position across several calculators rather than accepting one number.
Two to five business days with most lenders once your documents are in. What matters more than the speed is whether it was genuinely assessed by a credit officer or generated by a system, because only the first one holds up when you are bidding.
Twenty percent avoids lender mortgage insurance. Below that, there are four routes: the First Home Guarantee at 5% if you are eligible and under the price cap, a family guarantee, capitalised LMI, or a professional waiver for certain occupations. Which is best is a numbers question and we price all four.
Yes. With two years of tax returns you are assessed like any other applicant, and the real issue is how the lender treats your add-backs. Without two years of returns, alt doc lending verifies income through BAS statements, business bank statements or an accountant declaration, generally needing twelve months of ABN registration and six months of GST registration.
Most do, but not all of it and not the same way. Where overtime and shift allowances are regular and evidenced over two years, some lenders count 100%, others shade to 80% and a few to 50%. Bonuses are usually averaged over two years, and some lenders exclude them entirely. On a $30,000 variable component that spread is worth about $150,000 of capacity.
It depends on how much certainty you need and whether you will make extra repayments. Fixed rates give budget certainty but restrict extra repayments and offset access, and carry break costs if you exit early. A split is a deliberate middle, not a hedge for its own sake. We model the split rather than defaulting to fifty fifty.
An offset is a transaction account linked to your loan where every dollar reduces the balance interest is charged on. It achieves what extra repayments achieve without touching the loan balance, which matters if the property ever becomes an investment, because redrawn funds can affect deductibility. If there is any chance you will keep the property and rent it out, an offset is worth having.
Only after checking it comes with the features you need and that the lender will actually approve your file. The lowest rate you cannot get approved for is worth nothing, and a rate 0.1% lower on a loan $200,000 smaller is a bad trade. Rate matters, but it is the third question rather than the first.
It costs you more than it protects. Lenders count the limit as if fully drawn, typically assessing around 3.8% of the limit as a monthly repayment. A $30,000 unused limit is therefore roughly $150,000 of borrowing capacity. Closing unused limits is the cheapest capacity available to most applicants.
Three to six months of personal statements are read closely. Regular gambling transactions, dishonours, buy now pay later accounts, undisclosed loan repayments and irregular large deposits without explanation all get noticed. None of them is automatically fatal, but each one is better explained upfront than discovered at assessment.
Often yes. Many lenders price in tiers, with sharper rates below 70% or 60% of the property value. The difference between an 80% loan and a 70% loan can be meaningful, and it is worth knowing before you decide how much deposit to put in.
Yes. Lenders count the compulsory repayment as a liability, which reduces your capacity by roughly the amount of that repayment, but it does not stop you borrowing. Whether paying it off before applying helps depends on the size of the balance and the repayment, and sometimes it does not.
Against your declared figure and a benchmark based on household size, income and location, taking the higher of the two. Declaring unrealistically low expenses does not help, because the benchmark floor applies anyway and an inconsistency between your statements and your declaration damages the file.
Yes. Dependants increase the assessed living expense benchmark, which reduces capacity, and lenders differ on how much. Family Tax Benefit and Child Support are counted by some lenders and not others, which can be the deciding factor on a single income file.
We check the first repayment, the rate and any offset account are correct, and we diarise your settlement anniversary. Each year we review your rate against the market and either request a repricing from your lender or recommend a move. You do not have to ask.
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