In particular we focus on getting the loan structure right the first time, choosing which lenders to use in the right order (yes this is important) and finally getting our clients the best deal possible. 

An offset home loan, a mortgage offset account, an offset account or an interest offset account are all interchangeable phrases. Essentially they are all terms used to describe a home or investment loan that has an interest offset account linked to it.

What is loan structuring?

There are three areas in which a loan and its underlying asset can be structured. The actual loan type chosen, the asset ownership structure and borrowing entity, and how equity in existing properties is utilised.

Cross collateralisation is the term used to describe when two or more properties linked together to secure one or more loans by the same lender. When you have loans cross collateralised, the lender in question is securing the aggregate of all your borrowings with the aggregate of all your security.

A trust is an arrangement which allows a person or company to own assets on behalf of another person, family or group of people.

Positive, neutral and negatively geared are property terms you hear a lot when people talk about investment property. Put simply negative gearing means an investment asset incurs greater expenses than the income it generates, while positive gearing indicates the investment income is greater than its related expenses.

Positive, neutral and negatively geared are property terms you hear a lot when people talk about investment property. Put simply negative gearing means an investment asset incurs greater expenses than the income it generates, while positive gearing indicates the investment income is greater than its related expenses. 

Are you looking to purchase a property with more than one unit on title or perhaps looking to build one or more additional dwellings on one block? Many lenders have restrictions for residential loans on both the number of units they will finance on one title and the LVR they will allow for this. 

Below we have provided a guide to the maximum available loan to value ratios (LVR’s) and their corresponding maximum loan amounts.

Lenders mortgage insurance or LMI for short is insurance taken out by a lender to protect against the chance of a monetary loss on an individual loan. 

Most lenders reduced their maximum loan to value ratio (LVR) to 90% during the GFC for both owner occupied and investment lending. There were some exceptions allowing 95% loans but largely these have now been withdrawn. As at early 2017, there are now no viable options left for 95 percent investment loans that we are aware of.

There are a number of residential property types that many lenders will not allow to be used as security for a loan. Or they may be allowed, but have special restrictions to the loan amounts or loan to value ratios (LVRs) available.

Serviced apartments are strata titled apartments generally owned by investors and managed by an entity that holds the management rights to the complex the apartments are located in. Mostly rental income from the apartments is pooled by the management company and all costs are also covered by the pool.

Most lenders are fairly conservative with how they assess a self-employed person’s income. The general rule of thumb is you will need 2 years tax figures that support the amount you are looking to borrow.

Yes you can still get a home loan as a contractor. Mortgage Experts has been helping contractor’s secure home loans for many years.

As long as your employer or agency takes care of your tax and super obligations for you and you have a track record in your industry we should be able to get you a loan without jumping through too many hoops.

A loan involving a guarantor is one where the loan required cannot be supported on it own by the borrowers.  The support can be in the form of providing additional security for the proposed loan, a commitment to help with the ongoing repayments of the loan or both.

Many lenders have lending restriction based on the location of a property. This is commonly referred to as postcode restrictions. Some lenders have a list of areas they won’t lend in at all or areas where they will only lend at 80% or 70% loan to value ratio (or less) for example. It goes without sa…

Did you know that there are some lenders who don’t have much of an issue with you being on a probation period at all? While other lenders have a very strict view and won’t allow a loan to be granted at all.

Properties listed for auction can often sell beforehand. You can make an offer on a property before the auction and if accepted the contracts can be quickly exchanged and the auction cancelled. 

Genuine savings is a term used by the lending industry when defining whether the funds to be used as a deposit by a proposed borrower (for a property purchase) have been genuinely saved over time.

Genuine savings is a term used by the lending industry when defining whether the funds to be used as a deposit by a proposed borrower (for a property purchase) have been genuinely saved over time.

Serviced apartments are strata titled apartments generally owned by investors and managed by an entity that holds the management rights to the complex the apartments are located in. Mostly rental income from the apartments is pooled by the management company and all costs are also covered by the poo…

Lenders mortgage insurance or LMI for short is insurance taken out by a lender to protect against the chance of a monetary loss on an individual loan.

Lo Doc loans are loans where the income of a proposed borrower is not fully verified by the lender or mortgage broker. However, everything else about the borrower is still assessed as per a normal loan application.

If you can’t quite manage to get a 20% deposit together to qualify for an 80% loan (and thus avoid mortgage insurance) the next best thing is an 85% home or investment loan.

90% home loans for investment with interest only repayments are only offered by a few select lenders. While they are not as prevalent as they once were, they are still a great way to get into the investor market without having to cross-collateralise your owner-occupied property

95% home loans need a bit of extra care so we only offer our services for NSW & QLD residents where we have brokers on the ground ready to meet with you.

No deposit home loans are no longer available from any lenders in Australia.

Since the GFC the new maximum loan to value ratio (LVR) is 95%. Please go to our dedicated 95% home loans page for more details.